Bye bye Subaru, hello Subaru

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Sun 10 Sep 2006 17:24

Bye bye Subaru, hello Subaru - nick

Well I've finally bitten the bullet and made up my mind on my next car. The old base spec Legacy has been part-exed. I really wanted an Impreza STi Spec D with the prodrive pack but that is pushing £29k new and I don't do new, it hurts too much in the wallet. I'll wait a year or two until they appear at a year old or pre-reg'd. So I was thinking of another Legacy to tide me over and I was stunned to be able to get a 2006 3.0 Spec B manual, pre-reg at the end of March with 10 miles on the clock for £19k. They allowed me another £1000 for the old 123k mile Legacy, base spec, no aircon, which is around what they're going through eBay at, so I was happy with the cost to change of £18k. No doubt it'll depreciate quite badly but what the hell.
First impressions are of much better interior than the old one (not difficult I know), nice understated looks with not even a 'Spec B' or '3 litre' badge anywhere and promises to be stunning performance once it has been run-in, I'm limited to 4000 rpm at the moment.
Interestingly, all Subarus seem to have the first service at 1000 miles, with the owner just paying for the consumables. Turbos and 6 cylinder cars then every 10k or year and non-turbo 12k or year. Do any other makes still do this?
Hopefully it'll be as reliable as the old car but a lot more fun to drive..

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Sun 10 Sep 2006 17:59

Bye bye Subaru, hello Subaru - barchettaman

Sounds an absolutely stonking motor Nick. Hope you enjoy it once you can give it, ahem ´the beans´.
Cheers,
barchettaman

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Sun 10 Sep 2006 18:35

Bye bye Subaru, hello Subaru - SjB {P}

Not the prettiest car - though much more so than current Imprezzas - but certainly a very useul piece of kit and at the price you paid I'm sure you won't regret it; live with it until the depreciation curve has flattened out and not only will you have years of great fun but the financial pain shouldn't be too bad either, especially in the context of that enjoyment.

Some light bedtime reading!
tinyurl.com/oxq9w

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Sun 10 Sep 2006 19:35

Bye bye Subaru, hello Subaru - nick

Thanks for the link, SjB.
Interestingly, although the engine is redlined at 7000rpm, it has a rev limiter at 5000 for standing starts, thus surely making the 6.5 secs to 60 slower than could otherwise be obtained. Worth remembering when comparing with other cars. Not that I would try it, too much sympathy for the clutch!

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Sun 10 Sep 2006 23:16

Bye bye Subaru, hello Subaru - Wilco {P}

Blimey Nick - where did you get it from? Tempted myself if there are any more!

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Mon 11 Sep 2006 09:47

Bye bye Subaru, hello Subaru - nick

Blimey Nick - where did you get it from? Tempted myself

if there are any more!

I found it on the Subaru website (subaru.co.uk), look under 'approved used cars' and do a nationwide search. There were several at a ticket price of around £20k, they came down to £19k. I bought from Monty's of Sheffield who were great, did it all over the phone including the trade-in and was not disappointed. After they sold mine they put another up for £21k but that was silver, mine is a dark blue, maybe the silver is a more desirable colour. There were several all over the country from Kent to Scotland. Apparently Subaru pre-reg'd a load of the bigger engined cars just before the budget and now need to get rid of them before the new facelift version comes in November. The new reg number will also encourage them to do a deal.
After it was registered mine has sat in a compound in Nottingham with the paint protection still on before being actively marketed. If you don't mind a car that has sat for at least 6 months then it is an amazing deal. There are loads secondhand being advertised for more than I paid. You still get the Subaru warranty though it runs from the date of registration, so I've got 2.5 years to run on mine.

The dealer was saying that new cars are selling really slowly at the moment probably due to the interest rate rises and bills going up so much but that anything percieved as a 'bargain' like pre-reg cars were selling well.

Why pay £30k or more for a 3 series? All the toys are included, see the CBCG.

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Sun 10 Sep 2006 23:19

Bye bye Subaru, hello Subaru - cheddar