We're in the process of buying our first new car in 11 years. Probably will be a Subaru Outback (that is what we have now and it has been very reliable). We are working thru the Costco auto buying service and I've got a pretty good offer already, 18% off MSRP. Of course all the fees, taxes, etc (including a tariff charge of almost $1000 since the Outback is now made in Japan) will add back most of the discount. Sales tax is almost $3500 alone. I haven't sat down with a Sales Manager yet, probably do that tomorrow. The car they quoted is a black car with black interior -- definitely a no no in the desert southwest. We'll see what happens when I ask for a quote on a light colored car. I did notice that the car we drove had Dunlops on it. I thought was sort of tacky for a top level trim car. Subaru used to fit Bridgestones to most models. Our current Outback was bought thru an Autonation Subaru dealer and it was no hassle at all. They took about 12% off the MSRP and offered a few "add ons" at the Finance desk but there was no pressure to accept anything.
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We're in the process of buying our first new car in 11 years. Probably will be a Subaru Outback (that is what we have now and it has been very reliable). We are working thru the Costco auto buying service and I've got a pretty good offer already, 18% off MSRP. Of course all the fees, taxes, etc (including a tariff charge of almost $1000 since the Outback is now made in Japan) will add back most of the discount. Sales tax is almost $3500 alone. I haven't sat down with a Sales Manager yet, probably do that tomorrow. The car they quoted is a black car with black interior -- definitely a no no in the desert southwest. We'll see what happens when I ask for a quote on a light colored car. I did notice that the car we drove had Dunlops on it. I thought was sort of tacky for a top level trim car. Subaru used to fit Bridgestones to most models. Our current Outback was bought thru an Autonation Subaru dealer and it was no hassle at all. They took about 12% off the MSRP and offered a few "add ons" at the Finance desk but there was no pressure to accept anything.
Post: Buying a car in retirement
Link to comment from July 24, 2026