Scotty,
Greetings from Fairbanks Alaska. Thanks for your years of support to our family and friends.
- Should I wait or is now a good time to buy a new Subaru Forester Sport model? (Will prices come down more during a recession?)
- Lastly, do you still see Subaru Forester (no turbo) better than the Rav4 at present?
Will prices come down more during a recession?)
Who really knows honestly. Noone can say for sure. I dont think new car prices will drop, just maybe less dealer markups.
Lastly, do you still see Subaru Forester (no turbo) better than the Rav4 at present?
I cant say for sure, but theyre both high up in terms of quality. Test drive them and see what you like better.
Assuming you need a car. And want a new one.
Any time you can get a brand new car at MSRP or less, without dealer markup and without stupid useless dealer added options, is a good time to buy a new car IMHO.
Whether in a recession, or when the market is hot.
From my POV, dealers will always try to pull something from you.
Welcome new member. And greetings to Fairbanks. I lived there a couple years when I was a kid in the early 70's (my little brother was born there).
There are a lot of factors in car prices, and a lot of volatility. Car prices are starting to soften a bit (especially for less desirable models), though I think evidence is mostly anecdotal so far. For the last couple years, limited supply has allowed dealers to mark up sales prices (the dreaded "market adjustment"), but that means that there are more new buyers underwater on their loans. With the current recession and accelerating layoffs, that is likely to mean an increase in defaults. If the defaults are limited and incremental, the manufacturers and dealers will be able to adjust to it. But if it gets out of hand, it could trigger a downward spiral in car sales and prices (mostly for used but also for new). So in the next 6 months, prices are likely to be stable to lower, maybe a lot lower, less likely to be higher.
Subaru is a bit of a unique brand and may be insulated to a degree from negative pressures. They have a limited model portfolio; they have a niche market with a very loyal customer base; they do minimal to no fleet sales, and so on. Also, being a smaller manufacturer, they got hit pretty hard in the chip shortage and I believe are still behind the others in increasing production to meet demand. I don't know if my local dealer reflects national numbers, but I was on the lot 2 weeks ago and they had a few outbacks, foresters, and crosstreks (more than a year ago but still way below normal) and a normal number only of WRXs. So I think Subaru supply is still below demand, but coming back to a degree.
So overall, I would say this is a better time to buy than a year ago, and 6 months from now might be a bit better still (if you can wait that long). Kind of like trying to predict the stock market (or Las Vegas), but that's what my opinion is.
As far as the Forester itself: I don't think it is quite up to Rav4 level build quality, but it is in the same league. (And having test drove a Rav4 a few weeks ago, even though the power train build quality is probably very good, the interior fit-and-finish was pretty mediocre.) Subaru's AWD system is the gold standard (and Fairbanks is a place where you need it). In my opinion, either would be a good choice.
Is now a good time to buy a new car?
Not really, if you can wait.
- I would go with the RAV4 over the Subaru Forester. Toyota is more reliable and easier to work on
