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19K views 53 replies 24 participants last post by  OBFD FF/P 
#1 ·
So after my parents put 500$ down for my moms BRZ, we were told the list is 30 people long. We knew going into it there was going to be a wait no matter what (build time or wait on a list). But 30 people and supposedly dealers are only getting 25 a year? I get that some of those 30 might go elsewhere, back out, change their minds ETC. But even if HALF of them do that then there is still a 6 month wait?

She legitimately did a build sheet so its being built for her, but the dealer made it sound like she has to wait until her number is "up" so to speak or if people ahead of her turn down a specific BRZ, then she would get a shot at picking it up.

We dealt with Subaru Superstore in Chandler Arizona if that matters, most all Subi dealers down here have a list for BRZ's. My question is once her car is built, and gets here, does it go to someone on the list before her? or does she get it regardless of if someone had ordered the exact same build and put down a deposit ahead of her.

Its just confusing, and i know she would like to have the car as soon as possible since she loved driving it (test drive).

Thanks.
 
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#2 ·
Most dealers will go down the list. If one of the 30 before her has the same build specs, they will be offered the car first and if they back out, they move down the list. The trend seems to be that Subaru is allocating cars based on WRX/STi sales so most of the cars are being shipped to the North East and the rest of the country has massive lists. If your mom really wants the car ASAP, her best bet is to look on cars.com or autotrader.com for a car in a neighboring state that fits her specs and get it shipped or travel to pick it up. I know quite a few folks have actually bought their cars from the North East and either flown in and drove it back or had the car shipped.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the reply, it may come but that but its doubtful, closest are in Cali and they are selling premiums for 32k+. Its nuts. For now we will wait, but im sure a WR Blue Pearl BRZ is pretty wanted so whatever of them come in prior to her number will get ghosted. Ill be sure to let her know not to worry about calling SOA about a vin, since that wont mean anything really.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the info, it was Subaru of Ontario and 2 other dealers showing 2+ there at the price, they were asking 5k more than list price AT LEAST.

Our biggest issue is if we choose to fly somewhere and drive back, is if it should throw a CEL or drop into limp mode on the way back. I dont wanna think negative but others have had it happen. It would be bad enough for us being 70 miles from a dealership but being 500+ miles from home and who knows how far from a dealer, not good.
 
#6 ·
Ok I'm gonna throw this out there, because its what I did. I Ordered one in PA, and was on the waiting list for 6 weeks, still no vin, and expected delivery around october - december. So checked the forums found these guys: Patrick Subaru and that was a week ago, I'm going up to drive my BRZ home on Saturday. They were extremely helpful and actually lower price then my dealership down here. Just shoot them an email, or give them a call, Good peeps.
 
#8 ·
Thanks CNK, yeah we are too far away from that dealer, ive exhausted most realistic options, if within 2-3 months we have no word then we may just have to drive to Colorado to get one (they seem to always have 4-5 sitting at dealerships at a good price)
 
#9 ·
To explain the order and "build" procedure for subaru, what usually happens is that when a dealer submit an order on your behalf, Subaru adds that dealer/order to a wait list. They do not literally build the car per your order, but rather build them in batches of similar options, colors, etc. When they DO build a car that matches up to your order, they go down the list and see whose name is first and then ship that car to that particular dealer. It's up to the dealer to get the car to you after that. If they decide to have a "list" of their own, then you're gonna wait just a bit longer. Now... unlike other cars, the BRZ specifically had allocations given to dealers BEFORE the order process was in place and allocation is based on WRX and STI sales from the previous year. All the dealerships in the snow belt who had record year w/ WRX and STI last year will get most of the BRZ this year. I imagine the CO dealers and possibly some in the Northwest region will be like the NE dealers here where we're allocated 20-30 cars per dealer for the year, but we've only submitted 10-15 orders, Subaru is still going to send us those 20-30 cars regardless. Hence there will be dealers with cars sitting on the lot, unclaimed.

If you're in a region being charged 2-3k over MSRP for these cars because of "limited availability," seriously consider just buying something off the lot of dealer out of region like adeets did. I looked up cost for enclosed-container shipping for as far as MA to Texas and it was about 1800 including all fees. I'd imagine CO to AZ would be about the same. Now you don't have to worry about driving 500+ miles and CEL as even with the extra shipping cost, you're still doing better than buying locally and you wouldn't have to wait months for it. I'm usually a huge supporter of buying local, but when you're being shafted by your local dealer and can do better elsewhere, then the hell with them.
 
