chiark

A glum smilie for this post. Well, semi-glum.

I've just got back from dropping off my MY03 WRX wagon with WR Sport backbox and nice audio setup. Its new owner seems pleased, and I think he got a cracking deal.

Reality kicked in a few weeks ago, and the car had to go because it was costing too much to run. The big kick in the nuts to me is the servicing that Subaru charge - it's scandalous if you pay dealer list prices. If you want your third year warranty, guess what? You have to pay it... Because it's a UK only warranty, not the manufacturer's 2 year warranty now.

It costs more to service a scoob than a big engined BMW. I suppose AWD/turbos etc are going to take their toll, but all the same a wipe over with a greasy rag and 4.5 litres of oil (charged for 5, naturally) sees little change out of 150 quid. Subaru's "recommended pricing" is quite optimistic, especially when it comes for the amount of labour to perform a service, and since all Subaru dealers have had to upgrade their showrooms, the labour rate is rather shocking.

Another nail in the coffin was the petrol. Sure, I've had a scoob for almost 6 years now, so I know what to expect, but it was starting to get silly. I was avoiding driving the car. When it got to that point, it's a bit silly to keep it.

Insurance, of course, isn't terribly friendly but on the other hand I've paid less than 800 quid every year... Not bad for a group 19 car, but why are the cars group 19 in the first place? Even the MY03's deadlocks didn't bring down the grouping.

Final nail in the coffin? A reality check from a Skoda Fabia VRS. This is a 1.9 turbo diesel with "only" 130bhp, but slightly more torque than the titanic. It didn't "hand me my *** on a plate", but the point is that I didn't hand him his either . I will bet money that he was having a lot more fun in a 12k hot hatch, getting over 40mpg driving like Sterling Moss, whereas I was giving it large and only just catching up.

So scoobs are out of my life now. Next car is german and diesel.

I wanted to hate the BMW 330d. I wanted to really dislike the whole 3 series drive, as there's a certain "image" that I don't like - but it's probably better than the Impreza image now :P . Problem is that the drive was wonderful, and I could have a lot more fun than I could in the impreza.

So diesel boredom here I come. No more optimax...

It's been a fun 6 years, and I fully intend to keep on with this board. It is a superb board, and has really made scoob ownership that little bit more special than it already is.

well done for reading this far without glazing over too much

coulty

Must have been hard to see her go.

Wish you all the best with your new car and great to know you are hanging about

Stuart

chiark

Ta Stuart. It was slightly difficult, especially as the new owner dropped me off at the train station and was starting to enjoy the performance

I'll miss the noise... and my wife won't know to put the kettle on when I come into the estate any more

speedking

Not long ago the price of a litre of diesel was higher than the price of Optimax at my local Shell station Although admittedly you will probably see a better mpg

richie rich

but you will only end up putting super diesel from bp in!!!

Edcase

Been there, done that, never looked back.

Welcome to dieselville!

chiark

Super diesel? Oh god, that's it, I'm hooked on the expensive stuff again

The 330D seems to give 35mpg if you drive it like an absolute hooligan, and just under 50 on a sensible(ish) motorway run. Given that I do business miles, the 50mpg on a sensible run means I will be making a few quid on fuel

Danny B

How many miles had you done in your Impreza? I was under the impression that the servicing schedule was every 10k, twice a year doesn't seem to bad if you do high mileage?
My Vectra costs me on average about £150 for a service and that's a poxy Vauxhall!

Get yourself a nice Golf GT PDi 150bhp version, get it chipped to 180bhp and you have yourself a nice 45mpg mile muncher

ukdave

sorry to here that mate,think if i owned a newer scooby i`d be questioning dealer prices on servicing etc though aswell and wondering if its worth it in comparison to other car marques.To be honest as it stands my next car (though wont be for a few yrs yet)if it isnt a sti type-r will be a 330ci bmw,dont know wether i could cope with a diesel, tho a mate whos works at a car sales rang me earlier this wk raving about the 330d so not doubting their performance as hes got a escort cossie!Even so i still think id miss 4wd another mate came round in a civic type r the other day and i had a drive in the wet,u dont realise how much u miss 4wd till u aint got it lol!!!

