Hi all.
I am thinking of buying a impreza turbo and could do with some advice,i will have around £5000 to spend and maybe £6000 if i could part ex my escort etc.
I am positive that i want a standard turbo,maybe nice exhaust and dump valve,then i can do my own thing with it.
my questions are:
1.What is the best to buy a uk or import,for insurance,running,reliability, etc.
2.Should i buy a older one with low mileage or a newer one with higher mileage.
3.What models are there for around that price.
Any comments would be appreciated
Cheers
Andy

 

Here's a good start.

 

if thats you age in your name up there your going to have about 10 quid left to buy your car after you have got your insurance

by the way this forum is a good place to find a car at that price
check out the for sale

 

5-6k wont get you much of a scoob (poss an MY92 wrx or the likes but then insurance will kill you) or a high mileage my95 uk car.
Insurance is a big killer, a uk car is considerably cheaper in this department and depending on age (im 34 full prot ncb, 9yrs+ and i pay 980 on a modified uk MY00) is what you will be hit with.
Servicing is another down point, 2 per year of which one is just an oil/filter change, the other is normally a little more complex than that (depending on which service its due).
Cambelt services are a must (unless you want a new engine) and can cost upto 450 quid (3 year service).
Fuel.... uk cars can run happily on normal unleaded, they run better on super unleaded then and you get more performance (ie its smoother) and better mpg (so it cancel's out the fact your putting crap nul in).
Jap import cars need to run ONLY on Super unleaded fuel AND octane booster (NF for instance) but be warned, its not cheap and niether are parts! (ie a new engine if your running nul in a JDM car!)
Servicing is a killer (once per year as the oil/filter change is quite cheap, also point out that if you have never serviced a scoob, dont try to!) along with parts, brakes suck on the older cars (pretty much everything under the STi7 has duff brakes as standard, upgraded ones will cost you in insurance though but give you better stopping power ).
Tracking systems are a must (as most insurance co's want them fitted, along with a cat1 alarm/immobiliser) and tyres can cost you a packet as buying 4 at once is around 400 quid (for ones that keep you on the road ).

Tony

 

Thanks for all the replies!
I wish i was 17 again,i am 30 in july and will have 5 years no claims by then.
Ive had a couple of sports cars before,S2 rs turbo and saxo vts,and now i thought of trading my 4 door escort for a newer escort estate but i cant get impreza turbos out of my head,so i dont think i will relax until i have one,so thats why i want to do my research first.
The ford RS cars have a nice sound but the sound of an impreza turbo is just unreal.
Anyway thanks again
Andy

 

I too am looking at spending £6k or so on a Scoob. I have decided from posts like this that I have seen that although a WRX is more affordable, in the long run it will cost me more (insurance & octane booster) and so a UK car is a better alternative

Seems to me that you can get 95 to 97 UK models with 60k+ miles for this price...

Hoping to get one as soon as I shift my Golf!

Anything else (other than running costs) to look out for on this age of car?

[Edited by mike16v - 5/21/2003 3:22:04 PM]