F1 CJE UK

iTrader: (8)

Well a slow Impreza in my opinion is not a sensible buy, underpowered engines with a relatively heavy car and a unnecessary four wheel drive system, paying very high insurance prices, being pulled over by the police more often, poor fuel mileage etc. do you want me to keep going…..

Apart from the performance side why would you buy a Scooby ?????

tiny gsy

Because you`ve always followed Subaru through years or WRC, because you like the way they look, because your young and can`t afford to insure a turbo, because you don`t feel the need to have 300bhp on tap at 17

Some of the smaller engined imprezas only have 2 wheel drive and they are only as powerful as other cars in that group.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Motorcross would be good for your reactions but not road driving, to be honest I would be concerned for your safety in a 300 bhp car, sorry but you need some experience as real driving isn't a BBS or Car Magazine.

I am 37 and have a 250 bhp Saab 9-3 and its reasonably quick, but even now I find myself going too fast, if when I was 17/18 I had that kind of power at my disposal I would have killed myself or someone else.

Start with a cheap slow car and then go up in 50 bhp increments, build some no claims bonus, make sure its enjoyable, i.e, a Fiesta 1.25 rather than a Polo, the perhaps a 100 plus bhp car such as a Mini Cooper, the 175 bhp etc.

300 bhp on GranTurismo is no big deal, on a wet Tuesday morning on the way to work its more than enough.

scooby-sti-dave

try ensliegh insurance....iam 18 with a years no claims and its 5300 on a 2005 impreza sti with ppp all declared

so would give them a go mate!

GlesgaKiss

Motocross gives u an excellent feel for control. Being technically a good driver is really just down to the way you think and motocross at an early age teaches you and gives you the feel for it. I do agree though, road driving is a different story, the roads are just too busy!

silent running

These kind of threads always bring out the old folk on here to tell the youngsters to drive something slower and I won't be the one to buck the trend LOL

Insurance at 17/18 is expensive for one reason - it's a bad bad risk for insurers to take on. They know teenagers crash cars; everyone knows it. I bet half of us on here who are now old and wise did a lot of crashing when we were younger. I was one of them. I guess it wasn't until I'd done 5 years of driving that I really stopped being surprised by the things that other road users would do.

As a couple of people mentioned above, it's not about riding or driving skill at all. Driving on the roads is all about experience and it can't be got any other way but by time and putting the miles under your wheels. And even, dare I say, a few minor crashes in low powered cars while you're still young enough to learn your lesson from it. Wet stopping distances meant nothing to me as a teenager until at 19 I came flying down my usual road home which was usually dead at that time of night, someone saw me coming but pulled out of a t-junction in front of me anyway. If I'd been doing a more sensible speed in the wet and had known what to do, I might have got out of it, but I didn't - I locked up, ploughed straight on and stacked it. At the time I thought he was to blame and I seem to recall that the insurance claim went in my favour as I was on the main road. But with time I came to realise that it's not as simple as that - I should have judged the conditions better, judged the road surface better, not been surprised when people do stupid, unexpected things etc. I surely would have been dead if I'd been flooring it in a 200bhp+ Subaru instead of a 1.0 litre Fiesta.

The only advice I can give is save your money till your old enough to get something decent. Get used to warm hatches and the like and push the limits of them if you want, build some experience, expect the unexpected, bide your time and I promise you'll enjoy your first proper performance car so much more when you can handle it confidently and insure and run it without breaking the bank.

Lecture over.

tonywrx

if it is what you want then go for it just be careful and take it to some sort of driver training to get used to it, but try and bargain with the insurance companies offr to pay a higher excess to bring the premium down i am 22 and i pay 800 with elephant, but i have had some cars in my 5 years of driving take a look.

started at 17 with

mg metro turbo
ford escort mk5 facelift
escort cabriolet
escort cabriolet rs turbo conversion
escort mk5 rs2000
mitsubishi shogun
escort mk6 gti
vectra 2.5 sri
vectra 2.0 sri
mitsubishi pajero 2.5td
rover 220 coupe turbo
toyota celica gt4
escort rs turbo
nissan pulsar gti-r
vectra 2.5 sri again
golf vr6
wrx wagon my96
passat 1.8t sport
fiat coupe turbo
peugeot 306 gti-6
peugeot 306 td (lol)
wrx wagon my98

Brun

...but as they weigh 300-400kg more than the other cars in that group, they make for a slow, boring experience which will involve getting their **** handed to them on a daily basis by Saxos, Corsas and 106s!!!

