Mike Rainbird

Lord Lucan (I thought you were still on the run? )
What deposit do you have to pay and what delivery time? £15.5k NEW! - Fvcking hell, you'd have to be mad to buy a UK car...
Thanks
Mike

[This message has been edited by Mike Rainbird (edited 23-02-2000).]

Yex

Looks like Mr Rainbird is weakening.....

Yex

jackdenon

Bought a bright red (best colour by far - see Evo's scooby calender for February) 98R 4 door from its owner two weeks ago and I'm chuffed. See the smile. Paid £16850 for an 18 month old car with 25000 on the clock in mint condition with 18 months dealer guarantee.

The same spec from a dealer would have cost me £18000+ and I would have no idea of its history.

Thanks Kevin. If your W reg doesn't arrive next week you can't have this one back!

Geezer

Jack,
Should have gone to Radio Rentals mate (doh! I mean Holland) £15600 for MY00 4DR with aircon!

KevinS

Cheers Jack nice to know you are happy.

My local london dealer says my new car will be ready on 1st March.

Holland at £15600 I don't think so. Add extra warranty. Add travel costs add extras that are not included, Add pain and suffering. Add lost interest on deposit. Add the fact that when you come to sell a car with a foreign language handbook the buyer won't know what the bright switch is for!

I decided to buy a UK car again having spent many hours looking at the euro route. I sleep easier at night.

By the way I was offered £16250 for my car by my dealer who said he would sell it for around £18250 with a list of buyers waiting for it!!

UK cars seem to rule OK.

GCollier

Add buyers who are willing to pay well over the odds for a UK car, and you get many happy and rich people in IM.

lordlucan

Hmmmmm

My 00 Car is costing £15500 with 17" wheels colour coded side skirts and extra guages. Extra 2 year warranty can be had for £400, needed with a Scooby, not really. Travel costs are minimal, especially when you can have a w/e in Amsterdam in the price ! Lost interest on the deposit is under £100, and thats at good rates! The handbook being supplied is a UK one as the car is full UK spec. So I am sorry to argue but this is why dealers in the UK can offer you a car with almost immediate delivery when a year ago there was a waiting list.
Why pay more, wake up and smell the coffee !

pwebb

lets not get into this debate again -
suffice it to say that anyone who pays full- whack for a UK sourced car is barking mad!
(I did in '98 and now know that it was pure folly)

that said, all the most interesting people around are mad too.

most of the points kevinS makes don't hold water, as is the case with similar postings in other threads on this BBS. Why not simply retort that you don't mind paying well over the odds for the product you have bought?

what I do get bothered about is people stating that they are 'saving' 6-grand etc. by importing...
Actually, no saving at all - this is merely the correct price to be paid in Europe rather than the extortionate rates charged by IM backed dealers in the UK. People in benelux countries who have been paying these prices for years would not consider them cheap or discounted! Add to this the fact that in most of these countries the general cost of living/average wage is considerably higher than in the UK and the difference is even more stark.

One fact remains - that the grin on the smile of the face of an impreza driver is definitely broader for those people who have paid the least for their cars :-)

cheers,

Paul W (huge grin at all times)

Lee Masters

I bought a used scooby four months back and am still pleased with what I did. I would rather buy a used one than a new one from Europe. KevinS is right. Peace of mind is the main factor.

Who wants colour coded side skirts anyway - how naf!

lpro

Has anybody tried to sell an european import yet(after use that is and not for a quick buck)???

If so did you have any trouble trying to persuade the buyer that it was up to the same standard as a UK model??

I'm not trying to put an argument across here it just I was interested (try to 156 import)

Geezer

Lee,
What 'peace of mind' do you get by buying UK. People use this term like it's going out of fashion, but there is no basis for it. The car I am getting is UK spec, it has a European CoC, same as a UK one (admittedly without Cat 1 alarm, but hey, £7k buys a good alarm!), UK dealers are bound by law to service it, IM are bound by Europen law to honour the warranty (again £7k buys alot of warranty if you want to extend it), and the dealer is bound by European law if I wish redress from him.

