Styx
I recommend Keyring Cars (near Winchester) at www.keyring-cars.co.uk if you go down the import route. I bought my MY00 through them and the service was excellent & hassle free. They are taking orders on new MY03 WRX's for about £16k all-in at present. I can;t see a good enough reason to buy in UK.
HotRod

 

Thanx HotRod for the KeyRing info

So it looks if none of us will put up with the five/six difference between uk and import.

I hope the people at IM know what they are doing cos' its gona change Subaru dealers into Subaru repair centres.

They will only get it wrong once, I will only pay £1,5000 for uk retail NOT £5,000.

Come to think of it why should I pay anything over and above.

 

This is a question I've been asking myself recently.

I have neither the time nor the inclination to screw around trying to sort out problems. Consequently, I've always had UK cars. However, as warranty issues are becoming less of a problem, I have started to wonder. Unfortunately, there's really been nothing in this thread to convince me one way or the other.

What would be really useful was if we got some comment from import owners who'd had warranty issues, to see how much trouble, if any, they had fixing the car.

At the end of the day, it still bugs me the fact that IM are supplying most of the UK spec cars to the European dealers (which they are), and are obviously still making a profit on them at the lower prices.

Josh

 

Styx, this isn't new you know

The savings in 1999 were, believe it or not, bigger than can be had now.

IMHO, Subaru Impreza Turbo/WRX sales are affected quite dramatically by EU imports for just the reasons that you've found.

Back in January 1999 I decided not to import as, after all, it's a 4 wheel drive car with a turbocharger and plenty to go wrong. Then I found out about their reliability (good) and the ease of importing (simple) and a good supplier and rapidly changed my mind

All objections went out of the window faced with a 7 grand saving.

IM, the UK franchise holders, have an excellent opportunity right now to reduce the price of the model in the UK. They've proven that they can reduce 3k off. You could argue that this was necessary to clear the books for the incoming model, but you could also theorise that they're still making money on them.

I know how much the dealers make. Let's just say that I don't believe it's their fault that the UK cars are so much more expensive in the UK. Also, bear in mind that the dealers in Holland will be taking the same level of profit more or less and still are able to supply us at massive discounts.

With the Focus RS gaining so much press at less than 20k, and other contenders to the crown, I believe the UK impreza is now overpriced compared to the competition. This is something that could not fairly be said a few years ago - it was groundbreaking in the VFM stakes. However, times change.

There's also another reason for prices coming down: supply and demand. In 1999, there was a limit on the number of cars that a manufacturer could bring into a country IIRC. This was scrapped throughout 2000, meaning that they could shift as many as they wanted to. Oversupply in the marketplace should lead to reduced price.

I'd love to see IM step up to the mark and say that the new shape will be under 20k, with a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty and finance deals that'll make grown financiers weep.

I've gone off on one here, haven't I? It's something that I feel strongly about, having managed to buck the system and buy my dream car (sad, innit) for 7 grand less than I thought I was going to have to spend. This level of difference isn't sustainable, and it isn't explainable by exchange rates, or market differences, or ...

Nick
(putting away soapbox for the while )

 

Josh L:

I can only think happy importers don't complain.

UK retail owners are always moaning about being ripped off.

Prove me wrong, lets hear an import horror story.
(could be a big chance for a uk retailer to make something up. i.e. it wont fit my spanner set) *****

 

I also bought my parallel import MY02 through Gertjan (via jamjar cars), and on the whole am very pleased. Subaru UK registered the car for the normal 3 year warranty without any hassle.

The only problem (as someone else mentioned) is that it's a little difficult to quibble about small defects in the car if it has been imported - ie. mine arrived (having sat around at the docks for a while in salt spray I suppose), with definite permanent rust deposits on the brake discs (no, not the kind that scrubs off on the first rotation of the wheel - the kind on the housing itself). Seemed churlish to reject the car on that basis but it's still a pain in the **** and not the advertised 'delivered to your door in showroom condition' boll0cks that these companies advertise....

cheers
DaveR

 

nice rant chiark
IM have got big problems, this time round!

anybody else feel the same?

 

Sorry, wasn't supposed to be a rant

I run the importingimprezas mailing list on yahoogroups, too - he's a quick rundown of hassles.

The worst thing that's happened so far warranty-wise is hassle getting a clutch replaced. The Dutch saw it as a consumable item... Note that the latest Subaru UK warranty excludes parts of the clutch assembly too

The worst problem with supply has been the non-arrival of a certificate of conformity, which means that you can't register the car. It was sorted out pretty quickly thanks to creativity on the part of the car dealer (who is sadly no longer a subaru dealer, partly because of the blocking tactics that he said he was experiencing from the importer)

Nick.

