I have been running an Evo VI for the last six months, and although I love the car to bits, having just bought my first house, the running costs are killing me. As I am only 27 the insurance bill alone is bad (£2500), but together with the frequency and expense of servicing and the terrible fuel consumption, I am considering getting rid.

I have seen several very low mileage STI V's and VI's for sale at very favourable money and was wondering how the running costs are likely to compare to the Evo. I especially like the STI 6 Wagon and have found an X reg one with 5k miles for £20K from a dealer - is this a good price? Can anyone share an opinion of the STI wagon over the STI saloon and can anyone give me an idea of the general running costs of the STI (mpg/tyres/sevicing cost and frequency). I have already got insurance quotes for the STI and they seem a lot cheaper.

Any help/advice/opinions at this difficult time would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

MS.

[This message has been edited by Martin Stirling (edited 21 February 2001).]

 

Servicing is every 7500 miles or 6 months, but most people change the oil atleast inbetween official services. Isnt the Evo every 4000 miles ?
Mpg I get is about 18mpg. Doubt this is very different is it ?
Cant see tyres will be any different.

 

Martin,

First of all, try shopping around for more competitive insurance - my VI is only costing £750pa, and I'm only 3 years older. Do you have a bad ncb or driving offence record?

If you end up buying, say the Sti-6 from a dealer, aren't you instantly kissing goodbye to at least £3K straight away, in terms of crappy trade-in price, and lining the dealers pockets with profit on the Sti?

Again with fuel, so you get 20-25mpg (guessing out of the evo, still running mine in). You're not going to better this by more than 10% or so (if that with an Sti), so it'll take a long time to recoup your costs.

If you seriously need to save money, then I'd suggest you need to seriously downgrade, sad as that may be. I really don't think a sideways switch to an Sti is the answer. Anyways, I hope things work out.

Regards,

Gary.

 

I'm 27 and my insurance on my STI is £888 from A-Plan (Max NCB) and thats with a equal driver on the policy as well (girlfriend uses the car to travel to work).

In terms of running costs, I'm almost tempted not to say anything incase I suddenly get a big bill in. But I guess not too bad considering the performance (£200-£300).

However, my STI has always been a second car. So I guess costs would creep up if I was doing 10,000 miles + per year rather than the 6,000 that I have done in the last 2.5yrs.

As far as the estate goes, there is not too much in it (others may argue) apart from looks.

Fuel consumption - 18mpg around town would be about right. 25mpg on the motorway.

If money is tight however, I'd spend 14K on a N or P reg UK car and have even cheaper insurance and even lower bills. Yes, you won't have Ferrari 0-60 times and will notice the lack of power of EVO VI and STI but thats only because you've been spoiled by the EVO. The UK car is still stunning.

Do what I did and go and test drive some. I drove UK/ WRX and STI's before deciding on mine.

Its def. a buyers market.

Good Luck

CB

 

Guys,

thanks for the replies so far. I phoned around just about every insurer in the country for the Evo, but as it is an import, most insurers won't touch it. The Evo seems to be rated higher than the equivalent STI and the UK spec scooby was about a grand cheaper! I only have 2 years no claims, so this is the reason for the premium. Most quotes were over three grand, the best quote was £2500 with a £750 excess.

Looks like if running costs for the STI are similar to the Evo then I may have to go for the UK scooby. In the real world, how much difference is there in performance between the standard UK and the STI. Would you really notice a large difference? I have seen quite a few MY 2000 UK turbos in the region of £15-16K. Which is the best to go for, the saloon or the hatch?

Will have to test the drive the Uk model for myself I suppose, I don't want to lose the Evo though, anyone have any ideas??.

Any ideas appreciated to reduce my running costs...

MS.

 

I have both a Uk and Sti scooby - there is a reasonable difference, but if you just drive the Uk car for a while you forget the differences. Trouble is, going from the Evo to a Uk scobby you may be disappointed. But to be honest the Uk scooby is a very fast car, and if you could find one with the PPP you should be fine.

 

Martin

A few of us are meeting up in Bagshot this evening (P1, WRX, STI, UK scoobs) Why not come along and see what you think.

Details are in the southern section

Rich.

Ps. I am thinking of getting an EVO - so how about a swap

 

Rich_R,

thanks for the invite, sorry I've only just hooked up to the net since yesterday so missed my chance. Do you do a Bagshot meet often, would be good to meet up with some like minders once in a while. When's the next meet?

MS.

 

No probs - next one is probably the Quays:

 

Great,

thanks mate.

MS.

 

e-mail for you.

Gastro

 

Martin,

I have literally just sold my Evo VI for the same reasons as you are weighing up.

Firstly, on insurance contact Sheltons in College Town, Sandhurst on 01276 34637. They have a special policy and I was insured for £1000, age 29, same area as you. Had full NCB, but also had a 2 week ban. Although my car was a Ralliart car it was still classified as a grey as it was not built specifically for the UK market.

I ran an UK Impreza turbo before the Evo and the running costs are considerably cheaper. I nearly dropped dead when I went to pay for the first service on the Evo. Fuel consumption is also better and UK cars will run on 95 U/L.

If you sell the Evo, I would buy a runaround for a few months before buying a UK Impreza. By doing this you will not feel the drop in performance so much. I adored my two UK Imprezas, but the Evo is in a different league, although with an STi this should not be a problem.

Best of luck and make sure you take the VI out for one last drive before it goes. My favourite bit of road is coming down the hill from Sandhurst direction, straight over the Wildridings (McD's) roundabout, then round the long curve towards twin bridges where there is always a bit of standing water on the road. Demonstrates the Evo's ability to the full.

Regards
ianF

 

Ian,

you're killing me, I'm in tears here mate. At least I know that I'm not alone. To be honest, I could scrape together the money and carry on running the car if I really tried, but ultimately having a nice car isn't everything, although it's close! Even if I only moved to the STI, it would still save me over a grand a year on insurance and servicing alone and that's not including fuel either.

This is hard, after wanting the Evo for so long, I can't believe I'm considering getting rid. I don't know, maybe I'll win the lottery or something..

MS.