[IvyTouring]

Hello from Southern California! Preordered Grey touring June 1st with eta in Sept but price quoted actually more than msrp (a little over 46g vs 45,670 w/o adding any add ons) with the verbal reassurance that price will be matched or negotiated or finalized once the car arrives.

Then, my husband discovered this wonderful group of people on this forum educating us on proper steps and research and ideas into purchasing a vehicle. So we started donating to Aspca in hopes of purchasing after 6 months waiting period to get the vip pricing. Meanwhile, emailing multiple dealers w/in 60 miles radius trying to negotiate a deal. Calling them was futile; most turned away vip pricing or said they couldn’t negotiate until car arrives. It’s weird bc emailing their internet sales person from the same dealer seemed like they’re willing to work with us as long as we had the actual vip ID.

My question is if any of you guys were able to get vip pricing with the touring and are willing to share the exact price and how much your out the door total price was and which location. We are in upland, ca and preordered in Ontario, ca. Corresponding with dealers in LA and Orange County so far

We are embracing time and if we are unable to get price down then we will pass on our preordered vehicle and wait on vip membership to come through and purchase then.

Any suggestions welcome. Feel free to PM if you’re uncomfortable to disclose all of the numbers. Thank you thank you for your knowledge, sharing your experiences and everything in between!

 

[Nemesis099]

I'm on the opposite coast but I called around to the local dealers and found one that would honor the VIP pricing. Once I had the dealer that would which was around invoice on the Touring I ordered I donated $500 to the ASCPA to become a VIP member right away.

The key is to call around as it is up to the dealer if they will honor VIP pricing.

 

[zegilbert]

I did the ASPCA donation after my dealer said they would honor it. When my paperwork came and I tried to lock it in, the regional manager got involved and said they do not actually honor the VIP program for the ascent, given the high demand for the car. They did take $1,000 of the price for the miscommunication. I contacted SOA VIP program to see if they would appeal to the dealer, but since I had already ordered months ago, they said the VIP program would not apply (technically that's true, per the VIP language, but I have heard other dealers offer more flexibility).

Bottom line - safest bet is do what Nemesis099 suggests - call around, get assurance that the program will be honored, then order from them. Work closely with the dealer on timing as the VIP forms are only valid for 45 days. Good luck!

 

[IvyTouring]

I'm on the opposite coast but I called around to the local dealers and found one that would honor the VIP pricing. Once I had the dealer that would which was around invoice on the Touring I ordered I donated $500 to the ASCPA to become a VIP member right away.

The key is to call around as it is up to the dealer if they will honor VIP pricing.

They were able to give you a vip pricing during that phonecall?

I haven’t had success with my phone calls but after reading some more posts, it seems like California is getting such a high demand that they’re resistant to offer or work with you until you have the actual vip ID. I also noticed that all of the touring in their inventory is listed at 46+ way above msrp without any additional accessories. It’s just maddening. Tempted to just buy from Colorado

 

[Subiesailor]

If your not in a rush especially in CA so am I, just wait a few months. CA is the largest Auto market in the US. Most of our dealers are owned by large Auto groups with multiple store fronts they don’t negotiate especially on new hot models. Earliest I’m going to explore pricing is FEB / March 2019. The must have it buyers over paying will be done with their frenzy and there will be more new SUV models released by several makers that will Help lower demand across the board.

I need to pay over invoice about as bad as I need an extra hole in my head.
Just wait its not hard. Granted your in Socal where cars are all about status vs I’m in Norcal where 6million dollar houses have 12yr old Ford Explorers parked in the driveway. ?

Just wait. Besides little tweaks to fix first production run stuff happens the Ascents will be better in a few months.

 

[gobears157]

If your not in a rush especially in CA so am I, just wait a few months. CA is the largest Auto market in the US. Most of our dealers are owned by large Auto groups with multiple store fronts they don’t negotiate especially on new hot models. Earliest I’m going to explore pricing is FEB / March 2019. The must have it buyers over paying will be done with their frenzy and there will be more new SUV models released by several makers that will Help lower demand across the board.

I need to pay over invoice about as bad as I need an extra hole in my head.
Just wait its not hard. Granted your in Socal where cars are all about status vs I’m in Norcal where 6million dollar houses have 12yr old Ford Explorers parked in the driveway. ?

