pflowers

LC, I have never said EU cars are a bad deal, read my posts, all I said was overall they are no better than a UK deal. Next time you buy try NEGOTIATING with your local Subaru dealer, you might be suprised what you can achieve.

Lets agree to differ.

lem0ncurd

The other thing I forgot to comment on was your point on resale. Yes, in the short term if you were to sell an EU import, you would get less for it than an equivalent UK car, but you'd have paid less for it to begin with, so they'd cancel each other out.

After 3 yrs, I doubt there would be a difference in values, as at that age onwards, ppl will be more concernced with mileage and condition rather than where it was bought from.

Ultimately, as EU or UK cars all come off the same production line in Japan and are the same car, once you have made the few minor mods to bring your EU car up to UK spec (alarm, locking nuts etc), then there is absolutely nothing to tell between the two cars. And therefore, no reason why one should be worth less than the other.

LC

pflowers

Think about what you have said, selling for less cancels out the difference between the UK car and the EU car thus proving my point

lem0ncurd

No, you misunderstand. It cancels out the extra money that a UK STI will be worth in resale, because the EU owner will have paid less in the first place.

So, in the end the EU owner will still save a packet!

Sorry mate, I just don't get why you can't see that an EU car can save you a tidy some, like for like, for no extra hassle??

Maybe I'm not explaining it properly?

LC

mystic_magic

Its crystal clear over here mate.. im so tempted to go the EU route next year when i get one (i hope)

That the same as the UK alarms? or is it worth going for something like a clifford??

And i dont worry about PPP thing do i cos a trip to TSLs what i got in mind ne ways

lem0ncurd

Yep, UK cars are fitted with the Sigma M30 Alarm and RAC Trackstar.

TSL option is what I would go for too, even with a UK car.

I fancy an EU too, just need to find the cash!

LC

mystic_magic

cool.. would one suggest a better alarm or is that deemed good enough?

if im going to the hassle about getting one, i fancy a decent one, maybe with 'total closure' for windows etc

I hear ya on the cash thing

Gutmann pug

When i bought my Euro STi (not from a car supermarket) the dealer I bought the car from explained that any warranty work would need to be carried out by him. I then visited a local UK subaru dealer and talked to him about my warranty and was told that he would not service / maintain / repair my car and was not olbliged to do so.

The reality in my mind is that although I am more than happy with my car I would still prefer it to be running round with a typeUK badge on the back.

It might be worth some of you chaps who are obvioulsly considering purchasing a new STi from Asda or whereever having a word with your local UK dealer where you would want any warranty / service work carrying out. Yes the first thing they will do is try to sell you a car, but if their view point is to then say if you buy it somewhere else dont bother bringing it to me to have it fixed have a long hard think. Yeah you can take them to court, yeah you can do what you think is right, BUT that will be a long drawn out affair and doesnt help your poorly car now does it.

Plus of course there is the fact that most dealers dont seem to know one end of a spanner from another....

pflowers

I suggest you buy yourself a calculator, you obviously do not have a grip of basic maths.


If the car costs less to buy but you get back less for it, it is no different to the car that you pay more for but get more back for it ???????????????

What is so difficult to understand about that ??

FFS someone back me up on this !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bodgery

...let me explain. I did, contrary to your assertion, get a MY03 STI, within a few months of their release, for 23K. That was 2K off the list, and as stated earlier 1.8K more than the price you're quoting for an import. I'm sure, with some effort and phoning 10+ dealers (which I did), you'll be able to secure a similar discount off a UK MY05 STI.

I keep my cars for 2-3 years max. You may be different. Let's assume 2.5 years. On this, I am sure that a UK spec car will achieve more than an import. Will the difference be 1.8K? Don't know - I would hazzard a guess it'll be more than £1000 (and of course I'm assuming same condition/mileage, which would be the case as this argument is about where YOU buy the car from, not WHO buys it).

So, the net result is a few hundred pounds IMHO. For that, I get no quibble servicing at my local Scooby garage. I've moved since I bought the car, so my new local garage is happy to service it as well (i.e. not relying on an assurance from a local scooby garage to uphold the EURO warranty, if that's what you got). I also got PPP, again on a no quibble basis.

Anyway, as I said, all IMHO. I'm sure you'll take issue with some of my points, which would be normal, but not sure you can dispute the numbers?

Harry_Boy

Here's the spec......

introduction of front helical lsd yaw rate sensor
drivers control centre differential is standard
introduction of cannon mount steering gear box and steering damper
new design 10 spoke 17 x 8jj type alloys
new under floor covers
change in rear bumper/rear wheel arch design to accommodate 8jj type alloys
rear tread stretched by 15 mm
wheel base stretched by 10mm
caster angle increased by 1.25 degrees

colour choices pure white, premium silver,wr blue, obsidian black pearl,crystal grey metallic

pflowers

Thank you, at last someone talks sense. I am with you all the way on this.

There are too many people that are so obssesed with 'saving money' that they can not see the whole picture, they assume import means cheap, ebay means cheap, internet means cheap etc etc etc.

