Tel_2006

Hey guys im new to this fourm and i was wondering weather i could have some advice on buying a subrau.First of all i don't really no a lot about cars,and what to look for when buying one.My question is really should i buy a uk Subrau or an import ?,also what sort of servicing and where would be the best place to get a subrau from if any of you guys can help me it would be a great help thanks

GC8

Buy the car that best suits your needs. For some people a UK is better, although theyre inferior in many ways (thanks to IM), for others the dynamically superior WRX; WRX STI or WRX STI Type-RA is ideal. Look here to see the differences between Classics.

Simon

turboDean

iTrader: (4)

Depends what you want out of the car really and how much your looking to spend. For pure performance Jap once are better but tend to be more expensive to buy and insure.

hojkoff

I've heard that Jap Scoobs push more power to the rear than UK ones. I'm not sure if this is true but if it is a Jap one could be more of a laugh if you're up for power slides!

Tel_2006

I have about 6k insurance is not a problem for me who do you think will be the best person to take a look at a subrau ?

GC8

Can open - worms everywhere.....

hojkoff

ha ha!

swtmerce

I've had 2003 WRX and a 2002 WRX wagon and my latest and best is a 1998 STi Version 4. The JDM wins hands down!!!!!

s70rjw

iTrader: (2)

Try as many different examples as you can. You really need to find out what you like and what suits you...not what others think. Would you buy a house because someone else said they preferred it?

PeteBrant

Yup thats the ticket. Go out and test drive a Turbo 2000, then a JDM WRX, and a STI, and a RA - And pick what suits you best.

JDM cars typically are better specced, in terms of gadjets, and obviously quicker, Uk cars have the advantage of not blowing up if they have been run on 95RON fuel in the past, and obviously traceability in terms of FSH etc.

I went for a unmodded UK Turbo, but that was because I wanted a certain level of peace of mind (as much as you can get when you buy a scoob!) and I could not afford to throw loads of money at it if things went wrong.

However, if I had say £8K or so in the bank, I would almost certainly go for a JDM car, and keep a few quid back.

Although of course lots of people run JDM's without any trouble whatsoever.

As for service costs - for a 6000 mile you are looking around a £100-£150, 24000 mile (or "B) around £250 odd and 36000 mile (or "C") around £450 (obviously you can get cheaper if you find a nice local scooby specialist) Cam Belt changes are around £400.

And you don't want to be scrimping on any of those - So if you come across a scoob that has done 65000 without a cam belt change, not serviced regularly (i.e. every 6000) then I wouldn't touch it.

As for where to get it from, I wouldn't say it matters - Like any car, what matters more is what the car is like, what service history what sort of deal can you get from the vendor, is there any warranty etc

And steer clear of any that have been modded to the nth degree, with dump valves and new turbos and decats and induction kits - If you want to do those yourself, fine, but I personally wouldn't trust anyone else to have done the job properly - Unless of course I knew the car.

Others may say I am talking out my **** with regards to modded cars - But it's just my opnion.

White-Un

iTrader: (1)

Is this true of JDMs ?

swtmerce

Not strictly true. I think only cars with the DCCD e.g. 2 door Type R's, Type RA's, factory option on some STi's, can have more power directed to the rear because the centre diff is adjustable.

GC8

What hojkoff is actually talking about is the notion that JDM cars have a slightly different torque bias to UK cars, brought about by, IIRC, their having slightly differing ratios in the centre differential (F2R). Whether this is actually the case (that that is the nett result) is far from certain...

Simon