Hello All

I'm about to take the plunge with an Impreza WRX. I was planning on getting brand new shiny one, but there seem to be quite a few demo cars out there which might fit the bill. The upside of these are:

- cost (of course!)
- somebody else has run it in for me
- somebody else has fixed all of the early faults it came with
- there's still 2 or more years left on the warranty.

The only worry I have is with the second point above. Its all very well someone having done that first 1000 miles or so of gentle driving...but have they? I mean, I can't imagine a garage giving a demo on a car and saying 'tell you what mate, try to keep it below 4000rpm'? If I was test driving one I'd want to cane it. So, what do you guys reckon? Good nearly new bargain, or more likely abused at an early age?

Cheers,

BB.

 

You're quite right, they get caned. Many people must have had ex-demo's and never experienced any trouble, but that nagging doubt makes them a risky decision. If they could offer some guarantee that it was policy to do the 1st 1000 miles before using it as a demo and letting the public abuse it then there would be no issue. But they don't, and they get thrashed.

Get a new one and pay no more than 18.5k for a WRX.

 

i have a mate who bought a NEW WRX and caneed it from 0 miles

its 265 brake standard

They say its run in properly.

 

The engine is run in from new, but the car isn't. It makes sense to take it easy in any new car for the first thou. Never buy a second-hand car from your mate!

 

I bought ex-demo. 1500-miles and it had just had the PPP put on it as well as 18" prodrive wheels. Saved around 3K on the full new price with all the bits it had on. Any problems ? Not a single one. Got to say that before buying I'd want to see what a new one would cost. You obviously need the ex-demo to be a good bit cheaper and I'd get quotes for a new car from all over the place to compare to what you get the ex-demo offered at. In the end you pays your money you takes your choice........

 

I was taken on a test drive in a bugeyes WRX that was fresh off the transporter. It had 2 miles on it had an engine check light showing and various components such as the brakes tyre pressures, etc hadn't even been checked and set up. With the dealers full support I booted it. Would you really want that car are would not rather buy something more virginal

 

Mine was an ex-demo, 1800 miles. No problems whatsoever.

Saved £2k, had Pentagon tints, came with WRX mats, first service done, four months road tax, ready to be driven - was run in by the elderly manager. Still registered with Subaru, and assistance people, etc as first owner, as well as my name in the service book, on the alarm certificate etc.

Brian.

 

Strange thought they were 223bhp

 

i used to have a p1 that i bought as an ex demo, it had done 900 miles before the first service when it started life as a demo, i bought it with 989 miles and a 3.5k saving, didnt have any probs with that one, chopped it in for a brand new 02 sti, still got the ongoing nsr strut problem on that one
mark

 

If the price was right then why not?

It will still come with a FULL dealer warenty

I have owened 2 EX-Demo cars and had no problems with them

 

There are those who advocate thrashing a brand new engine as the best way to run it in - something about achieving a better seal with the piston rings that way. I'll dig out the article if anyone's interested.

 

watch out for clutch and brake disk wear on x demos

i dont think there is enough discount on demos myself

 

It's one of those risks you take. Bought my STi PPPas ex-demo and saved £3.5K on the list price Also got a years tracker subscription thrown in as the dealer had already paid for it - bonus!

The pads had quite a bit of wear which shows the car probably seen some enthusiatic driving but I've done 8K miles so far and no probs yet, unlike the "One careful owner from new" P1 I bought and subsequently went through its gearbox, clutch and engine

 

Mine is ex demo and had 3k on the clock, I have never had a single problem with it.

I saved about 7k on the new price and got AC for free, car was 6 months old.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about getting an ex-demo car. They're pretty relieable cars anyway, so even if been a little abused, it should be ok.

My dealer gave me his demo STi as a courtesy car once and it ran perfectly. When I came to buy my STi 8 I asked if I could demo again for the weekend. He forgot to mention he'd changed the car, so I thought I was back in the same car as before, took it out, thashed it a bit and though, this doesn't handle so well anymore and the gearbox is ****'d! Then I noticed it had only done 60km's The tyres hadn't been scrubbed in yet, hence the bad handling and the gearbox was brand new, so was really stiff and crunchy... and I'd been red-lining it in every gear Went back to the dealers to veryify the run-in situation and he told me not to worry and just make sure it was properly warmed up before driving hard (which I always do anyway!), so no problem really! He's still got the same car now and I drove it about a month ago and its still running fine, so its not done any lasting dammage!