milo

help!

Ok, budget is circa £15-20k

must have 4 seats, ideally be 03/04 plate or newer with low miles

have an old subaru wrx at the moment and want something newer

have tried the evo 8 MR and quite liked it but wanted to know what else to try. bit concerned with running costs of evos, but ive been running scoobs forever and the costs of them are ok... unless the evo is more than 30% more expensive to run, im probably ok

tried a monaro and a golf r32 but both felt heavy, slow and sluggish... altho extremely comfortable and well built... think i would get frustrated with them too quickly

tried a civic type r but too small and not enough power. not sure that FWD is for me.

tried an m3 but it lacked the kick of the turbo cars that im used to... plus is very top end of the budget anyway (in fact 25k for an 04... the 20k tends to get a fairly high mileage 02)

i dont think the focus st would be quick enough (and fwd) so i havent even bothered trying that

have considered going down the pre-modded route and spending the money on a slightly older 400-500+bhp car, like the evo7 565bhp advertised on here, or a well turned sti5/6 type r... but tbh it would probably be too expensive to run, not sensible (id only use it for road use anyway) and harder to resell later

anyone got any suggestions or should i just bite the bullet and go for the evo 8?

alternative is to spend a couple of grand bringing my old scoob up to scratch, but thats the boring option

milo

Oh, i should also add that a tried a PPP STI type uk, and while it seemed every bit as rapid as the evo, it just didnt feel as involved and the handling wasnt as sharp

have considered a jdm sti, or spec c, but after almost a decade of scoob ownership it may be time to try something different...

help

LG John

OMG!!!! Milo is back - woooooot

For those requirements and budget the EVO seems like a solid option. It'll run 400bhp on very basic and inexpensive mods and should be bullet proof. Remember and account for serious running costs.

noobyscooby

Play safe and spend £2 or £3K on the car you know!

HankScorpio

what you classing as low miles? 4 yo S4 is in the ballpark but probbly with 50k, low for them but maybe too high for you..?

milo

I would class sub-30k on an 04 as low miles but thats considering cars that are not generally used as motorway commuters (i.e. s4)

i agree, i should try out an s4, they do seem nice altho maybe too understated for me

HankScorpio

yeah, I flip flop on them but one of my neighbours has a noggy blue one and when he boots it, it's awesome.
I get the impression you can cruise it or boot it and it's happy doing either.

john banks

If budget is up to £20K then look for an Evo IX. I'd sell my 55 plate Evo IX FQ340 with 16000 miles for that.

lukey1

I am currently selling my EvoVIII MR

see here,

https://www.scoobynet.com/private-sa...o-v111-mr.html


am open to sensible offers

TopBanana

Is it much better, or just newer?

john banks

Evo IX has new styling front and rear, variable valve timing which improves torque/spool/economy, larger compressor housing for more power, improved cylinder head coolant channels which allows more torque. VIII MR is still good though, looks good in gunmetal grey, just slower.

Brendan Hughes

Didn't like a PPP STi UK, didn't feel involved or sharp handling, but looking at an S4?

alloy

i made the transition from subaru to evo, got myself the IX, the VIII's are a bit cheaper, dont have MIVEC and lack a few revsions, but will handle 380bhp reliably with decat, boost control and remap. Choice is budget and style taste dependent but either one is a solid choice IMO

milo

yeah ok, fair to question my logic

i found that the evo 8 fq mr did what the ppp sti did better than the ppp sti did it, and they are similar beasts. in other words, if i plump for another turbo 2l, the fq mr would be the better bet for me.

the s4 is a different beast entirely... more comfort than sharp handling - its not meant to do what the evo/sti does. its pros are in other areas.

i guess i havent decided what i actually want from my next car yet... which is the crux of the problem

Brendan Hughes

Swot I thought, just looked weird

BTW, M5s get raved about round here. And does a Skyline of sorts fit your criteria?

B0DSKI

iTrader: (17)

Hawkeye Spec C just falls into budget

rcwhite

Hawkeye Spec C is a very focussed car... spec c i would say exhaust,remap BOB rawl) rapid rare as well.

Simon 69

A brand new Lancer Evolution X only costs $33,000 in America: thats well under £18,000! Makes you think; doesnt it?

