Rossiboy

Hi all this is my first post, I am a bmw owner at present and am looking to buy a Scooby soon.
i am looking for advice and any offers of cars for sale,
Advice first what would i expect to pay for insurance 36yr old no accidents or claims one sp30 full no claims?
fuel costs i know can vary but what are average costs?
do i buy import or uk ?
modified or standard?
I need one with air/con (wife must have)
I have up to about £6500
or my car 318is coupe nice and £3500 ish
thanks for any help given.

IN THE STICKS

Hi, I'm same age ,and mine (UK 99 model)is £560 with Churchill , they wont touch any mods though .You may find that some insurance companys won't touch Jap imports . Try here for lots of info SIDC FAQ

Dave

IN THE STICKS

I average about 27 to the gallon from mine , but I do live 'In the sticks 'so it doesn't sit in traffic all the time.


Dave

Paul Woodward

I'm 34yr old no accidents or claims one sp30 full no claims as well and just went with Liverpool Vic for £544.

I wouldn't touch an import with a bargepole, I get about 23mpg round town. Try and get the latest UK model that you can.

Tez_H

Hi,
Asked myself the same things when i just got a scoob (u wont regret it!) these were my thoughts
got a MY01 WRX UK spec in the end...

Insurance is 550 with full no claims and am 30

i get 23mpg average... hard driving it gets about 19... motorway driving is about 28 (if kept to about 80) but an import has different gearing so will be different!

i went for the uk car... so the turbo model is the only one pre '99 for you.
if you want more power and a better spec (like AC or climate control) then go for an import (turbo, WRX or even sti) some turbos have the ac as an optional extra but it wasn't standard in the uk unlike japan. if you import yourself then some mods will have to be done... but i would have used a supplier and there are loads on the net you can find that will have done it for you, but it will cost more obviously.
also insurance is a lot more and tricky to get, and subaru wont touch the car for servicing or providing parts. however there are loads of 3rd party servicing and parts providers available now.
for imports generally you have to use optimax plus additive fuel unless the EMS has been remapped. for a uk car normal unleaded is fine unless remapped... but i use optimax to get the best from the car plus look after it better.
you generally dont get any service history with a import so you dont know how its been used hence higher risk factor... hpi is useless to do as the car could have been bent in japan

mod or standard... is a tricky one and i have not decided yet... but i have another year of warranty... so its up to you really if you want better performance then there are loads of mods available (if its not already been modded!) but expect to pay on the insurance.

at the end of the day you can get a uk turbo with known history... keep it standard and have no worries with servicing and selling it on with good history (this was my decision in the end tho spent 12.5k on WRX bugeye) and u may be able to find a PX for the beamer

or go for a jap import take a risk on history, it will be faster and you can play around with the car and "improve" it but can be a bit of a black hole for money if you get into the modding scene! depending on where you source the car PX may be more difficult

have fun!

Tez


[Edited by Tez_H - 10/20/2003 4:16:41 PM]