Hi people,
As im sure you are all aware its a buyers market with scoobs and most other performance cars at the moment.
Now, again most of us know this is due to a number of factors; petrol, taxes, intrest rates, housing market, energy and just the cost of living in general.
My question is, when is the best time to buy a 03 uk sti for example?
Has it passed, is it now or will it be in the next few month etc.
Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

 

It's probably a better time to buy a younger car than that - if you can stretch to it, of course. An 03 is just approaching that age where mileage and condition affects price greater than when it was first registered. Just look at the price of some late classics!! You can probably get a very nice 03 STI for 7-8 grand and have a lot to choose from. From another thread we have seen that 06 STIs are now down to £13,250 (minus a bit more for haggling) and that to me represents the best value. If you can stretch to it, have roads where you can enjoy it and don't drive very often then that's where my money would go (given I had to have an Impreza). Failing that, I reckon a tastefully modified 03 STI is probably not a bad bet at the moment - but haggle until the owner starts crying

 

I cant say i have seen any 'very nice' 03 sti's for 7-8k, where have you seen them? can you post some links?
Thanks

 

Abit like buying a house really...

 

Mines a Very Nice 03 STI...and it will not sell for no were near that price... maybe a misprint...how has an hidden agenda...

 

can you be more specific?

 

I'm sorry but I'm not trauling through the classifieds AGAIN. Have a look and see how long some 03 STIs have been sitting around waiting for someone to spend £10k+ on them. There's loads of them and no one's buying because they're overpriced. You could pick one up for £25k new in 2003. No trouble. £7-8k for that car today is about a third of the orginial price. Absolutely bang on the money. People looking for £10k+ are asking for 40%+ residuals on a 5 year old car. That makes it one of the slowest depreciating cars on the market. And it isn't.

 

Nobody is going to take 7K!! for a reasonable mileage, 'very nice' 03 sti.
Its just not going to happen!

 

anybody agree with 'Blueblaster'?

 

Totally agree...

but one the Remap and the mods come into the equation the cost does add up..

Lets face it a standard STI on a 03 plate drives and handles like ****...now you can either spend the £3k+ or spend that little bit more money at purchase time and have the car drive and handle little it should...

Sure you can but a STI for £10k...but would i go and buy the cheapest Scooby out there...No..[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif'][/FONT]

 

So 'Samuk' you think you can get a good 03 sti for 7k??

 

That sounds like a trade in price to me...so yes someone will take it...though only a very desperate Seller..

 

Personally i would see a UK 03 STI as one car to avoid. It misses out on the DCCD-A and yaw sensors and if you got any sense you'd buy a slightly older bugeye Prodrive STI thats far rarer and near enough the same car.

I'd rather buy a low miles black prodrive bugeye and spend the rest on mods or hold out and buy an 05 place with dccd-a.

 

What he said.

And no, you will not find a good condition 03 sti for 7-8K.

It isn't hard to look on autotrader/pistonheads now is it.

 

opps...i think i said something wrong above...no i do nto think that...

I mean my 03 STI have got 30K on the clock (hardley driven) and i would put that car up for sale for little above £11k...with a 4K ice install and near £5k worth of performance mods...etc....

You will get what you pay for really...

I havent really thought about what i am going to do when i have to buy my road tax...but i can see for when the road Tax does cost £455 for the year..this alone will see a drop in car prices...

 

To be honest, from what i have heard dccd is abit of a waste of time unless you track every other weekend. And also that quite a few people dont link the feeling it gives through bends at low rev for example.
Athough i do think i could probably get abit more for my money with a 04 - 05.

As for the good sti 7-8K, if the rolleyes was directed at me...I know i wouldnt get a good one for that, thats what i was saying. It was 'blueblaster' that was suggesting that.

 

and yeah 'samUK' i thought that is what you meant.

 

No it wasn't aimed at you. But my point still stands about having a look on the internet. No one will be able to answer the question for you.

Ring some up and see what they are willing to take. Quite easy really.

 

Ok, fair enough, i know that. That wasnt my question.
But thanks anyway.

 

Yes, I would like to see them too. I would say closer to £9-9.5k, maybe £10 for a modded example. It depends what you want to do to it.

