Going to test drive a 2013 STI and a 2013 Legacy 3.6R

[harrymaneuvers]

I have ZERO intention of buying one however when me and the Fiance went to the Merrell Down and Dirty Mud Run, Subaru owners got a special gift package that included subaru plastic seat covers (for the mud), subaru water bottle, t-shirt and most importantly, A flyer/postcard for a free $100 Merrell gift card with the test drive of a new subaru before December 15th. I got one, Fiance got one, and someone else gave us theirs.



Now that I have a reason to test drive without buying... I AM ALL OVER IT!!! I will report back with pics, vids and anything else I notice.

[Dead91silvia]

Take a BRZ for a spin too!

[Wiscon_Mark]

Take a BRZ for a spin too!

If they even have one...

[harrymaneuvers]

I just might! I think there is one at Gold Rush Subaru in Auburn.

FYI... I should have checked with the dealership before posting this yesterday, they were all closed so I am going today :D

[harrymaneuvers]

Ok so here is the recap.

Me and the Fiance get to Maita Subaru on Black Friday at around 11am driving her 06 FXT Things are dead slow at the dealership. There are at least 4 new STI's sitting out front, one has a potential buyer looking over the car.

I look for Phil G. who is an old SL-I member who now owns a BRZ and isnt on this forum much anymore. He is a really nice young guy like myself who is really personable.

He wasnt there.

I then get approached by a "new guy" Bob something. Older fellow with a short squaty stature. I explain to him that we currently own 3 subaru's, a 99 legacy, an 04 WRX wagon and an 06 FXT which we bought a half year ago almost from Maita.

I then proceed to tell him about the Merrell Down and Dirty Mud Run and the voucher that we have for a $100 Merrell gift card with the test drive of a new subaru.

I let him know that I just helped my mother purchase a brand new 2011 outback last year in Portland so I am not really interested in looking at the outback or the forester as I had a pretty good feel for how they were considering we test drove a bunch last year.

I tell Bob Something that I have now owned two turbo subaru's and have been deathly curious about the STI for a few years now.

Bob instantly turns to me and says something to the affect of:

"Oh well nobody drives an STI until you have sat down and drawn up an offer."

I said: "that seems pretty silly... why would I offer to buy something that I havent even test driven... EVER?"

He then proceeds to say that I have to have a credit app ran, and a final purchase price negotiated prior to test driving one.

At this point, I level with the guy and say, " No problem, why dont you grab the keys to the BRZ (that is right next to us in the showroom) and we will take it for a spin. I have been really curious to see how one drives ever since I first saw one."

Bob says: "Oh well you cannot drive the BRZ either."

I ask: "Ok Bob, what CAN I drive?"

He says :"Anything but the STI or the BRZ".

I say (in a slightly louder voice): "So anything other than the cars I am most interested in owning for my next vehicle?"


One of the sales managers who has been watching from his office then walks over and asks me if he can help with anything.

I say: "Yea I am pretty disappointed that I was offered an incentive to come down here today to take any new Subaru on a test drive only to find out that even though you have them here, I cannot drive the cars that I am most interested in.


Sales manager without skipping a beat tell Bob that there is no reason why I cant drive the new STI but that I will not be able to drive the BRZ because it is the only one they have at the lot and have only gotten 7 this year.

I tell him that is completely understandable as Bob Something goes off to get the keys.

ANYWAYS


On to my driving impressions:


To be quite honest, I was pretty disappointed with the stock power of the STI hatch. The salesman who was on the test drive said to open it up and that I wouldn't scare him so when we merged onto 80 I floored it in 3rd up to about 6700 RPM.


MEH - Didnt feel a whole lot different from the FXT, especially in the low end. I could tell that where the FXT's powerband falls off after 6500 RPM the STI kept pulling... but all and all... it wasnt nearly as powerful or quick as what I was expecting.

Headroom is great for a tall person.

Salesman was trying to explain the DCCD to me while I was returning to the dealership. I didnt see what he did with the manual control or the "S" knob but when I went to back the STI into the space where we left from, the car started to shuttle while backing up with the wheel turned to about 90% of its limit to the right. I could tell it was not tire rubbing and it was pretty pronounced.

Salesman says that ALL new STI's do that for the first few thousand miles until the center diff gets "broken in" which didnt sound right at all.