F1 CJE UK

iTrader: (8)

I do see your point but to buy a Subaru you must have a interest in performance ???? All show and no go is not my thing but I suppose I should not judge, and if he has an interest in motocross then he must have an interest in speed …. All I am saying is be careful you don’t waste a load of money insuring a car that is not a performance car but paying high insurance and many of the other draw backs that come with Subaru ownership. Also if you start modding even bodywork you will have a large effect on the incurrence you pay ? Wait a few years and you could prob afford a newage which we all know are a far superior car

Brun

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

.......only to the cross-eyed

F1 CJE UK

iTrader: (8)

Mew

lol i thought this forum was for friendly help and advice lol

look at the stick this guy getting cos of his age

if he wana get a subaru or not is one thing,

however he drives it is upto him its just WHEN he drives it fast thats the issue, so long as he don't go mental in dangerous places aka narrow public roads, near people and housing etc hes ok

drive a little quicker on the country roads yeh, we all do. if he crashes in the countryside he only goin to hit a hedge.... its only money not his life or anyother if thats the case....

saying that im not goin get into a speed/age debate lol im 22 and have always had big fast cars and yeh iv had some accidents but who hasn't

killerscoob

I disagree I would rather have classic shape than the new age "New rover look shape"

Subaru Impreza's are all superior cars New or old.

finalzero

Very costly tbh. A lot of people here have said sensible things about ownership - the bottom line is that it's very expensive.

I'll give you my example:

1. Paid top end for my STi Type RA (2000 reg, light weight model with a handful of basic mods)
2. Insurance: £1100.00 - I am 32 but not to my favour, I have rarely owned my previous car's more than 6 months and 90% of the time I drove around in company cars but this figure will drop to three figures next year
3. Service: before I picked it up, the car had a new cam belt, all the fluids changed, new filter, oil filter and spark plugs - cost: £350+ including labour

The above was before I picked it up. The car has only got a full decat exhaust and a performance panel filter, uprated spark plugs so putting out the quoted figure for an STi 6.

Unfortunately for me, I pranged my car so that's further costs, during the quote up for the work I wanted the aging paintwork restored so thats another £650 for all the work (being done as I write this).

I was driving the car about for a good few weeks prior to it going into the bodywork, using the car to travel to work which is about 7 miles max. Not driving like a maniac but using the boost to play bumper car's I was eating through about £10 of fuel in a day (return journey included). At the weekends I was going through about £30 to £40 pounds of fuel depending on what I was up to (usually in the evening attacking a B road).

So my first months outlay excluding the servicing etc came to about £500 including insurance payment.

As soon as the car comes out, it's going for it's 30,000 miles service at Zen which will be anywhere from £300 to 400 pounds depending on what needs doing. Then I will be adding my performance parts which cost around £1000 and they are not even engine mods.

A remap is due soon so thats about £450 to £600 there...

As you can see, expensive business. That's the thing with owning a high performance car, they maybe cheaper to afford now but servicing usually is a killer. The scooby is not as bad as my BMW's, I had a spate of E30 325i's/M3, cheapish to buy but they cost me an arm and a leg in servicing and maintenance.

You sound like someone who appreciates the car so you will probably go out of your way to get the car right in your mind, same with me - I am a perfectionist and I will probably spend more money than I should on my scooby till it's sitting right in my mind.

If I were you, I would keep the scooby in mind as a target, get a good car for your age, there are some cracking jap performance car's which are light on the pocket and will give you a good grounding in the JDM scene. Then when you have built up your NCB and experience over the years you will have a choice of some nice car's like the bugeye or blobeye STi.

To speed things up get to a few track days, really boosts your experience level, driving knowledge and confidence.

Forgot to add to my rather long post (apologies): having a performance car at an inexperienced age is not the issue, it's how something like a WRX or an STi delivers that power that can overwhelm a driver. That sudden blast of power can catch a person out and if your not used to the pace, your reaction times are slower resulting in a bad experience.

