Subaru Financing: What To Know Before You Buy
Whether you’re looking for an everyday driver or an off-road adventure wagon, a Subaru might be the ticket. Although they’re relatively affordable, you’ll need a loan to get your Subaru off the lot and into your driveway. That is, unless you’re paying in cash.
You may have several Subaru financing options at your disposal. You can review them here. While you’re at it, check out how your monthly payments stack up to the average. With this little bit of research, you could land the most competitive loan offer.
How do your Subaru payments compare to the average?
If you have a Subaru offer in hand, we can help you compare it to other buyers with a similar credit score.
Using Experian data, Kelley Blue Book and other resources, we estimated average monthly payments for new and used Subaru vehicles. Then, we organized these payments by credit band. Find the credit band that most closely matches yours, and see if your loan offer is higher or lower.
Note that these figures are only estimates. Your monthly payment depends on personalized factors like your APR, down payment amount, dealer fees and more.
Also, looking at these tables, you might wonder why some high-credit borrowers pay more per month than borrowers with worse credit. According to Experian, buyers with higher credit scores usually choose shorter loan terms.
While a shorter loan term can help you save on overall interest, you will have fewer months to spread out your loan balance. This shorter time frame results in higher monthly payments.
Learn more about how we calculated average monthly Subaru payments.
Estimated average monthly payments for new Subarus
| Model | Starting MSRP | Monthly payment (501-600 credit score) | Monthly payment (601-660 credit score) | Monthly payment (661-780 credit score) | Monthly payment (781-850 credit score) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Subaru Forester | $27,095 | $385.91 | $359.40 | $350.90 | $375.83 |
| 2024 Subaru Outback | $28,895 | $420.32 | $391.45 | $382.24 | $409.34 |
| 2024 Subaru Crosstrek | $25,195 | $349.59 | $325.58 | $317.92 | $340.46 |
| 2024 Subaru Ascent | $34,395 | $525.46 | $489.36 | $477.85 | $511.74 |
| 2024 Subaru Impreza | $22,995 | $307.54 | $286.41 | $279.67 | $299.51 |
Estimated average monthly payments for used Subarus
| Model | Fair purchase price | Monthly payment (501-600 credit score) | Monthly payment (601-660 credit score) | Monthly payment (661-780 credit score) | Monthly payment (781-850 credit score) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Subaru Forester | $16,146 | $291.14 | $251.91 | $226.03 | $225.47 |
| 2018 Subaru Outback | $15,763 | $281.87 | $243.89 | $218.84 | $218.29 |
| 2018 Subaru Crosstrek | $15,502 | $275.56 | $238.43 | $213.94 | $213.40 |
| 2019 Subaru Ascent* | $18,854 | $356.64 | $308.59 | $276.89 | $276.20 |
| 2018 Subaru Impreza | $12,673 | $207.12 | $179.22 | $160.80 | $160.40 |
*Please note that this model year varies due to release date.
Subaru finance options
It’s not as exciting as buying a Subaru, but researching your finance options isn’t a step you should skip. Shopping and comparing offers may be the best way to find the best (and most competitive) auto loan for you.
Subaru Motors Finance
For buyers that qualify, manufacturer financing (or captive financing) usually offers the lowest APRs. This option means you are getting a car loan directly from your vehicle’s manufacturer. In Subaru’s case, it’s Subaru Motors Finance (SMF).
To get a preapproved car loan from Subaru Motors Finance, you first need to know which Subaru you’d like to purchase. The model and model year you buy can impact your APR.
You have at least good credit and are shopping for a model on a special promotional offer.
Once you’ve picked your vehicle, you can apply online. Subaru provides most approval decisions within an hour of your application. If it approves you, you’ll get your loan offer by email. Then, you can take it to your local Subaru dealer.
Subaru’s special financing and leasing offers vary by ZIP code. Subaru also does not disclose what credit score you need to buy a car. You must be a “well-qualified applicant.” This could mean a good credit score or higher (“good credit” starts at 670).
Manufacturer financing can come with benefits that you won’t find with other types of financing. With Subaru Motors Finance, these include:
Special financing offers
Throughout the year, Subaru offers lower-than-average APRs on specific models and model years. These promotional APRs typically apply to a portion of your loan term.
Special leasing offers
You can get discounted monthly payments for leasing a model that’s on promotion.
