I am considering swapping my MY00 for a P1 which my wife will drive most of the time using it every day for work.

She is concerned that the P1 will be a constant target for vandals and bandits and that she will worry about it when she leaves it down the supermarket or at the train station.

Does anyone else on this board drive a P1 as an everyday car and can they give me some reassurance to persuade the missus that it will be okay? Surely it cant be that much more of a target than my current car?

Cheers

I had my P1 for 18 months, and during that time the only problems with paintwork and panels was basically self inflicted :D:D...i.e. trees jumping out at me.

I only ever had positive comments from "joe public".

I did however always park the car carefully in the likes of Supermarkets car parks...

But basically no problems this end.

One thing to look at is getting the side protectors (see http://www.p1woc.org.uk )- they are quite cheap and certainly protect from the occasional carpark door knock :D

Get the car....and enjoy the car

All the best

Tom

[Edited by Rum* - 10/19/2001 8:49:46 AM]

Wilf

I have had my P1 for 4.5 months and use it everyday for work and have covered just over 8k miles. The cars are so great I could go on and on just how good they are. I do worry about leaving my P1 in most places to be honest and I would never leave it anywhere like a train station carpark. You do get alot of attention from other people and I get fed up of the Nova brigade trying to race me to and from work.

You can't fault the P1 really in anyway, the PZero tyres are the worst thing about the car (I cahnged mine to SO2's). I don't want to spoil your fun and I hope that you would appreciate me being honest with you. I do worry about the car being stolen but it has an alarm, immobilizer, trackstar and dislock on it at all times and is garaged most nights, what more can you do?

If you have any further questions please feel free to mail me offline.

Cheers

Phil

PS My advice would still be go for it and enjoy it, you won't stop smiling.

Wilf

Well, as you know, we've had ours for 5 weeks now. I haven't driven it that much - mainly the wife taking it to work ;) - and its first service is tomorrow. I felt very self conscious at first, and paranoid about other people opening their doors into it.

I'm not so self conscious now. It doesn't seem to get much attention from other drivers, and after all, its reasonably safe in our part of the country. I suspect that 98% of the other people on the road only see it as another Impreza, and don't appreciate that its a bit more special - and you've both used to the occasional attention that an Impreza gets. From inside, it doesn't look much different to a MY00, so its easy to forget about the outside.

The only special care I take is when parking. In the office car park I always try to find a space between two cars where their passenger doors are either side of the space, so there's hardly any chance of a ding - but that probably isn't a wise move for a supermarket, where its the kids that are most likely culprits. Best bet there is the back of the car park or, if you're brave, use the bay line as a centre marker for the car :)

I think my wife had the sane concerns as yours, but now she's cool about it. Maybe they should have a chat!

Just do it. The car is just amazing, and if you can get a good deal, you'll not regret it

Martin

Wilf,
Pretty much the same as above really. I've had mine for 9 months and used it every day. It's fine to use even on long journeys as you don't have to worry about back pain from a hugely harsh ride.

You do have to watch where you park but I guess this goes for any car, my mate had his R reg MK3 Golf GTi keyed the other week parked on a street. I think if you use common sense when parking all should be well.

Cheers

Adam

Wilf,
I have had mine for 6 months, done nearly 7k and an exmoor and goodwood run, Every day use no problem, leave it in a scabby car park at work and the only problem has been some pratt nicked the subaru badge of the front grill, probably some beastie boy lover. Take 2 spaces at supermarket, wife loves to drive it and my 20 month daughter loves it even more in her recaro baby seat
Ian

Wilf,

I've had mine for 13 months / 16,000 miles and use it everyday for work and the school run (not fair that my Dad used to turn up for me in a Cortina).

It's a surprisingly easy car to drive gently, but at low speed the suspension is a little too stiff for some tastes.

Josh

Wilf
Traded up from MY00 to P1 in Jan. Since then my wife has driven car 5 days a week to work, inc school and shopping runs.
She loves it and prefers it to the MY00, but I think thats because of the looks she gets in it.
We have had the side protector strips colour coded and fitted to protect it at the supermarket, and she tends to be careful not to park to close to other cars. The front spoiler has been scraped a couple of times (once on a petrol pump island) but that was in the early days.
Its been resprayed since then and no further problems.

Tell your wife that she will love it, if she wants to email my wife offline use my email address and Lesley will answer her questions.

Steve

Had mine since April this year, currently running with a few modifications including a safety devices roll cage with 4 point harnesses, Mon - Fri I wear a three piece suit and get some strange looks, weekend I blob out and just look the biz ;)
So in answer to your question Wilf, I find it a practical daily car even with all my add-ons, and it certainly breaks the ice when seeing new clients or ironing out problems (uh....sorry,opportunities.....) with existing ones. :D

GO FOR IT and join the bretheren ! :)

Well, I'm the wife, and yes, we collect our P1 on Saturday (from Listers) so your persuasive comments worked - and yes, we're both can't wait.
It's strange but you're right - when you drive it, you can't stop grinning!