garwood1 Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 Hi All Just purchased a 2004 Outback SE estate here in the UK...as we live in a rural part of Herefordshire, winters (especially this past one) have been a challenge, so thought it was time to address the problem ! I last owned a '99 Outback Estate, bought new while living in the US - loved that car to death, so had to have another when the occasion came along. Looking forward to many miles of happiness with the 'new' car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 Welcome home, garwood! Must be nice wheeling along those beautiful country roads in your sweet new Subaru. Just be careful (I've noticed they tend to drive on the wrong side over there!!!) Seriously, how is Subaru ownership in Merrie Olde? Do you see many on the road? Parts & service readily available or are you handy with the spanners? At any rate, good luck to you. Hope we can be of some help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 (edited) Welcome back! That's a nice looking suby! And I'm guessing "Estate" means wagon, right? Like "Saloon" means sedan? Sorry, I'm an American, forgive me for not knowing the Queens English :-p Feel free to ask questions! But, please for the your sake and ours, search for answers first. It makes things flow around here so much more smoothly. Twitch PS: Curse you Olnick! You beat me to the first reply :-p Edited March 17, 2010 by Twitch de la Brat Curse you Olnick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 Well Twitch, you just gotta' be . . . . . . fasterthantheoldman! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garwood1 Posted March 18, 2010 Author Share Posted March 18, 2010 Hi Folks, thanks for the welcome ! I am well-aware of BB etiquette, as I also post on several Alfa Romeo BB's (my other passion.) As to Subie life here in the UK, they are VERY popular, especially in the more rural areas. The Impreza line is very popular with the run-n-gun crowd; Legacy models, strangely enough, are almost always associated with 'farmers' - you typically see them with working dogs, bales of hay etc inside (enough to make you weep !) Hence most of the used ones are what we call 'sheds' . There is another group of well-informed types who recognize the AWD attributes of these cars, and who buy them for our daily use out on the lanes and motorways. I think, to some extent, the cars are hampered by their less-than-frugal fuel consumption rates. When you are paying £1.20 per litre for unleaded, this becomes a major consideration ! (that's equivalent to $6.97/gal). The diesel boxer engine they launched last year for Legacy models has been a huge success for Subaru - Diesel sells for a few pence/litre more than unleaded, but you go much further on a gallon, hence the reason so many European cars are diesels. Tribeca is unknown here, as is the Baja....and Foresters are out there, but not seen as often as Legacy derivatives. The Legacy saloon is a real sleeper - most people wouldn't even recognize one ! There is also a thriving market for so-called 'grey market' imports, which are bought from Japan (also RHD market). Often they come in via Ireland (as do most of the Mazda Miata's in UK - they are badged as Eunos in Japan.) These cars are usually VERY well kept by their previous owners, and sometimes have Japan market options fitted that are not sold elsewhere. I have also seen some HOT Legacy estates with turbo'd engines brought in from Japan... Parts and service are readily available via the dealer network, or via the specialists scattered across the country. Dealers are few and far between, however - my nearest is 25 miles away ! Anyhow...nice to be on board, and thanks again for the welcome ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swampbrat Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 25 miles isn't that bad, our nearest dealer is 130! Actually , so is the nearest mall. I am pretty sure someone in Australia is going to top this! WELCOME! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 I have been very jealous of you guys being able to get "grey" imports from Japan. It is very difficult to import a car into America. So we have very few non-USDM cars here. As for the Impreza being a "run-n-gun" kinda car, we have them too. And there are usually people called "fanboys" in them, around here. They tend to act like hoons (idiots) and do needless burnouts, excessive acceleration between stoplights, and just act like morons in general. And I await with high hopes that we get diesels here in the US! If so, I will be buying one ASAP (aka in about 20 years, when they're old and not worth much :-p) Twitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 And I await with high hopes that we get diesels here in the US! Twitch Should be here in June, ish, at least that's what some reports say. If its on par with a regular forester it'll be worth it. If they charge too much in the way of a smug green premium then they won't sell. I'd get one though, if the price was right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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