could someone please explain the fors and against of buying a new subaru wrx/sti from any of these sites. i think i've seen up 4k off uk price cars for a sti. these must be imports and if so, what are there downfalls (if any). are they a higher insurance group? do you have to run them on different fuel (a higher octane?). i read earlier , the type 'r' models had different gearing, was they only an import?. can you get them serviced at subaru dealerships? do any of you have them and are you happy or is it a big NO! NO!, stay well clear? are they bigger bhp to uk type models ? then to top it all off, on some sites it says uk spec, so is this to say that its the same car as from subaru uk but 3to4k cheaper it can't be? long winded i know, but dead easy for someone out there to explain. anything else we should be aware of? BIG THANKYOU !!!

Ordered an STI from UK dealership about a week ago, done all the leg work around imports, warranties, residuals, insurance, European /or not!! (Cyprus), servicing blah blah blah.....

Then found the price difference (with a bit of haggling) was, wait for it £500 - which I'm pretty much guaranteed to recover if I sell.

You pays your money.....

thanks andy,
so all you was offered in the end then was £500 cheaper from say an internet type deal??

I'm just about to buy a WRX, not STI, assuming I can order the 2003 version. So, for the 2002 WRX - UK list price £21,500, less any discount (Not too keen on much, but a pre-registered demonstrator with 1k miles will go for around £19,750).

A belgian dealer will quote around Euros 21,250, to which you will have to add 17.5% UK VAT and a Thatcham class 1 alarm or better. Includes 3 year pan-european warranty (1 year subaru, 2 years dealer as per UK).

That, assuming 1.6 Euro/£1 = £16,000, saving at least £3,750. Downside is you need to wait 4 to 6 months for deliviery.

Residuals don't seem to be much different for EU imports, maybe a grand. Beyond the delivery time, no-one has really pointed out a catch.

Savings are smaller on STIs, though I don't have the figures...

You can order your MY03 from 1st August according to Alain Knockaert, a Belgian dealer:) Expect the spec real soon...end of August.

Eldar

Have a look at www.snoop4cars.com I bought an MYO2 WRX had to wait six months turned out to be 9 months as I ordered it in May 2001 but had to wait for 02 model. I saved around 6K had it delivered to the door already registered. You will not get an alarm, but did get 3 years warrenty. You maybe able to go direct to the dealer instead of using an agent who charge around 400 quid. If you can wait it is well worth it & what you save you can use on mods. At the end of the day you can have a WRX for the price of a UK 206GTI I know which I prefer & I have had both now.

You don't have to add VAT on cars bought in the EU, you pay the local sales tax and that's it. SO if you were quoted 21,500 euros and that included belgian sales tax, there's no more to pay in VAT.

Paul

thanks vanker,
is the car you got then identical spec as if you would've bought it from a uk subaru dealer. is the insurance the same? if so i can wait 6 mnts to save 6k

Sorry Pavlo, but that's wrong in this instance.

The Euro price quoted excludes VAT. In this case, you pay the VAT in the country of domicile (ie the UK), rather than the country of origin (eg Belgium, Holland).

I should know, I've bought two cars this way now. last one was the MY02 WRX wagon from Alain Knockaert in Belgium on the 1st March.

You need to put a price on a dealers 'goodwill' that you buy when buying in the UK - everyone has their own level ..... to me, personally, I wouldnt even consider an import if it wasnt MORE than 33% cheaper - which they aren't of course.

Hence I bought at a UK dealer at UK prices and have enjoyed unrivalled dealer assistance at no extra cost to myself.

Not forgetting the fact that I now own a car, that come re-sale time, will be worth much more than an Import - I am talking a Euro import here as I consider 'Greys' a very risky place to put any money!

All IMHO of course!

Pete

Dealer goodwill has never been a problem with our Belgian import MY02, Pete. The two local dealers that I've used have been more than helpful - courtesy car, phone calls to detail progress etc. Even some free coffee.....

Saved £6000 on UK list, and get far better dealer assistance than we ever did with Uk sourced VWs and Audis.

so does this go for the likes of say virgincars.com and litchfield etc ARE THEY EXACT AS UK SPEC??? same fuel etc??

Thats good Harry - I didnt think they would be as keen to satisfy an owner had they not purchased from them? However, you experience seems to put that thought to bed.

What we cannot escape from, of course, is the stigma attached to an 'Import' and the difficulty in selling for anywhere near UK money when you want to dipose of it. Those same 'lovely' dealers certainly will not offer UK money for an Import.

Pete

Agreed on that point, Pete. Just as an exercise, I asked one of the S Yorks franchised dealers what they'd offer me, and they said that IM would not allow them to offer PX's on Euro imports. Now, about that letter to Mario Monti, the EU Commissioner.....

R5obbo, Although Ian at Litchfield has a great reputation on this board, just check with him on wher the cars are sourced. If they are from Holland, Belgium etc, they are the same as UK cars! So, the spec will be the same, same fuel, same radios and climate control. The only things they lack are a standard Cat 1 alarm (better off getting a Clifford IMHO) and locking wheel nuts.... Oh, and the UK importer (International Motors - IM) claims they underseal the UK cars as well. So, about £30 of Waxoyl will sort that one out.....

The reason for my caution on where the cars are sourced is that some poeple on here have been to some of the well known car supermarkets, who have claimed that their cheap WRXs are from Holland/Belgium/Germany, but they are actually from Cyprus. The problem here is that IM will refuse warranty work for those cars, and dealers will be reluctant to touch them. Same applies to Japanese Domestic Market (grey) imports. But, there are other reasons for wanting to get a JDM car - like lotsa power!!

hi r50bb0

The car I bought was a uk spec belgium import from Alain Knockart, the car is the same except locking wheel nuts (wow) & cat 1 alarm (get a tracker. The car is undersealed, the insurance is 630 ish & no difference if I got my car from the local dealer. The local dealer is OK about servicing the car & even gave me details for me to register it with IM. My advice is fcuk resale value cos if ya thinking of selling the car before ya got it then get a Pug. Go for it.
V

cheers vanker and harry-boy,
this seems to explain more like i needed to know ,thanks alot again catch up with ya later...

I go along with Vanker on resale. Personally, if I was looking at buying a used say 3 year old scoob and reading some of the mixed comments about main dealer servicing I'd be pretty impressed with an import which has been competently serviced by one of the independent specialists.