[Errant Venture]

So, I've been driving a Honda CR-V for ages, one of the original models. At 180,000, it was time for it to go. I've been in the market for a car for a good while now, maybe around a month, actively searching. I looked at the Ford Escape, the Nissan Juke and Rogue, the Outlander Sport, and what feels like a half dozen other small SUV's. None of them could really match the combination of ground clearance, style, and miles per gallon that the Crosstrek did, save for perhaps the Escape. I had my sights fixed on a Crosstrek since about a week into my research. The full time/active AWD drew me to it; it was the only AWD that didn't get horrid mileage while engaged, or that didn't turn on AFTER you might need that initial traction.

I ran into some major snags, though. When I went to inquire at the dealership, they didn't have one. A quick trip to nearby dealerships resulted in my running into a few dealers who had them, but wanted me to pay MSRP for them. At 2200 off invoice for the Ford Escape, that 3 MPG boost was starting to look smaller and smaller. I'd say that my dealings with Subaru dealers have been among the most unpleasant experiences in the past few years, in fact. While I understand making a profit, I've always felt that it should be balanced by a genuine wish to gain a following for the brand you sell. Anyways, enough of that rant.

Today I found a Crosstrek Premium for just under 200 less than invoice. I just put my 500 holding down on it, and as of this Friday at around 10:30 AM, I'll be a first time Subaru owner, and a first time Crosstrek owner. I have the feeling I'm going to have fun with this eclectic little vehicle.

 

[AWDfreak]

Yup, the XV has class-leading ground clearance that even rivals Jeep's unibody offerings

Welcome! Glad to see more XV Crosstrek owners finding their way here! How does the XV compare to the old Honda?

 

[ClubCrosstrek]

Welcome, thank you for joining! Though you had an unpleasant time with Subaru dealers (more on that in a minute) I am glad you saw through it and ended up with what's, IMO, the best vehicle of your choices (I can't stand the new Escape body style!) What options/colors did you end up with? Do you plan on doing any/a lot of off-roading, camping, outdoor activities, etc.?

As far as Subaru dealers go, I have had limited experience with them (two separate dealers), but I have to somewhat agree. While the salesman I had when purchasing my Crosstrek was great, the dealership as a whole seemed to have a very snobby attitude. Until I started really acquiring and they could tell I was actually a potential buyer did they start acting like they cared. I hope this isn't the norm all over the country.

Again, welcome, I hope you find what you are looking for here. I know the Crosstrek is hard to find right now -- I bought only the 2nd one in town and they aren't getting any more until January -- but I think once the new year hits Subaru will start advertising it more and it will be hitting the dealer lots in swarms -- at least I hope that's the case.

 

[Moonray13]

$200 under invoice is hard to believe considering the dealer near me sells them so fast he can't keep them in stock. You must be quite the haggler. Congratulations on the find. Hope you enjoy the Crosstrek.

 

[Errant Venture]

Well, it's kind of hard to compare the Honda CR-V of that era with... well... really anything. It was one of the very first attempts at a compact SUV that didn't follow the Jeep Wrangler style. That is to say, it was more car-like than performance/offroad oriented. I'd have to say that the Crosstrek gets better gas mileage by far, 21/23, whereas the SV can get up to 33 HWY. It also has my absolute favorite body style for what it is. The power is an improvement, but only just; I think the CR-V feels a bit peppier despite being 20+ HP short of the XV.

Activity wise, I finished up my BA this year, and I've been trying to get a great deal of unwanted weight off. That started with getting back into camping and outdoor stuff. In the past, I've done it all; camping, hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, mountain biking. These days I usually only end up camping or hiking. I'd like to pick up a kayak again, before spring, and I certainly plan to keep on getting out into the wilds. Unfortunately, I'm losing one weekend day a week as of January 2nd, so I won't be able to get out all that often.

The car itself is very basic. I looked at what I was paying, and what I wanted, and decided that I could add in options I wanted later rather than spending it on leather seats and a moon roof. I do like moon roofs, especially on the Outlander Sport and the Escape, but I felt the moon roof on the Crosstrek was a little too diminutive to be worth the cost. What I ended up with is Satin Pearl White, with the popular package 1 and CVT gearbox. It has a few of the miscellaneous trimmings, such as cargo mats, nets, body molding, mudflaps, ect. I despise car navigation systems, too. If it doesn't come with a built in DVD player to make that screen multi-function, I'm not interested unless it's free. I am going to see about having a 110 volt outlet put in, after the fact, though.

To Moonray: Every Crosstrek in the entire state of NC seems to have sold out in under 3 days, except that one, in Burlington, N.C. I don't understand it, either, as it was posted up on Autotrader for 1000 under MSRP right off the bat. Almost all the dealers I spoke to were willing to do "a couple of hundred off MSRP" if they were even willing to negotiate. I did get a few down to 1000 off of the price using Burlington's offer, but none of those cars got to the price I wanted, or were the package I really wanted. The dealership here in Hickory wouldn't even negotiate at all off MSRP so I turned around and left in under 3 minutes.

EDIT: It was posted for a week and some change before I went back to the dealership for the second time and got the final offer. I still have on idea why it didn't sell, yet every other Crosstrek in the state did.