Y uoi can either look for a Scoob that you wish to modify for your own taste/power etc, or indeed leave standard. Or for say an extra £1500 on what a normal STi would cost, pay that little extra for what may be £4k worth of respected performance mods. I know which I would do

 

The way i look at it...you can not buy a car these days and sell it for what you bought it...all cars loose money and i have budgeted for near £3k loss for 2 years of use..this does not include road tax insurance etc...

 

I think the point that comes out of this thread is that in the private sale second hand market, mods are worth something. For example, Samuk would put his car up for £11k, but he does have £9k of desirable mods (although I bet his boot is full of speakers ). Before people get the hump with my valuations (and people always get the hump), they should really consider what car we are valuing. If you want to know the price of an 03 STI with some nice wheels, stereo upgrade, suspension upgrade and maybe a few extra ponies then you're probably looking at something between £10k and £11k. But that car would have cost over £30k new which, with residuals of 30ish percent makes £10k look right.

 

I've owned an 03 STI and now an 05 STI, and I can't say that the DCCD is worth squiddly-dit to me. I'm sure others will say different, but it's just not something I have ever got anything out of, and is just there to impress the lads at McDonald's with IMO. There were some other changes between the two cars, though I forget exactly what...

I can see what Blueblaster is saying about prices, but I seriously doubt you'll find a good condition/low mileage 03 STI for £7-8k. Maybe if you spent weeks searching and were willing to travel to the other end of the country...

 

actually i have only one speaker in the boot...

 

Exactly, this is what mr 'Blaster' doesn't seem to understand.

Also don't forget people don't advertise the cars at the lowest possible acceptance price either. So if you see a car for sale for £10k, chances are the seller realises the sale price may be say £9.5k, or would be willing to accept that. Me, myself and I personally was a little different, mainly due to desperation on a money side. I stuck my car up originally for £3,750, which for the car and the work done was a good price as is. It then eventually, after about 10-14 days ended up at £3,000, which Blueblaster himself admitted was a good price. The first person to look and indeed drive it, offered me that straight away, no haggling or bargaining. So I knew my car was under valued.

My personal guess is 'he' - mr blaster works in the trade, as he simply refuses to budge on the daft stupid trade prices he so adamintley adheres too. Which brings me back to my original point of setting the price with room to compromise.

 

I appreciated everyones thoughs. Could we get back to the original question of wether now is the best time to buy or wether price are going to continue to drop in the same way due to the tax increases etc.
Ie. should I buy now or should i wait 6 months etc???

 

lol..

from everything thats been said above...what i can see is that car prices's are going to drop regarless of anything...ocfourse the Tac increase will not help...

You could buy a car now..and sell it next year without spending the £455 on the Road Tax next year however the buyer will haggle the cost down due to the tax no being on the car.. So either way you will loose money..

you could on the other had wait till next year...and ofcourse you will buy the same car for a cheeper amount but the question is what will you do between now and then...?


The way i see it...if i want a car i'l buy the car..


I mentioned house above, reason been the same question can be asked regarding buying a house...shall i buy a house now or next year..? even though prices are falling now (as a result number of sales reduced)..no one can predict 100% what the market will be like next year...

Just buy the car...and Enjoy

 

true

 

FWIW I do not work in the trade. Never have, never will.

Everyone says I am talking rubbish yet no one is prepared to explain why Imprezas, of all cars, should break the rules on residual values. A standard 03 STI with average mileage in good condition is worth £7-8k private sale and somewhere around £8.5-£10k from a dealer. It's five years old!!! Cars depreciate!!! Wake up!!!

As for whether it is the right time to buy, yeah it probably is. All things financial and economic probably won't get that much worse although they'll probably drag on for a long time. However, if you're really worried about depreciation then one does wonder if you really can afford this car. It's neither a good time nor a good idea to push your budget to the absolute limit if you're buying an Impreza.

 

Life is too short. You will not save a fortune by waiting, as by that time, you'll probably want a newer car than an 03. Buy it, enjoy it, sell it if you don't like it. But, you WILL lose money on an impreza. (unless you are really crafty and polish some money back into the car like I did!)