Motorpoint - New 2.5 Impreza WRX?
Discussion
Test drove one of the latest Impreza WRX 2.5's yesterday (at a main dealer), as a possible replacement for my Clio Cup. Good all-rounder is the best description i can give. The new engine has lost some of the warble of the old 2.0 but is alot more flexible... the handling is also pretty spot on. Gave me some food for thought anyhow.
Anyway... Pre-reg'd the cheapest the dealer will do a standard 2007 car in metallic is around £18.5K. However, the car supermarket 'Motorpoint' are knocking new ones out at £14,999.
I've done a bit of research and the Motorpoint cars are 'Parallel' Imports ... NOT 'Grey' imports. Motorpoint tell me that this car is exactly the same car as a UK dealer car but is not fitted with an alarm as standard. They will fit one for £350 exactly the same as a uk dealer does when it arrives at the garage. Adding number plates, Road Tax etc the end price (inc metallic) is £15,650 which on paper looks impressive.
I pointed this out to the dealer and he came out with several points to 'consider':
1) The 3yr warrenty Motorpoint offer is "questionable" because its not backed up by Subaru UK? Anyone had experience?
2) If the car is imported via Cyprus (like many he tells me), it may not be undersealed? Would Motorpoint be allowed to sell without this and is it even true (i know so greys aren't)?
3) The car will be worth much less when i come to sell it, so its a false economy? To my mind if i saw a 3yr old Impreza now, out of warrenty, full UK spec but purchased from Motorpoint i wouldn't be put off and offer £3k less, i'd judge the car on it individual merits. What the consensus?
If anyone has any opinions on any of this i'd be pleased to hear them.
As far as the choice of car goes, i know you can get an 04 WRX Sti for that money and i know you can get an EVO for similar and theres a new Impreza out next year.... BUT i can put the new car through my business and a warrenty would be a good backup for an everydayer. I have the Noble or Kawasaki Ninja to play with if i want mega thrills!
I'd also be interested if anyone has had personal experience with Motorpoint and Impreza.
cheers guys!
Anyway... Pre-reg'd the cheapest the dealer will do a standard 2007 car in metallic is around £18.5K. However, the car supermarket 'Motorpoint' are knocking new ones out at £14,999.
I've done a bit of research and the Motorpoint cars are 'Parallel' Imports ... NOT 'Grey' imports. Motorpoint tell me that this car is exactly the same car as a UK dealer car but is not fitted with an alarm as standard. They will fit one for £350 exactly the same as a uk dealer does when it arrives at the garage. Adding number plates, Road Tax etc the end price (inc metallic) is £15,650 which on paper looks impressive.
I pointed this out to the dealer and he came out with several points to 'consider':
1) The 3yr warrenty Motorpoint offer is "questionable" because its not backed up by Subaru UK? Anyone had experience?
2) If the car is imported via Cyprus (like many he tells me), it may not be undersealed? Would Motorpoint be allowed to sell without this and is it even true (i know so greys aren't)?
3) The car will be worth much less when i come to sell it, so its a false economy? To my mind if i saw a 3yr old Impreza now, out of warrenty, full UK spec but purchased from Motorpoint i wouldn't be put off and offer £3k less, i'd judge the car on it individual merits. What the consensus?
If anyone has any opinions on any of this i'd be pleased to hear them.
As far as the choice of car goes, i know you can get an 04 WRX Sti for that money and i know you can get an EVO for similar and theres a new Impreza out next year.... BUT i can put the new car through my business and a warrenty would be a good backup for an everydayer. I have the Noble or Kawasaki Ninja to play with if i want mega thrills!
I'd also be interested if anyone has had personal experience with Motorpoint and Impreza.
cheers guys!
As you have stated the car probably doesnt come undersealed, so you may need to get that done too. Also check the spec of the car carefully vs the UK equivalent, in the past things like stereos have been different (crapper on the import).
Overall though you might be talking £16K from motorpoint. Even so I would go for a motorpoint car every time vs one from the dealer.
Overall though you might be talking £16K from motorpoint. Even so I would go for a motorpoint car every time vs one from the dealer.
Olivera said:
As you have stated the car probably doesnt come undersealed, so you may need to get that done too. Also check the spec of the car carefully vs the UK equivalent, in the past things like stereos have been different (crapper on the import).
Overall though you might be talking £16K from motorpoint. Even so I would go for a motorpoint car every time vs one from the dealer.
Overall though you might be talking £16K from motorpoint. Even so I would go for a motorpoint car every time vs one from the dealer.
Thanks for your input.... any more guys? Someone must have an opinion or am i to assume the Motorpoint car is a good bet?