#11 ·
Jduffy, many friends have dealt with them before and this salesman in particular, nothing but good things have been said and he has treated us very well, hence why he got our business.

I was hoping you would chime in my good sir. And its just in some dealerships in the surrounding areas they are marking up cars. The dealer we are getting ours from is charging MSRP, no mark ups. But the dealer across town is getting one IDENTICAL to what we want in just about 2 weeks, unclaimed WRB 6 speed limited, loaded. BUT they want 2k over MSRP and wont budge since they have sold all theirs with at least a 2k markup with no problems.

Its MUCH worse in Cali, but in Colorado they seem to be charging MSRP or around it, but my folks continue to say the longer the wait the bigger the down payment. Their car so that is their decision in the end.

I just hope it shows up before Christmas.
 
#10 ·
My personal experience with that Subaru dealer was horrible. I was making a deal with a sales person there when they yanked the car out from under me and sold it to someone else. With all things in life YMMV but I would never buy a car from that dealer, ever.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Pete, to answer both of your points:

1) it depends on where you are and how many brz's your local dealer is getting. If you're # 6 at a dealer scheduled to receive only 5 cars for the whole year, you're pretty much shafted unless one of the people infront of you give up their order. secondly, I hate to say it this way, but if you're #6 order at a dealer that's scheduled to receive only 5 cars for the year, you're not as high a priority as the #10 order from a dealer scheduled to receive 30 cars. The other reason why you might see cars just sitting on a dealer lot at another dealer is because the person who originally ordered that car declined to take that car (as we all know, sh*t happens...). This leads us to...

2) Once a car is shipped to a dealer, it officially belongs to that dealer. Every car shipped to a dealer is paid for by a "floor plan" company that ends up charging interest on that car. When the dealer sells the car, they pay back the floor plan company + interests owed. Usually, the manufacturer compensate the dealer the cost of floor plan (the interest paid) AFTER they sell a car. Hence why you see cars are not shipped from one dealer to the next after the order is cancelled. If the swapping of cars happen, it's actually one dealer buying the car from another and then reselling it to you. Now, most dealers will swap any car in their inventory except Impreza, BRZ, and WRX as those are the cars that can't be replaced so easily. Most dealers will only swap out their BRZ if the other dealer can give one back in return (swapping a premium or a ltd, or doing a color swap).

Again, I'm a huge supporter of buying local and supporting local business. But if your local dealer is shafting you, it's best to move on.
 
#15 ·
Pete, to answer both of your points:

1) it depends on where you are and how many brz's your local dealer is getting. If you're # 6 at a dealer scheduled to receive only 5 cars for the whole year, you're pretty much shafted unless one of the people infront of you give up their order. secondly, I hate to say it this way, but if you're #6 order at a dealer that's scheduled to receive only 5 cars for the year, you're not as high a priority as the #10 order from a dealer scheduled to receive 30 cars. The other reason why you might see cars just sitting on a dealer lot at another dealer is because the person who originally ordered that car declined to take that car (as we all know, sh*t happens...). This leads us to...

2) Once a car is shipped to a dealer, it officially belongs to that dealer. Every car shipped to a dealer is paid for by a "floor plan" company that ends up charging interest on that car. When the dealer sells the car, they pay back the floor plan company + interests owed. Usually, the manufacturer compensate the dealer the cost of floor plan (the interest paid) AFTER they sell a car. Hence why you see cars are not shipped from one dealer to the next after the order is cancelled. If the swapping of cars happen, it's actually one dealer buying the car from another and then reselling it to you. Now, most dealers will swap any car in their inventory except Impreza, BRZ, and WRX as those are the cars that can't be replaced so easily. Most dealers will only swap out their BRZ if the other dealer can give one back in return (swapping a premium or a ltd, or doing a color swap).

Again, I'm a huge supporter of buying local and supporting local business. But if your local dealer is shafting you, it's best to move on.
OK you had just posted that a dealer is allocated X number of cars per year, lets say 25. They will get those 25 no matter what pretty much BUT if Y number of people order/get on a list that Subaru will allocate Y number of cars as they are produced to that dealership asking for them. With Y cars being ontop of X cars already slated to go to said dealership.