If you do get a turbo model then get it to a track asap and learn how to drive it or get some tution, will make a world of difference.

Swen6

Are your bedroom walls padded? cause you must be mental to pay that!!!

GreenTurbo98

iTrader: (1)

Bedroom must be a padded cell to pay that even if you are minted.

I can't believe what some people pay to own a scooby. Save you cash and wait a few years. Trust me girls are more impressed with lesser cars )

Mifo

iTrader: (10)

stick with a pocket rocket for now,it will be worth the wait.

im 22 , 2 ncb, and its nearly 2 grand insurance for a wrx, must be about 4-5 grand at your age.
then you got massive fuel consuption (compared to a non turbo car), big service bills, £205 road tax!!

I had a saxo vts from the age of 19-21, it kept me happy until a scooby was realisitic!

wezy

lol its a full on debate this, i didnt mean for people to get frustrated but a lot of sensible people on here. it shows the different between young people and the older generation on here because of the attitudes towards cars at a young age. This forum has really made me think about the long term of it, not just buying it and insuring it. That CIS insurence policy doesnt seem like a bad idea though. But i will be deffo using these forums if i buy one and turning up a meetings. Anyway let the debate continue

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

This is what happens with age - we can look back on what we were like at your age, have made most of the mistakes and stupid decisions for you, so you dont have to.

I know all teenagers ( like me at the time ) always think they know best, and the older generation dont know anything, but sometimes it is worth listening to those with experience.

ONE IMPORTANT THING THOUGH - dont listen to any of the posters who are advising you to fiddle the insurance / become a named driver etc... - insurance companies are wise to this now and if the car gets stolen or you have an accident, they more than likely wont pay out, so you'll lose everything.

If you cant insure the car properly in your name, and register yourself as the owner, then dont bother as it isnt worth the risk.

One thing I am surprised about though is why you dont go for a bike if you want some speed, given your background in MX ? I had a full bike license years before I passed my car test, and the insurance and running costs for a bike are much lower than a car ( as long as you dont go for a R1 or GSXR1000 at 18 ! ).

You could get something like a 400 or older 600, and the performance would leave 99% of the cars on the road standing.

sjwdavies

Sorry to be blunt, but your one stupid basterd!

Take it you still live with mummy and daddy?

mikey2

iTrader: (1)

In all honesty, wait, a huge financial drain is the last thing you need at 18, my car cost me nearly 60 quid to fill and i would get 200 miles if i was lucky, and that was on a run. I know its a ball ache having people saying, your too young, too inexperienced, but, it has to be said, its generally true. If i had my car at 19, i would most likely have died. Work up gradually, i started with a sh*tter, then when i wanted more power i got an MR2, non turbo, and had loads of fun, i had that for nearly 4 years before i got the turbo, and i am glad, cos its a handful in the wet, there is no way i would have been able to handle that. The scooby is easier to drive, but that breeds one thing, complacency, you get that you die, simple, yes it has loads of grip, but can you handle it when you suddenly lose the grip??
I dont really want to advise you against it, because its a great car, but, if you are not careful there will be one less great car, and you will either be dead, incapacitated, or heavily out of pocket.
Mostly though, a financial burden like that is not really something you want, its not fun after a while.
It takes a bigger man to wait, you seem quite sensible too, its not worth screwing yourself fiancially for a car, actually it is, but thats not the point, lol.
Bottom line is, its very expensive, get it wrong once, its gone, it doesnt have to be you that gets it wrong either, theres lots of idiots out there.

The right choice is the right choice by you, not by everyone else, just take it easy.
Enjoy

Tidgy

no mater what your decisions, you have to treat the car with the respect it deserves. or this can happen,





i was lucky enought o walk away, no one to blame but myself, saw someone at the side of the road, expected them to wait so carried on, they crossed i jumped a hedge upside down avoiding them, luckily i was ok and wlaked away with nothing but my pride and wallet hurt.

it was down to driving experiance, iv'e had the same thing happen to me since, and instead of just carrying on i have slowed and prepared to brake. It a steep leraning curve

sjwdavies

Previous two posts, were very well put!

Can't really add to them...

