If I were you, and knowing what I now know, I'd put my money into an RS Focus.

 

I have not seen a body filler that allows magnets to stick to it.

 

Plastic steel?

 

Interesting thread.

I bought my 00MY classic last year after an 11 year absence, after a long line of Subarus starting with the Legacy Turbo. Three reasons why I decided to get one again:-
1) Its still one of the best cars I've ever owned or kept (including some excellent company cars.
2) I spotted one for £1200 with every receipt and zero rust, but needing new brakes etc and stuck the money on a card to buy it as a third family car.
3) The only way is up for prices for anything decent.

If you can do it, get the money ready and be prepared to travel anywhere to see the right car.

Also, I'm hoping insurance companies will class the car under Classic Car policies before long. I'd recommend Adrian Flux as although they're all 15 years old or more now, and they will have a sensible conversation that I didn't get at some of the other 'Specialised / Classic Car insurance experts'.

PS If you want to sell in a couple of years, and not lose much money on it, don't do anything to the way it looks and keep the service history to as good a level as you buy it with. That means budget for full Cambelt kit spend including tensioner & pulleys !

 

I've had GC8s on classic insurance for several years. Quite a few insurers will offer this. Like all classic policies you need to have another car as your main vehicle.

 

Interesting thread. I'm also hankering after another late classic having had 2 UK2000's previously going back over the last 15 years.

I'm tempted with a low mileage one (59k) completely original as a 2nd car/weekend car and think that if kept in excellent condition and low miles values will start to rise in the next few years. They certainly aren't easy to come by.

My last one was low miles and leather interior and perfect condition and really regret selling it as it was a keeper. The ones i'm seeing now are more expensive and nowhere near as nice.

Oh and i'd been watching that silver classic you linked to for a few weeks as I liked the skirts on it etc however knowing where it was being sold from with the notoriety of the place on here I stayed well away. Which leads me to a question, can you still get the skirts/splitters etc for the classics to add to totally original cars or is it a case of it you want those now you need to find an example with them already fitted?

 

if you buy a good one how are running costs horendous? And 50% of the days in the uk are wet so at least half of the time youl be creaming those pesky fwd hot hatches anyway

 

You are where I was a year ago - I'm actually driving the Impreza more that I expected to - it was supposed to be a weekend car, but its summer ! Car will be covered when it gets wet and nasty towards rear arches.


Re side skirts - as long as you don't expect to be able to go into a Subaru dealer and buy them its the usual story of seeing cars being scrapped etc.
Most manufacturers list parts for 12-15 years but not necessarily stock them. The Classics are at the limit so there are lots of service parts that are readily available from Subaru UK but trim etc not great by now.

 

I bought my 1999 AWD for £2,500 the reason for paying a slight premium is it had only two owners from new, a full service record and only 53k on the clock. The car had no rust etc as it was garaged and used on short runs. This is my main car and since i had it Sept last year i have put 15k on the clock. Rust is now showing on the arches and its on my to do list (August). Just to say there are some good low mileage examples around if you look, however take them out of there clean, dry garages and drive them then due to the age the rust will appear so you need to factor this into your thinking and budget.

IMG 0217

 

Hmmm that's my main problem at the moment. Without a garage to store the car it will have to survive the winter here in the hills. But I think that's a great idea having some funds put aside for the work.

If I paid the RAC to do one of their assessments, would they go far enough to find the structural rust at the arches and under the body work?

 

Hi mate, I was in the same boat as you. Looking for a mint classic uk2000 with low mileage. Finally got one, spotless 54k miles, but had to fork out £4k. Still had a few bits to fix though. Might be worth getting a bit extra cash together, could save you money in the long run?

 

Cheers. I'm torn at the moment between a low mileage totally original classic or get a brand new Corsa VXR on PCH at stupidly cheap prices on a 2 year deal.

The scoob worries me with running costs, a 15+ year old car and so a lot more potential problems than when I had my first one which was only 2 years old not to mention the £500 cambelt changes every 3 years..

However the scoob i'd get to keep, the Corsa goes back after 2 years with nothing to show for it but no maintenance bills other than a single service. Both as near as damn it the same power.

 

A classic Subaru should really only be a weekend car now as they are to rare and will apreciate long term So should be garaged and be prepared to spend lots of cash on them over the next few years as rust settles in

 

Will they appreciate though, that's the gamble vs the cost of looking after one properly. Out of interest what sort of mpg do you get out of a completely standard classic? Reason I ask is both of my MY98s had full decat straight through exhausts and just absorbed petrol. Would it be realistic to see 25+mpg on a run from a standard one?

 

I have averaged 250 miles to a tank over the last 15 years
Short 10-20 mile journeys
Decatted
Tesco super

On a long run I've seen 280 -300 to the tank

 

Thanks for answering, the worst I managed was 60 miles from £20 in my last one. I had to make a decision today and gone for the VXR. I want to use the car regularly and that wouldn't have worked with the scoob.

 

You made the right decison on the VXR
Great looking car ,looks the part ,cheap to run and a bit of power too and well equipped

Classics should be there a a second /third car now as they are too valuable to run around with like we did 5years ago

 

The new one is roughly the same power as a standard classic 205bhp vs 208bhp and a test drive of the Nurburgring edition made me bite - the new one is the same power as the existing Nurburgring edition. I had found the classic I wanted but even as a 2nd car I couldn't justify the running/maintenance costs to look after it properly. As you say it really should be a 3rd car, a Sunday treat reserved for those who have the time and money to look after them correctly. There are too many examples out there sadly that prove that point with how run down they are. Or if you have it as a main car you have very deep pockets.

For anyone looking check Pistonheads classified.

 

My old classic I sold earlier this year, 60k and 2 previous owners PPP,sold it for £3600. Didn't advertise it, someone asked if I wanted to sell so struck a deal. Clean cars are out there but be prepared to travel and be disappointed with what some people's definition of mint is!

 

Stick a grand on your credit card and get this:

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=161750606660

If I had the money I'd be going to look at it

 

The one on Pistonheads is better - lower miles, cheaper and completely original.

 

I like the look of the VXR - a guy near us has had a blue Courtenay modified one since new - all subtle and slightly more aggressive.


ps The Impreza Turbo went up to 215 ps in 1999 - not that it make any difference

 

I've ordered the lime green with 18's on it and can't wait. I considered buying it but I think leasing for 2 years is the way to go.

Yeah the one I looked at is a '99 so with 215ps but as you say I doubt the difference is barely noticeable. The VXR does torque steer though or rather the one I test drove did where as the scoob just puts it straight down with 4 wheel drive. I will always miss the 2 scoobs I had and may still go back to one at some point. I also really want a bugeye sti in blue with the gold wheels and black morettes and skirts/bodykit, out of all the models over all the years I still think they look the best so it's on my to have list at some point.