[jouefoot]

I went to the Portland auto show this week and talked to the Subaru rep. I asked him what he thought of the STi and when he thought it would come out. I also asked him how much he thought it would cost and here's a summary of what he said. Basically he said it will come out in 18 months which is later than the Evo, but still good. The problem was the price. He said it would probably retail for about 32k plus dealer markup. He quoted 5k as a markup estimate which I think is too high, but at the same time 32k is still fairly high. I know people that care about reliability, but if you buy an evo for less than the retail, you figure you could put the remainer into fixes. Not that you would, but its something to think about. Personally I will never own a Mitsubishi. The parent company has a horrible reputation in many areas, but as shown in previous experiences and posts, their cars seem to have trouble being reliable. The dealer made a great point to me...you can easily upgrade the suspension and the performace of the standard WRX and get it close to the STi so its something to think about. In the meantime I'll dream of owning an STi.

-Josh

 

[JJ]

I agree with him on two things and two things only:

(SOME)Dealers are going to charge extra markup over MSRP. Sad but true. :sad:

If you can get ahold of an STi for MSRP or less, consider yourself lucky...

32K MSRP sounds pretty good (in the sense of "trueness") to me...

Falls in my 28-32K estimate..

JJ

 

[Mooneyflyer]

Count on the Evo being marked up about 5 grand too. Hell, now that I think of it most new models that are in high demand are almost always marked up. Look at the s2000 for instance. For $41,000 (which is what they are asking) you can buy a Corvette. Also expect the 350Z to be marked up. I'd wait a year or two before I dove into an STi right away. Who knows, by then it could be pushing close to 300hp. Subrau already said that they will boost HP on the WRX as it matures in the U.S. market.

-Bryan

 

[Fast4door]

To be honest I have heard nothing but negative things about the SOA reps they send to the show. When my dealer works directly with Subaru of Japan and they tell him October I put more faith on that. Lets all hope so anyway....

 

[thermite]

I wont buy an STI for 40K. If I have to spend 40K for a car ill buy a Corvette. Simple enough. The car isnt worth 40K. If a dealer has to be that greedy about the sti thats just not a verry good way to do business. ok im done venting.

Glen :smile:

 

[MKIVSupra]

Yeah, I have been thinking about this a lot. I am willing to pay a small dealer markup, but if it is a crazy amount I will not get one.

 

[chawklit]

If you're going to buy a vette wait for the c6.

 

[D$]

$32k + 5k markup is $37k. Now, I love Subarus and the STi looks awesome, but come on. For $37k it suddenly looks tempting to buy an M3 instead.

 

[GEOsyncronous]

For $40K, you could buy the Chevy SSR or better yet, save the $40K, invest it and in two years you might be able to afford the $750K 1000hp 2004 Bugatti EB 16-4 Veyron :grin: ... What the hell, as long as we're dreaming, right?

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: GEOsyncronous on 2002-02-06 18:20 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: GEOsyncronous on 2002-02-06 18:20 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: GEOsyncronous on 2002-02-06 18:20 ]</font>

 

[Mooneyflyer]

To keep the wishful thinking going,

For $750,000 you could buy the WRX rally car and start your very own Rally team with factory backing.

- Bryan

 

[alfredob1]

If you really consider getting the M3 you'll be waiting for a while. I heard about some extremely long waiting lists. Then the M3 is about 55k by the time your done and that's if you can find a dealer who won't mark it up.

 

[chawklit]

Ya, I agree with all of you, the markup is probably going to be so high that we all might as well just buy F-16 fighter jets because they'd be around the same cost but the F-16 would have better acceleration and the advantage of sidewinder missiles to remove those pesky grandma/grandpa drivers.

 

[GEOsyncronous]

I talked to the sales manager at Bob Baker Subaru in Carlsbad, and he said that his dealership has no markup... perhaps that will carry on to other dealerships.

I dont think Subaru is as devious as, lets say Chrysler was, with their prowlers and PT crappers. They intentionally limited production so that they could sell a $15k car for 3x what it was really worth. Supply Vs. Demand, the dirty way.

I think that Subaru will introduce the STi into the US market with significant numbers(supply). The performance of the car both from word of mouth and magazine reviews will let the STi speak for itself(demand). Sub, knows that they have a winning auto.h So my bottom line, I say that Subaru will not *****foot around with small shipments, when they have a vehicle that can compete with Europe bumper-2-bumper for $20k less, they know that everyone is going to want one.

Just a thought

 

[GEOsyncronous]

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: GEOsyncronous on 2002-02-07 21:04 ]</font>

 

[GEOsyncronous]

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: GEOsyncronous on 2002-02-07 21:01 ]</font>

 

[alfredob1]

GEOsyncronous said it all. :smile:

 

[alfredob1]

I'll be going to the San Diego Auto Show, maybe I can get some good info out of the Subaru guys.

 

[cterlizzi]

How did the San Diego autoshow go?