But now your saying that if the list exceeds the number of cars allocated per year that you are "shafted". So should i assume since were number 30 on the list at our dealer, and they are getting allocated 30 per year (im told) that we will be waiting a year?

Or is it like you said before, the dealership gets the cars it is slated for on allocation and the orders are sent to them ONTOP of the cars to be sent to them already. So if they were supposed to be allocated 20 a year, and they get 20 orders, if all orders come through they would sell 40+ BRZ a year (depending on how many orders also matched allocated cars of course).

Basically what im asking is if we should try another avenue since we may be waiting a year? (being on a list larger than the dealerships yearly allocation number)
 
#17 ·
I am a manager at a Subaru dealer in New England, and BRZREP explained everything pretty much spot on. Once we have the cars there pretty much ours to do what we want with them, and basically I am very much on the same page of staying local.....except for when your getting feed a bunch of crap... it's nuts to me the amount you are all having to pay for these, when there are a lot of dealers with cars available all around me... most of which you can get a great deal below MSRP. As a rough example I just looked and there are 75 in new england as I write this and 63 of which are limited 6MT... It almost looks like if you had the time.... flying up and buying one and driving it back would be a pretty decent avenue. If anyone wants a dealer or two to call send me a message and I can tell you who has what.
 
#20 ·
Well that totally blows. Doesnt make sense. Obviously more want is out west where more supply is out east. Following WRX/STI sales is pretty stupid IMO. They are suited for completely different climates, sure alot of WRX and STI's sell here but thats for people who want a fast AWD car, not people who NEED awd to get to and from work/home/school etc.

Well like i said before we want a 6 speed limited, first color was WR Blue Pearl, second was dark blue, third was pearl white. Im sure just about everyone was ordering along those lines aside from quite afew people probably want black. So id assume alot of the ones allocated will fit with what we asked for and some people on the list will for sure fall off it.
 
#21 ·
That's a common order so you should be okay. 3 of the first 5 pre-orders we had were for pearl white cars and all three cars were delivered with the first allocation. We've also received 3 WR Blue and 2 Galaxy Blue since then with 2 of those cars still sitting here so chances are your dealer will be receiving at least one of those. Good luck to you, hope it works out for you and doesn't take too long.
 
#23 ·
Well i'm still on a wait list for my BRZ. I was #6 of 6 on the order block at my dealership. The dealership had sold and delivered all 5 of the other cars by end of june (i ordered early-mid june-ish). Still no word. I ordered a SWP Premium 6MT. Haven't seen too many on this forum (maybe 3 or 4, and no idea how many have been ordered). But it doesn't seem like too many are being made.

If the process is as BRZREP describes, i'm starting to lose faith that my car will ever come. It sounds like Subaru is making them as they please and then looking to see if anyone filled an order for that particular car. What if they don't make another batch of what you ordered before the year is up?

For example: say you ordered a black premium 6mt. There are 50 orders left and subaru makes 20 wrb limited 6mt, 10 black limited 6mt, 10 wrb autos, 10 black autos, and 10 red autos. Thats the end of the production year for them and they haven't filled your order. Are you just screwed? or is the production based on whats been ordered?

I guess WRB vs other colors and Limited vs Premium seem to be the most popular because that is what subaru is producing most. Ive seen people who ordered SWP limited after i did get their car already and people who ordered premiums in other colors get their car already. I read a thread about a guy who ordered his car in MAY and just got his car a week ago. Subarus system sucks!

The system is terrible since they are producing a lot of FRS's and few BRZ's. I know the BRZ is more exclusive than the FRS, but subaru is building the cars and their logo is on the BRZ. Seems like bad business principles to piss off the subaru customers by taking forever to deliver orders when Scions are being cranked out so fast, but that's just me. It really wouldn't be that hard for Subaru to crank out the remaining BRZ orders for the year and then get back to Scion production, so what the hell is going on? I work in industry and can't figure out what is going on with subaru. This is the first and will certainly be the last Subaru i ever buy cause this process has been miserable. I understand waiting for a porsche or ferrari or something of the sort, but 6 months for a Subaru?! That just seems wrong.

Sorry for venting, but i know there are other that feel the frustration, and there are many others whose frustration ended when the cars finally showed up at the dealerships, but this is unacceptable and i cant be the only one who feels this way.
 
