minister of speed

Before Christmas I ordered a "new" 02 WRX thru an import firm (yes!!!!), seemed like a deal to me.

Shortly after the deposit went in (£2500) I was notified that prices had "gone up" and now because of a Subaru price hike I would have to pay another 4-5 % - that would equate to £ 600 depending on the exchange rate!!!!

Well my problem is this... I heard someone say that "new" Impreza prices haven't gone up???? Not last year neither????

So.. can some one please tell me:

1/ Last year thru to now ... did/have Subaru increased their prices, here or in Europe (Belgium esp.)?

2/ Or is the importer hoping to double his cut thru "a phoney price hike" a.k.a. -a great rip off!!!!!

3/ Did I hear wrong?

SOME ONE MUST KNOW?????????????

Harry_Boy

Hi - ordered mine last September from a Belgian dealer. Just been notified that it has arrived - no problems - price same as was quoted last August. No mention of a price increase.....

Hope you get it sorted. Who is the dealer/importer???

Harry_Boy

Just a thought, MoS - Did the importer guarantee the exchange rate? A lot don't. Also, did they quote you including RFL and 1st reg, together with delivery to the UK? It might be that they are trying to recoup costs that they've lost elsewhere.

navigator

last september belgian ptices went up by about£400 i seem to remember.
i would query this if your quote was after oct cos it should have included that price rise.

Harry_Boy

Hi Navigator - was that to coincide with the MY02, as I was quoted in August 2001 and not asked to pay anything extra when I ordered mid-September...

minister of speed

Harry boy, thanks for the imput. Enjoy your car.

The original price was given in euro's as a firm price and therfore "I thought" fixed. And my order was placed after yours so I'm still wondering why?

Did your car come from the main dealer at Vilvoorde? Mine will?

As for the importer... I need to make sure of the facts before I confront them, then shame them.

If it did go to the worse senario, I wonder if the dealer would deal direct with me since I paid him direct?

Comments please.

minister of speed

Navigator

What you say seems to concur, with what i was told and there was a slight dwelling on period before I ordered.

Delivery date Feb. / March 02.

What you say would then make sense. Thanks.

Harry_Boy

Hi MoS - My understanding would be that the dealer will happily deal direct with you, provided that the original contract is between you and him, and not between you and the importer, with a separate agreement between the importer and the dealer. Nevertheless, you would be liable for the importer's 'arrangement fee', unless you can claim (probably legitimately) that they have not provided you with a satisfactory service.

Mine is coming from the dealer in Ieper (Ypres, to you and me!). Dealt direct, no hassle. I've done the import thing before, so I'm pretty au fait with the registration procedure and C&E requirements.

Let me know if you need some more specific input, I'll do what I can. Incidentally, it's amazing what writing to the press can achieve. If you're not happy with the importer's response/excuses, threaten to drop Autocar, What Car, Car, Auto Express, Top Gear (ie, the main consumer titles) a line....

Harry_Boy

As far as I can recall, IM have made no attempt to cut prices - hence the flood of imports....

boultsy

Speedking, not heard of that one before. When did you place your order.

Also, evidence suggests that they do need to cut their prices if they want to stop loosing sales to outside the UK. I guess at the moment the profit they make on UK sales is still greater than that lost to Subaru Benelux. Don't know how long this will last though, the fact that Subaru Benelux are changing their after sales strategy due to large number of UK sales says a lot though.

FreeT

Allegedly Subaru UK are buying the STi's from europe and therfore increasing waiting times and prbably purchase costs here. Waiting list could be very long very soon.

boultsy

Sounds like a "Better buy UK not EU" dealer line to me.

speedking

Boultsy, just ordered a week ago.

UK buyers look away now

Base price 21405 euro (GBP 15520 inc. VAT)
Increase of 266 euro this week.
Total GBP 15710 not but not either.

4-5% sounds a bit steep, hope I don't suffer that.

boultsy

still a good price, just seems an odd reason as the belgium warranty has been 3 yrs for a while now. Did you order Sports or buckets, as sports hiked the price up by around that amount.

Orwella

Anyone got a number for a friendly dealer in Belgium/Holland.

Harry_Boy

See above post Orwella - great guy.....

Harry_Boy

Sorry - wrong thread!! Try this one....

He's Alain Knockaert in Ieper, Belgium (Ypres to you and me). Saving over £5,500. Phone number is 0032-57-20.20.66
Fax : 0032-57-21.61.98
E-mail : knockaert.gar@pandora.be

speedking

Sports. But they were always included in the quote.

boultsy

Yep EU MY02 was an extra £400ish over the EU MY01.

I heard a rumour that pressure was put on Subaru Benelux to raise prices so they were more in line with the rest of europe and a bit closer to the UK. Am I right in thinking that Subaru UK were one of the few companies who didn't cut their prices when everyone else did.

[Edited by boultsy - 2/6/2002 11:22:57 PM]

speedking

IM don't need to cut prices as they are selling all the cars they can import. How?

I have just been informed of an extra 266 euro price increase on my order from Belgium (Approx. GBP165). This said to cover the change in warranty from 2? to 3 years. The dealer's contract reserves the right to change the price at any time. I will still save a few p though

[Edited by speedking - 2/8/2002 12:05:35 AM]