[TarmacST1]

22 going 23 here.

[GhoSStRyda]

Originally Posted by Digitalfiend

I added a poll at Ghosstryda's request, though I did tweak the granularity of the options a bit (hope that is OK Ghostryda). Please only vote if you are a 2008 STI owner or soon-to-be-owner.

thank you digitalfiend! you da man! im glad you split it up, i didn't want to put extra work on ya thanks to waktasz on the poll recommendation~

[dgs]

Originally Posted by GhoSStRyda

just wondering how old "us" 2008 sti owners are. im thinking its a more mature crowd due to the cost of the car and the god aweful 5 door design...


i'll start, im 35~~

Well I guess we all have different priorities. But the reason I chose this car (getting one at the end of the month) over the new EVO is exactly because it's a 5 door hatch and not a sedan. First of all hatches are great because they have the sporty look of a coupe with extra doors. Also the overhangs are shorter with a hatch than a sedan, which provides for more balanced, neutral handling. Lastly you will come to love the benefits of a hatch the first time you need to transport something large and odd shaped. It is SO much more versatile than a sedan. I am so happy Subaru turned new the STI into a hatch instead of a sedan and didn't listen to the detractors. I wouldn't have bought it were it a sedan. I'm sure for every one customer they may lose who thinks it's blasphemy to have the new STI be a 5 door hatch, they'll gain two new customers who sees the value of a hatchback.

Europeans get it, they love hatchbacks because they want something that looks sporty, and has good cargo versatility. Gas prices are so high in Europe, and because the roads are so small they can't, and don't want to own SUV's, so hatchbacks work beautifully for them. We've been slow to catch on in America, and some people here still see hatches as cheap, and inferior to sedans. We'll catch on eventually as more and more people ditch their SUV's because of rising gas prices, but still need a vehicle with good cargo utility. It's another reason crossovers are becoming big business here. Smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles, with better handling than a traditional SUV. It's the wave of the future, and I'm all for it. Can't stand SUV's myself, hate getting stuck behind them and not being able to see what the traffic is doing in front of me. Plus I've always felt people should have to obtain special operators license to drive a ~5,000 pound top heavy vehicle. Almost every time I drive by an accident scene here in Dallas there is always an SUV involved.

Okay, off my soapbox and back on topic. I'm 30 years old and I agree with the OP, this is probably going to be a car for the 30 to 40 year old demographic. It is only recently I've made enough money to afford the payment on a $40,000 vehicle. Had to pay off student college loans and other debt, plus working my way up the salary latter before I could think of getting a car like the STI. I would assume most 20 somethings are in the same boat, unless their parents give them money. I never had that luxury myself, everything I've owned for the past 12 years I've paid for.

[LaW]

Originally Posted by dgs

Well I guess we all have different priorities. But the reason I chose this car (getting one at the end of the month) over the new EVO is exactly because it's a 5 door hatch and not a sedan. First of all hatches are great because they have the sporty look of a coupe with extra doors. Also the overhangs are shorter with a hatch than a sedan, which provides for more balanced, neutral handling. Lastly you will come to love the benefits of a hatch the first time you need to transport something large and odd shaped. It is SO much more versatile than a sedan. I am so happy Subaru turned new the STI into a hatch instead of a sedan and didn't listen to the detractors. I wouldn't have bought it were it a sedan. I'm sure for every one customer they may lose who thinks it's blasphemy to have the new STI be a 5 door hatch, they'll gain two new customers who sees the value of a hatchback.

Europeans get it, they love hatchbacks because they want something that looks sporty, and has good cargo versatility. Gas prices are so high in Europe, and because the roads are so small they can't, and don't want to own SUV's, so hatchbacks work beautifully for them. We've been slow to catch on in America, and some people here still see hatches as cheap, and inferior to sedans. We'll catch on eventually as more and more people ditch their SUV's because of rising gas prices, but still need a vehicle with good cargo utility. It's another reason crossovers are becoming big business here. Smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles, with better handling than a traditional SUV. It's the wave of the future, and I'm all for it. Can't stand SUV's myself, hate getting stuck behind them and not being able to see what the traffic is doing in front of me. Plus I've always felt people should have to obtain special operators license to drive a ~5,000 pound top heavy vehicle. Almost every time I drive by an accident scene here in Dallas there is always an SUV involved.