Maxwell Subaru in Burlington was where I bought it from, and they told me they weren't willing to negotiate further than the Autotrader price, claiming that it was already much lower than anyone else (which it was, they weren't lying). I was a bit sneaky though. When they said they had no wiggle room, I said that was fine, would they mind getting me an out the door price (tax tags and title, ect). I told them if they knocked the out the door price down, I'd be willing to sign the deal with them that very instant. Apparently, that worked better than negotiating on the price of the car itself, and that netted me a further bit off the price of the car itself. I'm not sure on specifics, but it was somewhere under 400 and over 250 off of the sale price. The exact calculations, if the invoice price I have can be trusted, isn't quite 200, but its at $124 with all options considered. It was by far the best offer I'd been able to get from elsewhere. I had an out the door price of just a hair over 24k.

 

[Got One]

Thanks for an interesting post. Interestingly I found the Subaru dealer near me horrible to deal with as well.

 

[Thelosis]

Welcome Errant!

 

[SkyNet]

Hi welcome to the forum!

I had such a bad experience with my local dealer, that I chose to have a Crosstrek shipped to me from out of state. Eventually, I used a car buying service online and searched in 3 different states surrounding mine until someone would come down on the price.

I am hoping that Subaru's quality will help keep me out of the dealerships, and on the road.

- SkyNet

 

[ClubCrosstrek]

Sounds like you did your research and got what fit you best. The white pearl looks amazing IMO.

 

[Got One]

I wonder why the dealerships are so bad. The one I dealt with epitomized everything that one hears about about awful car dealerships. I even spoke to the business manager about it, but all I got was a shrug.

 

[CouchPotato]

welcome, congrats on the crosstrek. it is disconcerting to hear about all the bad experiences with subaru dealerships. i wonder if there are enough people with bad experiences to raise a fuss with subaru of america?

either way, nice car and glad you saw through the dealer BS and got what you wanted!

 

[Errant Venture]

Well. I like to consider myself a man of action. I thought it might just be the dealerships around me, but it's starting to sound like an across the board thing. Perhaps if I continue to hear these things, I'll write up some kind of signable petition and send it the way of Subaru. I don't have nearly the breadth of experience as many older Subaru owners, though, so I'll reserve judgement in entirety for the time being.

 

[ClubCrosstrek]

Well. I like to consider myself a man of action. I thought it might just be the dealerships around me, but it's starting to sound like an across the board thing. Perhaps if I continue to hear these things, I'll write up some kind of signable petition and send it the way of Subaru. I don't have nearly the breadth of experience as many older Subaru owners, though, so I'll reserve judgement in entirety for the time being.

The Crosstrek is my third Subaru, but it's the only one I purchased at a Subaru dealer so that is my only experience with them. I'll be interested to hear other peoples' experiences with them as they buy the Crosstrek.

 

[Got One]

I'm in Canada. The dealership I dealt with was awful. If I hadn't had to drive 1 1/2 hours to the next one I would have left. From the sound of it it probably would have been no different.

My main complaint was that the whole atmosphere was unfriendly.
Salesperson didn't know much about the Crosstrek
Sales manager who popped in and out of the sales person's office never even acknowledged us. Not a hello, nothing.
When we finally went in to see the business manager he then told us about another $350 admin charge. First we heard of it. I just refused to pay it and said we would leave and get something else. The $350 was scratched out.
When we went to pick up the car the next day it wasn't ready even though I phoned ahead and was told it was. We ended up waiting around for over an hour and a half.
It was a litany of really bad customer service and PR.
I was actually stunned it was so awful.

 

[Errant Venture]

Well, I will add one ray of light. The dealership I purchased mine from in Burlington, North Carolina, was great. It was small, run down looking, and the people who worked there were odd, but the service was professional, the price was great, and they posted the ACTUAL current selling price online, so I didn't have to dither around from a higher starting point. The dealership gets good reviews by others, too, with a 26/30 on Google. So, while I ran into many horrible ones, I did find one good one.

 

[ClubCrosstrek]

Salesperson didn't know much about the Crosstrek

I ran into this problem, too. The first time I went to check it out (a week before I bought it), I spoke to a different salesman who didn't know a thing about the Crosstrek but tried to sell it like he did. Now, I may know more than is normal about the car but he is the salesman for crying out loud!

When I went back a week later I had a different salesman who was a bit more knowledgeable and at least honest about the things he didn't know.

 

[jms493]

New owner of a Desert Khaki 2013 Crosstrek in NY. My wife's new car and she loves it.

I would post pics but I can't post links... :'(

 

[ClubCrosstrek]

New owner of a Desert Khaki 2013 Crosstrek in NY. My wife's new car and she loves it.

I would post pics but I can't post links... :'(

You can upload your pictures as an attachment by clicking 'Attachments and other options' underneath the reply box (not quick reply).

I do recommend starting a new thread with the pics, though, as to not have the images get lost in someone else's thread.

The link limit is a spam-prevention method, I know it can be annoying but it is the best option we have right now. However, it only takes 5 posts to be able to post links.

Oh, and congratulations on the new Crosstrek!

 

[Got One]

Congratulations. The Desert Khaki is a great colour.

 

[catric69]

First welcome to the forum and congrats on your purchase! I believe, that dealerships want to milk the customer for every penny they can get when a new model comes out. When my dad was shopping for his Crosstrek the sales manager at the first dealership said he would not budge from MSRP because its a new model. My dads reply was, "Your crazy, I never pay MSRP for any car". LOL!!