I have a mate who bought a Saab convertable 3 years ago as an import. It saved him £4.5 k on the UK list, he has now sold it and has calculated the real cost of this car. It cost him over the period £1k more than if he had gone to his local dealer. He is ashamed that he never even asked his local dealer what price he could have actually bought one for. Needless to say he will not do it again.

Lets me just ask one question, if an import is no different overall to a UK car, why do they sell them so cheap? Surely they only need to go a couple of grand at most under the UK price ? The answer is simple they need to be that cheap to have a hope of selling them.

Everyone is of course free to do as they choose, but I for one will stick to my UK cars thanks, I have the forsight to look at the whole package, and not just the up front price.

GRIFF007

thanks for that - most useful additions are driver controlled centre diff for dialling in a bit of power oversteer, T25 type castor and wheelbase mods to help alleviate understeer in first place

not sure what cannons have to do with steering - unless when you turn the wheel in a hurry, you no longer just go off - now you go 'in then off?!'

lem0ncurd

I give up.

From what I can see, it has been suggested that EU STI's are not the deal they seem because of:

- Poorer resale value
- EU warranty hassles
- No PPP

Yet, these claims are simply untrue.

To begin with, as EU STI's are identical to UK cars, there is no way that they can be differentiated, once the minor additions (alarm, tracker etc) have been added to the car. They are classed the same to insurers too.

With the recent EU 'Block Exemption' removal, all manufacturers are bound by EU law to honour manufacturer warranties of any car purchased in the EU. If your Subaru garage refuses to honour it, he is breaking the law!

A previous post has shown that PPP CAN be added to an EU car, should you want it.

So, what are the downsides again??

LC

Gutmann pug

lemoncurd ........

The cars arent identical after the changes you suggested. Your forgetting the type UK badges and if you put them on your telling little fibs to a potential buyer.

You may have to drive to Dundee to find the dealer who will put your ppp on for you through the back door. ppp on non uk cars is not generally the case. Please believe me and if you dont ring around your local dealers.

Bodgery

Hi Lem0ncurd - my simple point was it's not the saving it at first appears. 1) Good negotiation with a main dealer brings the UK price down and 2) the resale value of a UK car is better in the first 3 years (and easier to sell, as more people prefer a UK sourced car, than not). These two points combined reduce the saving considerably, meaning you end up with a car without the prejudice that normally comes with imports (deserved or not).

I know you feel like you're banging your head against a brick wall, but that probably should tell you something. Go ahead a buy the vehicle of your choice from wherever you like, but you may find your target audience come resale is a little more limited than you'd hoped.

B.

lem0ncurd

Ok, fair enough!

To be honest, I can only speculate on resale, as I don't have any evidence to prove the potential resale of a UK Vs EU sourced car. Saying that though, if you stuck 'Type UK' badges on it, I bet no-one would know the difference!

Even so, even if you can get 2K off a UK car, that's still 4K more than an EU one, as 05's are gonna be 26K!

Food for thought anyway.

Cheers,

LC

GRIFF007

we hear what you are saying - bigotry, prejudice, tradition - these kind of things are not easily shaken off - thats the real reason there isnt an instant landslide when you can arguably save £5k upfront...................

However £5k discount would for example pay for a 2.5 T25 conversion and no doubt Ian / Power Station would pick up the warranty?

GRIFF007

I would just like to take time out for a mo.................

and be the first to wish you all a happy new year!!!!

(well, Christmas presents are now appearing in the stores - so seems reasonable..)

DazW

iTrader: (1)

But who's to say you cant negotiate a deal with an EU dealer ...forget a Car Super Market ...just go straight to an EU dealer & tell em what the best offer is in the UK, my m8 got his S3 this way & saved about 3K ...sold it 3 years later & everyone who viewed couldn't tell/or give a chuff!

The only people who'll try & fist you is if you try and trade in at a UK dealer, who you were trying to avoid in the first place!

Gutmann pug

Happy crimbo right back at ya

lem0ncurd

Well, some would say that with an '05 STI for only 20K, it does seem like Christmas doesn't it!

LC

GRIFF007

2 troo - also have been making enquiries into Europe direct - will report on any decent findings.........

lem0ncurd

U must have rad my mind Griff!

http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=360715

LC

Gutmann pug

You will find that cypriot subarus are not well liked amongst frequent scoobynetters...... Dont ask me why but they arent.

GRIFF007

whats this - Scoobery (Snobbery of Scoobs?!)

Must be the price ...

GRIFF007

Euro 05 STi for £16k + vat anyone?

Ian E

iTrader: (1)

Sounds Is that the price they are quoting now?

Gutmann pug

and how much to get it back into the UK and what checks need doing and how much? SVA etc etc???

Ian E

iTrader: (1)

If its an EU spec car it should come with a Certificate Of Conformity and so won't need SVA. Imported my MY00 new from Holland. Extras I needed to add were alarm (£275) and locking nuts. DVLA Registration fee was £25 + Road Tax.