fdpxfunix

In 6 months time, I will of worked my sore little behind into the ground, and saved up the impressive total of 14K.

Now the question . . . . shall I buy an Impreza Turbo ?

By then I'll be the ripe old age of 31, but have never been anywhere near affording one.

What I need from you 'scooby' lovers out there is honest opinions, good or bad on Impreza Turbo. It's the build quality I need more than anything, as it'll have to last 8-10 years and run the family around.

I hoping to get a 98 'S' pre-face lift model. Dare I say that I've also been looking at Vectra GSI V6. "Whhhaaaatt" I hear you all cry. Please put me right.

Thanks J

RichS

The Impreza is a <I>lightly</I> built car.
The build quality is good(ish) but won't win any awards.
It also dents easily, the paint can be a bit soft and it's really attractive to theives. (Either the whole car or bits of it )

It should last for ages, but it costs a small fortune to run, service and repair.

Still, it's the best car I've ever had.


Rich

chrisp

If it was me I would try and get an MY99 phase II boxer impreza. Should be able to get one easy with 14K. FSSH is very important every six months or 7.5K which ever is sooner and watch out for euro imports that dont have the extra warranty, so do some dont. You can check this with Subaru UK. Privately prices are very low, buy from a dealer and expect to pay a lot more.

Example of private price :

howardb

Dont forget to check the insurance out. No point in spending all your money on the car, only to find you need to find a grand to insure it!!

fdpxfunix

Yup.

Got a quote on a 99 'T' worth upto 16K from Tesco. £524 (fully comp) This price is depending on a Cliford Concept 600 alarm being fitted.

J

Brendan Hughes

If you want a family car, get the 5-door. I made the mistake of buying the 4-door and couldn't get much in it. 5-door far more practical. Zero difference for performance.

That price might get you a car under 3 yrs old, so still with warranty. Peace of mind!

Fuel, for a family car, is flippin expensive though...

Good luck
BJH

robski

99 models (if UK) already have a sigma cat 1 alarm fitted so you should not need to fit a clifford.

Do tesco realise this?

Imprezas are also expensive to service. They need 6 monthly servicing, and its not particularly cheap.

But, its honestly the best compromise car I have driven. They have planty of power (enough to see off 99% of the cars on the road) they also outhandle 99% of the cars on the road. They are also very good in poor road conditions (maybe too good, but thats another story...).

If you are sure you can afford one, buy one.
If you cant afford one, DO NOT I repeat DO NOT test drive one. Your life will be forever made worse every time you see one.

robski

fdpxfunix

When I say run the family about . . . . I mean at the weekend !

The wife (to be) has got a Fiesta.

I'm currently running a 13 year old Carlton CDi. It's average fuel cost works out at around 23mpg. Not great, but I'm pretty sure if the Impreza was driven "carefully" I could match it.

J

RichS

Good luck driving it "carefully"

Chris L

Fuel can be a killer. For reasons that I can't be bothered to go into (enough to say it was to do with work), I added up my total fuel expenditure for a six week period between Feb and March of this year - £460!!
I do a fairly high milage, but even I was a bit shocked when I added it up. Thank god I'm getting a fuel card

As long as you budget allows for this then you should be OK.

Chris

PS - I still wouldn't swap the car though

fdpxfunix

At the moment I do about 250 miles a week. (It's a 50 mile round trip to work)

If I'm off to client site then I get to claim 17p a mile. Not fantastic, but something.

I normally budget £30-40 a week just for the 250 mile round trip.

Chris, with your car as an example, would £40 a week cover the cost of fuel for my 250 miles ??? or do I need a bit more ?

J

chrisp

I use to get around 23 mpg in my UK turbo. I get about 20mpg in my Jap import but that is probably due to the low ratio box. I would have thought you would get 250 out of a tankful.

fdpxfunix

Cheers.

Just done a quick calc on 23mpg and the price per litre being 75p (which it is where I live, East Sussex) Looks like it'll cost me about £37 a week for the 250 mile round trip.

At least that's within in my budget . . . . just have to watch that right foot

J

chrisp

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by fdpxfunix:
<B>Cheers.