Okay, off my soapbox and back on topic. I'm 30 years old and I agree with the OP, this is probably going to be a car for the 30 to 40 year old demographic. It is only recently I've made enough money to afford the payment on a $40,000 vehicle. Had to pay off student college loans and other debt, plus working my way up the salary latter before I could think of getting a car like the STI. I would assume most 20 somethings are in the same boat, unless their parents give them money. I never had that luxury myself, everything I've owned for the past 12 years I've paid for.

I am in a similar boat. I am 25 right now and was able to land a very good job out of college. I have had an 03 wrx now for 5 years and paid for it in full day one and just now felt as if I could afford to make car payments again and get into an STi. Also hitting that age where the insurance break helped a lot.

I also like how more refined the car has become!

[rbinck]

46, love the five door,wanted something to relaxe with after work. (truck driver) Stimulates the heart. And I doubt I'll ever need any Viagra. Don't yet. Knock on Woo..

[raindance]

51. Owned Subarus since '85. Always wanted one of the high performance Subarus back in the day but could never afford to import the things (i.e. 22B). I've had like 8 new Subarus and a bunch more used ones. I traded a cherry '96 SVX LSi for the '05 STi. Loved them both. Was leery of the '08 till I went and looked at the thing in person. Drove it and ain't looked back yet. I freakin' love this thing. My fav Scooby yet!
-rain-

[Joey_08sti]

im 18 got a 08 sti 2 months a go, putting on the exhaust tomorrow

[tshrey]

How much did your parents pay for the car?

[///M Power]

Originally Posted by tshrey

How much did your parents pay for the car?

Can we try to keep this arguement out of a thread for once. This whole thing about mommy and daddy buying the car has been beaten to death enough.

[tshrey]

I thought the point of this was to see if older people are buying the car? 18 would skew the demographic a bit - I'm sure every kid in the US would love to have one of these if they could. I couldn't have afforded one until I was in my mid twenties and at the current price point I would have purchased the WRX first. If this thread is a general 'hey, I have one' I apologize; I was under the impression we're trying to gather data here...

[GilMikalian]

Originally Posted by tshrey

I thought the point of this was to see if older people are buying the car? 18 would skew the demographic a bit - I'm sure every kid in the US would love to have one of these if they could. I couldn't have afforded one until I was in my mid twenties and at the current price point I would have purchased the WRX first. If this thread is a general 'hey, I have one' I apologize; I was under the impression we're trying to gather data here...

And how would I use the data obtained by your question/assumption?

[dgs]

Originally Posted by GilMikalian

And how would I use the data obtained by your question/assumption?

Well it's only a guess, but if his parents bought him the car even though they gave it to him, he did not technically pay for it with his own money. I thought the gist of the thread was to determine who purchased this car on their own and their age. Of course I could be completely wrong. But hey, more power to him if his parents bought him a $35K to $40K car because lord knows my parents were never in a financial position do that for me. Heck even if they were they wouldn't have done it, as they're big believers in learning to value and appreciate the dollar and to work for what you want. Once I turned 18 I didn't get a single red cent from them for anything, but I understand everyone is different, and everyone comes from different backgrounds.

Actually reading through this thread I'm quite surprised to see how many 20 somethings bought an STI. Some of them on their 2nd or 3rd! Wow, you people must have really gotten lucky landing a fat job after college. I could never have imagined being able to afford this car until very recently in my career. And I thought accounting paid well, but I guess not. Then again I don't believe in sacrificing anything for a car payment, so a $600 to $700 a month payment won't prevent me from adding money to my retirement savings every month, taking care of all my fixed expenses, and having quite a bit left over to "play" with. So my standards for being able to afford a $35K plus automobile might be different than others. I know for most dealerships as long as you have a pulse and a job they'll finance you for anything. I think the only thing they take into consideration is your apartment or mortgage payment to make sure it doesn't exceed 20% of your gross salary. That is insane, as most normal people have lots of other expense in a given month.

Anyway, I've gone off on another tangent. Sorry about that. One thing we have in common no matter our age is we all love this new 08 STI.

[SupraTTBlitz]

22, first car, graduated from University last April so that helped with the financing part.

[shagnwrx]

41 y/o. This is my 5th one since 1999.

The new lines are what swayed me. It's like a grown up STi without sacrificing performance ( Deficiences found with the new car are easily remedied ).

Oh... and forgot to mention... chics dig the new car especially in Dark Grey Metallic.... Well, older chics. I'm a magnet for psychotic cougars.

[BuzSTid]

Big cats that read minds?