Anyways, I could tell that NOBODY was interested in going on a second test drive with someone who clearly wasnt going to buy today (dont blame them at all) so I decided to cut bait and leave without driving the 3.6R considering they filled out BOTH vouchers prior to the STI test drive.

I am really glad I went. Although the STI is its own beast, it became clear to me that for the same $40k sticker price, you could make just about any turbo subaru into something that is as quick or quicker.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2012/11/temporary8-3.jpg

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[1996Battlewagon]

Salesmen are just that. Modern-day dealerships are employed by nanny-waist tight wads who are bored with their choice in employment. I once got into an heavy - and I mean HEAVY - argument with a Subaru salesman over the disadvantages/advantages of the CVT. Once I said "well Communism worked on paper too", he looked at me like he wanted his fist to meet my overly smug face.

At least you know now. You should have driven the 3.6R but I'm sure you just wanted to get out of there.


incented (hmmm spell check says that is not a word?!?!)

It isn't

[harrymaneuvers]

Incentivesed and Incentivized... all three arent words?!?!


Either way, I still ended up with $200 towards Merrell gear AND I was able to finally drive an STI.

[Yamazaki]

Incentivesed and Incentivized... all three arent words?!?!
No they aren't. Unfortunately, our culture plays down education and proper grammatical speech/writing as "uncool", so we start to learn words and phrases that are more or less made up. Advertising and "corporate-speak" don't help matters.


incented (hmmm spell check says that is not a word?!?!)
I think you mean incensed, which is a word.


Headroom is great for a tall person.
:lol: This made me laugh. I don't know if you put it in there for humor or not, but it was funny.

[TGX4776]

I was able to test drive a BRZ before an offer but the salesman really wanted to take it out as well.

[harrymaneuvers]

Incentivesed and Incentivized... all three arent words?!?!
No they aren't. Unfortunately, our culture plays down education and proper grammatical speech/writing as "uncool", so we start to learn words and phrases that are more or less made up. Advertising and "corporate-speak" don't help matters.


incented (hmmm spell check says that is not a word?!?!)
I think you mean incensed, which is a word.


Headroom is great for a tall person.
:lol: This made me laugh. I don't know if you put it in there for humor or not, but it was funny.


What verb to I use explain the action of getting an incentive?

Actually, the headroom WAS pretty good. Granted I didnt mess with the seat height so it very well could have been at the lowest setting and the STI that I test drove didnt have a sunroof (if they come with them) so it made for at least 4 or 5 inches between the top of my head and the headliner.

[1996Battlewagon]

What verb to I use explain the action of getting an incentive?


Incite.

You could also use urge, encourage, persuade, instigate, stimulate, taunt, tease, solicit, coax and so on.

[harrymaneuvers]

Granted... I could have worded the sentence better.


Fixed.

[Dead91silvia]

LOL... Spelling Nazi's... :smt005

I tried getting a test drive in a STi a couple years ago, but didnt get to. I got to take an awesome one for an extended test drive in July though! :grin: Much better then a new one for sure!

Last time I test drove a car was an 05 GT about a year and a half ago and it was disappointing. The most fun test drive I ever did was a new Ford Mustang back in about 08. Hated the hood line though.

I really want to take a BRZ out to see what they are like. They look fun for sure and I'm a sucker for RWD. Maybe I'll take a look next time I'm picking up parts.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Once I said "well Communism worked on paper too", he looked at me like he wanted his fist to meet my overly smug face.

As a salesman, I don't really like tactics like that, either, to be honest. But if he was misinformed about the products he was selling, I can see why you wouldn't want to continue arguing with him.

It's disappointing that Subaru has one of the best enthusiast groups (especially compared to the total # of Subarus sold) out there, but they don't really hire people that reflect that fanbase. I understand that their bread & butter are still middle-aged hippies buying Outbacks, but still, you should appeal to your "free" advertising base (us). I can't tell you how many people I've talked into buying Subarus, or at least gotten interested in them. Anyways, the Outbacks sell themselves.

It's also a shame that Subaru can't do anything about scumbag dealership owners. Our (somewhat) local dealership go bought out by one of the dealership names that owns tons of different car brand dealers in the area, and from what I hear, they fired most of the old guard, got rid of the Volvo portion, and shortened hours from 9-5, M-F. How the hell do the expect to sell cars? I'll just go back to the dealership we got all of ours from in Appleton and drive twice as far, thank you.