Edited by cj.ok on Monday 19th February 13:20
cj.ok said:
Olivera said:
As you have stated the car probably doesnt come undersealed, so you may need to get that done too. Also check the spec of the car carefully vs the UK equivalent, in the past things like stereos have been different (crapper on the import).
Overall though you might be talking £16K from motorpoint. Even so I would go for a motorpoint car every time vs one from the dealer.
Overall though you might be talking £16K from motorpoint. Even so I would go for a motorpoint car every time vs one from the dealer.
Thanks for your input.... any more guys? Someone must have an opinion or am i to assume the Motorpoint car is a good bet?
Edited by cj.ok on Monday 19th February 13:20
Perhaps try and get a bigger discount from another subaru dealer? my sister managed to save a grand or so on an impreza 3 years ago by buying from a different dealer 100 miles further away
Edited by yakubu on Monday 19th February 14:11
Speak to Iain or Tim at www.litchfieldimports.co.uk they are Subaru specialists, the price is the same(£14,995 OTR, 3 year Subaru warranty) and will answer all your questions honestly. They have a seemingly good repuation in Scooby circles. Parallel imports generally are nothing to worry about.Tell them Andy Martin sent you!
I'd think carefully about it....
Basically, it'll have a used car warranty which won't be as comprehensive as the Subaru one. No Subaru dealer will underwrite it so you'll have to sell privately and inevitably it'll be worth less than a UK car.
Your call, it's a lot of cash to save though.
Basically, it'll have a used car warranty which won't be as comprehensive as the Subaru one. No Subaru dealer will underwrite it so you'll have to sell privately and inevitably it'll be worth less than a UK car.
Your call, it's a lot of cash to save though.
from what ive heard the warranty on parrallel imports is fully covered by subaru uk for 3 years
also underseal is a minor issue. you can get it sprayed on for 50-100 quid.
id go for it.
litchfield import or maybe
www.allbrandsnew.co.uk/
jfrf said:
from what ive heard the warranty on parrallel imports is fully covered by subaru uk for 3 years
I understand that manufacturers have to give a 12 month warranty on new cars, worldwide. The extra past that seems to be market-dependent.
jfrf said:
from what ive heard the warranty on parrallel imports is fully covered by subaru uk for 3 years
also underseal is a minor issue. you can get it sprayed on for 50-100 quid.
id go for it.
litchfield import or maybe
www.allbrandsnew.co.uk/
Only when the car has come from inside the EU. As Cyprus is not in the EU the manufacturers warranty is void so has to be replaced with an aftermarket version, which is likely to have different Ts & Cs to what you'd get if you bought a UK car.
tuffer said:
I have had two from new bought from UK dealers, take a look at the depreciation on Subarus and you will see that even full UK cars are not worth a great deal after 3 years. Go for the import if you must have one (personally I would not touch another).
I take it you mean you wouldn't touch another Subaru because of the poor residuals... not because their a bad car? (correct me if i've misunderstood!)
David Hendry in Wiltshire import Imprezas too.
I suppose a question to pose is that most people when buying from the likes of Motorpoint assume they are getting a new car if that is what it says on the paperwork. When asked, when selling, is it a UK car then I imagine the answer will be yes as they don't know any different. Would a dealer be able to tell from looking at it? Most don't even check the cars over when biddng for px. Unless you are knowingly buying from an importer and its not a UK spec then a few years down the line I can't see it being a problem.
We have a UK (well I assume it is!) 03 WRX estate which we bought 10 months old unseen from a dealer 200 miles form home. They simply offered a much better deal than some of the others. Interestingly it was 200 miles north - Sheffield Montys. They bid on our Honda estate and gave it a very cursory look around when we arrived. They certainly didn't mention the 4 very bald tyres!
The likes of Motorpoint offer awful px prices in my opinion so we probably wouldn't go anyway.
Its a great car for the money, interior's avaerge and not cheap to service, but short of an RS4 we couldn't go much faster, and that's a whole lot more.
I don't drive ours very often but I have been informed that when we change it she wants another
I suppose a question to pose is that most people when buying from the likes of Motorpoint assume they are getting a new car if that is what it says on the paperwork. When asked, when selling, is it a UK car then I imagine the answer will be yes as they don't know any different. Would a dealer be able to tell from looking at it? Most don't even check the cars over when biddng for px. Unless you are knowingly buying from an importer and its not a UK spec then a few years down the line I can't see it being a problem.