Subaru Military Discount Program
Active-duty military, reserves, veterans and eligible retirees could save $500 through the Subaru Military Discount Program.
Subaru College Graduate Program
New and upcoming college grads can qualify for special pricing for new finances and leases. Details here are sparse, so you’ll need to contact your local Subaru dealer for more information.
Factory warranty
New Subarus come with a three-year, 36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. They also have a five-year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty. These two warranties combined cover your engine, exhaust, oil pump, cylinder heads and other major components. And if your Subaru was made after the year 2000, you’ll also get 24/7 roadside assistance.
Subaru Mobility Assistance
Subaru may reimburse you up to $1,000 for medically necessary vehicle modifications due to a disability.
Certified pre-owned vehicles
Subaru certified pre-owned vehicles must pass a 152-point inspection. These cars get a seven year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty, 24/7 roadside assistance, special financing rates and more.
Bank and credit union auto loans
Your bank or credit union offers benefits for both banking and borrowing.
Your current financial institution can be a great place to get an auto loan. This may be especially true if it offers a relationship APR discount.
For example, Bank of America members could get an APR discount between 0.25% and 0.50% as part of the Preferred Rewards program. To take advantage of Preferred Rewards, you must have a BoA checking account with a specific minimum balance.
Credit union auto loans also usually come with low APRs and extra benefits. Take PenFed and Navy Federal Credit Union. They may offer Subaru financing deals for members who use their TrueCar car-buying service.
Banks and credit unions don’t usually disclose their minimum credit score requirements. However, having a longstanding, positive relationship with your bank could make it more likely to approve you.
Online auto loans
You have good or bad credit and want to compare multiple offers at once.
Online auto loans can be beneficial for borrowers of all credit types. If you have excellent credit, you could qualify for low rates. And if you don’t qualify with other lenders, online auto loans tend to have looser credit score requirements.
Online auto loans may also be perfect for comparing offers. You don’t need to go to the dealer or make an appointment with your bank. Use LendingTree’s online auto loan marketplace to compare offers from up to five lenders at once. Checking rates won’t impact your credit.
In-house financing
You have bad or no credit and don’t qualify for other Subaru finance options.
You could turn to in-house financing as a final resort. Also called buy here, pay here, this option means your car loan will come from your dealer rather than a lender. Buy here, pay here loans are among the easiest to get. They also come with expensive, sometimes predatory APRs.
Buy here, pay here car lots also specialize in older vehicles — sometimes much older than what you’d find at a traditional car lot. As a result, you’ll have a limited selection and you may risk ending up with an upside-down car loan.
How we calculated average monthly Subaru payments
To calculate average monthly Subaru payments, we found estimated starting MSRPs and fair purchase prices for some of Subaru’s most popular models.
Then, we subtracted an average down payment from each. According to Edmunds, the average down payment on a new vehicle was $6,907 in Q3 2023. For used vehicles, it was $4,111. The resulting figure represents the total amount our hypothetical borrowers financed.
From there, we used our auto loan calculator to figure out average monthly Subaru payments, using average APRs and loan terms as reported by Experian’s State of the Automotive Finance Market Q3 2023. You’ll find this data in the tables below. Please note that we rounded to the nearest whole number for loan terms during our calculations.
Average APRs and loan terms for new car purchases in Q3 2023
| Subprime (501-600) | Near prime (601-660) | Prime (661-780) | Superprime (781-850) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average APR | 12.28% | 9.60% | 7.01% | 5.64% |
| Average loan term | 73.54 months | 74.00 months | 69.94 months | 61.90 months |
Average APRs and loan terms for used car purchases in Q3 2023
| Subprime (501-600) | Near prime (601-660) | Prime (661-780) | Superprime (781-850) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average APR | 18.89% | 14.12% | 9.73% | 7.66% |
| Average loan term | 66.25 months | 68.43 months | 68.40 months | 64.77 months |
Frequently asked questions
Interest rates for other types of Subaru financing (banks, credit unions, online auto lenders and in-house financing) vary. You’ll need to apply for preapproval or contact the lender for further details.
Credit score requirements for options other than Subaru Motors Finance vary. Banks and credit unions rarely disclose their requirements, but some online lenders are more transparent. Carvana, for instance, has no minimum credit score requirement.
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