I live in North County and the closest Costco approved dealership is Bakersfield. The closest place that will give you ASPCA VIP Discount is Ocean subaru in Fullerton. Order one last week and was given a late November/early December delivery date. None of the dealerships in San Diego would budge on VIP discount or Costco. Most stating that they will only let go at MSRP and It will be a few months (since release) before they consider any discounts.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the information. I'm also in North County. Our area is a tough one, but I took delivery on 8/19!
The car with the specs I wanted was already in transit to Kearny Mesa, so I had to make a decision to pursue or wait. I went for the pursuit. I had done everything I could from my desk, so I braced a whirlwind of activity as I got into a more serious mode. Life is busy, so I could really only get the ball rolling via email. Before that point, any dealer that had asked me to come into the showroom did not get any further. On 8/7 (same day I started this thread), the internet manager from KMS emailed me. After a couple of emails I was able to get a modest discount off of MSRP by asking. We didn't even speak on the phone until I called on 8/8 to put a deposit in on the exact Ascent I wanted. It arrived on 8/17, so about a 10-day wait in my situation. I was being told October for a factory order...
I still wasn't ready to complete the deal until I saw what they'd do for me on my trade. This was the only 'wildcard' I had when going in and I was prepared to walk away. They offered 2k over KBB, which offset the small discount I negotiated. I've never had a dealer come in over KBB - it's usually lower. I also used a $500 loyalty coupon. In the end, it was like getting $3k off MSRP and exactly the KBB trade-in value for my old car - a fair deal in my opinion, especially in SoCal.
I like KMS. They are the most straightforward to deal with in SD. They also provided the a great quote for a new Outback back in 2012, but I went to Carlsbad for the Costco price. Funny thing is Carlsbad totally ingnored the Costco deal. I had just met the internet lady for about 3 seconds, but was quickly handed over to a normal salesguy. I asked what the price was, and he quoted the sticker! Luckily I had the quote from KMS in my pocket so I used that as leverage. I probably ended up beating the Costco price that day anyway. Serves them right.