Patriot

Bought my 99 Scooby a couple of months ago and was told by the owner it had been in their family from new and bought in Ireland where it was a few grand cheaper, now when I told the insurance company this they said it wasn't a jap import so insured me as such. I did a HPI check and it showed no import/export dates but when I have contacted a Subaru dealer regards parts and gave them my registration they came back to me and said it was an import and not a UK car...what exactly have I got here...could it be a Dutch import and if so would that make a difference with the insurance, I'd hate to have to make a claim and be told my policy is invalid because it was classed as an import.


Patriot

fitzscoob

no problem with dutch imports my my99 is a dutch import also, same insurance bracket as uk cars.

Patriot

How can I tell for sure it is a Dutch import...owners book is all English no Jap writing anywhere as in the FTO i had previously.

Patriot

Apple

If it's got a service handbook, look at the supplying dealer's name / location, i.e. the place that did the pre-delivery inspection etc.

Mine's a Belgian import and this info is in the book AFAIR.

I've just had a look in my owner's handbook and this is all in English, the only names mentioned being Subaru and FHI (Fuji Heavy Industries - Subaru's owners) - no supplying country is mentioned.

Andy

bartmanuk

does it have an english plate on it? if it does then it is imported from rep. of ireland,if it doesn't then its from northern ireland,
cars from the republic are euro imports, cars from northern are uk spec.the insurance company will know all they need to through the registration,and will insure you appropriatly.

BM

carterjohn

i had a dutch import you should have a an ecc certificate of conformity (euro imports),a lot of japanese imports come through ireland i heard its for import duty reasons.maybe some one could clarify this ?

Patriot

Just called the dealer that was in the paperwork with the car and he said it was imported new from Europe into Southern Ireland with 282 miles on the clock though he did not know if it was Holland or Belgium, there was no ecc certificate with the documents so I am presuming Belgium....tho I would like to know specifically.

Patriot

Sonic74f

Any Subaru sold new to Ireland or the UK is exactly the same so its UK/Irish spec and known as Impreza Turbo. Impreza's sourced form Belgium or Holland were known as the GT model but these too are principally the very same apart from a few insignificant differences.
If your car is from any of the 3 sources mentioned above it should make absolutely no difference to Insurance parts etc.... Just sit in and enjoy..

Mark Miwurdz

On a slightly different note, I'm think of returning to the Subaru fold in the guise of a high performance estate. I'm not that taken with the looks of the Impreza wagon but I do like the look of the Legacy GTB.

What are the pros and cons of running a Japanese import?

Cheers
Kav