trigot33

Well its been a difficult few weeks but i have finally decided to no longer aspire to owning another subaru. I felt the prices on some of the classic models were way over the top and the newer models were never really my cup of tea,,,i also considered a new evo fq but changed my mind for the m3 csl after a short test drive. This machine is a seriously awesome piece of engineering and can hold out against an evo or sti anyday if not have them for breakfast. A nice clean example with 23k in black, will post some images when i get it delivered in a fortnight,,,

Paul3446

I actually think Imprezas have never been cheaper, when I got my first in 1999 it was a real struggle to find a 2.5 year old car for under £15k, they held their value really well as they were only about £20k new. Now you can pick up a 2.5 year old STi for as little as £13k and they were about £26k new. I think it just shows how good the classic Imprezas were, the looks of the new cars and also reliability and servicing costs have damged the reputation beyond repair. It's no longer the class leader unfortunately.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

The only reason that the classics back in 1999 held their value was due to the limited number that Subaru UK brought in to the country, it was a nice way of keeping the prices high, it had nothing to do with how good the car was, the new age are MUCH better than the classics (having owned both) but there is now over supply which does drive down the prices but makes for good second hand bargains

Tony

MTR

Precisely.
In 1997 when I bought my first Impreza Turbo, only 400 were brought into the UK.
I traded it in after 15 months for another one, and the dealer retailed it at the same price I paid for it new!! and I didn't lose much on it either, hence the reason to trade it.
There was between 4 to 6 months waiting list, so secondhand prices were artificially high.
Since then every man and his dog is bringing them in to the UK and prices have fallen.
Simply supply and demand, nothing at all to do with one being better/more sought after than another.

Cheers
MTR
Now on Impreza number 4 (3 classics 1 newage,possibly going for number 5?)

Castrol

My first one (White Turbo - 07April '94), arrived on the opening day of sale in the UK. I took it as waiting for my colour choice meant a 6 month delay. It took 11 months for No2 (DGM Turbo - June '96), 12 months for No3 (White Turbo - April '98), 4 weeks for No4 (Silver WRX PPP - August '02), 3 weeks for No5 (DBM WRX 5Dr - June '03), 2 Weeks for No6 (WR Blue WRX PPP - June '04) and No7 (STi UK PPP was in stock - June '05). A pattern emerges...

All have been totally reliable, despite high mileages in a relatively short time. All have been great value and fun. And all were sold for decent money.

Cheers

Otto-Mate

Congrats trigot33!

I'm considering jumping ship too, my MY03 STi is proving hard to live with.

Ultimately I'd love an M3 too, so love to hear your thoughts back on this thread after you've had it a while.

M.

trigot33

Classic subarus wrx / sti `s have been around for a considerable amount of years now as you guys may well know. Despite this, every import site that one looks into, most of them are now selling these cars for 6K PLUS, in some cases ridiculous amounts of money. Where at one time importing was bargain bucket, its now rip off japan, well that my view anyway.
When i took my test drive in the csl i was blown away by the sheer power and delivery of this vehicle, and if the truth be told, i wanted a car i didnt have to spend silly money getting extra horses from, in the csl case, there is no need at all as the car has it all. Time will tell if i can live with it daily as its known to have a harsh ride etc,,basically a track car which is road legal !!!!
But least it will hold out its price come selling time,,,,cheers.

mrjud

sorry lads but i'll say what everyones thinking PRIZE W@NKER. says 6k is to much then spouts that he's interested in fq's and m3 csl yes prob better cars but 3 or more times more expensive than a scoob

RobHardy

you wont be able to extract most of it until summer neither because they come with semi-style slicks. there stunning pieces of machinery though. congrats.

trigot33

For the purposes of genuine discussion and debate i will excuse your little rant my friend.
When i said 6k, i wasnt implying that i could not afford to pay that amount or more, far from it. My point being that you are paying those types of prices for a vehicle which in my opinion is no longer worth the prices being asked of them as for all the high and mightiness of these cars, i feel there over hyped in their own past glory. In a recently viewed website of an import specialist, an `n` reg 96, sti was going for 8995,,,,wot a joke. And i have seen many wrx`s on 93-94 going for 6k. Its all fine and dandy paying those amounts when your buying the car,,,but come selling time, you will get no where near that amount. I took 8 months to sell my immaculate 96 sti some time back and for a while i thought id never shift it.
The difference is when dealing with well kept and maintained fq`s or m3`s and the like, you have much more chance of selling them without losing the shirt off your back come selling time which for most of us does come at some point in our lifetimes.
Classics are great of that there is no doubt, but they are past their prime, and current prices should reflect that.

Castrol

Of course there are plenty of M3s around too. Noticed several when we were checking out cars before Christmas.

Autotrader has 5 within a 40 miles radius of me - starting at £21K. That's a lot of car for not too much money. Pretty serious depreciation too, on a car that cost £42+K

Now, if it cost £42K new, and is for sale at £21K 3.5 yrs later; how much depreciation did the owner suffer? Answer... lots!

N*UFO

ONE BIG problem..... it's german! lol need i say more?

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

Apart from personally not liking Beemers, the top models and M series have always been good buys second hand - they do depreciate unbelievable amounts ( I know someone who bought a 6 year old 8 series for £10K - this is a car that was around £80K new !!! ).