Just wait. Besides little tweaks to fix first production run stuff happens the Ascents will be better in a few months.

A couple of dealers that allowed room for negotiation in my experience: Sangera Subaru (Bakersfield) and Albany Subaru. I negotiated just above invoice with Sangera Subaru, and was ultimately able to get it matched at Albany Subaru. Hopefully this first production run won't need too many tweaks since many of us here are the guinea pigs.

 

[Rgashton]

Hello from Southern California! Preordered Grey touring June 1st with eta in Sept but price quoted actually more than msrp (a little over 46g vs 45,670 w/o adding any add ons) with the verbal reassurance that price will be matched or negotiated or finalized once the car arrives.

Then, my husband discovered this wonderful group of people on this forum educating us on proper steps and research and ideas into purchasing a vehicle. So we started donating to Aspca in hopes of purchasing after 6 months waiting period to get the vip pricing. Meanwhile, emailing multiple dealers w/in 60 miles radius trying to negotiate a deal. Calling them was futile; most turned away vip pricing or said they couldn’t negotiate until car arrives. It’s weird bc emailing their internet sales person from the same dealer seemed like they’re willing to work with us as long as we had the actual vip ID.

My question is if any of you guys were able to get vip pricing with the touring and are willing to share the exact price and how much your out the door total price was and which location. We are in upland, ca and preordered in Ontario, ca. Corresponding with dealers in LA and Orange County so far

We are embracing time and if we are unable to get price down then we will pass on our preordered vehicle and wait on vip membership to come through and purchase then.

Any suggestions welcome. Feel free to PM if you’re uncomfortable to disclose all of the numbers. Thank you thank you for your knowledge, sharing your experiences and everything in between!

Below is a link to my experience and that entire thread has some really good information from others as well.

https://www.ascentforums.com/forum/...ancelled-reordered-my-ascent-6.html#post19669

And it doesn't matter what the dealer sets the vehicle price at, if they honor the VIP program for the ASPCA, the price you will pay is whatever the car's official invoice price is minus 2%. So, 2% BELOW invoice price. (That wording confused me at first.)

 

[Robert.Mauro]

NY Metro Area Dealers who are reportedly taking very good care of their customers:
- Liberty Subaru, 55 Kinderkamack Rd, Emerson, NJ 07630 866-938-9505
- Metric Subaru, 1767 E Jericho Tpke, Huntington, NY 11743 888-750-7944
- North Coast Subaru, 105 Glen St, Glen Cove, NY 11542 888-516-1452

I've not heard anything about the others in the area nor had time to stop in and check, but of the list above, I have talked to, visited or bought from them, and heard stories from others.

 

[Nemesis099]

They were able to give you a vip pricing during that phonecall?

I haven’t had success with my phone calls but after reading some more posts, it seems like California is getting such a high demand that they’re resistant to offer or work with you until you have the actual vip ID. I also noticed that all of the touring in their inventory is listed at 46+ way above msrp without any additional accessories. It’s just maddening. Tempted to just buy from Colorado

Yes they gave me pricing over the phone I have it written down at home. I will mention that my family has bought multiple cars from this dealership group over the years and while that had no bearing on them honoring VIP pricing I think it helped me trust them a bit more that they will.

 

[Atype]

Hello from Southern California! Preordered Grey touring June 1st with eta in Sept but price quoted actually more than msrp (a little over 46g vs 45,670 w/o adding any add ons) with the verbal reassurance that price will be matched or negotiated or finalized once the car arrives.

Then, my husband discovered this wonderful group of people on this forum educating us on proper steps and research and ideas into purchasing a vehicle. So we started donating to Aspca in hopes of purchasing after 6 months waiting period to get the vip pricing. Meanwhile, emailing multiple dealers w/in 60 miles radius trying to negotiate a deal. Calling them was futile; most turned away vip pricing or said they couldn’t negotiate until car arrives. It’s weird bc emailing their internet sales person from the same dealer seemed like they’re willing to work with us as long as we had the actual vip ID.

My question is if any of you guys were able to get vip pricing with the touring and are willing to share the exact price and how much your out the door total price was and which location. We are in upland, ca and preordered in Ontario, ca. Corresponding with dealers in LA and Orange County so far

We are embracing time and if we are unable to get price down then we will pass on our preordered vehicle and wait on vip membership to come through and purchase then.

