There is a Subaru dealership in Victor, NY called Van Bortel Subaru. They sell all of their Subeys for a lot less than everyone else. They said that their STi's would be about $5,000 cheaper than everyone elses. Their website is www.vanbortelsubaru.com. You can reach them at 1-800-724-8872 or sales@vanbortelsubaru.com.

 

They are probably assuming that every other dealer in the country is going to charge MSRP + $5000.

 

actually they just charge 40% over invoice for all of their stuff unlike everyone else who charges msrp. Thats no bull**** either

 

Yes the list is long, but think about it too.

They don't ask for any money down, so a lot of folks will put there name on it and then just say forget about it, I can't afford it, I don't want it, blah, blah, blah.

They are up by Rochester, NY, sure it's easy to fly into Rochester, but how many people actually live around there and will be willing to put 1K miles or more getting their new STi home.

I was number 2 on my dealers list in Augusta, ME, they wanted 5K down (no interest, and only refundable if the car was over 35K) the only agreement was to sell at MSRP.

When I called Van Bortel 1/10/03, no money down, number 40 on the list, and in writing, $400 over dealer invoice, I don't care if I'm waiting until December to get the card, which I doubt will happen, because they have been the number 1 seller of Subaru's and just dropped down to #2 this past year, loosing by 17 vehicles. Needless to say I tore up the contract with the ME dealer (thank god Maine gives you 48 hours to back out of contracts).

 

40% over invoice? 40% of what?

 

I live just a few minutes from Van Bortel and can vouch for their business practices. I have never purchased a car from them but I know of many people who have and all were very pleased. For as long as I've been aware of them, they have sold all of their cars for just a few hundred over invoice. I took a long hard look at the Impreza RS a few years ago and realy wanted to buy something from them due to their awsome straightforward deals. When the WRX came out, I again seriously considered getting one from them but then heard about the STI. I'm at that juncture again and I'm defintely buying a new car this year; either the STI or the EVO VIII. Looking at the waiting list at Van Bortel, I think it may be the Evo....

Hey, anyone coming to Rochester to pick up an STI and needs any help (directions, a lift from the airport, etc), drop me an e-mail. It's probably the only chance I'll have to ride in an STI this year! If you have a long haul back home, I could even set you up for the night and we could drive my wife nuts talking about cars!

 

Mmmm, Garbage Plate

I think I'll swing over to see Kitty this weekend. I wonder how deep their wait list is at this point? Did anyone hear about how many units Van Bortel will be allocated this year? It has to be more than most since they are one of the top volume Subaru dealers in the nation.

 

I can speak from experience that VanBortel Subaru is great to deal with. I bought an '03 WRX from them in November. I drove about 60 miles (from Syracuse) just to deal with them. I got my car for invoice price, and I got all of the accessories at dealer cost.

I would highly recommend them.

 

I placed my order with them three weeks ago and was number 53 on their waiting list (no deposit, $400 over invoice in writing)......was told that the first year's allocation was already accounted for and that I may not see my STi until '04, depending on how many people drop off the list in the meantime, I could possibly see it by end of '03, if I'm very lucky.

Considering that they're situated in upstate NY where winters are pretty snowy, and that many of their orders are from "locals" I can't see too many people dropping off their list, unless the MSRP is unexpectedly high (by the way, they've been told that the price will be in the $31 to $32k range, though they still don't know whether this will be the invoice or MSRP price).