KiwiGTI

When I sold my Golf a couple of years back the dealer that bought it placed a tester at various points around the body to test the bodywork, I assumed it was testing paint thickness which would give a clue to whether it had been resprayed.

RayC

i work with ABS systems, car will run fine with yellow warning light on dash and no ABS obviously, smells highly fishy to me, unleash some hard questions on dealer direct.

i'm thinking of getting a 06 impreza in july/aug and will be going same route, i cant afford to buy one at dealer prices and cant see the issue with super market cars they are all off the same production lines

good luck

Edward

The immobiliser that's fitted by Subaru uses a small chip in the key to send a signal to the ECU, as far as I know no codes are ever used. In the past I have my ECU disconected for a couple of days without a problem.

Surely the supplier can tell you which Subaru dealer your car has been sent to?

KiwiGTI

Sent to Robinsons in Rochdale.

Anyone know if they are any good?

Will call them a bit later and find out exactly what is wrong.

pslewis

I cannot believe that you are still sticking with this car ....... ?????

There is clearly something wrong, do you really want a lemon? Subaru lemons don't happen often - go and buy another elsewhere (there are plenty about!)

Pete

speedking

The car does not belong to KiwiGTI as he has not paid for it yet. Therefore the supplier doesn't have to tell him anything, although it would be good PR to do so. All the supplier does is hand over a car which at that point in time is merchantable, what happens to it before is irrelevant. As noted above, many minor faults are rectified at PDI, but nobody gets a discount on the strength of these.

As for the depreciation issue, PSL/Bluto are so wrong. Pay £5k less when new and get £500 less after 4 years Even this differential is hard to justify, it's a 'peace of mind' thing I suppose. Why would anyone sell the exact same car for half price (£5k cf £10k). Do you expect the seller to tell you what they actually paid for a car (new or secondhand) so you can work out what you should be paying for it The value is dependent on many factors but the new price isn't one of them.

pslewis

Correct, BUT the fact that it states its an IMPORT on the Reg.Docs. reduces it's price.

Now, I'm not saying that in 6 years hence the difference will be £5k ..... but I doubt very much that that is the TRUE saving buying Import!?

A UK Main Dealer will give generous discounts and will give a certain customer/dealer relationship ..... in a week or two after purchase, if there is a squeak or creak or trim piece loose/broken, they will (or should) fall over backwards to help ...... can't see a Car Supermarket wanting to even talk to you????

Pete

KiwiGTI

Possibly, I've heard some importers are better than others.

But the fact remains that a Subaru dealer is still obliged to fix it and will fix it to exactly the same standard as a UK sourced one. Unless they are incredibly vindictive there is no point doing a lesser job on imports because it will cost them more in the long run.

So far they have been upfront and honest about things, I will verify with the Subaru dealer too. I have a good price for my trade and have paid a deposit, it sounds like a small problem that can be rectified and I will have the car on Wednesday.

If I cancel I will have to sell my car privately (other places offers have been well below the current one) and I will have to go through getting my deposit back and waiting weeks for another car. Also the current place starts the warranty from date of registration, the others are from date of manufacture. eg. from Motorpoint the warranty on their current stock started on 1/1/06

KiwiGTI

Going to have to think about this one.

Spoke with Subaru dealer, initial fault was the ABS motor, which still ran while the engine was off causing the battery to run flat.

Someone had then used a booster to jumpstart the car and has fried the ECU, Clocks and Immobiliser Control Unit.

Dealer reckons that once replaced would be as new and can't see any problems, but he has also never seen car with this many problems at once.

pj748r

Hmmm...just looked at my V5(MY '05 import) and can't seem to find where it says its an import because it doesn't

When i bought an import Kawasaki the documents didn't say it was an import either

the documents for my Ducati don't specify that it's a UK bike which it is!



A little bit more research required i think

Edward

Kiwi, I think once Robinsons have sorted the car it should be fine - things like the ECU either work or they don't so you shouldn't have any ongoing problems.

I recently bought a MY06 Sti and found I could get a UK car for a few hundred pounds more than an EU import (after taking alarm etc. into account). If your having doubts about the EU car I would fax every dealer within a 200 mile radius with details of your trade in and state that your going to place an order that day - it's amazing what deals can be done.

powerman1

dont agree..my 03 wrxsl as lost 10k in three years now at 10500k so import at say 15k new would be a bargain at 5k when its 3 years old show me the my03 wrx's imports at 5k.
powerman

devowrx

Snap, just looked at my V5 from my 06 impreza that i bought from motorpoint and mine does not say import either

ZippyLane

Nor mine..

Leeroy

No mention on my V5 either!

I wonder if people mention they're EU imports when they sell?