 

Josh

Can't tell you anything about warranty 'cos nothing has gone wrong...yet You're not taking the same punt as you would with a Ford when buying a Subaru

I've see somepeople comment that some dealers are more supportive on warranty claims than others. My warranty is not the full blown 3 year that you get now - it's one of the old 3 year ones where I will probably have to pay and then claim back. Hopefully I won't need to use it.

Couple of other points. If you live near Belgium then you can always pop over and get warrany work done. This is possible for me.

Nother point. I don't think Imports get the same IM attention at track days

 

I bought my MY02 wagon from Belgium via Keyring Cars and it was no bother whatsoever - they do all the paperwork for you, and it's just a case of a couple of signatures on the registration forms. I got my CoC and written confirmation of my 3 year warranty straight away. The only problem was the 5 month wait and the horrific Ford Sierra I had to drive round in till it arrived !
I am now seriously thinking of upgrading to MY03 STi (though I'm gutted they don't do it in a wagon) and have just got an email from Keyring Cars : £21,941 all in for STi(WRX = £16,062)
I'll never buy a new car in the UK again !!

The only problem I have come across so far is Prodrive Performance Pack - you can't get it fitted at your local dealer : you either have to take it back to the country of origin for fitting or get it done at Prodrive in Banbury - but I'm still waiting for confirmation from Prodrive that it can be done by them without affecting the warranty.

 

Styx,

I'm not looking for any horror stories, just some accounts of reasonable warranty work carried out by UK dealers.

For example: In the past I seem to recall mention that Euro dealers don't fix dodgy clutches under warranty. So, as someone who has had a new clutch and flywheel under warranty, I would consider this to be an issue.

My point is that Euro warranties are rather like insurance companies, in that the only way you actually find out if they're any good is when you make a claim.

Josh

 

Josh,

I think a lot depends on the garage you use both to buy your car in Europe and also the garage you use for servicing/warranty in the UK.

As an importer of cars the following is a situation arising at an ill informed UK dealer which was resolved by the garage I use.


A customers car had a fault and the UK dealer quibbled over the warranty fix and also highlighted a 6 week back order on the part required.

A quick call to the Euro dealer saw the part couriered over next day and the fix carried out at their cost by the UK dealer. Money which was then refunded by Subaru Benelux to the Euro dealer.

regards

Stuart

 

Ta Stuart, that's a more useful post IMHO.

Unfortunately, most discussions about importing are responded to by those firmly entrenched on either side, and rarely tackle the everyday issues.

My dealer is pretty good, but as they've handed in their notice to IM, I'm a little concerned how the local mob would deal with an import, when I have to use them in 18 months time.

Josh

 

Josh - from my conversations with IM the UK dealer handles warranty work for EU cars in exactly the same way as for a UK car - ie the work is authorised by IM(once the car is registered) not Subaru benelux/supplying dealer etc.

Although not strictly relevant I had some warranty work done on my previous EU import Toyota Celica (4 new alloys) - once I'd registered the car with Toyota UK the wheels were replaced directly by my local dealer once Toyota GB has okay'd.

At the end of the day, you've got to incur over £3-4k's worth of costs before an EU import becomes non-cost effective....

The only real downside to importing is making sure you deal with a reputable importer (ie not someone trying to pass Cyprus cars off as EU, or who doesn't supply paperwork) and the 7,500 mile rather than UK 10k service intervals.

I used Well Lane - car was in stock and everything was done for me - all I had to do was pick it up. But registering it yourself with the DVLC is easy - ppl make out it's hard work, but they're well used to it and all it needs is 30 mins down your local DVLC centre.

Still waiting for dealer comments...we knopw you're on here....

 

Jon,

Be careful with Toyota anology - I don't think Toyota in the UK is run as a franchise, it's part of Toyota worldwide. IM has the franchise for Subaru in the UK and thus has to claim back costs from Fuji.

I had a Belgian Euro Ford before this and had no problems at all with warranty 'cos it was all Ford Europe who paid the bills.

Josh - you raise the very question I was trying to get answered when I went down the Euro route. I asked on importingimprezas and here and I got very little feedback. I can only conclude that Scoobs are reliable and that it's not a big issue. I seem to remember shark saying that a Scoob service agency has on average 4% warranty work, whereas a Rover has 20% warranty work

I'd welcome feedback from all Euro owners on warranty issues.

