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Pre-ordering an Ascent - what to expect?

9K views 24 replies 14 participants last post by  Gueromeister 
The dealer kept saying factory knows who are ordering more than one (as if it is problem!), yet I see that many people on the forum have placed 2-3 different orders. Is there any potential issue there?
If the order is actually placed and put into the SOA system, then yeah, it's a problem. I had to get special permission and contact my district manager AND contact SOA when I had a customer order two.

You see, Subaru REQUIRES - not suggests, not recommends, but REQUIRES - a signed buyers order (aka worksheet) and a deposit for EVERY order. (It's on the actual ordering screen - we have to verify that those exist.) It was a casual thing, but my district manager actually audited my sold order folder to make sure I wasn't creating things to try to load up our pipeline. Especially since our store had more pre-orders than all the other stores in our district combined.

What I suspect is happening is that some stores are simply taking 'orders' from customers and not actually placing them with SOA, and simply hoping something comes in that's close and they can put accessories on themselves or trying to use SPF (Subaru Production Flexibility) to game the system that way.
 
Keep in mind, dealers don't pay the SOA god until it's sold to a customer; so the "invoice" is not the exact amount the dealer pays for them, it could be lower or higher, depend on the contractual agreement.
Technically, that's not correct, and at the same time, it sort of is.

Let's say you (customer) purchase an Outback with an MSRP of $36,500, invoice of $33,500, and pay $33,500 for the car. The car has been on the dealers lot for 90 days. The dealer would then owe Subaru $33,500 the car, as per the invoice. But ... there's holdback, which it is up to the individual dealership to decide if they'll give that up to secure the deal or not. Since you're only talking about $600 here, chances are, no, because that IS the dealership's profit for selling that car. There's also floorplan, which is money the dealership gets to help cover the interest on that $33,500 loan they have for the car. That's normally on a couple of hundred, which means that at 90 days, it's gone and is a wash.

This doesn't include dealer cash, which can and will vary per model and trim level, and whether you lease, finance, or pay cash, but most of the time ends up being (since this is Subaru) a big fat zero anyway. So while yeah, the dealership IS the exact amount they dealer pays for the car, most of the time the dealer gets to make a couple of hundred on the deal. And seriously, there is nothing wrong with profit - that's what allows a dealership to make great deals for OTHER customers, as well as contribute to the community.
 
Thanks for this interesting bit of information. So I placed an order with my dealer about a month ago. Is it normal that I have still not received any confirmation from SOA or prospective dates from the dealer? Every time I call up the dealer they say that there is no new information. When I asked for a VON they gave me some 5 digit dealer order number. Is this typical?
Depending upon your dealer - if the salesman does the order, then he should have given you a copy of the order when you actually ordered the car with the VON on it. If a manager orders it, then they would have the paperwork with a full VON on it. And if you're in SNE / SDC territory, then who knows what's up with that stuff. (Seriously!)

And yeah, it typically takes a full month before we see any change when the production line is up and running with an ordered unit.
 
What is the difference between a salesperson VON and a manager order with a “full VON” ?.
Nothing, sorry for the confusion.

What I meant by that is, depending upon how your dealership does things, the salesman may or may not have been the one to place the order. If he's the one who placed the order, then he should have the VON. If he's NOT the one who placed the order, all he does is simply take your order, then he may not have the VON. In which case you have a controlling manager, who would be the only person who would have the VON.

Of the two choices, I much prefer working for a dealership where the management leaves me alone to sell cars.
 
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