JohnFol

I have a BMW 330, but am selling it. With the £23k offered I aim to buy a Impreza, but know next to diddly squit about them.
After a quick trip to local dealer, they are trying to flog me a WRX Storm, for £25k, and surprisingly didn;t have a std. WRX for test drive.I need it as the main mile muncher so it has to be reasonably civilised in terms of noise.

If I save a bit of money by not going for the std WRX, would you change the manifold & exhaust as suggested by Scoobysport? Does it effect warranty?

So, given a budget of £23k (allowing for haggling at the dealer), what would you guys go for?

Any thought most appreciated.

PS any recommendations on dealers within 50 mles of Reading or Yeovil? Tried Pangbourne, but despite an empty show room, the saleman was 'busy' with Mr Invisible!

MattW

Simpsons in Highworth, Swindon have a WR Blue WRX saloon with 600 miles ex demo, 18inch Gold alloys, for 21.5k.

I'm running a WRX wagon which is pretty civilised, tyre noise can be a little intrusive on the wrong surface(especially those damn concrete roads), but you expect that with a 5 door and standard 215's.

Remember, don't expect BMW build quality or comfort, but you will sport a permanent grin which more than makes up for it.

JohnFol

MattW, thanks for the quick reply.

Here's where I show my ignorance . .

std WRX is listed at £21,495. So I am presuming that for an ex demo I would be getting more for the same money. Does the "WR" bit mean anything, and do the 18" gold wheels cost much?

Thanks also for the lead about Swindon. Definitely doo-able

jjk

Hi John
I am new to the fold and bought a 2nd hand RB5 WRSport (240bhp). Couldnt be happier than a pig in 5hi7.
You can find quite a few posts on the RB5 -

MattW

John

Unfortunately you won't be getting more for your money buying a demo.

Waiting lists on new WRX's are such that ex-demo's are sold at or just under list price - the advantage being you can pick it up on Saturday.

Be warned, there aint much haggle in an Impreza.

Try

BarryK

First off, you do know that up until October/November last year the car was called the 2000 Turbo AWD, and that WRX refers to an import for ANYTHING built prior to then. The latest model (MY01) in the showrooms is now called the WRX Impreza, but they have no model called "WRX STORM".

Therefore assuming you are in the UK, you are being offered an import (Subaru dealers don't do their own "specials" like Ford's etc. do). Continuing the assumption that you are in the UK, you are not dealing with an official Subaru dealer as they are not allowed to deal in imports, even 2nd hand.

Having previously had a MY00 4 door saloon, I too now have a MY01 WRX 5door (aka "Wagon") and would agree with the points made by MattW. Just gotta love it!!

For loads of info go to

polarbearit

I think the WRX Storm is a MY01 Dealer special, this means that will only be worth any extra at that dealer. Anyway a couple of ex demo cars have been advertised in standard trim for £19k. The Simpsons car would have a list price of £21,745 (metallic saloon) and the wheels/tyres are £450 each assuming they are UK300 style. So total list price would be £23545, again a £2k saving.

However if it were my money I would buy an EU import from Belgium for under £16,500 delivered in full uk spec with full warranty. Thus you have loads more to spend on the car...

UK dealers are giving discounts these days if you are forceful you should be able to get £500-£1000 off.

happy shopping...

Jon

orbv

I to are currently looking at replacing my
MY99 with a MY01/MY02. On speaking to a UK
dealer there is currently a two week (yes,
week!) wait for a standard WRX with little
cash discount.

Currently I'm waiting for an Euro-importer to
confirm weither the car they will supply for
around 17k will be a MY01 or MY02 module and
delevery to my door is expected around
December.

Anyone know any cons of getting an Euro car
before I pay a deposit? Anyone have one?

roadrunner

Polar, your correct in saying that the storm is a dealer special. Lancaster are selling them for £24,995. inc P1 17" alloys, lowered suspension, Tinted Windows, Head lamp conversion, High level spoiler and quick shift. Their delivery time is for the end of September.

rr

MattW

Assuming the car is fully UK spec, there are no cons as far as the physical car is concerned, however.....

I bought an EU import SEAT Leon turbo in March. For one reason or another(love of all things Subaru) changed to UK Impreza in July.

There is no legal requirement to declare to a buyer that the car is import, although you must not mislead. The dealers therefore checked the car out and happily gave me a UK spec price. They then spoke to SEAT UK who told them the car was an EU import.

For the most part dealers would then not touch my import, pex prices I was quoted ranged from silly to daylight robbery.

In the end I managed to find a scoob where the dealer was a little more sympathetic - still took a hit on the price though.

A friend of mine had a similar problem with a TT.

Until dealers (and there is no requirement for them to do so) view EU imports the same as UK there is no way I would entertain buying an import again, unless I was prepared to run the car for some time. If I buy a used car I will be checking the Service book PDi stamp and checking the VIN number with the UK Head office.

So don't believe the hype, an astute dealer will know. With the increase in EU personal imports, more and more dealers will be on the look out, especially with the threatend removal of franchises etc.

I believe most cars that are personal imports are sold on privately for this reason.

Who knows what will happen in the future. I can't see the UK prices dropping, there is too much money tied up in fleet cars, dealer stock etc to risk seriously cutting new otr prices. Will the dealers continue to shun the import market, will that lead to an increase in Dodgy Derek's used car forecourts? or will imports generally become accepted?

On the plus side, you can save yourself serious amounts of cash, the process is very easy although the waiting times tend to be over the top. And you get the chance to stock up with cheap booze on the way back.

The choice is yours.

[This message has been edited by MattW (edited 13 August 2001).]

[This message has been edited by MattW (edited 13 August 2001).]

Somerset Yokel

And in answer to your second part of the question I have found Mill Lane, just outside Basingstoke to be very good. Vale Motors operate out of Yeovil so may be worth a look.