We have a UK (well I assume it is!) 03 WRX estate which we bought 10 months old unseen from a dealer 200 miles form home. They simply offered a much better deal than some of the others. Interestingly it was 200 miles north - Sheffield Montys. They bid on our Honda estate and gave it a very cursory look around when we arrived. They certainly didn't mention the 4 very bald tyres!
The likes of Motorpoint offer awful px prices in my opinion so we probably wouldn't go anyway.
Its a great car for the money, interior's avaerge and not cheap to service, but short of an RS4 we couldn't go much faster, and that's a whole lot more.
I don't drive ours very often but I have been informed that when we change it she wants another
cj.ok said:
tuffer said:
I have had two from new bought from UK dealers, take a look at the depreciation on Subarus and you will see that even full UK cars are not worth a great deal after 3 years. Go for the import if you must have one (personally I would not touch another).
I take it you mean you wouldn't touch another Subaru because of the poor residuals... not because their a bad car? (correct me if i've misunderstood!)
Poor residuals and a poor car, drivetrain is fine and they are fun but you soon tire of the all or nothing performance and the atrocious interior. I have had a few cars and I reckon my current 330D is just as quick in real world driving, before anyone jumps down my throat with performance figures I am talking about A - to - B across a long distance in the UK not a blat down your favourite A/B road on a Sunday morning.
[/quote]
Only when the car has come from inside the EU. As Cyprus is not in the EU the manufacturers warranty is void so has to be replaced with an aftermarket version, which is likely to have different Ts & Cs to what you'd get if you bought a UK car.[/quote]
from what i understand cyprus is in the eu:
www.eurunion.org/states/offices.htm
i remeber about a year ago there was a big hoo-haa where subaru uk refused to honor the 3 year warrantly for cars from malta and cyprus.
After pressure subaru uk caved in so they now give the 3 year warranty rather than 1 year
Only when the car has come from inside the EU. As Cyprus is not in the EU the manufacturers warranty is void so has to be replaced with an aftermarket version, which is likely to have different Ts & Cs to what you'd get if you bought a UK car.[/quote]
from what i understand cyprus is in the eu:
www.eurunion.org/states/offices.htm
i remeber about a year ago there was a big hoo-haa where subaru uk refused to honor the 3 year warrantly for cars from malta and cyprus.
After pressure subaru uk caved in so they now give the 3 year warranty rather than 1 year
I have just placed an order for a WRX for £15k (via Cyprus). My view is that you are getting a lot of car for the money, also although it will be worth less than a UK sourced car I believe the drop from new will not be as significant as that from a main dealer.
The official UK cars are brought by a distribution group called the IM group, after the fuss from a few years ago they are required to honor all Subaru warranties.
Basically, I did a lot of research with contacts in the motor trade and I couldn’t find any major negatives to put me off. Looking forward to taking delivery next week.
The official UK cars are brought by a distribution group called the IM group, after the fuss from a few years ago they are required to honor all Subaru warranties.
Basically, I did a lot of research with contacts in the motor trade and I couldn’t find any major negatives to put me off. Looking forward to taking delivery next week.
cj.ok said:
3) The car will be worth much less when i come to sell it, so its a false economy?
Thats plain daft advice from the dealer, if the one from motorpoint cost £3k less then the purchaser could afford to sell for £3k less and find a buyer very easily.
Given these cars depreciate pretty rapidly as yourself if today you looked at a choice of officially imported 2004 car for £8500 or a parrallel import for £5500 which you would take.
Personally though the car is a bit old hat now and a new Clio 197 or Focus ST might be a better place to put money.
Bennno
bennno said:
cj.ok said:
3) The car will be worth much less when i come to sell it, so its a false economy?
Thats plain daft advice from the dealer, if the one from motorpoint cost £3k less then the purchaser could afford to sell for £3k less and find a buyer very easily.
Given these cars depreciate pretty rapidly as yourself if today you looked at a choice of officially imported 2004 car for £8500 or a parrallel import for £5500 which you would take.
Personally though the car is a bit old hat now and a new Clio 197 or Focus ST might be a better place to put money.
Bennno
I think its a matter of personal choice to be honest.... the latest Impreza (IMO) is an impressive alrounder and having never owned a 4wd car i think its worth a try (at that price). Depreciation and running costs will be offset via my business and i have other cars/bikes that can deliver that extra punch when required!
I like both the Clio 197 and ST Focus but believe the ST isn't that polished a product and will be overshaddowed by the arrival of the new RS next year (which i'd have!). The Clio 197 is a great car but nobody will want it once the Cup/Trophy varients hit the streets and it will undoubtably auffer in the residual stakes.
Thanks for all your comments though, its great to hear so many valid opinions!
Gassing Station | Japanese Chat | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff