Should I trade my 02 WRX in for an STi?

[Holograph]

Hey all, here's the scoop.

1) I can get a lower APR than my current loan on a new car since I am pre-
approved for a really low rate thru my current insurance provider.

2) Since the Subaru dealers are promoting "guarunteed tade-in values" on Soobies with less than 50K miles and in good condition (advertising boasts $15,700 trade), I could get an automatic down payment of about 3,500 bucks on my STi since I owe about that much less on my current loan.

3) Considering those factors, I could match or beat my current car payment and have a brand new, much faster STi vs. my 02 WRX, but of course, I would owe money on the loan for a much longer duration, since I am currently over half way through this one, but would start over with a new one if I got my STi

So, the question is, do I do it or not?

I ask this because I wanted to know if any of you have had any experiences with the "guarunteed trade-in values" and if any of you might know if there are some tid-bits of news out there that something better than the current STi might just be a year or so away...any thoughts?

Thanks!

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[Brad Pittiful]

go for it and pay extra each month...thats how i paid off my 5 year loan in 2 1/2 years on my MY00 RS

[NM02WRX]

well it looks like it all goes down to, Do you wanna keep making payments?

if the payments are going to be lower than what you were paying on your 02 WRX, i say go for it bro. But you cant mod the STI or anything so if you were wanting to mod your 02 wrx, and you get the STI instead, you can say good bye to that.

you should make this a poll tho.

[Trunk_Monkey]

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=649222

[lowendfrequency]

I'd say do it. I just sold my celica recently to purchase an STi and I had to find a private buyer just to get what I owed on the loan (still lost out on mods). If you have the opportunity to trade in (bypassing the hassle of selling privately) AND get above what you owe on the car, all while keeping the payments the same... then jump on it.

[sonicsuby]

My roomate just did the trade in. He's got a shiny new white STi in the garage. DO IT.

[Rev]

I don't see how your payments are going to be lower with the amount you owe on your car. lf it is only a $3500 down payment ont he STi that is nothing on a 30K car. So your payments will be higher.

So you would be trading for higher payments and another what, 4-5 years of paying the loan. I don't know about you, but I am looking foward to not making my heafty monthly payment in July. Consider where you are going to be in a few years. Maybe you'll be buying a house, maybe you knocked some girl up, or whatever costs life throws at you. Will you want a big payment then?

Also consider the insurance will be more expensive too.

[Holograph]

Because of the lower APR and the down payment, all financial calculators indicate I would pay the same if not lower per month than I am now, or I could at least arrange that by playing with the down payment a bit here and there...

As for expenses, I am doing just fine now, and actually just recently signed a new salaried position, so income/expenses are well under control.

I was mainly asking to see if current STi owners think the upgrade is worth it and if, like I said, I would be drooling over some newer model released just after I get my STi because of some soon-to-come but unknown release of a new and improved STi. So far, I have only seen the rumors about the 2007 STi, but that's still a ways off, ya know? So yeah, I don't really know what to do. LOL

EDIT: Wow, for some reason, I didn’t notice all the previous posts on this thread! Thanks for the info, everyone. I am still mulling it over, but the bottom line is that I could have my STi with nothing more than a longer duration of payments that will be an equal or lesser amount and of course, slightly higher insurance. The "guaranteed trade-in" price is currently $3,429.63 higher than what I owe on my loan. Plus, the offer comes with $500 dollars in Subaru bucks, so I could use those as well.

[Needles]

If you can deal with he paymennts,go for it.

[excessive03]

Double check the insurance. It can be quite bad on Sti's.

[Strictly Driven]

I went for it. My 03 wrx had almost 40,000 miles on it, kbb was just about $14,000. The dealer gave me $17,350 for the wrx and took the sti for invoice ($31,100) with couple options. Got 4.59 % financing for 60 months so my payments are like $393.10 a month.

Would I do it again? Definately.

