Help me find my dream car

February 9, 2007 11:43 AM

Help me find and buy my dream car.

OK, so maybe not my ultimate dream car, but one within my budget constraints.

This is the car I want and far as color goes. The year doesn't much matter (2005-2006). The problem is I cannot find one for sale in my area. I've looked all the usual places online, in classifieds, and at dealerships and I cannot find one for sale!

Are there auto brokers I can tell exactly what I want and they will find it for me? I live in Salt Lake City, if that matters.

2005 or 2006 Subaru Impreza Wagon (no WRX!) exterior colored as above (Urban Gray Metallic)

Any ideas on where to look? Who to call? What to search?

posted by blueplasticfish to shopping (8 comments total)

A good car dealer should be able to get one for you...
posted by dcjd at 11:51 AM on February 9, 2007

what's a car dealer? where do you find them?
posted by blueplasticfish at 11:55 AM on February 9, 2007

Carmax?
posted by thilmony at 12:00 PM on February 9, 2007

Using the Kelley Blue Book used car search, the closest exact match I can find to you is in Colorado.

A Cars Direct search doesn't show the exact model you mention, but similar ones.

To find a Subaru dealer, you can go to their main site and type in your zip code.
posted by xo at 12:21 PM on February 9, 2007

I can't find an exact match now, but you should keep an eye on eBay Motors. When my boyfriend wanted to buy a Honda Civic Hybrid before you could get them in Maine, he bought one from a dealer in Texas through eBay Motors and they arranged to have it delivered to a Honda dealer in-state. He is still wildly happy with his car over three years later.

Clearly the experience with and quality of purchases vary from auction to auction, but that might be one angle to get the car you want cheaply and from a greater geographical area. Here is what seems to be a thorough article from C|Net on using eBay to buy and sell cars. Good luck!
posted by nelleish at 12:33 PM on February 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

Some banks and credit unions have a car buying service. They can search for new and used cars. At my credit union, at least, this service was free. I get a sense that some of these services are better than others - but it might be worth asking about.
The Subaru dealer wasn't any help? When we bought our WRX - they seemed to have access to inventory all over the place and ended up getting the car we wanted from another dealership in the area.
posted by Wolfie at 2:06 PM on February 9, 2007

Is there a reason not to go to Nate Wade Subaru or Mark Miller Subaru in town, and ask them if they can get one for you? They've got zillions of these - Mark Miller actually has a new 2007 urban grey Impreza wagon, but there is a used one from 2006 in silver at Nate Wade. The prices between the new and year-old car aren't that different, so I can't see why you wouldn't enquire at the dealerships first. They can have the right car shipped in from all over the country if you're willing to buy it.

Also, your requirements are extremely specific; the chances of your exact car popping up in your local area for sale by owner seem pretty slim, all things considered. If you were willing to be flexible on the color you could do much better. You could also try Ebay Motors; at the moment there are no urban gray Impreza non-WRX wagons listed.

what's a car dealer? where do you find them?

Can you really be serious? Mark Miller can be reached at 801-268-3734; Nate Wade's contact info is on his website I linked above.

In order to deal with a car dealer, you will need some money. Be sure to brush up on these basic concepts before you go to buy a car.
posted by ikkyu2 at 4:04 PM on February 9, 2007

Have you driven one? If not, how do you know it's what you want? If I can be so bold, I drove this exact car when I was looking myself and I can offer one piece of advice: get the SE version with the WRX interior. The standard one has a terrible interior and the optional extras are really worth it. Don't even drive a WRX version, either, 'cause then you'll want one - it's that much better.
posted by jimmythefish at 9:36 PM on February 12, 2007