Sorry for the slight necro...
Anyhow, am going through the process to buy a Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium. Know exactly what we want, what invoice, MSRP, and "fair value" according to Edmunds, Kelley, and TrueCar are. I had Kelley contact three dealers that are near-ish but am holding off having Edmunds and TrueCar as they'll very likely be the same dealers. I'm assuming those dealers will contact me via e-mail in the next day or so.
Reading up-thread, someone meanted Costco Auto. I filled out the information and they sent me contact information for some dealer 75 miles away or so, and it seemed to indicate I'd have to physically go there to see the price. Really? Is that the "no-haggle price" mentioned earlier? Typically where does it fall with respect to invoice? Am I usually better off going Costco over say Kelley?
I'm expecting an additional $1,000 in fees, etc. that isn't normally included in MSRP. A dealer I physically visited earlier this week also said there was a $500 protective coat or something -- for the seats? -- that they claimed they applied to all cars that arrive on the lot. I wasn't too happy about that, I'm assuming that's BS?
Also I have a trade-in. We're talking $500-ish. When do I bring that up? In the past when I mention I have a trade-in the numbers suddenly become very goosey and I'm never sure if I got a good deal or not.
Thanks!
Good choice of car. I worked at a Subaru dealership for around 5 years a while back. I still recommend them to anyone that asks.
Couple of things I could help with. Firstly the interior protection package is bullocks, as you suspected. They do actually sell it for that price, but its usually sold by a bubbly young girl who kinda takes advantage of the fact you're already spending 10,20,30k+ on something. Whats another grand worth of window tinting and paint protection right? We'll just add it to the finance package
The bottle of stuff they use costs anywhere from about 20 to 80 bucks, and then it takes someone, usually 15-30 minutes or so to apply. Thats then gets sold for $500 or sometimes more or sometimes less. That whole venture is actually one the biggest sources of profit for the dealership when all the sales numbers are all added up.
And yeah a lot of dealers like you to head in before talking price. Get you to drive the car, by you a coffee, butter you up a bit and then start talking price if they sense you're a serious buyer.
And no reason, not to bring up the trade in early on. Telling them halfway through negotiating will only complicate things. It will also give you an extra point of negotiation, where you might be able to squeeze a little extra value out of the trade to get to a good figure.
Also if you can, and its been mentioned a few times earlier in the thread, wait till a week or so before the end of the month That's usually when the crunch really begins to hit monthly sales figures, so you're more likely to get a good deal.
Can't really help with the other stuff, as I'm not familiar with Truecar etc, but good luck with it all anyway!