Just done a quick calc on 23mpg and the price per litre being 75p (which it is where I live, East Sussex) Looks like it'll cost me about £37 a week for the 250 mile round trip.

At least that's within in my budget . . . . just have to watch that right foot

J[/quote]

What we forgot to mention is that you can run a UK spec on NU 95 RON but they run better on SUL 97 RON. This may throw the calculation out [ ].

Next 50 replies will either be :

I always run mine on 95 and tried 97 and no difference its a waste of money -

- or -

How do I do an ECU reset when changing to 97 RON



cheers

chrisp

pslewis

Do NOT test drive an Impreza Turbo unless you take your money with you - I cannot over state that you WILL get one if you experience that feeling of driving a car that puts a smile on your face.

My advice is simple BUY THE VECTRA, its cheaper to service, cheaper to buy, very fast, looks good, and will return a sensible mpg.

The Impreza is horrendous on fuel - at my 1000 mile service I asked them to look for the fuel leak - I couldnt smell anything but it must be leaking somewhere (I even sat up all night, every night for a month, to catch the fuel thief) - the thief didnt return while I was watching for him/her !!! but the fuel STILL disappeared !!! this is the MAJOR headache so be ready for 17mpg OK?

Also get the 5-door - its by far the best looking style - steer away from modified, track raced, clapped out versions - go for a UK model - with FSSH - that should see you well for 10 years!

Pete

fdpxfunix

Hmmmmmm

I think I'll stick with the cheapest.

Right I've had enough for one night, got to be up at 05:30.

Keep any comments coming, thanks to those that have replied so far.

Laters J

SCOSaltire

Hi

I picked up my MY99 Scooby yesterday.
I have already done nearly 300 miles...
280 of those on this tank... and still a wee bit to go before 'E'.

And thats with 'experimenting' with the performance.

Everyone who has been in the car when I have been out has said 'wow'.

My dad has a Vectra SRi.

Its night and day...

You can always get the scooby for a while.. and sell it if you decide it doesnt suit later. But while you have it... enjoy it!

really is amazing car.

cant wait till I drive to work tomorrow ....

Diesel

Servicing - cheap (20% of TVR cost for me)

Insurance cost - high

Fuel cost - very high (thirstier than a V8)

Feeling - high!

For the performance and respect, and ability to leave it kerbside, I can not think of much else top compete.

Do it! Life's short, and this car is an investement in life fun! Borrow money - you can get 10% rates these days...

D

Tractor

PSLewis.....yawn

robski

that 17p a mile is very very bad
that will just cover your fuel cost!

so what about depreciation, servicing etc

you want more like 30p minimum if your using your own car.

Are you contractually obliged to provide transport for these visits? if not, say you want a lot more or they will have to provide transport for you

robski

fdpxfunix

I do get a £400 a month car allowance as well :-) (which I've been saving for months and months)

I also get the option to use public transport, which is all on expenses, so all in all that 17p a mile is not too bad.

J

The Zohan

IMHO
My MY99 is a comany car, i decided on it for several reasons
I like the shape of it - May be in the monority by hey, who cares
Performance - nuff said!
Build quality - It may not be the best but it is well screwed together, 38K and no squeeks or rattles. More than can be said for my last two Vauxhalls! The Vectra had to have a new downpipe - 8 weeks wait with a blowing manifold, kept blowing bulbs in the dash and h/lamps - new disks all round @ 40K - out of warranty, problems with the gearbox, problems with the LCD display. Un helpfull dealers!
Scoob warranty - 3 years or 60K - i have made one claim for front disks - sorted immediately by my dealership, no questions or hastle.
Cost of ownership
Servicing - I do not think is all that expensive.
Scoob (7.5K miles) - Minor service £ 99.00
Puma (9K) (my girlies) £ 120.00
Vectra (9K) £ 120.00
MPG i get Scoob - 23MPG average
Vectra 2.0L - 26 MPG average
Tyres - same price as for the Vectra
Insurance - Company car cover - any named driver over 25, unlimited miles, commercial use £ 250.00 excess - £ 890.00 PA

