Advise on new WRX
 

Hi All

I'm pondering on the idea of having a new Subaru WRX (not the STI).
I've noticed that they are about 20k new from a main dealer. But you can get them for about 16k from these car supermarkets.
Does anyone now if they are imports from the supermarkets and would dealers be reluctant to service them in the future. Also are the residuals affected, because it's a not dealer supplied.
Also, can I have the PPP fitted afterwards to a WRX brought from a car supermarket.
Thanks.

The ones at the dealers are imported too :rolleyes:

Car supermarkets source their cars in Europe where prices are generally lower than the UK, but the price normally gets closer to ours once some of their taxes are added which fortunately don't apply if the car is to be exported here. The main thing to watch for is that the car comes from an EU member state. If so, it is covered by Subarus 3yr Pan-European warranty and can be serviced at any authorised dealer (although since block exemption removal this is no longer necessary an can be done much cheaper elsewhere without affecting warranty). The only quibble may be if you need to make a warranty claim, whereby the cost of the repairs may have to be sanctioned by the holder of the warranty in the country where it was imported (I think), meaning either you may have to pay and wait for re-imbursement or the repair may be delayed until authorisation is got. There's no real reason why the residual value should be affected, especially after the warranty has expired, but it does and EU cars are usually worth about £1k less later. Some dealers will fit a PPP to an import, but they aren't supposed to. It's a bit of red tape introduced to further hinder people trying to save a few quid.

Make sure the price you pay includes all the OTR bits & bobs. Also make sure it comes with a Cat1 alarm and locking wheel nuts. If it is non-EU it may also need undersealing. When the Euro was stronger imports made a lot of sense, but recently the deals on offer in the UK and the hassle which may be associated with imports has put people off.