Impreza purchasing question...please give advice

D

dontbeleivethis

I am planning on purchasing two impreza ts wagons... or perhaps 1 ts
and one rs. If i walk into the dealerhsip and say "ill give you MSRP
plus tax" (gst in canada) ... is there a likely hood that they will
accept this offer? anyone out there got some ideas of what the
cheapest you can get a subaru for?
 
I am planning on purchasing two impreza ts wagons... or perhaps 1 ts
and one rs. If i walk into the dealerhsip and say "ill give you MSRP
plus tax" (gst in canada) ... is there a likely hood that they will
accept this offer?

Yes. Probably in a heartbeat. Did you mean invoice + tax?
 
I am planning on purchasing two impreza ts wagons... or perhaps 1 ts
and one rs. If i walk into the dealerhsip and say "ill give you MSRP
plus tax" (gst in canada) ... is there a likely hood that they will
accept this offer? anyone out there got some ideas of what the
cheapest you can get a subaru for?

In the US they seem to be selling close to invoice. See also Edmunds'
True Market Value.

- D.
 
Hi,
good time is at the month end.
Also depending how you pay, financing or cash.
Tony
 
Hi,
good time is at the month end.
Also depending how you pay, financing or cash.
Tony


Does paying cash increase chances of getting a
better deal?

If so, I wonder why. Financing surely has to be more
profitable to the dealership- they get commissions for
loan origination from the source of funds (bank, etc.).

Or is it just sheer respect for possession of CA$H,
that in our capitalist society, that empowers the buyer
to get a better deal (???)

s.z.
 
I am planning on purchasing two impreza ts wagons... or
perhaps 1 ts and one rs.

Two huh? His and hers subies? Just to be clear here, the RS is only
available in sedan.
If i walk into the dealerhsip and say "ill give you MSRP
plus tax" (gst in canada) ... is there a likely hood that they will
accept this offer?

I am assuming you mean invoice, not MSRP? For that I guess it depends on one
thing... how are you going to find out the invoice price? Its not available
to the public like it is in the US. Not just a conversion from US$, either
(I know a car salesman and he tells me people do this all the time). If you
tell them you know the invoice price and then its not correct, they will
just laugh at you.

Also about paying cash. You actually have a better chance at a deal if you
finance, because they make some money off you doing that. When you set up
the financing, make sure you are allowed to pay it off early, then when the
first payments comes up, just take your cash and pay it off.

Good luck and let us know how things come out.
 
If you can really tell the difference between the 2002 TS and RS in
driving - I am impressed. I can, however, easily, tell the difference
between the pre-2002 RS and the TS - and to my taste (not having a chance to
drive a STi) - the 1999-2001 RS was the nicest handling Subaru.

I suspect most of the difference was in the tires. The lower
profile/wider tires make a difference on cornering. I specifically set
up the test drive loop to have a couple really really tight corners.
The RS went around noticeably "crisper".
We actually find the wagon to be easier to live with - it is especially the
case when you have tall things you need to put it - it seems to be able to
swallow a lot of stuff. As we have a car seat in ours - we can no longer
fold the back seats - but in the past we had a '97 OBS - and with the back
seats down - you have a lot of space in there.

Try buying something long at Ikea with 2 car seats in. In the wagon it
would have to go over the seat (something I really hate). With the
sedan, it can fit through the center pass through.

Something else nobody ever mentions is that the trunk of a sedan is a
way safer spot to put stuff than the back of a wagon. In an accident,
that six pack of Coke in the trunk isn't going to hurt anyone. In the
back of a wagon it can be a lethal projectile.
 
Cam Penner said:
Try buying something long at Ikea with 2 car seats in. In the wagon it
would have to go over the seat (something I really hate). With the
sedan, it can fit through the center pass through.

I guess that if you have the problem of not being able to fold the seats -
the Sedan might be sometimes easier to live with.
Something else nobody ever mentions is that the trunk of a sedan is a
way safer spot to put stuff than the back of a wagon. In an accident,
that six pack of Coke in the trunk isn't going to hurt anyone. In the
back of a wagon it can be a lethal projectile.

In theory - you are correct, but I suspect that the probability of an item
put down low in the wagon's area actually clearing the top of the rear seats
is very low - especially with the rear seats angle. When you put the cloth
cover "tray" in the wagon's back in it's out position - I think that this is
much less of an issue.

Finally - if you have pets to take - the wagon's back is very useful as
well.

Ron.
 
Cam said:
The TS gets a rear wiper standard, the RS gets cruise control. There
are other mechanical differences that aren't listed, or are covered
under generic terms like "Sport Tuned Suspension".

The real diff is in driving them. I was leaning potentially TS/OBS
until I saw how the "extra" cargo space was used. Having 2 tether
straps on carseats destroyed the cargo area of the TS/OBS. Likewise it

Does anyone have any pictures of child seats mounted in TS? It's hard
to visualize the problem with the tethers you're describing here.
How long do you have to keep child seats for? 2-3 years or more than that?

Oh, another thing. I could speculate that TS depreciates slower than RS
due to higher utility. At least I'd expect it's easier to sell it if you
have to.
 
morden said:
Does anyone have any pictures of child seats mounted in TS? It's hard
to visualize the problem with the tethers you're describing here.
How long do you have to keep child seats for? 2-3 years or more than that?

We have one child seat mounted in the middle - the tethers are connected
through the back area - I can not remember exactly where - but I think it is
to a post in the top of the "trunk" area - so you always have the tethers in
your rear view mirror and they do take some space for very tall items. I do
not have a picture (as the car is used by my wife - so I can not take a
picture now).