Prior to purchasing my scoob I looked at
BMW 3 series 325i - Nice but boring
Alfa 155 3.0L - Built like an Airfix kit (badge missing (fell out) from the middle of the steering wheel on the showroom model
Vectra GSI - No moreVauxhalls!
Merc 230 Elegance (6 months old) - Nice but b
Mondeo ST200 - Better than the Vectra in all ways and fun
Depreciation - hell, the Vectra was £ 17K new - i had it for 22 months, 58K miles, FVSH
all the toys and immaculate - when i eventually found someone to buy it i got
£ 6.8K for it! The Vauxhall dealship would not buy it from me - they already had more S/H Vectras than they knew what to do with!
This was in Nov '99 before the big drops due to imports from the our Euro 'cousins'

Drove the Scoob and was hooked - more involving and entertaining than the others.
Huge grin factor and a bit different from the herd.

Paul


[This message has been edited by Paul Habgood (edited 03 April 2001).]

Richard F

Hmmm might ostracise myself even further here...

I'm with pslewis, go for the Vectra. If you want a car to last 8 years with reasonable running costs, that should be your choice. Amazing though Impreza's are, don't buy one thinking you can run one on a budget.

mutant_matt

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by pslewis:
<B>Also get the 5-door - its by far the best looking style - steer away from modified, track raced, clapped out versions - go for a UK model - with FSSH - that should see you well for 10 years![/quote]

Particularly if it's got Gold Wheel right Pete?

Fdpxfunix - Scoobies with Gold Wheels are a bit special and Pete absolutely Luuurrrvvveessss Gold Wheels - He thinks it adds value to the car!!!

Seriously though - Pete's suggestion is spot on

Matt

fdpxfunix

The Vectra GSI is still looking a good bet to me.

However my biggest worry is regret.

Will I be wishing in 2 to 3 years time, when the electrics go wrong on the GSI or the 'infamous' Vectra stalling/rough running engine problem appears, that I should of bought a 'scoob'?

I doubt I'll be in the same position (money wise) ever again, due to impending wedding, house and then kids.

As far as a budget goes, if it needs fixing, it needs fixing !

J

Jolly Green Monster

iTrader: (4)

I have been able to get 30mpg out of my MY96 5-door.... on a motorway run... just sat at 80mph which is justbelow the turbo cut in (3000rpm)
usual driving is between 20 and 28mpg depending on how much of a rush I am in...
My previous MY96 5 door was the same, if not slightly more thirsty.. So I think it should easily be in your budget, usualy about 280 to 300miles a tank.

I find the extra space in the 5door a must with he family... and it still out performs everything on my journey to work in the week.

You will smile more when driving the Scooby rather than the Vetra..... garrenteed!

SCOOP

THINK NO MORE
JUST DO IT . . . . . .

Colin Berry

buy one, its costs loads to run but its the best car I've ever had. You also get to chat to all us Muppets about them when you are at work too

dela

Just do it.

When I'm faced with decisions like these I always put myself in the position of owning it for a week and think "How do I feel about it?".

When I brought my car I was choosing between a UK car and an imported STi, when I thought like this I realised if I'd owned the UK car I'd always be thinking, I could have had an STi though.

** DISCLAIMER - I'm not advocating buying an STi, nor that STi's are better than UK cars, it was simply the highest performance car available for the money.

Good Luck,

dela

And as far as fuel costs go, you'll have a car with supercar performance, so expect supercar economy. Just be thankful you didn't pay supercar money.

russell hayward

Get the Scoob. One of my fleet cars is a 98 Sri 2.5 and it is falling to bits after 50k and feels like it has done 150k.

The Vectra averages about 27 mpg, which is about the same as my 95 uk car and my RB5 (non WR) did on the same journeys. Of course, all that was great compared to my P1, which just returned 20.4mpg. Not that bad though at well over 100 mph on most of the tank.

Dont forget you should also be able to extend
the warranty to 5 years and unlimited mileage on a UK car that is still in warranty. Cost is about £500.

Russell