DCR59

That's a nice car with a good spec.

If I HAD to buy an EVO I would prefer this to the EVO 9.
I think the front of the 9 looks too much like the EVO 7, a bit bland.

I also read in a mag (Jap P, I think) that Owen developements have found that the EVO 9 has a very weak turbo, so the 8 might be the better option.

But that's only if you have to buy an EVO.
I would stick with an STi, maybe a spec C!

gillyz20let

id seriously consider a evo if you worried about runing costs.

everyone i know whos got/had an evo has blown stupid amounts of money just running them.

less mpg than a impreza especialy a 5sp.

remember it will need a service every 4500mile inc ayc fluid and transmission oils at 10k mile at £10 a litre.

you will be lucky to see 10k mile from clutch. less if hard off the mark.

if ur going for evo running costs you may aswell do the job right Harlow Jap Autos Ltd : Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R

gear boxes,diffs and transfer boxes will break if driven hard.

i was told i was lucky after owning a 1999 evo 6 with 28k mile for 2 years and getting away with.
sheered bolts in front diff
maf sensor
clutch and flywheel
transfer box
ayc pump switch
idle control switch

and a few other bits n bobs and that was never dragged or tracked or abused.

had my sti running 335bhp for 12months and not even a bulb gone id go for a spec c.

john banks

Early 9GT models had an unreliable magnesium compressor wheel. All the other 9 turbos (ie all UK models) are OK - it is the same turbo as the 8MR with a larger compressor housing.

Nothing gone wrong on my 9 over 18 months at 400 BHP running up to 1.9 bar peak. Runs 25 mpg in mixed use. 16000 miles on the original clutch and no hint of problems yet.

milo

i dont think it quite falls into budget - the only 2 available on autotrader/ph seem to be circa £22k for an 06

blobeye spec c's certainly fall into budget

not sure i like the idea of no air-con tho - i understand that was only an option on the hawkeyes

plus there's the fact that sti jdm's are hard enough to find in good condition - spec c's seem to be even rarer

are spec c's significantly better than a normal jdm? if so (aside from being lighter weight), what makes it better?

rcwhite

blobeye spec c's can be had with air con u just need the wr limited version

scoobytravis

Have an Evo 8 FQ300 (2003) with usual exhaust/induction/Ecutek/boost controller mods (360hp). Have owned it for 1 year. Had 2 main Ralliart dealer services to date, 1st was £300, 2nd was £125 , due 3rd soon at about £200. Do 12K miles per year. Not bad for Ralliart dealership I think!

Maintenance costs to date in 1 year of ownership above the servicing & an MOT, 1 new battery (£50), 1 set front pads (£150), 4 new tyres,(£320 18/235/40 Falken,... better than Toyos that were fitted) 2 dash bulbs (£7),2 wiper blades.(PIAA, so.... £40ish)

Fuel - does not use much more than classic scooby I had running similar mods but MUCH less power (270hp UK classic)
Runs about 250 miles/tank on a run, 200 ish on usual town/work runs, similar to scoob I had.

Insurance is more, but then its a newer vehicle with nearly 100hp more than the classic scoob I had.

Overall to date, bar the insurance, not really much more expensive to run than classic scoob I had. Others expereiences may be different, but these are my own.

Hope that helps

Graham

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

All blob eye 17 inch spec c's came with a/c they added electric windows on the 2005 model

Tony

milo

Ok, so I'm looking for a 2005+ Subaru Impreza WRX STI JDM Spec C with a/c and elec windows; or a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VIII FQ-340 MR, UK version with the carbon roof and leather interior. yummy

needle in a haystack time lol

BTW, for those interested, i did try a focus st in the end, and it was actually much quicker than i thought it would be. actually a contender... until traction control kept kicking in (i wasn't actually pushing the car AT ALL, but it was a bit damp). such a practical car with good performance and cheap as chips running costs... pity about the FWD

Ciaran

iTrader: (16)

a mate of mine has a VIII mr330 with a decat and a few other tweaks and it has been reliable for the last 12k. Just make sure you service i properly and don't drive it like you stole it and it won't break anything.
As for MPG i currently drive a humble VR6 and even that only gets 200ish miles to a £50 tank so 250miles from a £40 evo tank aint that bad.