Minnesota Check In

[ayau]

i just put down my $500 refundable deposit over the phone with a subaru sales person at walser over the phone.

subaru will open up their ordering system to dealers on march 1st, and walser will be allocated at least 5 brzs from now until nov 2011.

a credit check was required and i provided my info to the sales person. it's understandable why they'd do a credit check, otherwise anyone can order their own subaru and back out of the purchase. i asked him if my credit will be pulled whenever they wanted or if it was only for this purchase of the brz, and he said it's only being pulled for the purchase of the brz. you can take that for what it's worth.

for the pre-order, the sales person needed to know the color, transmission type, and trim (premium or limited) but no price was given. he was only taking down my info, and will be putting it into the subaru order system on 3/1. there's a chance that prices will be released on 3/1, but i wouldn't bet on it. if the limited spec goes for over 30k, i'm pretty sure i'll back down and just order a FRS instead.

when asked if they were planning to sell the BRZ above msrp, he told me that they were planning to sell at MSRP. hopefully that's true.

according to my contact, i'm #2 on the pre-order list at walser.

for those that who are curious, i ordered a WRB 6MT Limited model.

[ayau]

one more thing, the sales person gave me a list of accessories that were available for the BRZ. i didn't write them down, but i'll list out the ones that caught my attention.

fog lights
rear deck spoiler
subwoofer - 10'' i think
rear underbody spoiler - i asked him what this was, but he wasn't sure. no price on this either. maybe this is the underbody air flow kit that we see in the jdm spec.
oil cap - sti?
gas cover - maybe the sti gas cap from the jdm brz catalog?

there was no pricing info on the accessories. i don't recall him mentioning the bigger jdm exhaust tips, something i really hoped would be available. i guess i'll just have to order one online.

these were just some of the available accessories. subaru may release more when accessories in a couple weeks.

[ayau]

just to give you guys some info on the availability of the BRZ, i asked the sales guy how the BRZ allocation system works compared to the current subaru models. we know that walser will be allocated 5 brz from now until nov 2011. in comparison with an outback (or maybe he said impreza), they are usually allocated about 11 when the new model year comes out for the first month and a half.

brz - 5 for the first 6 months if it's released in june.
outback - 11 for the first month and a half.

what a huge difference!

it's probably not a bad idea to start pre-ordering now if you want guaranteed brz in 2011. i'm guessing bloomington subaru will be allocated more, but it looks like there's already a waiting list of about 7 people according to previous posts in this thread.

[Chupacabra]

Originally Posted by ayau

just to give you guys some info on the availability of the BRZ, i asked the sales guy how the BRZ allocation system works compared to the current subaru models. we know that walser will be allocated 5 brz from now until nov 2011. in comparison with an outback (or maybe he said impreza), they are usually allocated about 11 when the new model year comes out for the first month and a half.

brz - 5 for the first 6 months if it's released in june.
outback - 11 for the first month and a half.

what a huge difference!

it's probably not a bad idea to start pre-ordering now if you want guaranteed brz in 2011. i'm guessing bloomington subaru will be allocated more, but it looks like there's already a waiting list of about 7 people according to previous posts in this thread.

Thanks for the update ayau and I'm glad you were able to get taken care of at Walser. I'm also stoked you're getting the WRB Limited. That was actually going to be what I ordered had I gone BRZ. Everything happens for a reason and I hope you'll get your BRZ May 1st!

[ayau]

Originally Posted by Chupacabra

Thanks for the update ayau and I'm glad you were able to get taken care of at Walser. I'm also stoked you're getting the WRB Limited. That was actually going to be what I ordered had I gone BRZ. Everything happens for a reason and I hope you'll get your BRZ May 1st!

May 1st?

Subaru pre-ordering starts on 3/1. We still don't know when the cars will actually arrive at dealers. :\

[Chupacabra]

Originally Posted by ayau

May 1st?

Subaru pre-ordering starts on 3/1. We still don't know when the cars will actually arrive at dealers. :\

Haha, yeah. I was saying I hope you get yours sooner than later.

From what my friend told me, it'll be anytime from May to November as to ETA on the BRZ, so I was just saying I hope you get it May 1st

[xrs]

Originally Posted by Chupacabra

New update: my friend called me from Walser and told me they'd be willing to do a $1000 non-refundable deposit for the BRZ since the rate of production between the Scion and Subaru is going to be so different.

That's great news but since I'm going to be in Italy in 2 weeks, my cash flow is frozen until I get back. I told him that I'd make my official decision once I return, but because I felt burned with his asinine manager I will probably stick with the FR-S. In 3 weeks, I'll have an official decision made.

I wanted to share that with everyone here so you'd have knowledge prior to getting at Walser.

