Glen Coco

Guys,

-I'm new, be nice -

basically.. I'm 17 basically 18 in June I'm thinking of getting a 2008 Impreza 1.5R
ive been looking into the spec of the car and insurance costs.

Insurance isn't to bad actually about 2000£

im after some opinions on the car from people who have them/had them... sorry if its in the wrong place :/ I'll learn

also if you do have one, it would be brilliant if you could post a large-ish picture of your car (as standard as possible)

Thankyou

cjquicksilver

iTrader: (23)

i test drove one and it was slow, but still nice and new and u can make it look like a nice example! but 2k insurance?really? hell i was paying that wen i was 18 on my evo4

Smithy07

i have the 2.0rx great car

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

The 1.5R hatch is just group 4 insurance I believe, £2000 insurance is crazy !!!!

You must be off your head personally to spend 2K on insurance on a car that struggles to hit 60mph in 15 seconds.

chopperman

Who is that insurance quote with? I could not find a quote for my 17 year old son on a group 1 car for under 3.5K

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

I'm quite suprised it's so low at £2k. It's still a newish car that's a 1.5.

It will be dog slow to be honest as it weighs a lot and is only a 1.5.

I'd buy something oober light with the same engine but it's your cash, good luck.

Ayde

iTrader: (6)

I looked at one of these as an everyday car, decent spec and low insurance group and they are not to expensive to buy - what put me off was the lack of power, not helped by the AWD. There are some vids on YouTube of people using the low ratio in 1st and second then shifting to high ratio and getting 0-60 in 10.5secs. Suppose once you are up to speed out of the box it should handle well especially in the twisties depends what else you can get for insurance groups that low, £2k is pretty good nowadays.

TurboAndy

iTrader: (1)

If I was you I would get something with as smaller engine size as you can for a year or two too get some experience and no claims behind you. A 1.5 is quite a big engine for a beginner and it being called an Impreza will set the alarm bells ringing for insurance company's.

I was the same as you years ago when I passed my test, I wanted something nice to be proud of but had to settle for an old 1.1 festa. Granted it was no bird puller and would get to 60mph some time next month. But after 18months of no claims I bought a 2.0 16V Astra GTE. The insurance was cheaper than what I first paid on the fiesta.

What I'm saying is bide your time.

Moley

iTrader: (9)

At 17/18 you're normally looking at £2k+ on a 1.0 Polo, so for a 1.5 Impreza it's dirt cheap!!!

quattroowner

iTrader: (5)

Im coming up to 21 next year. . £1500 for a 1.4 leon at the moment. . once my renewal is due in february. . i can get a 1.9 tdi seat leon (sporty but great mpg) for the same insurance..

Only chance i got on my scoob is a multii car policy..Even that be mental expensive!!

lordharding

iTrader: (1)

That's not a bad price for a youngest £2k
Used to pay £1200 for the boys new corsa we got him 7 years ago
Nice STi spoiler ,grill and alloys would make it a good looking car and a safe reliable car too is a Subaru

Steve001

iTrader: (7)

yeh but would'nt he have to declare the 'mods'

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

He will not be able to add any modifications without seriously increasing his premium.



Personally I think your crazy. The car is going to cost in the region of £6K to £7K for starters, then add on £2K for insurance.
So you will be approx £9K in with an utterly boring car,,looks wise and driving wise.

scoobyman.matt

I think some of you posting here dont realise how much they sting new drivers nowdays. 2K for a new driver on a decent car IS dirt cheap.
If he can afford to buy a nice car like this that will hopefully get him hooked on the marque then i say go for it.
Yes its slow but remember he is 17 better to learn the ropes in this and become a better driver than another boy racer.
The only other option is he spends less on the car (a faster one) and more on the insurance, then we will just have another kid in a crappy little saxo vtr going around...

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

Yep, fair comment I suppose chap.
I'd rather have a 17 year old kid driving around in a 1.5R than a cheap fast'ish little motor I suppose.
It's still an awful lot of money to be paying out for a first car though, circa 9K out of pocket which in a years time (if the car survives a year) will get him back circa 5 grand maybe 6.
And the chances of him having a little incident are very high. When I was 17 (like every 17 year old) I wanted the best car in the world when really for the first year you should have the sh1test.

scoobyman.matt

Dito to you mate that is a fair point. Its all very subjective as it all depends on the op's money situation.
So if we were to get this thread back on track, do we have any 1.5r owners on scoobyney??
Its also good to see a 17y old not just interested in speed, hopefully he will get an answer soon

SRSport

Do you know of somewhere better that would insure him on a 1.5 for less then? Or do you just expect him not to drive now that he can?

This is a forum where the majority of people have 200+bhp turbo cars, so lets not lose perspective here. When I was 17 I had a 2 year old 1.0 Corsa costing £5500. Everyone else in the sixth form had a 1.0 1.2 or the lucky few had a 1.4. That was seen as the top end of the game. There was one lucky git though who had a 1.6 polo...he crashed it and wrote it off a few months later.

I would imagine that compared to what he has been learning in it would give better performance and I know that I would have loved something like a 1.5 Impreza when I was that age, something to be proud of and £2000 insurance sounds very good. If it was me back then and I could afford it then I would have gone for it.

Looking through Autotrader Ive seen this for £3500 with 60,000miles




and this for £6000 with 50,000






I can completely understand the desire to go for something like this. Yes the hatch looks a bit more ordinary than previous Imprezas but it carries a certain class with it that says 'I am a regular car but with just a little bit extra'. I have just sold the Hawkeye 2.0R and it was a fantastic car. It felt solid and drove superbly.


.

MattyB1983

iTrader: (51)

I decided not to drive at 17 because all I could insure was boring sh1te. I waited until I turned 19 and had saved up some more money and bought a Citroen BX 16V (160bhp standard) as my first car. Best thing I ever did, couldn't bare to ride around in poxy 1.0 novas etc.

I didn't realise just how bad this insurance thing is for kids nowadays though.
Just did a quote online pretending to be 17. Used a 1.2 2007 fiesta as the car and best quote I got was £4000. WTF !!!!

SRSport

I guess it comes down to personal choice but I dont think someone should be thought of as "off their head" just because they dont think the same way. When I was that age I was so chuffed to have the 1.0 because it meant I had so much more freedom and yes the girls back then where far more interested in whether the boys had a car rather than what it was. The fact that mine was a shiny 2 year old model was a bonus...despite it being a 1.0 as they didnt care less.

scoobyman.matt

Put it this way the most fun i ever had in a car was my very first car.
It was a 1989 998cc mini city that was slow and broke down the whole time, slow cars can be fun not to mention the random road trips to be had with friends.
Put it this way im not even a parent but that car is 4wd and nearly new.
To me that means he will be safer on ice/snowy roads and if the worst did happen he has all the protection of a modern car. I would imagine its a no brainer from the view of a parent...

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

I reckon he should try getting a quote on a Panda 100HP...