Hi all, This is my first post here and I'm new to the Subaru world. Despite reviewing cars for a living and having had the opportunity to drive wide range of sportscars, I've never driven a Subaru until Monday when I test drove a 2010 STI. Although I loved the car, we couldn't agree on price and I ended up ordering my Dark Gray Metallic base WRX yesterday. Options include: all weather floormats under-seat subwoofer/amplifier auto dimming mirror w/compass cargo tray rear vertical cargo net interior illumination kit - red 110V poweroutlet kit STI short throw shifter fog lights rear bumper cover This is my first new car ever and I'm coming from a '94 Miata that I only had for 4 months before I was t-boned in the driver side door. I'm definitely looking forward to the WRX and can't wait to drive it this winter!
Yeah, I guess I did! Since this is replacing two vehicles for me, I wanted to try and get everything I'd need to balance fun with utility. Thanks btw.
This is the first time I've ever bought a new car, much less ordered one, and the wait is killing me already! It's only been about 4 days since I placed the order but when I went camping this weekend, I spent the whole time thinking about how much more fun the dirt roads would've been if I was driving my WRX instead of my truck. For those that have ordered a new car before, how did you handle the wait??
What sort of lead time did they give you? When I ordered my 2011 the plant was shut down due to the earthquake and they didn't even have an ETA. I ordered it April 6th and took delivery on July 1st. The wait sucked, but there wasn't much I could do.
I was given an ETA of December by my sales guy at Morries assured me it'd probably arrive sometime in late October or early November.Fingers crossed that he's right...
What does the new wrx even look like? I've heard rumors about it but never seen any official photos or anything.
Not sure about what the new-gen WRX will look like but the 2013 WRX is identical to the 2012's, which is identical to the 2011's aside from the chrome headlights on the newer cars.
Congrats! I am excited for you! Post some photos when you get it! Good luck with the wait time! When mine was down and out, I bought one of the red-label "classic" ps3 games that I knew had WRX/STi's in it, and while it didn't fully fulfill that desire, it was kinda fun
The wait time is when you start buying performance parts. By the time of your delivery you will have stage 2 set up available
If I followed your advice, I'd be broke by the time the car arrives and I wouldn't be able to afford the down payment! I've been eyeing up wheels, coilovers, sway bars and a few other things already. I'm going to leave the engine alone until the warranty.
Welcome! I see you mentioned reviewing cars for a living, you should tell us some more about your job; it sounds like a dream come true!
Welcome and congrats on the new ride, I know there is no way I could ever order a car and wait. I would be calling the dealership every week , and counting seconds. Be patient and I agree, start mod shopping
Thanks! Yeah, I'm an automotive analyst in Minnetonka. My main focus is infotainment and in-car technology so I end up getting mostly loaded up press cars from time to time to review. In the past few weeks, I had a 2013 Chevy Spark 2LT with MyLink and a 2013 Ford Flex Limited with MyFord Touch which I drove out to Chicago for a media ride & drive event where I got to play with some more fun cars (Camaro ZL1, 662 hp GT500, Jag XKR-S, Focus ST, etc). Next week I'll be driving/reviewing the new Infiniti JX. I wish I could focus on more of the powertrain stuff since that's what I find more interesting but after the Ford plant in St Paul shut down (worked there for 2 years as a supplier technician), I figured I'd take whatever cushy office job I could while staying in the auto industry. This gig is a lot of writing but I get to spend plenty of time dicking around on the interwebs and also take photos/videos of the cars I review. I can't complain about what I do for a living so I'll just have to settle for complaining about the wait for my WRX! Speaking of which, it's been over a month since I placed my order and I haven't heard a peep. Fingers crossed it comes before the snow falls since I don't want to buy snow tires for my 2WD '98 Ranger.
Sounds like an awesome job. Im jealous, even if your focus is only on that specific part. I waited about 8 weeks for my WRX. I would order up some snowtires for the WRX, or look on here for some used wheel/tire combos. The stock WRX tires probably suck for the winter. My WRX is going into storage in the next couple weeks. Scored an amazing deal on an 05 impreza dor a winter car/beater. Did you take those photos you posted in the spotted section? If so, amazing.
Thanks and yeah, I took the photos I posted in the Spotted thread. Check the link in my sig to see more of my pics from C&C. I was looking at the General Altimax snow tires but given how little snow we got last year, I'm debating if I really need full-on snow tires or if I'd be better off with either some good all-seasons or some performance winter tires. I'm also having a hard time deciding between the cheaper steel wheels or dropping an extra $200 to get some decent looking alloys for winter.