Any suggestions welcome. Feel free to PM if you’re uncomfortable to disclose all of the numbers. Thank you thank you for your knowledge, sharing your experiences and everything in between!

Not sure it'll help since I'm in MA. But I'll let you know my pricing when it comes in in less than 2 weeks. I got my VIP form today after donating 2 days ago. I feel like I'm going to have problems as both the sales guy and manager no longer work at the dealership when I preordered.
Luckily my wife has 5 months left on her lease so I have time to reorder somewhere else if it falls thru.

 

[Cannibal869]

This is the maddening thing about the VIP program.
So much of it is left up to the "dealer discretion".
I understand everyone wants to make a profit... and in truth, a lot of us I think have found out about the VIP program AFTER placing our initial pre-orders. And yes, I'm sure selling the vehicle for 2% under invoice is not something they would prefer to do on a vehicle that will be in high demand.
I think that if we had all been aware of it before the pre-orders opened, this would all be a moot point, but as it is, I'm in a similar boat as you.
I did the $500 ASPCA donation to become an immediate VIP through the founder's program. Got my letter in hand and sent it to my dealer (Glendale Subaru).

I contacted SOA VIP and they said that you have to have the VIP in hand prior to ordering.

Technically speaking, we have placed a pre-order with a $500 deposit for the first right of refusal. The full order has not been completed.
Also, technically speaking, I do not see why the dealer cannot simply just cancel your pre-order, and then oh look - we have an unsold unreserved Ascent on the lot! Would you like to buy it using your VIP pricing???

My dealer in Glendale has said that he has the VIP letter and will be "waiting to get the vehicle on the ground and then will try to use it against the deal if it applies at the time" (whatever that means)... He has also said in a previous email that "if there is any VIP program available on Ascent at the time of delivery, for sure we are going to honor it!"

All of this still makes me a little nervous though... <crosses fingers>

 

[gobears157]

This is the maddening thing about the VIP program.
So much of it is left up to the "dealer discretion".
I understand everyone wants to make a profit... and in truth, a lot of us I think have found out about the VIP program AFTER placing our initial pre-orders. And yes, I'm sure selling the vehicle for 2% under invoice is not something they would prefer to do on a vehicle that will be in high demand.
I think that if we had all been aware of it before the pre-orders opened, this would all be a moot point, but as it is, I'm in a similar boat as you.
I did the $500 ASPCA donation to become an immediate VIP through the founder's program. Got my letter in hand and sent it to my dealer (Glendale Subaru).

I contacted SOA VIP and they said that you have to have the VIP in hand prior to ordering.

Technically speaking, we have placed a pre-order with a $500 deposit for the first right of refusal. The full order has not been completed.
Also, technically speaking, I do not see why the dealer cannot simply just cancel your pre-order, and then oh look - we have an unsold unreserved Ascent on the lot! Would you like to buy it using your VIP pricing???

My dealer in Glendale has said that he has the VIP letter and will be "waiting to get the vehicle on the ground and then will try to use it against the deal if it applies at the time" (whatever that means)... He has also said in a previous email that "if there is any VIP program available on Ascent at the time of delivery, for sure we are going to honor it!"

All of this still makes me a little nervous though... <crosses fingers>

First - I'm a consumer like many of you and have many posts talking about trying to get the best price for the Ascent.

However, I do understand (and respect) dealers who refuse to honor the VIP program. It's completely in their right to do it, and if any of us were managing the P&L for these dealers, we wouldn't accept VIP pricing either. The immediate demand for the Ascent is likely greater than the short-term supply of it, and dealers are in the business of making money.

In Cannibal's example above - if I were the dealer, I'd probably be happy to cancel the customer's pre-order so that I can turn around and sell it to someone else at MSRP (assuming there's demand in the local dealer).

I think there's a little bit of a sense of entitlement here from some who are trying to take advantage of a loophole in the VIP program (this is a general statement and I'm not calling you out, Cannibal). I think it's perfectly legit to become a VIP in hopes to getting better pricing, but I don't think becoming a VIP should simply guarantee one to get the discounted pricing - that's entitlement. The VIP program's documentation made it clear that dealers have full discretion on whether or not to accept it. Subaru did nothing to mislead anyone; neither did the dealers (in this case). If you don't like what the dealer is selling (or the price they're selling it), go find a different dealer.

