jbwrx300

As the WRX 300 is a designated Subaru model, I assumed (it appears foolishly) that insurers would be aware of the spec and provide a quote accordingly. It seems that no insurer has heard of the WRX 300, yet there are 300 vehicles ready for delivery at a dock somewhere in the UK. As soon as they hear about the PPP which is included as standard to this spec they dont want to know.

As I am due to pick the WRX 300 up at the end of this week but I am getting slightly concerned about the fact that this may not be possible without me paying excessively over the odds, in effect paying for 'Modified' car insurance, when in fact it is a listed vehicle, on the official manufacturers price list.

I will phone A-plan in morning, but is anyone else in the same position

C2forWRX

Thats because the insurers will not ever reconise it. The wrx300 is not out of the factory. You get a wrx with a few bits when it is registerd and then the PP is added after registration by the dealer. you have to tell the insurance company that it is a wrx and then tell them all the individual mods. sorry mate. it is apparently illegal to do it anyother way. A-plan will quote a wrx with ppp tho. otherwise if your 28 or over talk to subaru insured

Jiggerypokery

The insurer's probably will recognise this model, but it will take time. It's a new special edition model just like the WR1, so if you buy a WRX300 and insure it as a WRX300 it will appear on the insurance list as a standard car, just like the WR1 does.

Keep trying!

jbwrx300

The dealer (Matthew Robinson from Robinsons in Rochdale) said it will be a listed model and I had no reason to disbelieve him, especially given all the press attention given to the 300 this weekend.

Rather worryingly though, he said to "just insure it as a WRX and if they dont know what the 300 is, its their fault".

No way I was having that, as it would be guaranteed that on Sunday afternoon the car would be upside down in a tree somewhere in the Yorkshire moors with me swinging from a noose in the same tree having just waved goodbye to £21k.

Although the 300 is an official model, like the WR1, I suppose there could be an issue as I understand that the PPP is still fitted by the dealer, although I understand this was not an issue with the WR1 which was sold on the same basis.

I am really looking forward to picking the car up, but having given up my Z4 for this, I am really not sure what to make of the experience so far.

As it is unclear whether this is at the fault of the insurers for not updating their database or Subaru for not telling them in time for the launch or whether indeed it is classed as modified, it seems a bit of a f*ck up on all sides at the moment.

GrollySTI

If PPP is fitted to the car then it will be classed as modified won't it?Although PPP is currently a free option I don't think that it will form part of the car standard specs.

I assume the wrx300 will be classed as a variant of the wrx at some point - no problem - but as soon as the PPP is installed.........BAM!......welcome to the world of high insurance premiums!!!!

MTR

GrollySTi,
The WRX300 is fitted with the PPP as std.
See here.
http://www.subaru.co.uk/IMGGB/WWW/Su...D?Opendocument

So should be classed as UNMODIFIED.

Cheers
MTR

GrollySTI

Thanks MTR - I agree............wonder if insurance co's will get their finger out tho?

Rum*

ummmm....you could try Subaru Insured????? or have you already spoken to the team????

XRS

I can't see why it shouldn't be treated the same as the WR1 - effectively an unmodified car.

Insurance companies vary as to what they know - mine even knew what a Type 25 was - but some are on another planet.

Suggest you try Subaru Insured (as per Rum*) - they will know all about it.

jbwrx300

Subaru Insured told me the model didnt exist, even when I asked an underwriter to check the website. He admitted it was clearly a new model, but that as they had no official info, they wouldn't insure it at the moment.

Spoke to Rob at A-plan this morning, he knew nothing about the WRX300 spec, or in fact even aware that the model existed, but has managed to provide me with an interim quote which was excellent.

Nobody has been able to tell me though how I might legally go about getting the car on the road until the insurers update their rate books (which I know could take month or two for most).

When the insurers pull their fingers out, anybody wanting a WRX + PPP but cant get insured should seriously consider the WRX300 as a seriously good proposition if the insurers treat it like the WR1, especially given that the dealer offered me the car at £20750 (£1250 less than WRX with PPP) without me even asking for a discount.

Easier insurability should = significantly higher resale values, so if anyone is in the market for a WRX, I think a prospective buyer would be mad not to go for the 300.

As there are only 300, catch em while you can.

jbwrx300

After a discussion at dealers about Subaru Insured telling me there was no such model, spoke to Tom at SU who apologised for the mix up and was particularly helpful with the following pointers.

*SU will probably not cover the WRX300 for under 28's due to presence of PPP
* If the above applies, (as in my case) it should be insured as a WRX with PPP for the time being, but stating clearly on the proposal form exactly how it differs from the standard model.

