New Subaru STI S209 Sees Crazy Dealer Markups

You can now spend north of $100k on a Subaru.

In the world of STIs, there's only one that we want to catch: the new Subaru STI S209. Unveiled at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show, the S209 marks the first time Subaru has brought one of its super-high-performance S-line models to the US. Just 209 examples will be sold state-side, each packing a 341-hp wallop thanks to a long list of performance parts that includes a bigger HKS turbocharger, a high-flow intake, and a water-sprayed intercooler.

Cue the price-gouging.

As is often the case with new and/or special enthusiast cars with limited availability, American dealerships are padding the MSRP of the S209 substantially. One Facebook user even managed to find an example whose asking price is a full $49,995 over the suggested retail price.

https://www.facebook.com/jason.shaffer.3344/posts/1251695231682963

With the markup, the already-expensive $65,755 Subaru is listed at a whopping $115,750. That absurd asking price, courtesy of Serramonte Subaru in Colma, California, was discovered and documented on Facebook by one Jason Shaffer. To our knowledge, it still carries that hefty price tag, although the car isn't listed online.

Granted, the STI S209 certainly is a special car. It's even assembled on a different production line in Kiryu, Japan, by Subaru Tecnica International - technically a separate enterprise from the Subaru you and I know.

Even still, a $50,000 markup is excessive, and we rather hope no one buys the car at that price. Yet buyers who are dead-set on the S209 might have difficulty finding an alternative; a quick search online produced just one other S209 for sale, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, with an asking price of $89,999 - still far above the original MSRP.

If you simply must have a 341 horsepower Subaru STI and you can't find any S209s with a more palatable price, we might recommend just doing what STI owners have always done: taking a stock STI to a speed shop and paying to have some aftermarket go-fast parts installed. Your wallet will thank you.