The vast majority of these responses are the same types of things I tell my customers. The “culture” surrounding the Subaru brand nearly resembles a “cult” following.
And again, I have never seen a brand of car that encompasses so many “types” of people. The lesbian with four dogs. the man-bun guy with two kayaks atop it (Thule cross rails, of course), older folks whom have owned several and would never consider another brand, young guys that like the WRX and STI sports cars…it goes on and on.
Which brings me to their new model. the Ascent. It’s a 7 or 8 seat SUV, powered by a 260hp turbo four (with 277 ft/lbs of torque). We can’t keep them in stock. Unlike their previous foray into this segment (the woeful and expensive Tribeca), they stuck to what works. It looks like an Outback on steroids, comes standard with their Eyesight suite of safety technology (which works perfectly and is really cool), tows 5,000 lbs with the factory tow package, has a load of great features and…undercuts the similarly equipped competition in the mid-sized SUV market by 10 grand.
TEN GRAND! I used to sell Buicks and GMC’s, and their respective entries into this segment, the Enclave and Acadia, are significantly more expensive to buy, put gas in, and to maintain.
A Denali Acadia is 60 thousand dollars, which is a lot for a unibody, large-ish SUV with more bling than substance. The Enclave is the same in Avenir trim. A fully optioned out Touring Ascent just kisses 50 thousand, and gets better MPG’s, has a true AWD system, is safer and holds it’s value better.
Part of all this is why GM rebate money is monopoly money. Their cars are so marked up to begin with and they depreciate so fast that you’re almost never getting “a good deal” on one because it loses up to 25% of it’s value in that critical first year. Subarus are not marked up much at all by comparison.
Let me share a couple things. First, my pay plan. I get paid 20% commission on front end gross profit. So if I sell you an Outback at sticker, say $38k, there’s “only” about $2500 front end gross on that. So 20% of $2500 is $500. Not bad, right? Well, considering that nobody pays sticker, there’s an internet price, and people always want more off, we sell most of our cars at invoice or below. If the deal loses money (aka a “mini deal”). I get paid $100. And I just spent six hours with you between selection, test driving, negotiation, signing paperwork, detailing and delivery. That works out to about $16.60 an hour. And I don’t sell a car every day. Sure, there are other avenues of income. like “Subaru Money”, selling Starlink subscriptions, accessories, etc…but Subaru money is typically $50 per car and my commission on Starlink and accessories is only 10%.
I’m not asking anyone to feel sorry for me as we all choose what we do for a living. But damn it can be tough. So the next time you feel guarded around what seems like an aggressive salesperson, be advised that they are trying to size you up to see what, if any, kind of buyer you are.
Anyhoo, the second fact I found interesting is that the average duration of ownership of Subaru vehicles is roughly twice that of other brands, at 7.2 years, versus 3-4 years for all other cars.
As a result, Subaru’s market penetration on leasing is LOW. As of 2014, 25% of all new vehicle sales in the North American market were leases. Subaru only leased about 12% of their new vehicle sales in that same model year, this despite the fact that Subaru sold 800,000 cars in that year in the NA market, AND that they lease out well payment-wise due to their high residual values (the projected worth of the car 3 years into the future). With a high residual. you’re financing LESS of the cost of the vehicle during a lease compared to other brands.
But Subaru owners don’t care. They’re in it for the long haul.
A disclaimer: I did not intend for this to be a “woe is me” car salesman thread, rather, to demonstrate how and why Subaru cars are what they are. It’s WAAAAAAY more than perception, they really are rugged, do anything, go anywhere in any weather, super safe, etc vehicles.
It’s crazy. And Roderick Femm, I find it EXTREMELY hard to believe that you’re only getting 20-21 MPG in an Impreza. It’s Subaru’s least expensive car that gets the best mileage. Perhaps there’s something wrong with it?
(We do have an Outback BTW)