It is not a big deal for us - but I can see where it would be annoying in
some cases.
Oh, another thing. I could speculate that TS depreciates slower than RS
due to higher utility. At least I'd expect it's easier to sell it if you
have to.

According to the NADA Guides - a 2000 L Sedan with 60,000 miles is about
$1,200 less than a wagon of the same vintage (Average retail) - the question
is what was the original price difference - I do not know that.

The same quey about a 2002 RS vs TS with 15,000 miles shows the RS to be
about $900 more than the TS - I think this is a little less than the
difference in price they had when new (closer to $1,600 IIRC) - so your
theory could be right. In all cases - I used the original specifications -
without any options.

Ron.
 
Does anyone have any pictures of child seats mounted in TS? It's hard
to visualize the problem with the tethers you're describing here.
How long do you have to keep child seats for? 2-3 years or more than that?

The center strap has an anchor on the roof - like the legacy. The
attachment point is dead center, at the top of the rear liftback. This
one is perfectly fine. The two outboard ones have their anchors on the
floor - back by the bottom of the rear liftback. The problem is that
you now have a strap running from the middle of the two outboard seating
positions (top of seat) to the floor at the back of the liftback. This
"angled" strap consumes some of your usable space. You essentially
narrow your usable space by (IIRC) 8-10 inches per side. It's certainly
not the end of the world, but you need to be aware of it. They should
have done them like they did on the Legacy and had all three across the
top.

Kids are in tethered carseats from roughly 8 months old to 4 years -
depending on their weight. Before and after that the seats don't have
tethers anymore. So if an "average" couple bought their car on the day
they had their first of 2 kids (spaced 2 years apart), they'd most
likely have:

1) 0-8 months - no tether
2) 9 mo - 2 yr - center tether
3) 2yr - 2yr 8mo - one outboard tether
4) 2yr 8mo - 4 yr - two outboard tether
5) 4yr - 6 yr - one outboard tether
6) 6 yr + - no tether

Everyone is different, but the above is the most observed way of
handling multiple carseats. YMMV, of course.
Oh, another thing. I could speculate that TS depreciates slower than RS
due to higher utility. At least I'd expect it's easier to sell it if you
have to.

Possibly. You're selling to different markets though. There's a
smaller market for "sport sedans", but that helps keep prices up too.

I'll find out sometime in the next 10 years I guess.
 
Cam Penner said:
The center strap has an anchor on the roof - like the legacy. The
attachment point is dead center, at the top of the rear liftback. This
one is perfectly fine. The two outboard ones have their anchors on the
floor - back by the bottom of the rear liftback. The problem is that
you now have a strap running from the middle of the two outboard seating
positions (top of seat) to the floor at the back of the liftback. This
"angled" strap consumes some of your usable space. You essentially
narrow your usable space by (IIRC) 8-10 inches per side. It's certainly
not the end of the world, but you need to be aware of it. They should
have done them like they did on the Legacy and had all three across the
top.

Whoops. Guess when we decide to have another kid it's time to consider
something bigger.

Ron.
 
Whoops. Guess when we decide to have another kid it's time to consider
something bigger.

It may work just fine for you. It just struck me as surprising when I
was shopping for a car that the wagon, in some relatively common
situations actually ended up with less easily used space. It may not
impact your usage at all.
 
Cam Penner said:
It may work just fine for you. It just struck me as surprising when I
was shopping for a car that the wagon, in some relatively common
situations actually ended up with less easily used space. It may not
impact your usage at all.

It's not a real problem any minute now - but I am actually going to take a
look at it when my wife gets home. I am looking for a 2nd family car (more
like a backup family car) to replace/supplement my Miata - this bit of
information might change the parameters of my search...

Ron.
 
It's not a real problem any minute now - but I am actually going to take a
look at it when my wife gets home. I am looking for a 2nd family car (more
like a backup family car) to replace/supplement my Miata - this bit of
information might change the parameters of my search...

Pay attention to where/how you'll put the second seat in. It may impact
whether or not you'll be able to put both seats on one side of the 60/40
fold down as well. I don't think I could fit both our car seats into
one side and middle only. There's not much space between them as is.
Mind you, we didn't aim for the narrowest ones either.

Post your opinions after looking at your wife's car. My memory may be
fogged with time.
 
Just took these tonight in my 02 TS:

http://www.bluehen.net/duckpond/images/impreza1.jpg
http://www.bluehen.net/duckpond/images/impreza2.jpg

As you can see, the rear tether DOES impede on the cargo area. Most of the
time, though, it's not a problem. I put my daughter's car seat behind the
driver's seat, so the 60 of the 60/40 split is available to fold down
easily.

If we need more room, we have my wife's SUV, but for most things, I can fit
them in the TS wagon.

On a side note, kudos to whoever invented the LATCH system - MUCH easier,
IMHO, than using the seat belts to secure a child safety seat!

Mort
 
Well, I have looked at it. It will defintely take some of the usable space
in the trunk area, but unless you are carrying really large and tall
objects - it would not be a big deal. Right now - we use only an umbrella
stroller - it could be inserted under the straps without a problem.

I guess that we will just have to cross that bridge when we get to it.

Looking again at the photos recently posted, it isn't quite as bad as I
remembered it. A large stroller may cause grief, but like you said,
once into the umbrella ones, space isn't as much a concern.
 
About the only thing better would be if you said "i will give you MSRP
+ $1,000 and not a penny less"

just kidding.. i am sure you meant invoice. ;)
 

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