I am looking to purchase our first subaru (Ascent)
Of course we do not know whether to buy or lease
Leasing seems like payment will be cheaper but after term is up I would jump into another 5 year term. Anyway, does the Costco Auto program really save you money or is there another program out there with better savings?
I’ve looked into the Costco program and was not able to get the best starter price for negotiating when I was looking for my Outback. The thing about the Costco program is it is supposed to be quick and easy, you can’t negotiate any further beyond what Costco’s price gives you, but as far as Costco and the dealership are concerned Costco’s program only controls your sales price cutting down the time it takes to come down from MSRP. Dealerships can still play the numbers game in other ways such as APR or Money Factor rates with you.
The Ascent was a relatively new car at the time, that was last August 2018, and barely any stock maybe there are more now. As far as last August it was a non-negotiable car because they rolled off the floor faster than the dealerships could receive them. Not sure if that hold’s true anymore. Ultimately I went and contacted every other Subaru dealership and tried to see who would best the Costco price using that as the de facto baseline.
Thanks Harry
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The Ascent comes in at a score of 7.9 on this spreadsheet.Not a hacker deal by any chance.
Costco pricing started me at invoice pricing. Easily beatable.
I think it also depends on the vehicle and manufacturer. I couldn’t do much better than Costco pricing on a remodeled Santa Fe, but can do much better on an outgoing 2019 Outback.