So go on, what exactly is the peace of mind you are getting?

If people want to get a UK car, fine, do what you want. If I had £22k readily to hand I probably would too, but that argument is b******s and you know it!

carl

The 'peace of mind' I got was by buying a new EU import with a warranty for the price of a 3-yr old UK model with no warranty (and who knows what sort of history?)

lpro

I didn't think that UK Dealers are allowed to touch non UK Scoobies(apart from the ones who'll do it but won't stamp your service book).

People want piece of mind, when the disc's on your scooby crack, as they tend to do. I'll bet the third party warranty company put it down to wear and tear and not a manafacturing fault. YOu then have all the hassle of trying to replace them. You can go on and on.

Speaking from experience, I imported a 156 but Alfa Romeo in the UK would give an extended Warranty, but try getting that out of IM.

Try selling the car without dealer stamp's, I don't know about you but I want to know that a car that I am going to buy has been looked after. Especially if you're gonna pay 14k+.

Yes you buy a car for 6grand cheaper and it's brand new.

There are so many pro's and con's. I was lucky and could afford to pay UK prices and no I don't think I was ripped off, in fact I think I got a bargain. I'm that happy with the car and that's what it all comes down to, are you happy

Oz

Ipro, dealers are forbidden by IM from servicing grey imports (i.e. WRX/STI). However, they are legally bound to service cars that conform to full UK spec that have been sold within the EU.

The warranty with a European car is a one year manufacturers warranty that must also be honoured by IM.

It is very easy to obtain an insurance based warranty for further years. Indeed, years two and three of an official warranty supplied by Subaru UK are an insurance based warranty that IM itself has taken out.

I don't own an import so I'm not trying to defend a corner, just letting you know things aren't quite so bleak!

carl

Motor Warranty Direct will pay out for failures caused by wear and tear (allegedly).

Nick C

What about the all important VAT that you have to pay on your £15,550 / £16,000 car. Nobody seems to mention this. Thats another £2,500 ish out of the savings and as everyone knows, you may pay a cheap price at the beginning but you get less at the other end when you sell. Pays your money and makes your choice.

lpro

Carl

If I was you I'd check the small print, no Warranty company pay for wear and tear. Otherwise I'd be getting my tyres, breakpads et etc etc done on it.

As far as I'm concerned all third party warranty companies are thiefs(sorry if I offend anyone). They take your money and then when it comes to making a claim, they usually come out with some cr£p answer like "no that's not covered under 4 paragraph 2 word 3 & $ which usually says (your screwed).

This is from past experience, including warranties sold by major dealers (Honda to name one, alternator went on my aerodeck, went to honda, dealer says "oh that part never goes wrong so it'not covered in the warranty" thankyou and heres £600 squids)

Rant off

Geezer

Nick,
The car is 48,050 NLG, which is roughly £13,300. The £15,600 includes UK VAT

Mike Rainbird

Nick C,
The price of £15.5k INCLUDES the VAT, the basic list price in Holland is just over £12K before taxes.....
Mike

Mike Rainbird

Bvgger Geezer, you beat me to it! (The price I have quoted is the totally bsic price with no extras what-so-ever).....

GaryC

....."lets not get into this debate again -
suffice it to say that anyone who pays full- whack for a UK sourced car is barking mad!".....

Don't fuel the debate if you don't want to get into it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

I bought a UK car from the UK. Having never owned a Subaru before, I wouldn't touch an import, EU or non-EU, with a barge pole. My 'piece of mind' and the value there in can only be calculated by me.

I could afford a UK car, didn't see the need to increase the risk, wait longer for the car, and gamble on re-sale values etc etc by going via either of the import routes.

Having owned an impreza now I may go STi next time to get the greater performance etc - but then the P1 has probably covered that angle.