Luke K
Strictly Driven
http://www.strictlydriven.com

[tux]

dealer offered me 100% reinbursement on my 03 wrx (less than 30k and fully paid off). I was thinking sti route, but that depends on my loan apr and whatnot... as the insurance will be 443$/month on a sti for a poor under 25 yr old nj resident MALE

oh if i was female they told me 200$/month for insurance.... i wonder why the car dealers are so inclined to make every man want to get surgery to be a woman for cheap insurance ;D.... oh and free drinks at bars ;D

[Holograph]

LOL Yeah, Im thinkin I may move on it...I'll let you ll know if I do.

[sonicsuby]

Originally Posted by Holograph

EDIT: Wow, for some reason, I didn’t notice all the previous posts on this thread! Thanks for the info, everyone. I am still mulling it over, but the bottom line is that I could have my STi with nothing more than a longer duration of payments that will be an equal or lesser amount and of course, slightly higher insurance. The "guaranteed trade-in" price is currently $3,429.63 higher than what I owe on my loan. Plus, the offer comes with $500 dollars in Subaru bucks, so I could use those as well.

lets see:

new? check.
faster? check check.
cooler? check.
same monthly payment? check.

winner winner.

[Thumper23]

I did

I got a better APR, my monthly payments went up a $100 (no big deal), and the opportunity was there. So I did it. Still happy.

[Corn-Picker]

Monthly payment isn't that important, your debt (how much you still owe) is what counts in my opinion.

The STi can get expensive quickly. Every 15,000 miles (or less if you auto-x and drive agressively) you are going to need new tires. It's about $900 to order new tires and have them installed. The RE070s are completely unacceptable on snow, so you're going to need Blizzak WS-50s, which are about $650 installed and shipped. If you bend or curb a rim, they are about $400 each ($700 each OEM). Being that the stock BBS rims are so expensive, you'll probably want some winter rims, thats another $600 if you get the absolute cheapest wheels possible. You're going to need new brake pads eventually too, about $325 for the set if you look to less expensive than OEM aftermarket pads. These costs are in addition to the cost of 94 octane, which you will consume fairly quickly at 18 mpg.

The cost of repair, operation, and maintenance for the STi is much higher then for the WRX, trust me, I've owned both. When I curbed a rim or two in my WRX playing Solberg in a snowy parking lot, I got some takeoff rims from tirerack for $50 each and some RE-92s for the cost of shipping. When I did something similarly stupid in my STi, I bent/scratched a few $400 rims, fragged some $200 tires, and bent a ~$200 forged aluminum control arm. What cost me $300 to repair on my WRX cost me $1500 to repair on my STi.

Apparently I am the luckiest man alive when it comes to insurance. As a 24 year old male (with one speeding ticket) living in a top-10 insurance premium state (West Virginia), I payed $1600 a year for 100/300 full coverage on my STi through Erie Insurance. The reason I upgraded to the STi was because my WRX was rearended and badly damaged, so I had ~$4000 "extra bargaining power" from trading in a wrecked car.

The STi is certainly worth the 8k premium over the WRX, the only question is can you afford the additional costs of ownership, and do you really need/want what the STi offers?

[smash0r]

Is your '02 bone stock?

Mine wasn't...dealer balked on the guaranteed trade in (only suspension work, engine/drive train was untouched)

That said...I went for it havn't looked back. my wrx was free and clear though, so the down payment was a bit more sizable than what you're looking at.

[joey1313]

I hope they offer the buy back for 04's next year.

[projectrally]

do it, doug!

(reference to Mallrats)

[happyparrot]

Yes you should.

[dubba you are ex]

if you can afford it go ahead, the wrx is already a great car. you have a good problem which is rare

[Rev]

Go for it. You don't seem to care about he bottom line and how much interest you will pay in the end. That is obvious by the amount you still owe on a 02 WRX. So get the STi, tack on more interest payments. I figure $3500 down on a $32K car with a 60 month loan has to be somewhere around $5000 in interest payments, no matter how good your rate is. But as long as you can make the montly payments it is a good move right?

I know I sound like a jerk, but I realize now that so many people are driving around in STis because they are financially irresponsible. I have seen countless posts in OT to the effect of "I lost my job, now what the hell am I going to do?" Meanwhile they have nothing in the bank and a 30K car sitting in their driveway that they are totally upsidedown on.