Hatch STI, love it, end of. Well that and I very nearly bought a FRS but decided for the £'s the STI was the better car and the car for me.

Half a brain!
 

"There's a good chap" :wonder:

Sorry Biggles. And nice to see you kept the old car.:thumb:

Ultimately it is your loss. I can understand that change is difficult to come to terms with. You love the saloon shape. If you are lucky they will bring out an STI version of the saloon wrx they have in the states. So long as subaru don't go down the pan whilst all the shed driving saloon owners hold onto their ever decaying cars:D.
Bad news though, these cars are actually cheap. You feel they are expensive but alas that is not the case these days. This was the cheapest option I had on my list.

I do love that there are hardly any on the road, and that most people don't know what it is.

As hard as you find this to believe we are actually happy with our cars. I changed from a golf R32 after 6 months of ownership because I wasn't happy with it. I have had the Hatchback STI for 16 months now and I am not changing it. I did test drive a spec D PPP, it didn't cut it next to the hatchback.

All the hatchback drivers are now very aware you do not like the car from your subtle postings, and try as we might we will never be able to educate you otherwise. And, I am sure you will endeavour to goad us and describe your posts as further banter.
I wait with baited breath for your next slur on the hatchback.
My advice, if you don't like it, don't buy it.

We may be in the minority but we do love our hatchbacks.

Bye Bye

You know what, being serious for a minute it's quite weird you all feel the need to defend your choice quite so vociferously.

You see if someone said my old banger is a crock of crap I wouldn't bother defending it as I couldn't care less what anyone else thinks.

As for being in a minority you certainly are, look at the sales figures :D

Seriously! Come on, you have posted more than anyone else on this thread.

personaly i think it's pi*s poor to come on a forum called scoobynet and start to slate the impreza.

Im not a big fan of the bug eye i wouldnt have one but i would come on here and and say anything
bad about them

Some Defence
 

The car industry is in trouble at the moment, I got 2.5k knocked off an Audi S3, but its still too expensive for 265bhp (even if its the best built car in the world). Car values were holding firm, in fact in sept used values increased. But now used car values are back to normal and falling again.

Its a very good time to negociate a deal, especially as the manufacturer's are heavily discounting demos and 59 pre-registrations (used to be 40% and I'm darn sure its this figure or higher, so dealers have a lot or margin)


I contacted a subaru dealer and they offered me 14k trade-in (car worth 11.5k on glass) against a 22k 59 plate pre-reg with 50 miles Sti which is 24k, so 10k to change. what I get is a brand new car, 3 years warranty no real worries for 3 years.

Now depreciation
- Audi S3, 28K new, 3 years and its worth £15k plus lower trade-in so extra 2K for my Golf D, total loss over 3 years is 13,000 on the car (plus 2k lower tradein), so total loss in 3 years in £15,000

- STI 2009 (59 plate with 50 miles on the clock, uk dealer car), STi trade in value after 3 years £9.5k (as market will have returned to normal), total loss after 3 years is £14,500; saving nearly pays for the extra road tax.

Now the saving on the Audi is in effect £6000, thats a lot of fuel.

BTW - I do think the S3 is a fantasic car, its just used for price comparision. I am in no way slating Audi.

Cheers all

Mike Paul

John, dont this the wrong way, but weren't 99.9% of your 99 posts just constantly singing the praises of your '08? ...& didn't you also have a couple of letters published in EVO/PC again on the same subject?

lol ...do you work for IM?

I've driven an '08 & whilst nowhere near a bad car it just didn't do anything for me personally ...for me it seems to have lost a bit of 'character' & feel ..I hate to say i found it a bit anesthetised :(

BUT high residuals have f00k all to do with it being a good/bad car, it's purely a question of supply & demand

one day you'll understand......i love classics dont get me wrong, they're are cool, and lots of potential, but wouldnt be match mod for mod......


just saying......

Why not? It's called having an opinion. If you want a forum full of people patting each other on the back and not saying what they really think then I think that would make for a pretty boring place.... actually it sounds like MySpace LOL!