This is my opinion, don't call me barking mad for having it!

PaulL

Well said GaryC

I wasn't prepared to take ANY risks when buying my UK car, no matter how small. After a disastrous 2+ years of MGF ownership where just about everything went wrong - I wanted complete peace-of-mind. Having never owned a Subaru before, I was prepared to pay the UK price to achieve this.

But, in agreement with GaryC again, after 8 months of troublefree motoring I would consider an import next time.

Paul L

PaulW

Some UK dealers have cars in stock.

You can get immediate delivery and a discount (although not £6,000).

That's the route I'm taking, agreed a deal last week and pick up W reg on 2/3/00.

Paul

Geezer

I think at the end of the day, as long as you are happy with your car and where you got it, what you paid etc., then fine.

We shall just have to agree to disagree.


P.S. We are right though!

Ari Fernelius

You Lucky B**tards! (no offence )

VAT here in Finland is 122% of the car import price. Impreza Turbo list prices start from £30K (£31K for 5 door). Basically it's the same as the UK Spec car, just somewhat more modern interior (speedometer has the metric system )

Oh yeah, forgot to mention: just bought one, coz I HAD TO HAVE ONE!

DavidG

Well said, Geezer.

It p1sses me off when every time someone posts that they've just bought or are about to buy a new car for £whatever someone jumps in and categorically tells them that they've been ripped off and they could have bought one in Holland and still had change from tuppence.

Yes, UK dealers have to honour your warranty. But the warranty is only a year, not three. After that you're on your own.

And let's get one thing straight on warranties: the three-year Subaru warranty is an intangible factor in the balance that someone has to come to in their mind when making the purchasing decision. That warranty cannot be replaced, for any money (the best you can get is an insurance-based third-party warranty which is not directly comparable), and so a monetary value cannot be put on it. If that doesn't matter to you: fine, that's your decision that reflects your own personal values and priorities. But don't presume to tell other people that the choice they made is the wrong one.

Mike Rainbird

David,
Please read Oz's posting on this thread (dated 23/2/2000 written at 5.43pm). I think you will find it.... interesting. And if you would take the time to read the whole thread, you would see that Geezer is actually supporting the "import" point of view (hence his "we're right" statement at the end)....

I still don't see what you are getting over and above the non Uk cars. If IM can get an insurance covered two year extension on the warranty, so can Joe Public...
Mike

DavidG

Mike, I did read the whole thread. That's why I was so fired up . I think it's pretty clear what Geezer said: if you like the car you've got and are happy with it, that's what matters. He obviously thinks his approach (import) is right, and I don't disagree with him. I'm not knocking imports. I'm just objecting to the folks who insist that that's the only true way.

I re-read Oz's post and see no reason to change my view on warranties. The Subaru warranty in years 2 and 3 is indeed insurance-based but it is still a warranty contract that I have with Subaru (or IM)that allows (in fact requires) me to use a Subaru dealer. So it is IM that is insured, not me. I just go to a Subaru dealer and get my car fixed. If I had a direct insurance-based warranty with a third party I would have to go to the garage chosen by them. As we have seen from some other threads on this, those garages can sometimes be ones that you wouldn't even take a F*** to let alone your prized Scooby. Subaru dealers have their faults (and you have the right to shop around) but I haven't heard of anyone having problems getting them to pay out for a warranty claim.

carl

Motor Warranty Direct let you go to any VAT-registered garage (including your Scoob dealer if you so desire) for servicing and repair.

GaryC

.....but still have a greater scope for refusing liability.

Personally, the extra 5k was worth it to get my car in a week rather than 4-6 months.

The 'proper' warranty, better re-sale values, benefit of close relationship with supplying dealer, ease of cheaper financing - including getting prodrive pack included, reduced of risk, reduced hassle with tax, reduced hassle with shipping/delivery, smaller deposit, etc etc etc etc etc......was pure benefit

[This message has been edited by GaryC (edited 24-02-2000).]