[1996Battlewagon]

As a salesman, I don't really like tactics like that, either, to be honest. But if he was misinformed about the products he was selling, I can see why you wouldn't want to continue arguing with him.

First off: Harry, I'm sorry for the temporary thread jack.

Second: Mark, I usually try to keep my potentially offensive thoughts to myself, especially when dealing with any kind of sales employees, but this was somewhat of a special circumstance. I wanted to show my mother the Outback that I thought she should buy: a current generation 3.6R. She wants to a retirement/travel/pop-up camper tow vehicle and the 3.6R fits the bill. The guy asked what we were looking for, I told him and then he asked why. I said I wanted the torque and I didn't want a CVT. That's when it got silly.

The man started talking up the CVT instead of coming to terms with what I wanted. He said a CVT is the most efficient transmission as there are no power drops due to gear changes. That's when I said the Communism thing. He wouldn't stop and that was my method to basically tell him, "good job guy, you just made upset me by arguing and attempting to talk me into a less expensive vehicle."

Once again, Harry, I'm sorry. Carry on.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Second: Mark, I usually try to keep my potentially offensive thoughts to myself, especially when dealing with any kind of sales employees, but this was somewhat of a special circumstance. I wanted to show my mother the Outback that I thought she should buy: a current generation 3.6R. She wants to a retirement/travel/pop-up camper tow vehicle and the 3.6R fits the bill. The guy asked what we were looking for, I told him and then he asked why. I said I wanted the torque and I didn't want a CVT. That's when it got silly.

The man started talking up the CVT instead of coming to terms with what I wanted. He said a CVT is the most efficient transmission as there are no power drops due to gear changes. That's when I said the Communism thing. He wouldn't stop and that was my method to basically tell him, "good job guy, you just made upset me by arguing and attempting to talk me into a less expensive vehicle."


While I like the CVT a lot better than a standard auto, the bigger engine & extra towing capacity is what you were looking for, so he wasn't doing a great job. Fair enough.

I'd love to pair me a 3.6R with a manual, hooo boy :smile:

[harrymaneuvers]

No worries about a thread jack... I assumed it would go that direction considering my experience with the test drive.


I completely agree with Wisconsin on the fact that it is a shame that Subaru doesnt try to capitalize on the younger (under 35 years old) fan base. I also strike a conversation about subaru's every chance I get.

The problem seems to be the lack of training when it comes to nurturing relationships early that will eventually turn into a sale. They are too "focused on the fruit instead of the root".

I RELISH the opportunity to look into a purcahse pre-approval for someone who doesnt think they will qualify for one reason or another. 90% of the time they dont qualify at that time... however I still give them 100% of my attention for as long as they need to get their questions answered and ALWAYS make a point to ensure that they use me as a point of reference moving forward.


Taking an extra 15 minutes to make an impression on someone who clearly wont be doing business with me in the near future almost always ensures me their business (or others that they may know) when they are in a position to purchase.

In the same amount of time that we were at the dealership, the salesman could have approached the situation as an opportunity to earn our future business rather than focusing on the fact that we werent going to buy that day. It was entirely up to the salesman as to whether or not our (and the salesman's) time was completely wasted that day.

[Wiscon_Mark]

In the same amount of time that we were at the dealership, the salesman could have approached the situation as an opportunity to earn our future business rather than focusing on the fact that we werent going to buy that day. It was entirely up to the salesman as to whether or not our (and the salesman's) time was completely wasted that day.

Absolutely - My mission has always been to be as helpful as possible and make someone's experience positive (within the confines of my employer's rules of course) in any way I can. If they don't buy from me, end up spending less than they were looking, etc doesn't matter. You make someone happy and they will come back, which is great for the future.

[harrymaneuvers]

Have you ever read the book "The Go Giver" by Bob Burg?


I can just about guarantee that you would like it.

Basically about how if you approach everything with the mindset that you are going to give 110% without even THINKING about what it will gain you, then you will always end up with more than what you expected.

It really is worth the read... completely changed the way I view things.

[Wiscon_Mark]

That's pretty much how my Dad raised me :lol:

I'll look it up, thanks.