 

[Robert.Mauro]

My dealer in Glendale has said that he has the VIP letter and will be "waiting to get the vehicle on the ground and then will try to use it against the deal if it applies at the time" (whatever that means)... He has also said in a previous email that "if there is any VIP program available on Ascent at the time of delivery, for sure we are going to honor it!"

All of this still makes me a little nervous though... <crosses fingers>

My dealer made the same promise, and is holding true as they always do. You'll probably be fine. But keep us posted.

 

[zulater]

First - I'm a consumer like many of you and have many posts talking about trying to get the best price for the Ascent.

However, I do understand (and respect) dealers who refuse to honor the VIP program. It's completely in their right to do it, and if any of us were managing the P&L for these dealers, we wouldn't accept VIP pricing either. The immediate demand for the Ascent is likely greater than the short-term supply of it, and dealers are in the business of making money.

In Cannibal's example above - if I were the dealer, I'd probably be happy to cancel the customer's pre-order so that I can turn around and sell it to someone else at MSRP (assuming there's demand in the local dealer).

I think there's a little bit of a sense of entitlement here from some who are trying to take advantage of a loophole in the VIP program (this is a general statement and I'm not calling you out, Cannibal). I think it's perfectly legit to become a VIP in hopes to getting better pricing, but I don't think becoming a VIP should simply guarantee one to get the discounted pricing - that's entitlement. The VIP program's documentation made it clear that dealers have full discretion on whether or not to accept it. Subaru did nothing to mislead anyone; neither did the dealers (in this case). If you don't like what the dealer is selling (or the price they're selling it), go find a different dealer.

I don't see it as entitlement. If Subaru is going to offer a program (where you spend money to get in) Subaru should honor it and reimburse the dealership.

 

[Northern Ty]

I don't see it as entitlement. If Subaru is going to offer a program (where you spend money to get in) Subaru should honor it and reimburse the dealership.

Subaru is honoring it, but they don't own the dealerships and can't force them to participate. It's just like the value menus at fast food joints, every commercial says "at participating locations"

 

[gobears157]

Subaru is honoring it, but they don't own the dealerships and can't force them to participate. It's just like the value menus at fast food joints, every commercial says "at participating locations"

This.

We live in a highly regulated country, and the auto industry is one example of it. Auto companies are not allowed to own their own distribution network of dealers (at least in a lot of states), hence most dealers create their own rules (like independently owned fast food chains).

Unrelated: the alcohol industry is similar - hence why you have companies like Southern Glazers causing huge inefficiencies and to be far from free market.

 

[Atype]

The dealership should be either all in the program or all out. They shouldn't be able to pick and choose what models get the pricing unless it's specifically called out in the VIP form like some models of the WRX are. Doing so sounds like bad business to me in a customer service way.

 

[ek5686]

I just preordered mine last night with a $500 deposit and eta delivery September. PM me and I can give you details. I’m in Orange County.

 

[Rgashton]

My dealer made the same promise, and is holding true as they always do. You'll probably be fine. But keep us posted.

Got the same statement from my dealer after I sent over the VIP forms. "Ok got the forms, now we just wait for the vehicle to get here."

However, I also received an email from Subaru VIP as well as the dealer, both specifically telling me that they are going to honor the VIP pricing for me. So that indicates to me that the Ascent IS officially part of the VIP program from Subaru and they aren't going to be changing this any time soon.

 

[zulater]

Subaru is honoring it, but they don't own the dealerships and can't force them to participate. It's just like the value menus at fast food joints, every commercial says "at participating locations"

This.

We live in a highly regulated country, and the auto industry is one example of it. Auto companies are not allowed to own their own distribution network of dealers (at least in a lot of states), hence most dealers create their own rules (like independently owned fast food chains).

Unrelated: the alcohol industry is similar - hence why you have companies like Southern Glazers causing huge inefficiencies and to be far from free market.

I understand this; my point is that Subaru should reimburse the dealership the difference from their average sale price to the VIP price so dealers can participate without having to think about it. Like giving a coupon to the grocery store. They send it in to the manufacturer and they send the grocer a check. The grocer still makes the profit they want.