I would for sure look into a full set of wintertires on different wheels. You can drop to a 16inch wheel to same some money, or look into some used rims. I ran the dunlop d3 winter performance tires in the past, they got the job done; however were not impressive compaired to the Hankook ipikes ive always ran before.
I have run the continental extreme DWS (dry,wet,snow) tires on my last two cars now and thought they worked pretty good in the snow. just my two cents because i am not in the cash bracket to buying multiple sets of tires and wheels at the moment either.
I'm sure we'll have lots of these threads come up soon... The condensed forum wisdom is match the tires to your conditions. If you're mostly in the city then a performance winter makes sense whereas you're going to spend most of your time on plowed pavement with occasional forays into deeper snow. Go full on winter if you're likely to be outside of well plowed areas a good share of the time. I'm very happy with my performance winters. They're competent/safe in the deep stuff and don't feel like I'm driving on marshmallows on pavement, which is where I spend 90% of my winter driving time.
Congrats! Is it a '13? Where did you order from and when did you order it? This is a good point. I imagine I'll spend most of my time on plowed roads and maybe only really drive through any appreciable amount of snow 4 or 5 times at most this winter. That being said though, it seems like the General Altimax Arctic studdable snow tires just about the most aggressive studdable snow tire out there as well as being the cheapest winter tire available which seems like a great combo. I guess I'll keep hunting for used wheel/tire deals until I'm forced to make a decision. I did just price out 16" steelies with the General tires for $640 from tire rack. I haven't seen many used wheel/tire packages that can touch that yet.
I figured that if I was going to get a snow tire, I would buy something that could handle the "worst" days. It is obviously a performance compromise on those nice dry 30F days, but I think it's worth it to know I have a more competent tire when things get rough. There are definitely many different ways to make your decision. Many people plan for the conditions they will see the most, but I chose to plan for the worst. It's up to you what you choose to do. The General's are definitely NOT a "performance" tire though. They're squishy, soft, loud, etc. They're made for snow, and they do a good job with it. I was also swayed by the fact the General's are/were one of the cheapest options. They're actually about $100 more per set this year than what they were 2 years ago. The price went up on them last winter and I'm not sure why. I was happy enough with mine the first two years that when I switched wheel sizes for my winter setup this year, I decided to go with the General's again. But if you go with any of the "recommended" winter tires, you probably won't complain.
My WRX 5dr just arrived last night! They're cleaning it up today and I have the option of picking it up tomorrow but I'm going to wait til Monday afternoon so it can get clear bra'ed. I've talked to a few Subaru owners about their car's paint and everyone has said that they wished they'd gotten it clear bra'ed because of how fragile the paint is.
You might want to get in touch with Chris @ Flawless Front Ends before you pay a dealer to do the clear bra for you: http://mnsubaru.com/reviews/flawless-front-ends-and-window-tint.37832/
Less than you'll pay at the dealer. Give him a call. I had him tint my car and do some door handle scoops for my wife's car. I have yet to hear anyone having anything but a great experience with him.
Here is what the 14 is supposed to look like.... http://wot.motortrend.com/caught-2014-subaru-wrx-mule-hot-weather-testing-252895.html
I wonder if that will be a 2013 1/2? I ordered a 13 and it was kinda delayed when I could order it. It seemed as if they didn't know if it was going to be a new model(different styling) or not. Then they released exactly like the 2012. It's like the 2013 team was late, so they released the 2012 again as a 13.
Don't think that was ever intended to be a 2013. There was never any official news saying new for 2013, or even for 2014 that I have seen. I would be HIGHLY shocked if they would release anything as a 2013.5; especially with being a new body style, and possibly a new drive-train.
It's just a test mule. I highly doubt that the sheet metal on that is going to be anything close to the finished product.
Agreed. That's just the new Impreza body with things taped onto it. They suggested that the WRX/STI will diverge from the Impreza.
Hmm, there's one posted on carsoup and autotrader, dark gray, 5-door, highly optioned base model, at Morries in Minnetonka. I bet it's yours. Weird that theyd list it and post pics if it was already sold.
That is weird. I just picked mine up tonight but unfortunately the roof rack I thought I'd ordered didn't make it. Not sure if it was dropped at port or if I just forgot to order it but it wasn't on the car when I got to the dealership to pick up the car. Haven't had the chance to drive it much (36 miles on the odo) but I like it so far. It's way different (and faster) than any other car I've owned so far. Here are a few cell phone pics:
