Can't sleep, this may help some folks,,,,just bought a 2019 Subaru Outback. Some of you may have heard about the "get a better price" Costco auto program for buying new cars.....hmmmm.... You will save some with no effort, but you WILL do better if you are not afraid to negotiate. I took them down another $1500 and a small ($200) accessory pack after some real hardball -- and I mean real hardball -- not for the faint of heart (still think I may have left $500 on the table, but wife was about to divorce me). Not a big reveal -- lots of the same story on the web -- plan to get the Costco membership fee refunded in the next week or so, but if you are thinking about a new Outback now is the time to slice a great deal on the 2019s -- the 2020 arrive in a couple of months and most of the dealers are still swimming in the '19s (the 2020 model is a BIG changeover ). Anyway. If you can't stomach fighting on price , Costco isn't a bad option, but you can do better without it if you are not afraid to dicker.
When we bought our Prime last month, we started with the Costco Auto program. Then called around and found a better deal by ~$1k. Costco was a fine deal, but a few phone calls got a better one. And I didn’t take it to the edge of divorce .
Keep hearing about this Outback of yours; which engine option did you go with, believe there's two sizes? Interesting to toggle between Forester and Outback, they're very close. The Forester a little shorter/taller.
My Outback or the Outback in general? I just wanted something to power through the rare snow (You are in BC, you get the "drift" LOL), as well as to take camping and roaming now that I am retired.... I considered the Forester, the Outback, the Toyota Rav4 the Honda CRV and the Mazda 3 (or was it 5?). I actually liked the Forester a little better, and it was a bit cheaper. Very good sight lines through all the windows, commanding view, good interior space, etc., but the 2019 Outback is in the last year of it's cycle and all the tweaks have been done and bugs worked out (I hope). The 2019 Forester is the first year of a re-design and despite assurances from folks on this board, I am still shy about a first year vehicle. The 2020 Outback will be a whole new design...but a LOT of people are apparently waiting for it and want it.
Uh, I guess to answer your questions, I got the 4-banger with "package 24" and with the "all weather mats & stuff" package. For $31K USD (can't forget the $65 visa gift card I got for test-driving, also). I really could have lived with a more stripped down model (the Outback starts with the base, goes up to premium and then up to limited, then up to ***? and a final "something."). Wife wanted leather seats (it was a "YOU WILL GET LEATHER"). And the limited edition was the first "trim" model in which leather was available. I bought on the open market a rear bumper protector (to avoid scratches from sliding things in and out of the back) as well as a rear seatback protector that fits in "the hatch" and essentially protects the rear of the "back seat" seats from when you lie them down and load lumber, etc (or in my case three ultra hyper black lab dogs). Both were about $50 each -- maybe a 20 percent discount from full-blown MSRP. Overpriced for both pieces of rubber, yes, but considering "over life" of the rig, not SO bad. Any other questions, ask.
The Costco Auto Program sent me to what would end up being the most very sleaziest Toyota dealership (among many) in the Chicago area. I ended up stopping the payment on my deposit check (because they wouldn't return my check, even though they were still holding it) when they began reneging on the COSTCO deal price and then adding mandatory vin-etch and fabric treatment ($775) that we talked about not wanting or would pay for. Real top notch sleaze. No, I won't reveal which dealer it was. Unbelievably, at the time, only one dealer's name came up in the COSTCO program for the Prime. First of all, it was the best $30 stop payment fee I've ever paid for. Ended up a week later ordering the same car at another much better (but not great) dealer, but at a slightly higher price. At that point, I didn't care much about the price difference. Just removing the sleaze completely was worth the price of admission. The original sleazy dealer would not even cancel the original order in my name even weeks later (and even without their $1,000 check) to prevent me from effectively completing the order through my prefered dealer. Had to get the regional Toyota manager in on this to make the change over, all that took a frustrating extra month in itself. Then 3 months more for the car to arrive. I'm glad that some of you got a deal using COSTCO, and pretty sure it can work out with all the right things working in your favor, but for me it was a complete headache.
Your experience isn't a reflection of the Costco program, but of the dealer system in the US, which is why Tesla didn't want to use it. The only mark I'd give against Costco in your situation is if they didn't have a report system for flagging the bad dealers in their network. I tried Costco when I got the Sonic. The closest dealer was in NJ. Not extremely far for a better price, but my local dealer had a comparable price on their site. My complaint about Costco's system was that Sonics listed on their site weren't using trim designations, but, I'm guessing, internal dealer or manufacturer coding, which made it more cumbersome than need be.
The thing about the Costco price, is that it DOES NOT include tax, license, destination fee, regional advertising cost-share and 10 percent for the dealership's coffee klatch fund. Which is about an extra $1000 or more -- so it is misleading -- my $31K included all those fees. Happy enough with the car. It is a bit underpowered -- as I knew it would be from all the reviews I read -- but considering the price and mpg hit I would have taken with the bigger engine, I am happy with the 4-cyl. Some 98 percent of the time, the car has plenty of power. I am even getting used to all the "Eyesight" safety features -- which I suppose have their place. I should probably update the thread I originally posted about this back in January.....even took the car off-road a few times....does a great job in x-mode.
But that is true on any advertise dealer price. I do not even think Tesla include their delivery fee in the prices on their site.
The problem I had with the Costco program is they only refer you to a dealer that Costco thinks has the exact vehicleyou want in stock. My preferred dealer had the vehicle I wanted. Costco refused to refer because THEIR system aid the dealer did not have the car. I chose to go to my preferred dealer & salesman anyway (a Gen 1 Prius owner too).
No, Costco's program doesn't work with all dealers. They have to sign up with Costco to be part of it.
The COSTCO listed dealer absolutely didn't have the Prime in stock, and even indicated to me that they would never ever stock Primes. The order would take 4 months. The unreasonable fear of this car is rampant among Toyota dealers in the Midwest. Still is, two years later. My 2nd dealer (and my preference) also told me they would never stock the car, and it would take 4 months. In the end, it took 3 months and 3 weeks before I received it.
My preferred dealer is part of the program and I earlier got a Costco price on a different vehicle from them. This was in September or October 2017.