#25 ·
On the one hand, I completely agree with the frustration of the customers waiting for their car and honestly, setting allocations for a RWD car based on sales of a high-performance AWD car IS kinda of silly. You'd figure it's common sense a RWD car probably would not do as well in the states with snow on the ground 6 months out of the year. As you all can see, there is a fairly large discrepancy in regional supply vs. demands. That being said, Subaru have almost no experience at all with RWD. They've been building AWD for so long it's in the blood. How does a company that lives and die by AWD even begin to figure out RWD? I'm guessing that was one of the reasons they capped the initial production of BRZ for this year to about 6000 cars as opposed to building 27,000 FR-S for toyota who had a very focused marketing campaign and idea for their vehicle. Hell, has anyone even seen a BRZ commercial in the US? They probably figured that the dealers who had the most success selling high performance WRX and STI would have the highest chance of selling the BRZ.

Subaru does have a history of making adjustments where necessary. If there is a high demand for one color vs. another, they'll more than likely do so. One of the things we're seeing already is that they're building less auto vs. manuals compared to the first few batch of cars, which was based on the fact that there were more manuals ordered than autos than expected. On the one hand, yes, they do build cars based on orders; but at the same time, they're not building cars AS ordered. It's like you said, it's not a Ferrari so it's not custom built. However, based on what I've seen in the last few years with Subaru, they're also not going to build 30 WRB brz if the remaining orders are all for white BRZ. Have we ever had orders that went unfilled? yes. I had to cancel 2 orders for Legacy GT because subaru cancelled production of the car mid-year. It happens. If you're one of those customers, my sincere sympathy for your inconvenience. More than likely they will adjust allocations of BRZ more carefully going forward. They're not going to send more BRZ to the NE if we still have 60+ sitting on the lots still by end of October. At least I hope not... it'll be hell to continually move these things every snow storm considering this is supposed to be a pretty bad winter.
 
#27 ·
Well i guess the good thing is there are BRZ's within 500 miles of us. If my parents wanted it RIGHT now they would have flown/driven to get one already. Since they are ok waiting so that they have a bigger down payment, then the wait isnt a big deal unless it does go over 6 months or longer. My guess is if within the next 6 months the car hasnt come in, then we will fly out to California or Colorado and pick one up and drive it back.
 
#30 ·
So i live in CO and ordered a white premium brz. What would be a realistic time frame to be waiting? I ordered it pretty much as basic as i could "not really wanting any extras. Any educated gusses??
You probably should have checked other dealers in CO before ordering. Not sure on color or anything but i know about 5 BRZ's are being shown as sitting on lots in Colorado. You could always go that route and cancel your order and get your deposit back (if you paid one)
 
#31 ·
Picked mine up today. I ordered on 8/18 and probably would not have seen it till November, so I found one in the next state over and drove it home. Expand the search and you will find. I got mine for just over dealer invoice.
 
#36 ·
Those of you still waiting their BRZ to arrived... Just be patience... I am telling you!!! Its really really really worth it!!! Just finished drove the car 200 miles from South to North New Jersey... I am tired but I am happy driving my BRZ... Good luck everyone....:)
 
#40 ·
Did a quick negotiation over the phone. Asked if they could match and they agreed. They got me with $200 wheel locks, but the auto dim mirror was essentially thrown in when compared to the one that I ordered without that option. Always negotiate before hand before making a long trip, cause the last thing you need is to make a trip back without the car and feel cheated with the price. There have been people that went to the dealership only to be told that the car was being marked up due to demand.
 
#44 ·
I've got a second car that's going to be paid off in December, so I've been shooting to replace my current car by the end of the year. My plan is to wait and see if my order is filled by the end of November then look for BRZs on the lots within driving distance, since I want to trade my car.

BTW, MINIs are "made to order". You give the dealer your custom spec, they send it to the factory, and you track your car from the day it's put into the production run. When I got mine, the dealer had gotten my wheel color wrong and they had to order the "wrong" wheels on purpose and swap mine for a later production car's to correct the mistake.
 
#46 ·
i'm on the list, too.
but honestly... i have to say you guys are lucky!
in Taiwan, there's no options or packages to choose for BRZ
choosing the exterior color is the only mercy they provide...
and the price here is DOUBLE of the US BRZ price ='(
plus i have to wait for 6months.
 
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