I don't think we'll get much from UK dealers

[Edited by Nigel H - 11/19/2002 3:14:36 PM]

[Edited by Nigel H - 11/19/2002 3:15:21 PM]

 

Spoke to a dealer today, he was not happy with IM
They bought bug eye stock pre-registered it and IM dropped the price with no warning to them.

They stitch up the UK dealer.

I also told him he would end up as a repair centre, and he moaned about only getting 5% mark-up and the cost of marketing etc.

I think they have just about had enough as well as us.

Wonder why they are so quiet, perhaps they know something...

 

Guys, this thread is proving very informative. I agree with some of the comments above regarding warrenty work etc. Can we hear from someone with a parallel import who had to have some work done on their Scooby ? Was it done without hassle and raised eyebrows at their local Subaru dealer.

I would also like to hear from a Uk dealer on the situation, so come on... we know your reading this. Say something.

 

come on uk dealers say something, this issue wont go away.

and u know it!

 

I have read with interest what people have said about warranty claims and although Emperor Imports obviously is not a UK franchised dealer, all new Subaru cars sourced from us come with a 3 year warranty which is provided by the European Subaru distributor.
So how this works is that if you have to make a warranty claim you would go to the UK dealer to have the work done as normal, who would then bill International Motors for the claim, who would then send the bill on to the European distributor for them to pay.
ian

http://www.emperorimports.co.uk

 

ian/555

Well at least one retail company has something to say

Import company = 1

Uk Retailers = 0

By the way, I received your letter today from emperor imports
is the 5 months delivery time cos its a new car or because it always takes 5 months to import?

Dam long time to wait.. . . . . . !

 

I had warranty work done on my MY02 WRX Belgian import in early September. The local dealer replaced a faulty cambelt tensioner which I had to pay for while they processed the claim with IM. I was reimbursed last week when visiting the dealer (and querying the status of the claim) for a 15K service. So there you have a real example that the warranty process does work for euro imports.

However - the service guy said at the outset that there was a possibility that Subaru Benelux would not pay out. You may speculate why he originally thought this - past experience or whatever - but to my mind the fault was undoubtly covered by pan European warranty. If the result had gone the other way I would be wary of committing to another import.

 

Styx, I'm afraid that for some reason it is the norm when ordering a RHD car from Europe for it to take longer to be delivered, than for a LHD car from the same source.
ian

http://www.emperorimports.co.uk

 

Try Burbank Automotive Holdings (01926 410988)for a good importing service

 

I did

SUBARU IMPREZA WRX - 4 Door saloon (2002) £17,185 £4,310 28 weeks Spec Proceed

I dont want to watch them make it!
this must be the catch..................

I will go to trade-sales or virgin

 

Midlife,

*Some* of the dealers will offer horror stories about importing whenever they get the chance so I wouldn't read too much into it. I think most are mature about it and recognise that the majority of their profits comes from servicing and warranty work, and pissing EU Import owners off is not good for business. I even had one dealer try to scare me out of importing telling me that the Tax and VAT laws were changing and would make importing more expensive and also that I wouldn't be able to resell my car. They also told me that I wouldn't be able to buy the PPP for it (which others have done so is clearly a lie).

On the claiming front, I was pretty certain that you have to pay the cost of the warranty work up front and then claim it back from the originating importer. IM don't authorise the claim, the originating importer does and several people have found that phoning the originating importer or the original dealer can do marvels for speeding the process up and in some cases, the cost has been met directly from the importer meaning that the cost hasn't had to be paid up front.

On the clutch warranty point Josh, there have been several cases reported on here of UK supplied cars who've been refused a new clutch under warranty so I'm not convinced that it is always any worse in this respect buying an EU car. Also, as Chiark mentioned, I think that IM have tightened the clutch part of the warranty up on the WRX also. I think it's fair to say though that claiming on the EU warranty requires a little bit of work that a UK customer probably wouldn't have to do (except perhaps arguing with IM about why they *should* replace the clutch under warranty ), but for the cost savings on offer, most people are more than happy with that (I personally saved £8000 on my MY00 )

Ta,

Matt

 

One other thing, about the 5 month wait - when I was looking at buying from a UK dealer the lead time was also 5 months (as this is the order -> build -> delivery time from the factory) so the EU route was no slower. I think this all changed with the MY01 WRX becuase they weren't selling as well, the dealers or IM usually had stock which brought the lead time right down.

When I bought my STi7, the lead times again from the importers and the dealers was about the same and in the case of the STi8s, in some cases, these can be had in advance of the UK dealer supplied cars which are due (IIRC) in March).

Matt