In my case Tom could not help due to my age, but has assured me that the team at Subaru Insured will now be fully aware of how to rate the WRX300 for eligible drivers.

Tom, I believe this was the gist of our discussion, if I have misrepresented your comments here please feel free to correct me - and thanks for the help.

mattsan

I know its not a scooby but i had this problem when insuring the wifes mini cooper,they asked for all the extras it had and classed them all as modifications.When i said they were all factory fitted,this didnt matter! I asked for a quote without the so called modifications and it was exactly this same price They said its because its more likely to get nicked than a standrd one,but no difference in price?

MTR

Mattsan,
There is a subtle difference to the situation you faced.
Your wifes Mini could be purchased without the additional extras/modifications.
The WRX300 is only available with the PPP, so should be classed as STD just as the WR1 is.

Cheers
MTR

andyfish

Dear jbwrx300 - we've just bought a 300, and found a quote with Elephant for £740 per year, no problem. Someone else on the forum recommended Elephant - they had the WRX 300 listed and we had no difficulty getting a quote. They know about the PPP but as it comes as standard, Elephant don't consider it a modification.

missie

try grey imports on 0845 071 1234

andyfish

Hi

glad it's not just me who has had this prob. got insurance from elephant for £700. i phoned them to check if they new there was ppp in the standard spec. getting the point across was a challenge because the customer care centre is overseas (india i think) so they had difficulty understanding what i meant. they kept asking what the difference was between a standard wrx300 and my wrx 300. in the end i faxed and emailed them the full product brochure and they phoned back to say it's ok as the ppp is fitted pre-registration and is standard spec of this particular model. they said if you have the ppp removed post delivery this would count as a modification and bring in a higher premium!!! (not sure why anyone would want ppp removing, but there you go). when i asked why it was much cheaper to insure a wrx300 than a standard wrx they said 'no idea, sir, we just operate the telephones'!!! nuff said

every other insurer i talked to had no idea what a wrx300 was! my dealer (ridings at preston) thought the insurance was cheaper than the standard wrx because a trackstar is in the standard spec although reading this forum it seems trackstars are not highly rated.

anyway 8 days to go before collection...

Squadron-Leader

jbwrx300

I don't want to sound like 'My Old Man', and my comment will probably not help....... but did you not checkout the insurance before going to buy the car?

I bought a 04 WRX Wagon last April and I spent a good month crossing the T's and dotting the I's (with various insurance companies) before going to a dealer. This way round I knew I could get the insurance and afford it!

Only problem I came up against.... some insurers did not have the WRX Wagon down as a 2.0, but as a 1.8!

Good luck in getting insured. You'll not be disappointed in the car, until you want more power

J.

gazzared_typer

Just to say that if you go onto confused.com, they have the wrx300 listed as a specific model. Try them as a starting point. Admiral are quoting for that car. They came up with £634, with me (aged over 30 but with no NCB)

Gazza

jbwrx300

I checked out the insurance and was half expecting this situation to arise. I was just surprised that the model release caught all insurers on the hop for at least 2/3 weeks which is what caused the original problem for me.

Anyway as the original quote is nearly a month old now I have noticed that the problem now seems to be resolved with most insurers now quoting on the WRX300 - and providing surprisingly good quotes for many too!

Picked the car up last week and its fookin fantastic. Problem is I dont think it will be too long before I want a WR1.

DJ140

I have called Subaru insured for my last 2 renewals. I am 40 years old, with 9 years no claims, garaged car, with a WRX PPP and was quoted £1300. Also live in a low risk area.

WTF is that price all about? A-Plan have insured me for £630, including protected no claims and no tracker required. If I was a 20 year old with loads of points and a history of accidents fair enough, but I'm a sensible old git, with no points and not had an accident for over 20 years!!!

Can someone explain?

Richjt

I was on the Norwich Union site looking at insurance and the wrx300 was one of the models listed........

jbwrx300

Yes, easy. They are simply a normal insurance broker/company who has tied up a deal with IM/Subaru to market themselves as Subaru Insured, and thus will potentially get the opportunity to quote for more subarus than anyone else. Law of averages suggests that somebody will plump for them regardless of price, and therefore they dont seem too bothered that their premiums may be higher than many mainstream insurers such as elephant, privilige.

This may seem harsh, but I worked for CIS for years and sold car insurance on exactly this basis. Not the cheapest, but the more quotes I did, the more business I got irrespective of how competetive the quote.

A-plan are quoting unusually low rates in many cases and thus cannot really be compared to anyone as a mainstream insurer.

I know that Tom at Subaru Insured reads this forum, and I challenge him to explain why, on an insurance forum, does hardly anybody seem to have gone with Subaru Insured?