30% dealer markup on Subarus?

[troubletribbles]

I just stopped by the local Subaru dealership, I was interested in buying a new Forester.  The salesperson  showed me several models and the sticker price matched what was listed online. She then handed me a list with with prices 250,000 to 300,00thb greater than the sticker price. 

She explained this was "with warranty" and they only sell at the higher price.

Could anyone help me make sense of this? Is this normal for this make or cars or other dealers?

 

[billd766]

43 minutes ago, troubletribbles said:

I just stopped by the local Subaru dealership, I was interested in buying a new Forester.  The salesperson  showed me several models and the sticker price matched what was listed online. She then handed me a list with with prices 250,000 to 300,00thb greater than the sticker price. 

She explained this was "with warranty" and they only sell at the higher price.

Could anyone help me make sense of this? Is this normal for this make or cars or other dealers?

 

If it were me I would politely ask if I can take both the brochures home for further study.

 

I would then scan both brochures and contact the Subaru head office in Thailand, copy to the head office of Subaru in Shibuya city Tokyo and ask if this is a standard business practice for the company.

[troubletribbles]

1 minute ago, billd766 said:

If it were me I would politely ask if I can take both the brochures home for further study.

 

I would then scan both brochures and contact the Subaru head office in Thailand, copy to the head office of Subaru in Shibuya city Tokyo and ask if this is a standard business practice for the company.

Yes, in the meantime I might buy a toyota hahah.

[billd766]

20 minutes ago, troubletribbles said:

Yes, in the meantime I might buy a toyota hahah.

That may well turn out to be a better choice. Toyota may not have the prestige that Subaru has but they have a larger dealership than Subaru, spares will be easier to get, servicing will be cheaper, Toyota has a larger selection of vehicles, lower otr prices plus they are made here in Thailand.

 

However the choice is yours on what to buy.

[DavisH]

6 hours ago, troubletribbles said:

I just stopped by the local Subaru dealership, I was interested in buying a new Forester.  The salesperson  showed me several models and the sticker price matched what was listed online. She then handed me a list with with prices 250,000 to 300,00thb greater than the sticker price. 

She explained this was "with warranty" and they only sell at the higher price.

Could anyone help me make sense of this? Is this normal for this make or cars or other dealers?

 

What you were told is correct, but it seems only subaru do this. I was once told by a Thai car journo, IIRC, it is something to do with taxation. I would have to double check that, though. 

So the higher price you saw is the real price. 

[jackdd]

18 hours ago, billd766 said:

If it were me I would politely ask if I can take both the brochures home for further study.

 

I would then scan both brochures and contact the Subaru head office in Thailand, copy to the head office of Subaru in Shibuya city Tokyo and ask if this is a standard business practice for the company.

No need to do this, they have the same price list on their website: https://www.subaru.asia/th/assets/buying/pricelist.pdf

According to this brochure you can buy it without any warranty for about 1 million, and for 300k more you get 5 years warranty.

I guess the lower price is just to attract people, because not many people would want to buy a new car without any warranty.

If you really want one without warranty try asking some other dealers, maybe one will sell you one, or contact the OCPB and complain about them.

[troubletribbles]

1 hour ago, jackdd said:

No need to do this, they have the same price list on their website: https://www.subaru.asia/th/assets/buying/pricelist.pdf

According to this brochure you can buy it without any warranty for about 1 million, and for 300k more you get 5 years warranty.

I guess the lower price is just to attract people, because not many people would want to buy a new car without any warranty.

If you really want one without warranty try asking some other dealers, maybe one will sell you one, or contact the OCPB and complain about them.

Thanks Jack. I saw that price list but where do you see the info on warranty? I did call another dealership and they told me same thing. Back home I don't even think it's legal to sell a new car without a warranty. Seems like a real bait n' switch technique. No wonder you don't see many on the roads.

I went to Toyota dealership, out the door price as advertised, english speaking staff, personalized service, they will even finance me without thai guarantor. 

[scoupeo]

What cars are worth to look at from Subaru ?

How much for any sedan or coupe with 200 hp at least ? and a turbo of course ?

thank you.

