Firstly hello I'm new to this site so be nice.

If you frequent PH then you may have already seen this post but I figured I'd probably get a better response on an actual subaru forum.

SWMBO has given the green light to buying a new car after our wedding (next september time) she has decided on an impreza, currently a bugeye WRX seems to fit the bill.

Cost of buying the car fits nicely within our budget and now we have grown a little older/wiser/greyer the insurance isn't prohibative. However, I still have reservations about running an impreza and the potential damage to my wallet. Just how expensive a daily driver are they?

I know fuel consumption isn't great but I had a 306 GTi last year that due to a recurring fault was often ruturning miles per gallon in the low 20's so I should be used to that, what are the service intervals for the bugeye WRX? How much should we pay for servicing? Are there any other costs we should be aware of?

any help appreciated, The Mrs really wants an impreza but I'm still wary, my current favourite candidate for our next car is a MK 1 Skoda Octavia VRS, is the subaru worth the extra expense?

 

you will love the impreza,but the impreza will love your wallet..mpg will depend on how you drive the car, its possable to get around 30mpg on a long run, but that can drop alot if you have a heavy right foot.

servicing can be expensive depending on where you take it, dealers will charge a fortune for servicing and parts but there are some good mechanics out there that know there stuff when it comes to imprezas and will be very reasonable cost wise.

beware though, you will want more power eventually haha, then the big buck will flow

 

all above is very true, not a great car as a daily driver, costs the earth but no better way to get to work!!!! to sum it up, BUY ONE

 

haha...i like the first post.... 'reason for editing' speeling! sorry,it made me chuckle

 

Both myself and my Mrs have an Impreza as our daily cars, Be prepared to get through about £1k a year in up keep, 30 mpg sounds fair.
It is a bit more expensive than your average car but you get a lot more out of owning one.

 

Buy with your heart, ignore your head because it'll never make economic sense! Get one and be the happiest ****** in the petrol station;-)

 

I had a mk1 VRs a few years ago, and although they are nice cars to drive they simply don't hold the road very well in the dry, let alone with some good old British precipitation , and that was a standard 180bhp model!

I'd bin any notion of buying a performance car that doesn't have 4wd, so it simply HAS to be the Subaru . Listen to your other half mate, she's talking sense lol.

 

Allow yourself 250 miles per tank £55 aprox

tyres £70 each for toyas

servicing big one £300 ish at a specailist

small one oil etc £105 ish

reliable cars if not molested /too many mods can take a high mileage ,pretty rust free and long life car


Smiles well you never stop smiling ...ever

no car aprt from EVO will give you so much power or pleaseure for the money

 

I am guessing you possibly have not driven one yet???? I was dubious also about costs and practicality and then i drove one. I am lucky as my job allows me to drive relatively fast cars at speed. My usual work car is a bmw 330 which is very nice. I drove a subaru WRX on a bit of a whim, it took all of about 5 minutes for me to decide that the way they handle and respond is astounding. The running costs are higher than my last car which was a discovery TD5 but the fact that i now drive a very impressive car whenever i want to and the work car now seems a bit lame in comparison. The fuel bill is not really the problem, it's the wheels you will want, the exhaust, the alloy engine dress up bits, the big brake kit, etc etc and they all make a hole in your wallet. I was adamant that i would not modify my scooby but just 3 months later it has different wheels, stainless tubular headers, stainless backbox, rally style mudflaps, and i am now thinking about re-mapping the ecu for more power. None of these things were necessary i just got the bug and wanted them, it's contagious.
Just go buy one and enjoy

 

just spent half an hour browsing the PH classifieds looking for an alternative and I/we/mainly the Mrs have come to the conclusion that there isn't one. I may have to bite the bullet and just live with the extra cost for the extra fun.

... now all I have to do is wait.

 

Good things come to those who wait...........I'm on my third and at nearly 4 years with the current WRX (with mods), I'm hooked. The running costs are not particularly big if you buy wisely and use a specialist.

 

Had a bugeye myself, had to get rid of it because it started to cost too much. Fuel wise I think low to mid 20MPGs is probably expected (you can't physically get to work without ragging it at least once). Tyres, if you want decent ones, will cost enough, and servicing for me was insane because I stupidly took it to a Subaru dealer (who, it turns out, did pretty much nothing to the car, hense the gearbox running completely dry of oil and eventually wearing out a bearing, which was why I had to sell!).

All in all, it's not a cheap car to run by any means, but *if* you can physically afford it then do it, you will never, ever regret it.

The only thing I regret is getting rid of mine.

 

the only costs you need to worry about is if anything goes wrong as they're more expensive to buy parts for compared to the run of mill everyday cars.

 

I had a 306 gti-6's before my impreza , and fuel costs are not allot different TBH , i can get around 25mpg taking it easy , and so far the impreza has been allot more reliable than the 306 servicing and reapirs can be more expensive, but well worth it IMO

 

just curious on your budget, put it up and people on here will put you onto a couple of worthwhile deals out there at the moment.

 

I must have just had a good 306 GTI as my last car then
But running costs are higher, fuel, insurance, servicing etc all add up, and you will want to modify a scoob, just add more money as the standard brakes are not as good as those on a 306 GTI

Tony

 

I have a bugeye WRX wagon - it's such good fun to drive. Never had an issue with costs other than fuel but it's worth it because of the drive. Servicing ain't cheap but considering it's once a year who cares???

Get one and don't worry about (any) upkeep costs until after you've bought it - just make sure you are careful what you buy. Besides, you can always get rid of it if you feel the need, but I seriously doubt you will once you've been bitten by the scooby bug.

 

Budget is nothing at the minute so any deals will just be teasing me! we won't be in a position to buy until next year when Mrs Darren has finished paying for her current car and we've got married.

Thanks for the info I'm shocked at how many ex GTi-6 owners there are, must be a natural progression. Looking at it I don't think the running costs will be too bad especially as there is nothing else out there that me and Mrs Darren can agree on, nor is there anything that offers the same performance for the same budget.

I just wish we hadn't decided so early, I still have a year to wait

 

I've had Capri's,Pug Rallyes and GTi's,forget the running costs,because every time you drive it,it'll remind you why you did.ENJOY.