Taff107

Jesus, .....I thought you were going to say bye-bye to Snet then! What the hell would we do without the resident ICE expert........

Alas

Awww - you sold it before I managed to sell mine & buy yours Enjoy the 3 series, I enjoy my 328 and agree with you on service/fuel costs. The BMW is cheaper by far.
Alas

ex-webby

Nick,

When needs must

Total opposite for me..... after not owning a Scooby for nigh on 4 years (thats a bit bad, especially considering my position here ) I had to fill the urge and went and bought a MY03 STi last week. Fortunately I am in a position to own a scoob for the weekends and run the Golf Diesel in the week.

The Diesel is an awesome bit of kit, packed with the 150bhp engine "tickled" now to 195bhp it really does top up the need for speed while slogging around in the week.

Closing comment is... it's always sad to see a car go that you have cherised, but please never say never, because regardless of the seeming benefits of a diesel...... it may not be long before you yern the need for a bit more again!

Enjoy your new car mate!

Regards,
Shaun.

ukjesters

iTrader: (3)

Hi, can i just add my bit here from someone who has gone from diesels to a scoob (via GTI-6). I have owned 2 306 diesels one of which had the full works styling wise, not chavved up though, and i loved it to bits, but, what is that noise from under the bonnet...thats what got me..im a petrol head, i tried to go diesel, even bought two of them but in the end i just couldnt keep it so i went to a gti-6...much better lovely sounding engine especially with k+n filter and scorpion exhaust...but then i got done for a £1000 SERVICE on a pug..and i thought if im gonna pay that for a car i may as well have a decent one.
Next stop my99 green scoob saloon, uk version un molested.
Yeah the petrol...it drinks it...they are even known to have their engines go bang...their parts are expensive....but
i have never driven a car so slowly...yeah of course i put my foot down occasionally but for me its the feeling you get when you just drive the thing...its a damn pleasure..i cant describe it but im loving that feeling so after all this blabbing i shall conclude that yes it has numerous minus points but when/if you love driving boy oh boy does this car have one massive plus..thats the grin on yer face when your driving it...
scooby bug...its got me..its terminal boss

chiark

Thanks for the comments all - most appreciated.

ukjesters - a grand on a 306 diesel service would have me flogging the car... You did the right thing. I know just what you mean about the grin factor - it's the "thrill of driving" as Evo succinctly puts it. It's not about getting from a to b, it's about having a grin doing something you enjoy, and the fact it gets you somewhere you need to be is an added bonus

I think I am a petrolhead. Evo arrived this morning with a great article - "What would you buy for 20k". What is telling is that the impreza is the most expensive car to run per mile except for a maserati! There's some serious kit included in the competition too...

I did 30k in the impreza. I was avoiding driving it as the servicing is daft, and the petrol cost is quite bad... It was wonderful to drive tho.

The BMW, if I have one, will be going to a local independent specialist whose labour charges are quite sane in comparison to main dealers. Even the local BMW dealer (the largest in Europe) is cheaper than the local scoob garage for servicing. That's daft.

I tried the 2.0 TDI Golf and didn't like it - didn't float my boat at all. The 130 BHP GT TDI from the previous series seemed way better, as it didn't feel all nose heavy, and felt livelier at the back. Didn't feel anything special, whereas the 330D seems marvellous every time I have driven one. The 330d even *sounds* nice, and it's a diesel FFS so that's not allowed!

I think in a few years I'll be looking for a "toy" car, and to be honest a P1 would be high on the list, but it'll be up against an Elise and a caterfield/westerham . I think I'll miss the outright acceleration and grip of the scoob, but not much . As for when it snows, I'll definitely miss AWD

I think I've found the car for me tho: 330D sport tourer, 51 plate, 50k miles, sensible money - but it's in Kent! Anyone going from Leeds to Kent this week?

