Hey hows it going guys? My name is Thomas, and I'm new to the Subaru community! I'm from Buckley WA, a small town 45 mins south of Seattle. I'm 21 years old, and currently work full time for Centurylink as a Retail Sales Representative. I joined the Army Reserve as part of the Split Option Program my Junior year of High School. I started out driving a VW Bug when i was 15 :lol:. My dream car for the longest time was a Nissan 350z which i purchased myself my Senior year of High School. I owned a 04' red 350z for about 6 months before my bald tires made my slide out of a corner and go into a ditch, due to the massive amount of rain we get here in WA :(. I also started riding streetbikes at 16, I started riding on a 06' Honda CBR 600RR. My first actual commuter that i drove from 16 and still occasionally drive today is a 02' Ford Lightning SVT that my father and I share.
I hate that I owned my 350z for only 6 months, I didn't get to mod it at all which really irritates me till today. I was always into the JDM import scene and loved all JDM cars. I have a lot of friends who owned and still own really nice whips (always waiting for my turn), after crashing my Z I purchased my 05 Jetta and its been about 14+ months since I first got it. My battle buddie from the Reserves actually showed me the picture of the 2015 WRX concept and i fell in love with it instantly. I always liked Subaru's but i would never pull the trigger on a used one due to people around here abusing their subbies and the cars being junk after some time. I knew that if i was going to buy a STI, it had to be new and a refresh. So i instantly started saving right after I got my Jetta.
Prior to locking in my deposit for the Launch Edition, I was looking into Nismo 370z's, the new Mustang 4 cyl eco boost, and the new Mercedes CLA. I was going to purchase my first house about 2 months ago, but things happened and i got screwed out of my $1500 earnest money, so I told my Real Estate Agent that i was going to buy a new car instead and wait till i can get my VA loan to get a place, and he still doesn't talk to me to this day :lol:. With the 370z coming to the end of its cycle I decided not to purchase one due to a new version coming out in the near future, I was never a Mustang guy, I test drove and liked the CLA but it wasn't sporty enough for me. When my old co worker called me and said he was now a salesman for Subaru and that he could get me a good deal on a new 15' and that he made sure that i would get the Launch Edition. I went ahead and bought my first after 4 months of placing my deposit and waiting. I am 100% happy with my purchase and love every mile in that thing. I'm a bit late posting this, but I've owned the car since May 2nd, and I've already put 1050 miles on her. I just haven't had the time to come on here, but today I saw a lot of Subbies on the HWY because of traffic and they would honk, yell nice ride, rev their cars, and give me the thumbs up. I decided it was about time to make myself part of this forum and NASIOC.
I purchased the car from Renton Walkers Subaru, it was a bit of a hassle due to the sales manager being pushy and not explaining things but at the end of the day the deal was done and both parties parted ways happy. I bought the Launch Edition for $38,800 after shipping. It included all the standard things like back up camera, push to start, key less access. I'm not quit sure if its standard on the Launch but I got the STP/STI exhaust, side body molding, homelink mirror, all weather floor mats, and that trunk net thing. OTD was about $42k, I put $12k down and have payments of about $600 with 2.99% for 48 months. Can anyone else here till me what they got their Launch Edition for? I think it was a good deal, because the nearest Subaru Dealership from me was not budging on the second sticker of $40,100 or whatever it was. I'm also getting full coverage Insurance through Farmers for $243 a month, if you guys can also compare your coverage's / ages for future reference that would be great :).
First impressions, the dealership called me when they got a WRB limited in about 2 months ago and they let me test drive and check out in person one of the first ones in WA. The pictures don't do justice for this incredible machine. I think its very refined, beautiful, and mature. Subaru nailed it with the aesthetics of the car. If i was to close my eyes and feel around the cabin it feels like I'm not in a STI, Subaru did an amazing job with the interior. The ride feel is 10x better then my stock Z was. AWD is nice, and with me driving spirited in the rain, it grips and I feel very confident driving my car. The only thing to be honest with this car that I hate, is the stereo, yeah i know its a Sports/Rally car but I enjoy music and need better quality bumps:lol:.
My good friend and I are working on a custom box for my two 10 inch subs, we are painting the box WRB, and i'm going to paint the amps gold. I think it will compliment a gold strut bar in the trunk. I tinted my windows 15% about a week ago and it looks very nice:tup:. I've heard the Subaru community can be full of DB's and I have little knowledge of things mechanical/ modding when it comes to cars (because i didn't mod my Z like planned). So I hope all of you can have some patience with me and help me out :). Ultimately my goals for this car is to get a reliable 300whp/ wtq daily out of this thing because i'm already getting bored of the power (yes i broke it in right). I want to lower it, not to the point where i scrape on every pot hole and cant go up my drive way. Just enough to lose the wheel gap and get spacers for the gold BBS's. I want to add a OEM lip kit all around, fog overlays, whatever aftermarket tail lights they come out with, my stereo system, basic bolt on suspension parts to better the handling.
If any of you are in the Seattle/ WA area please let me know, I would love to go to local meets and be apart of the Subbie community. My IG is "STI_PAPI" if any of you want to follow, I don't have FB or any other social media sites, I wouldn't mind seeing local subbie builds on my feed. Thanks, and I hope good things come out of me joining this forum!