Hi, I ordered a 2022 Subaru Forester Limited with nav package, in the middle of November for a lease with an agreed upon price on a Lease Agreement Form, and the salesperson emailed me this week indicating that the price increased. I pasted the excerpt for his email below. Do you think this is legit, or is he trying to squeeze out more money? I requested that he concede something in return for the increase (which I haven’t yet agreed to) like floor mats and a cargo cover, but he declined. He also offered to return my deposit if I don’t agree to this. Based on the market, I have little leverage, but am wondering if they’re legally obligated to honor the agreed upon price.
All in price, $0 drive off, BEFORE this is $425, 12k miles a year, 3 years
“Just an FYI. We will be arranging getting your car shortly, but the MSRP and Invoice costs have changed from a 2021 to a 2022. Not much, max $300”
Sure, please see the links to the form and email from the salesperson. Main question is can they change the price upon delivery because the MSRP and Money factor increased?
According to this article, in early September 2021, Subaru announced a price increase of $555 on the Forester Limited vs. 2021 prices. So the dealer was aware of that price increase before you placed your order. Unless there was another price increase, it is not clear what the salesman is referring to. If the MSRP has increased since your order, I believe you are stuck with paying for that.
I have not heard that Subaru locks in the money factor when you order a car. I know that BMW does, but most manufacturers do not. The form you provided states that the lease is subject to rates and residuals at time of delivery, so you would be stuck with the higher money factor.
The “Lease Agreement Form” is more so a buyers order then an actual lease agreement. The salesman made it as vague as possible, it doesn’t really go over any details other than having a monthly payment written on a piece of a paper. There’s no MSRP,selling price, no residual, no money factor, no breakdown of fees.
Once the car actually comes in your going to have to compare the old lease numbers to the new lease numbers to get a proper idea of how much more they are actually charging you however since there is no specifics on the buyers order your really going to be just kind of assuming. So for example if you said before $425 with $0 due at signing and now they are raising it to $499 with $1,000 due at signing thats really a $3,700 price increase. (making up numbers)
Theres a chance the salesman is telling the truth somewhat about the 2021 > 2022 having more accessories added / MSRP went up and thats what he’s using to cover his ass for the price going up. HOWEVER what I laughed at was that there isa “2% under invoice” written on the sheet and I would be willing to bet a good chunk of money that they are not planning on selling you the car at 2% under invoice. Even before all this car market craziness Subaru rarely ever sold cars under invoice let alone under MSRP.
Thanks all for your feedback. It seems like this is something that can (unfortunately) occur, and based on the demand for cars (which includes a wait on orders), I don’t really have options in terms of negotiating the price down if I want the car. The salesman shared that the price on the MSRP and invoice have gone up by $300 each, and the money factor has also increased. He also mentioned that by the time the car arrives in 1 - 2 weeks that the price could go up again. The 2% off of invoice is actually legitimate. This dealership participates in a Subaru VIP program which is 2% off of the invoice for orders. I can share how I got VIP access if that’s of interest to anyone.
Please show the lease agreement after purchase but I’d be willing to bet anything your not going to walk out paying $200 below invoice regardless of what program they are apart of.
I confirmed through Edmunds.com that the latest Money factor provided by the dealer is accurate (edmunds.com shares the latest money factors based on the terms, 3 year 36K miles)
Current:
2022 Subaru Forester Limited MSRP 34945
Sell price 32441.92 ( VIP deal 2% below invoice)
36 mos-12000 miles per year - $444.04 out of pocket ( first month payment ) - your remaining 35 payments will be at $444.04 a month. Residual value 66% ; Money factor 0.00188
Quote from November:
2022 Subaru Forester Limited MSRP 34695
Sell price $32196.92 ( VIP deal 2% below invoice)
36 mos-12000 miles per year - $424.78 out of pocket -424.78 a month for the remaining 35 payments
Residual 64%; Money factor 0.00126
I mean, some people have had dealers asking for more money after a lease contract is signed and they drove off with the car, only because the captive kicks back the lease contract. Some people pony up, others have returned the car.
In your case, you ordered a car back in November. Lease terms change month to month. The RV got a little better, but the MF got worse. They are honoring the discount at least. As long as the numbers add up, nothing changed except the RV and MF, which is expected for about 6 months out.
What the dealer shouldn’t have done is given you a monthly payment quote on an ordered car. They should have warned you that the programs would likely be different when you take delivery, but that they would honor the discount.
Seems like the dealer is honoring the parts of the deal that they control (selling price, money factor markup). They don’t control the residual, MSRP or base money factor.
They probably hope you back out as they could easily sell that for MSRP.
If the deal is tethered to invoice and invoice went up and with the payment not actually contractually agreed upon (since there is a clause for MF/RV to adjust), I think the ~$19 effective increase in payment is about as good as it gets right now. Really, It’s not the MSRP/invoice increase that hurts you, in fact that itself barely makes a difference in the lease payment (larger discount from MSRP, higher RV ($ at the same %) help mitigate the higher MSRP), and the RV helps you. It’s the huge increase in MF (rate increased by 50%) that hurts you.
At $2,500 off MSRP, I would probably consider purchasing it if I could get a 3rd party loan for a much lower rate, but not sure if they’d honor the deal without making money on financing.
Subaru is offering 1.9% APR Financing on a new 2022 Forester. Based on your suggestion with the 2% discount off of the MSRP, would this be a better deal (from a financial standpoint) to purchase? New to this so please share details including how dealer might react / adjust prices (if they agree). Thank you!
I would absolutely suggest going that route if the dealer will accept that. That said, I would make for absolute sure that the 1.9 is compatible with the VIP pricing before going back to the dealer. Even if it is, if there’s a large delta in how much profit, the dealer may push back on the change.
You are not linking to a specific calculator that has your numbers. You need to copy the clipboard at the bottom right
Personally, in that scenario I would buy it if the 1,9% financing was available with the VIP. You are paying off half the pice of the car in your lease but I could see leasing this one as well especially if you think your needs will change in 3 years.
Congratulations on finding a subaru dealership that will take the VIP. We went to one a week ago that laughed us out of the showroom (we were going to test drive so all good) . Also, when I mentioned the national leasing ad on the legacy (something in the 2s with a lot down on the base model, I forget), from national subaru’s web site, they also laughed when I suggested that since the ad said other trims available or something, they should adjust it for the car they had available! Again, they laughed and we left, plenty of other dealers in my area which based ont the tax rate is not anywhere near where you are!I made a small contribution recently to one of the VIP charities with the idea that if I am still shopping over the summer this will be an option.