Nixon

You'll return to the dark side one day, think positive! Meanwhile driving a modern deisel is nothing to be ashamed about, most, including the VWAG PD range of engines will put other road users and hot hatches to shame.

I to gave up life with a MY99 UK scoob doing 40k a year and servicing it every 6 weeks for a MkV GT TDi, the Golf is almost as quick point-point and just returned 39 mpg the other day after driving like a holoagan all the way to London

Enjoy.

GaryCat

Seeya Chiark... thanks for all the ICE advice... or should that be advICE?

chiark

Ya know, I can see me being one of those pain in the *** evangelical diesel drivers. You can already sense it building in me, can't you

DJ140

IMO servicing is not that expensive.
1K - £45
10K - £140
20K - £186
30K - £249

£630 for 2 years of motoring, with a further 10K miles until the next £180 service. 03 WRX PPP by the way.

My wifes Freelander is more expensive to service than mine and I know for sure my Dads 528 average service cost is over £450 each time. BMW always seem to find a few "extra's" to add to the basic cost, beware.

Agree with the MPG though, 26MPG average over 30K in mine. Mind you I fancy an M5 next, so I need to get my head around 23MPG being reasonable!!!

Dan

NotoriousREV

I have to admit that I've got a test drive booked next week in a Fabia VRS

Peanuts

iTrader: (15)

my scooby is skating on thin ice at the moment.
if I lose my fuel card from work its going.
if/when my insurance goes over £800 its going
in fact its going to have to work real hard to stay

however, my choice would be Skoda (Never thought Id say that)

DJ140

My Mum has one of them, nice cars for the over 60's........

Edmondo

Owned my MY99 for 18 months and would never get rid of it...Bl@@dy expensive to run but lucky got kids in the motor trade so softens the blow a bit. Currently driving around in a 2.2 SRI Diesel Vectra and its probably one of the worst cars I have ever driven ( Luckily its only a courtesy car )...I have also driven a big peugeot diesel and that was just as bad. Point is personally I think despite all the expense of running a Scooby I would rather have a car I enjoyed driving and costing a few quid to run rather then getting up in the morning , looking outside and seeing a car that just doesn't get the juices running. I can understand people getting rid of Scoobies because of the cost.just my opinion really.......I just wish sometimes Camelot would knock on my door with a big fat cheque.

john banks

Chiark, if you really want to save money, consider a used Octavia vRS for about £7k if you haven't driven one already. There is a good used market, they weigh similar to the Fabia, have a petrol engine with decent economy, easily tuned to 210 BHP whilst retaining reliability. People call the engine characterless but the power band is far wider than say a VAG 140 TDi.

NotoriousREV

I prefer the Octy over the Fabia but the Octy is group 16 insurance vs Group 12 and the fuel consumption is 30mpg vs 50mpg.

With the mileage I do thats a difference of near enough £60 a month (and a whopping £130 a month over the Scoob) and still fun, even if not quite as much fun as the Impreza.

And none of that takes into account servicing and repairs. Having just spent £1000 on keeping the Scoob on the road, I want to get rid before the next big bill comes along

Pauleds2

I know what you mean about the servicing Nick, we just had Steph's car to KT Greens and it had

Steering Geometry set up
67K service(small service)
New front discs and pads

£583.

Over half that was the labour!

Paul.

chiark

I did look at the octy - at 14k, it's a hell of a lot of car for the money brand new! It didn't do the economy I wanted, and I'd rather not have FWD... But it was looked at!

P20SPD

iTrader: (1)

Sorry

chiark

No worries Steven, I've been meaning to phone you all day... Will give you a shout tomorrow mate

David_Wallis

Fooking ell..me and steven are to blame for this then?

Must leave work now!!

David

chiark

Flaming 'eck Mr W... Work at 11pm on a Sunday? The overtime bill is going to cripple them

Naah, you're not to blame for this. The bloody Fabia VRS driver and bills of 1800 quid in March were . I fully intend to be using you two to get my scooby fix