 

[Aomelia]

3 hours ago, troubletribbles said:

Thanks Jack. I saw that price list but where do you see the info on warranty? I did call another dealership and they told me same thing. Back home I don't even think it's legal to sell a new car without a warranty. Seems like a real bait n' switch technique. No wonder you don't see many on the roads.

I went to Toyota dealership, out the door price as advertised, english speaking staff, personalized service, they will even finance me without thai guarantor. 

If you put 50% down

[jackdd]

4 hours ago, troubletribbles said:

Thanks Jack. I saw that price list but where do you see the info on warranty? I did call another dealership and they told me same thing. Back home I don't even think it's legal to sell a new car without a warranty. Seems like a real bait n' switch technique. No wonder you don't see many on the roads.

In that brochure on page 1 it says below the table which lists the different cars: These prices are only recommendations, they include only the car itself, they don't include any options or extras.

And then on page 2 you find the "options" on the left half of the page, and the "extras" on the right half of the page.

Now in case of the Forrester, there is only one "option" package to choose from (different price according to the model which you choose), you get 5 years warranty, 5 years assistance service and reverse parking sensors.

I think they never planned to sell it without this option, because who buys a new car for a million THB which doesn't even have parking sensors. Imho not a smart marketing strategy by them, lure people in with a low price, and then inform them that the actual price is 30% higher, unless they want to make people dislike their brand.

Edited February 21, 2021 by jackdd

[troubletribbles]

3 hours ago, Aomelia said:

If you put 50% down

My Toyota dealership wants 25% down for thais, 30% for foreigners, and 35% for foreigners no guarantor. 

[vinny41]

16 hours ago, jackdd said:

In that brochure on page 1 it says below the table which lists the different cars: These prices are only recommendations, they include only the car itself, they don't include any options or extras.

And then on page 2 you find the "options" on the left half of the page, and the "extras" on the right half of the page.

Now in case of the Forrester, there is only one "option" package to choose from (different price according to the model which you choose), you get 5 years warranty, 5 years assistance service and reverse parking sensors.

I think they never planned to sell it without this option, because who buys a new car for a million THB which doesn't even have parking sensors. Imho not a smart marketing strategy by them, lure people in with a low price, and then inform them that the actual price is 30% higher, unless they want to make people dislike their brand.

The Forrester is something of a niche product all cars are 4WD and the most people tend to go for the model with the eyesight safety features.

As you can see total number of sales for 2020 was 1,192 and 62.4% of those sales were in the last 3 months of 2020

During the last quarter of 2020 some people were able to get  a cash discount of 200,000 baht or 0% interest for 5 years.

I have owned cars that never required a warranty claim during the entire life of ownership and I am sure if all car manufacturers offered 5 years warranty as an optional extra that you could choose to pay for or not, more people would take that option as most people I know their main gripe about buying a new car is the 6 monthly servicing costs that have to be performed at an approved servicing centre just to mantain the life of the warranty. and once the warranty has expired they tend to get their cars serviced at a local cheaper non approved service centre

https://www.headlightmag.com/sales-report-compact-suv-2020/

[Iron Tongue]

In the US, Forrester owners have some of the highest owner satisfaction rates, and I know 2 owners who are outright fanatical, but I doubt it's worth a 30% mark-up.

Must have same sort of owners & demand in LoS, otherwise they wouldn't get away with this "warranty is extra" bait & switch.

[canthai55]

Scant dealer network, lack of properly trained techs, high priced ...

What's to like ?

Whole 'nother ball game in the West - here, ...

[scoupeo]

so, why people buy subaru ? Ugly lexus I understand, but subaru ?!

 

 

[vinny41]

3 hours ago, Iron Tongue said:

In the US, Forrester owners have some of the highest owner satisfaction rates, and I know 2 owners who are outright fanatical, but I doubt it's worth a 30% mark-up.

Must have same sort of owners & demand in LoS, otherwise they wouldn't get away with this "warranty is extra" bait & switch.

Each to their own I don't see it as warranty is extra , warranty is optional you can pay for it or you choose not to pay for it

It made quite clear on the Subaru website and if you shop around dealers will sell you the car without the warranty.

https://www.subaru.asia/th/assets/buying/pricelist.pdf

In some countries people buy cars to modify them for track days or rallying both activities where if someone checks the small print nulls and voids any warranty