Wow, either their policy has changed drastically or their sales managers are pricks. I used to work at a Walser dealership and we could not in no way keep someone's deposit. Additionally, we never had a policy to pull credit upon a deposit. Obviously, what they're doing is trying to see how committed you are to the deal.

I have a feeling your friend tried to follow up with or was followed up by Za...and since it sounded like you guys sorta butted heads last time you met, he's holding a grudge on you now and won't let you just place a normal $500 refundable deposit lol.

I feel for your friend. I worked with a manager that made the sales process way more difficult than it was.

[ayau]

Originally Posted by xrs

Wow, either their policy has changed drastically or their sales managers are pricks. I used to work at a Walser dealership and we could not in no way keep someone's deposit. Additionally, we never had a policy to pull credit upon a deposit. Obviously, what they're doing is trying to see how committed you are to the deal.

I have a feeling your friend tried to follow up with or was followed up by Za...and since it sounded like you guys sorta butted heads last time you met, he's holding a grudge on you now and won't let you just place a normal $500 refundable deposit lol.

I feel for your friend. I worked with a manager that made the sales process way more difficult than it was.

Walser only asked for a $500 deposit when I pre-ordered mine and the deposit was refundable.

I actually just cancelled my pre-order with Walser and went with Morrie's in Brooklyn Park instead. Morrie's has a lifetime powertrain warranty free of charge. When I asked the sales person the differences between the original powertrain warranty vs. their lifetime powertrain, he said that it was slightly different. He didn't go into the specifics as I'm assuming he doesn't have the list of things that are covered memorized, but it will cover most of it.

Morrie's will be allocated 16 BRZs between their 2 dealers. The sales manager said that the BRZ allocation system is based on the STIs, and since their dealer sells the most in the state of MN, they're allocated more BRZs. I'm currently #2 on the list.

The sales manager and the sales person told me that the official price will be available on the Subaru pre-ordering system. If that's true, we can expect prices on 3/1.

When asked if they'll mark up the price from MSRP, the sales manager said there was a possibility, but it won't be anything outrageous. Just as an example, he told me that they marked up the GTR by $1,000. Considering that the GTR is about $90,000, a 1% mark up isn't that bad.

[Starscream15]

Hello all,

North Burbs here, #4 on the list at Morries Subaru as of today. Aiming for a Black Mica Premium.

Edit: $500 refundable for me as well.

[Chupacabra]

Originally Posted by ayau

Walser only asked for a $500 deposit when I pre-ordered mine and the deposit was refundable.

I actually just cancelled my pre-order with Walser and went with Morrie's in Brooklyn Park instead. Morrie's has a lifetime powertrain warranty free of charge. When I asked the sales person the differences between the original powertrain warranty vs. their lifetime powertrain, he said that it was slightly different. He didn't go into the specifics as I'm assuming he doesn't have the list of things that are covered memorized, but it will cover most of it.

Morrie's will be allocated 16 BRZs between their 2 dealers. The sales manager said that the BRZ allocation system is based on the STIs, and since their dealer sells the most in the state of MN, they're allocated more BRZs.

When asked if they'll mark up the price from MSRP, the sales manager said there was a possibility, but it won't be anything outrageous. Just as an example, he told me that they marked up the GTR by $1,000. Considering that the GTR is about $90,000, a 1% mark up isn't that bad.

Even better news for you ayau. This place seems like the place to buy a BRZ. Any idea of where you ended up on the list of 16?

[ayau]

Originally Posted by Chupacabra

Even better news for you ayau. This place seems like the place to buy a BRZ. Any idea of where you ended up on the list of 16?

I edited my original post and put where I was on the list.

Between the 2 Morrie dealers, they have a total of 16 allocated BRZs. I'm 3/16 and #2 at Morrie's in Brooklyn Park.

[ayau]

Originally Posted by Starscream15

Hello all,

North Burbs here, #4 on the last at Morries Subaru as of today. Aiming for a Black Mica Premium.

Edit: $500 refundable for me as well.

Which Morrie's was that? It sounds like the sales manager in Brooklyn Park is going through the list of names who are interested in the BRZ.

[Starscream15]

Originally Posted by ayau

Which Morrie's was that? It sounds like the sales manager in Brooklyn Park is going through the list of names who are interested in the BRZ.

Brooklyn Park Subaru also.

Bruce Bowman is my salesman, I worked with him there for about 6 years and always worked with him on my car deals. He called me this afternoon after he found out they could start taking orders. I would recommend him if anyone is going to call them. He is very good people.

[xrs]

A thought came to me. By the time we get our hands on the cars, we'll only have like four months to drive them. So much for a spring release time. I hope BRZ price leaks in the next few days. At least I'll know FR-S will start somewhere below.