baynesey

Good Evening,

Would just like to introduce myself, my name is Chris, 26 from Stevenage, Herts. I work as an Executive IT Support Engineer for T-Mobile! I have always been fond of Imprezas but could never justify owning one, I'm a previous MR2 owner that I owned for nearly 3 years and was (and hopefully still is) a fantastic car, but had to give it up due to family commitments and now currently drive Vauxhall Vectra.

Anyway, now I'm in a better financial situation and due to extra responsibilties I have taken on at work I have extra funds each month to play with, so .. I want to treat myself to an Impreza WRX, looking for an 2002 - 2004 year, looking to spend about £10k - £12K, been looking on Autotrader and there is a few good examples on there that meet my criteria. I'm going to bide my time as I have been stung in the past for being too impulsive, so I will be on here from time to time asking advice, and hopefully in the very near being a regular upon purchase!!

All the best

Chris

darren...

Welcome and Good luck

WRX300MAN

Hello and wecome matie! Go for it . . Sure You will enjoy it!

BedHog

Welcome and ask away.... take your time to find out exactly what is what and what you want before you buy.

greenlightracer

HI! i'm from Herts too !

welcome to scoobydom well...something like that anyway you wont regret gettingone and for that amount you should get a nice one , alot of good people and plenty of forums to get advise from .

baynesey

Cool, whereabouts??

And thanks to the rest of you guys for the warm welcome

greenlightracer

up far too l8 , down near Watford , meet up usually with the Herts Subarus lot first sunday of every month in hatfield.

baynesey

Where in Hatfield? I work there ... might pop along for a bit of advice ... I'll park my Vectra down the road incase it causes any offence LOL

T5NYW

iTrader: (4)

Main decission will be either a WRX or a STi. Personally I'd go for a 2003 STi than a 2004WRX but horses for courses

As it's your first Subaru I'd go for a UK with PPP(Prodrive Performance Pack) full history and full 12months Warranty

In lots of respects the JDM versions are superior but normally no Warranty

Just remember Scooby's can eat money like it's going out of fashion, Petrol, Insurance, devaluation, maintanace and Repairs.

Enjoy

Tony

Advice form a meet can be more benificial than pots here IMHO IIRC

baynesey

Cheers T5NY W, I can only assume thats your Reg Plate ... mines B4YN C (baynesey) LOL

I'm unsure of the differences between STI and WRX, can you please advise? I basically want this trim ... looks mad, want to keep it standard too, not interested in baiting, racing .. just want this for me, my fiance and Thomas (18 month old son) to enjoy



are they different spec'ed engine/performance wise? .. excuse my ignorance but I'm looking to spend a large sun of money (for me anyway) and I want to ensure I'm doing the right thing ...

greenlightracer

Its the AIrfield pub in HAtfield car park behind the premier lodge just up from the galleria above the A1M apx 2pm first sunday evry month all info here .

www.hertssubarus.net

T5NYW

iTrader: (4)

LOL

The WRX is aprox 230 bhp and PPP'd 270 bhp, 5 speed Box,4 pot subaru brakes.

The STi is slightly heavier, approx 265Bhp and PPP'd 300bhp, 6 speed box, big brembo brakes, front suretrack diff, inverted struts and nicer seats & Trim(IMHO)

Downsides,
Sti can be a firmer ride than the WRX, lots that age will have the had springs replaced (Lowered) by either Prodrive or Eibachs springs. Depends on your usage and your roads. Try both, ignoring performance and judge the ride quality.

Sti Without PPP drivabilty of the 02-03 was poor/manic. Taking of from tight Tee junctions the drag of front diff and little low down torque can be daunting

What sold me on the STi over the WRX was 1) Brakes 2) Wet handling, Suretrack diff 3) performance 4) Interior 6) 6 speed box ........... obviously your priorities will be different to mine, me and my family are much older

IMHO, IIRC, AFFIACR


Enjoy

Tony W

T5NYW

iTrader: (4)

BTW

Garage Test drives are not always that helpful to first time buyers, Overcome by handling an performance . better to do that once you've been in a few Scoobs If Greenlightracer isn't far from you, make contact by Email or PM(private message) etc go to the local meets and ask a PX ride in both, most peeps will be happy to do so Although your son will spend all his time in a comfy childseat in the back, you should also try ride in the back seat, gives you more an Idea of ride Quality IMHO

baynesey

LOL I drink there most lunchtimes, I over look it from work ...

Matt_taylor

Alright Chris!!!

this is mattsgoldenball from VVOC!!

greenlightracer

lol, you work at T-mobile then ?

I cant make the JUly meet but theres plenty of helpful peeps will be there and you can chat with us all on www.hertssubarus.net anytime you like, our august meet is at Duxford air museum i will be at that one and i believe theres alot of other clubs going as well.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Hi Chris,

Welcome to SN!!

Have fun, if in doubt, take things with a pinch of salt.

I wonder if I might quickly pick your brains on the subject of an IT T-Mobile query. I've just got a Samsung D600 on T-mobile and it comes with PC Studio 3 for USB transfer of pics Mp3 files etc, regrettably, it won't install on Windows 98SE, just XP. Do you know of a patch I can download to rectify this or an alternative piece of software that will work with the phone/network?

Many thanks

Ns04

baynesey

for one ... Why the hell are you still using W98 LOL

Anyway, they didnt release the drivers for W98, to get round it purchase a Bluetooth Dongle with W98 compatibilty, then use the PC Studio via BT

Pinch of salt LOL, I can give out my fair share of insults etc LOL

Cheers

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

'Cause running a Scooby is expensive and I can't afford a new PC!!

Many thanks for the advice!

Ns04

Neilo

im in hitchin so not far from you either..., ive got a 2003 WRX but its far from standard so wouldnt be much use in the comparison stakes!!!

crazyman1979

I was in a similar position as you, in the end i decided to go for an 03 STI with PPP and was looking to spend about 14k, thats when i stumbled accross a TSL333 and never looked back.
If you like a bit of poke id get the Sti with ppp if possible as the wrx will just leave you wanting more...

wilb

I was in a very similar position to you 2 months back. I eventually found an 04 black WRX with only 14k on the clock for £11,995. Picked it up last Friday and love it. I think the STI looks too over the top to be honest.