[CALGARY] Subaru Calgary Dealings
 

Hello fellow Canadians, Calgarians, and BRZ enthusiasts. I don't usually post much but I wanted to know people's experience with Subaru Calgary (if any), and I'd maybe like to get a little advice out of the forum as well.

I recently put down a $1000.00 deposit on a WRB BRZ Sport-tech over the phone with Subaru Calgary. I was told "sometime in August" regarding arrival time. I had to hassle the sales guy there (Terry) just to get some form of documentation to show I had a deposit on something. On that documentation, there is no order number, VIN number or anything that would make a particular car mine... Just a very general "BRZ Sport-tech blue" with the MSRP and fees shown, with my name.

Should I be concerned? Is this typical practice? Should I attempt to sort out financing with them before it arrives? Find an order number? This is the first new car I've ever purchased, and I feel a bit uncomfortable with how things are going thus far. :sigh:

I ordered mine from Terry. Put down my $1k deposit last year in Dec and all I have is the visa deposit receipt. Until June, Terry told me my car will be first shipment and the manager (Mike) let me know I am first on the list. Then I am the first one got delivery in Calgary.
Long story short is check with Mike instead because he keep track of the inventory, Terry is only a sales person.

Ive bought two cars from subaru calgary. My cars were a bit different than yours because i drove mine off the lot same day(2009wrx and 2011sti).

Recently i bought an FRS from stampede Toyota and it took me a while to get a VIN and whatnot as well. I wouldn't worry too much about it and just keep checking on on them.

Scion/Toyota has a slightly better tracking system as they can tell if the car has a VIN or not, in produce, on sea, on rail, etc...
Not like Subaru that just show up on system maybe a week before it arrive.

Subaru Calgary is generally not up front with information, even when they do have it, especially if it won't help their sale. If their wait list is as long as I've heard (I think about 12 a while ago, though they told me 15 in January), at the rate of cars they are getting I would think it would take a lot longer than August, but who knows. Subaru Calgary's sales department might be ok (I wouldn't know) but their service department and management is terrible, and tries to gouge whenever possible, which leads me not to trust sales.

I went with Scott Subaru in Red Deer and they were up front with what they were getting and approximately when (no one really knows until the day it shows up, but they will know once it leaves Japan and once it is in port). I didn't have to put down a deposit, especially not $1000. There were no bullshit fees on mine, straight msrp with 399 doc fee and a block-heater. First orders like mine and Percy's are easier to predict but for yours there is the wait list to consider and how many cars are actually coming in each month (watching Centaur, it looks like about 3 per month).

When the vehicle is ordered the dealership has a VON. If they don't give you a VON then your vehicle probably isn't ordered and you're somewhere far down on the wait list (they may have used up their orders for the year). Each dealership should know how many they are getting this year. If they say otherwise, they are bullshitting you, and you're probably not getting one unless someone backs out (which is why they'll string you along, and it might not be a bad idea to let them think they are stringing you along, just in case that actually does happen since it sounds like some people have hedged their bets between FR-S's and BRZ's and multiple Subaru dealers). You may want to also talk to other dealers before deciding who is most likely going to get you a car the soonest.

Thanks for all the responses guys...

percyng: I'll give Mike a call and see if I can get some better information from him on ETA

stateless: The reason they told me August was because someone backed out of the exact model I wanted, so I was able to put a deposit on it. Does that mean I probably have a specific car (and VON) with my name on it?

Ah, if they are telling the truth (which I never know with those guys... they sure weren't upfront when I talked to them, given what I already knew), then August could be likely and that car would definitely have a VON. Getting an order that someone backed out of is definitely the fastest way to get one. It seems that dealers get one shipment per month, from what I can tell. They should know when it's on a boat and when it hits port. After that they generally don't know until it's sitting on the lot.

I doubt you will be August, it's best to get the plant manager involved . That way they know you mean business, I had to do it with south pointe Toyota.

There have been two blue BRZs sitting outside Centaur for a week now, one limited and one premium. I don't know if they are available or if Centaur is really that lazy at PDI.

Thanks stateless, I'll check it out.

In other news, I got a hold of Mike at Subaru Calgary, and I now have an order number! Unfortunately he told me that my revised arrival time is Mid-October. :'(

I guess I will be calling Centaur to see if I can get one of their's... Then cancel my order with Subaru Calgary if it pans out. I just want one for the remaining days of summer!!!

That doesn't surprise me too much, they tell you what you want to hear until they've got your deposit. Check other dealerships too, like Scott Subaru in Red Deer, and there's one in Lethbridge too. If you don't mind going for a drive, there are others too like one in Kelowna and one in Vernon. At least now you have Subaru Calgary for a backup plan, but it would suck waiting until October.