I have driven the new car and think it is poor in a lot of areas and don't mind saying so. The sales figures (even after recession adjustment) would seem to confirm I am hardly alone in this thinking.

Just saying it as I see it and on the OP's original subject as said above solid residuals have little to do with how good a car is.

On the web there's an ex demonstator 09 STi, 1200 miles, in red, £19995
Also grey 08 STi, 15k miles, £16995. Both basic spec but cheapest I've seen yet.

F1 Fan - Your old banger is a crock of crap. Hatches rule.

Only 99.8%
 

Wondering when you would make your entrance Daz, you do like the new shape discussions.:) Here is post 100, and I would like to think 100% of my posts were on my 08 STi as it is the only Subaru I own, and I don't feel comfortable or qualified enough to comment on models I don't own, or have driven. If you are implying I like it a lot, you are correct. As you have an exceptional knowledge of my publications you have surely read the extensive contributions concerning my fuel tank replacement and engine management call-backs. Not exactly singing the praises, and if you would like another negative comment, I will oblige – I can't get three large suitcases in the boot at the same time (despite the hatchback).:cry: There – you can enjoy the rest of your weekend now, knowing I drive a flawed car (after you've worked on your maths skills of course).:thumb:

Oi, watch it !

;)

dunx

P.S. £17K is getting closer to my pain threshold !

Right, that's it I am leaving Scoobynet. This sort of comment is exactly why I don't want to post here any more ;) :D :D

I still have my classic bubblewrapped for finer days and use my WRXd for everyday use and it is the best subaru i have ever driven
the new hatch is the future and a small bend of us know we are streets ahead of the scooby antiques road show/ crew :D:D:D

if you have ever driven one weel i do recommend you do as its the only subaru shape you will et for years !!

tbh You do seem to stand out like a sore thumb, both with your vitriolic defense of the '08 ...& also because I'm a big fan of your work, Ferris Buellers being a particular favorite ;)

like i said before, the '08 is a good car ...but just not as good as a: the lofty heights that previous Impreza's reached & b: some owners think they are

Various motoring publications have their 'car of the year' round about now ...will be interesting to see how the hatch does ;)

Do they do a bottom 10?

So assuming the Hatch STI is low on the list, does this mean that all those that have bought and are happy with the car cannot say so :wonder:.

Do you think that a motoring publications opinion will change the fact that we are happy with our cars :wonder:.

It may satisfy the haters i suppose :sleep::sleep::sleep:

It's all about opinions and i don't see many Hatch owners who are anything other than very happy with their cars. I have also not seen one thread over the past 18 months where a Hatch owner has slated a previous model.

Live and let live all you Hatch haters.

Edit for accuracy ;)

:lol1::lol1::lol1::lol1::lol1:

I didn't think you did accuracy f1 ;)

LOL... i do miss Scoobynet at times :D

So reading between the lines the values seem to be artifically high at the moment due to low sales and used vehicles largely being moved on by dealers, until higher numbers of private sales come up the used values look to remain high. Fair enough, so not the right time to buy used.

In terms of the banter about whether the hatch is a good car i can make my own mind up boys ;) . And after 9 years of Impreza ownership covering 3 different versions i've got quite a broad spectrum of experience to draw upon. Having test drove the hatch last summer i came to the conclusion it was a good car. Remember the classic owners that if you've test drove the hatch you are comparing your probably well modded car to a standard one... not really fair. Did you test drive a standard classic back in say 1995?? If you did you won't have come away in awe, the brakes were cr*p, horrible 15" wheels, lots of understeer, seats from an old mans civic (in tweed!!!), steering wheel from a truck and quite ordinarly looks. Over the years the classic improved through phase 1.5 and 2 but the classics come into their own with some small mods (such as better brakes, whiteline goodies and tweek in power etc). Much the same as the hatch these days, throw a bit of money at it and its a different beast... same as my old Hawkeye too. Pretty ordinary as standard. Everybody will usually favour the vehicle they actually own, which is to be expected.

Cheers guys,

Tony.