Hi all,

I am new here, but I'm asking for your advice!

I'm coming up to 21 and I've been saving to get an impreza sti. I've learnt to drive my mums impreza wagon (which she bought brand new 2 days before I was born!) and have been driving for 3 years in October.

Now I am thinking of biting the bullet and getting an impreza sti. I've got my heart set on a hawkeye but because of the known faults on the 2.5 engine a U.K. Spec would be out of the question, so it's either between a uk spec widetrack blob eye, or a jdm hawkeye.

The jdm car would be the preffered car so I was wondering approximate costs of an impreza on Japanese soil, then the costs to import the car through a importer and the insurance implications on import cars.

Any help would be great and much appreciated!

 

Get an insurance quote first. I see so many Subarus up for sale because the insurance is so high for anyone under 25.

 

I've got quotes for £1200, ideally I only want to run it for 6 months a year to start with (that's for a uk spec car)

 

A jdm will cost more to buy an more to insure ect. Depends on your budget really. I went for a 2005 widetrack sti type uk, last if the uk 2.0's which has the adjustable diff ect and as it's registered before 2006 so it also falls into the lower tax band.

 

Who's insuring you on a hawk STI at 21 for £1200 ???

 

given your age id be going for the uk blob sti. imports restrict the number of insurers.

 

genuine question - you say you have your heart set on an STI but why?

Why not get a WRX, save some money on the purchase and get cheaper insurance for a few years

 

Regarding insuring the Sti vs UK.. My Import Sti actually cost me less than my uk turbo (had both at the same time) and the import is remapped, ap brakes, exhaust, oz wheels (all declared)

 

It's admiral who quoted me with the insurance on a comparison site.

 

I think Adrian Flux are more competitive than others when it comes to imports and I think they offer a discount to scoobynet members?

Just out of interest how much was it to insure your mums wagon when as your first car? I am presuming it is a GX?

Regards,

Subaru Collector 555.

 

Regarding the quote, insurance is a funny thing and premium quotes can change daily. I swear the price is dependent on what way the wind is blowing.

Admiral may be cheap but their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. And if you get in in a non fault accident they may well still put your premuims up. I was with them when I had a non fault accident. At renewal my premium doubled. When I asked why they sadi that people in non fault accidents are more likely to be in fault accidents in the following 12 months so they load up the premium in advance. I was stunned and made them repeat it. Then went else where.
I also know a few other friends who were with Admiral and in non fault accidents. They all say the customer service was ****e.

Just be wary of the cheap Admiral if you ever need to use them - you get what you pay for.

 

I'll gaurentee they won't honour the £1200 quote once you actually call them to insure it.

 

They quoted me about £400 online when i was checking rates before i bought a scoob - was nearer £1500 by the time i actually got them on the fone and tried getting it actually insured - these comparison sites arent always what they seem to be

 

I second that, IMO your either not being truthful to the insurance firm or you live in the cheapest place in the uk to insure a car. I would be very careful about going out to spend alot of money on a car to then find out the insurer won't honour the original quote.

Plus, I don't mean to patronise but thats a lot of responsibility for a 21 year old to have, please be safe if successful.

 

I'm in agreement with the others here. They always quote you online with a lot of answers they need to know as guesses. They assume a lot on there!
Like you'll do the payment in one go, change to monthly and its a lot more!

 

No insurance company in the land will insure a 21 year old inexperienced driver on a Impreza STI of any descript for under 2 grand.
I was paying 2 and half grand on an EVO at 20 years old and that was over 10 years ago !!!!!!

 

I bought my 1999' Impreza UK Turbo 2000 at 23, currently insured with Admiral for £750.

But anyway, lets not get off topic.

Only you can decide what you want. When I was first looking at Subaru's, I didn't know much about them and had my heart set on a Hawkeye. Once it got down to getting the quotes, about £1800 to insure and £450 to tax. Errrmmmm, no thank you. I then started looking at blob eyes and decided that a mint standard classic is what I wanted. All of this was over the space of around 12 months.... My advice is don't rush into anything. Also because I have a bog standard Turbo 2000, insurance is a little cheaper yet it's still a brilliant car to drive. In a couple of years I can then upgrade to a Type R import and follow through with a specialist insurer as they will appreciate that I've had previous Subaru experience . Specialist insurers only insure over 25's anyway.

Enjoy your hunt for the right Subaru .

 

any JDM 2.0 litre or forged engine

 

My first STI cost me £2500 to insure back in 2004 when I was 21.

You haven't said its your mums car with you being the 2nd driver have you?

Wait until you are my age and you can insure a wrx for £240 fully comp!

 

Yeah the 2.0 engines are tempting me with the low mileage/well cared cars in Japan. Plus I may well be working in Japan next summer which is a bonus!
I bought my own car after passing on my mums, just to clear that up so I have ncb's

 

Well I've just done 3 different comparison sites as if I was 21 and the best I could get was £2600. How did you manage it?

 

Can l see ur birth certificate as l don't believe you are really 21

 

Stick to a vw polo mate