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

i love this guy. him and "20withascooby" must be brothers or something.

right serious...

welcomes to the madhouse.

i was 21 when i passed my test. had a white sport waiting for me. that was 1500 tp ft to insure via tescos. crashed that avioding something in the road after two months.

i thne bought a wrx import, which was an older cheap model. this was a sh*tter by all examples. insurance was 2500 fully comp. then came the current scoob back in dec 06. remembering i had still only been driving 9 months, ecar insured me on a my99 uk turbo 2000 for £1750 fully comp.

why get an import when theyre group 20. what about a uk car... group 17

i would be astonished if you pay under £3.5-4k for insurance if you do get one, but please make sure its all legit. unfortunatley there are more newbies coming on here gloating about fiddling insurance all day long. people dont like that neither do i

good luck anyways fella.

Mew

ditto

buy wot u want, but drive safely tho the £5000 isn't really worth it....

gingerboy

So let me get this right, you replaced the alarm as opposed to having the brakes replaced............... that makes perfect sense to me .

Unless the car was immobilised due to the alarm fault, which a good sparky could find his way around their are three things that any self respecting person would ensure were 100% on there car, Brakes, steering and tyres!

I do sometimes wonder about peoples priorities when it comes to car ownership.

I can imagine it now - police officer, "so you were unable to stop because your brakes failed?"

"Thats correct officer, my alarm needed to be replaced so that took percident over not only my own safety but also that of other road users and pedestrians"

"Excellent sir, what a shame your car is on it's roof! At least we can lock it up and it will be fully alarmed until the recovery vehicle arrives to take it to our premises for a full inspection!"

I'll be off now then, my work here is done!

GB

mikey2

iTrader: (1)

Didnt say the brakes were knackered tho did he?? Just rather hot!
Not gonna change the lads insurance either.

sjwdavies

Sorry for possibly hi-jacking this thread, but the long reply, I feel, is needed.


Your rather offensive post is based on the little facts you know.

Not that I have to, but I will explain the situation.

The car was left standing for 3 or 4 months, during which time, the car got moisture inside, and water through a boot leak. As I'd had the first alarm installed on the cheap by a friend in the business, he did a quick job and put the alarm unit under the drivers seat.

This is not reccomended as if water gets into the car, the alarm will get wet.

I think you can guess what happened...

So I came to put the car back on the road. Bought a new battery, installed it. Came to open and disarm the alarm, and it wasn't responding. Numerous disconnects of the battery, a number of alarm sirens, the alarm not recognising the fob, the fact that the alarm LED (Clifford unit) was constantly illuminated blue, led me to believe there was a fault with the alarm.

Taking it for it's MOT, and the car died just after the emissions test. I couldn't restart it because of the alarm/immobiliser. Disconnected the battery, fiddling about with it for 20 minutes, and I managed to get it started and out of the garage - only for it to cut out on me 4 minutes round the corner.

Fiddling I managed to get it started and home, where I rang a decent alarm centre and booked it in ASAP.

So I drop the car off at the alarm centre........ 3 hours later I get a phone call informing me of the moisture that's penetrated the alarm and the green fuzz growing out of the connector ports.

"We'll be able to remove the alarm sir, but it will be £150....."
"How much is a new alarm?"
"That would be £600, including the cost of removing the wiring of the old alarm"

So having an insurance group 20 car, sat on the drive with no alarm, and the fact these cars are stolen to be used as get-a-way cars because of their speed PLUS the fact their relatively easy to steal because of their age, led me to pay the man his money and replace the alarm.

These imports have no alarm or immobiliser as standard. Do you think many people who own these cars have no alarm or immobiliser on them?

At any point in my post, did I say my brakes were knackered and needed replacing? Do you think a competent Mechanic would give me NO STRONG ADVICE if the brakes were dangerous?

My brakes at no point have failed. They were strong enough to pass an MOT in October.

Jog on GingerBoy, jog on.

mikey2

iTrader: (1)

See thats what i thought, good call mate.
Anyway, back to insurance..............................lol

rewindnottm

i got "Kieth Micheals" and "A Plan" bidding for quotes and got it down from 750 to 500 all mods declared (with A Plan).

yours wont be this cheap but its worth playing the insurance companies off each other for the best deals (the price was 1300 in the internet sites by the way so its worth calling them too)