StuLemanski

Just joined the forum. I currently drive a Mondeo Mk2 1.8 diesel estate. Once you've all finished laughing at me, it's cheap enough to run and gets me from A to B with all manner of junk in the back.

I've long been a fan of the Impreza as a practical and quick car, and am finally now in a position where I might be able to own one. It will basically be a second car - I'm not expecting to do mega miles (5-10k a year?), but it might get used for the occasional work trip, might get driven by my wife (if I've taken the Mondeo for work), and take the family away on weekend trips in slightly more style than the Mondeo.

I'm thinking of a bog standard UK spec WRX wagon. I know the Jap imports have more power, etc and I'm sure the STI has lots of great things going for it, but cost, insurance, and the fact it's slightly less likely to have been ragged to death by a bone-headed boy-racer lean me towards the Turbo/WRX end of things. (Hey, I drive a Mk 2 Mondeo Estate at the moment - even a bog standard WRX is going to be a whole new world performance-wise)

However, within those confines, I'm trying to think right to the edges of the box - I'm probably looking to spend in the £1000-3500 range. I have no big dislikes of any of the styles (Hey, I drive a Mk 2 Mondeo Estate at the moment...) - in this price range, it seems I'd be looking at a Classic, a Bug or an early Blob?

What are the pros and cons of each model - from what I can gather:

Classics are probably the most fun to drive (but maybe getting a bit old now and heading towards big repair bill territory - but then again these were the cars that gave the Impreza its reputation for being indestructible?) This one looks interesting, but you never know how much it will end up going for:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3210152144...=p5197.c0.m619

AFAIK Bugs are a completely new car - much more refined and quite a bit heavier than the Classic (lost some of the driving "edge", but probably easier for my wife to drive) - most people seem to dislike the styling (it really doesn't bother me) and it seems to be the least popular so maybe easier to find a good example at sensible money.

Blobs are a facelift of the bug (with a few minor refinements year on year) that are generally only starting to appear towards the upper end of my price range. Allegedy more power and mpg than the bug, but based on the same engine, so (I'm guessing here) this is presumably just an ECU software tweak? This one looks interesting, but then it has already done as many miles as the classic above:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2611191511...84.m1423.l2649

This is just what I've summarised from reading lots of posts over the last few weeks - but I'm be interested to hear people's opinions.

From various posts, it seems to be a buyers market at the moment - but is £1k too low to be looking. If I can get a reliable fun car for a grand then I'm smiling all the way. But am I likely to end up with a dog that would cost thousands in repair bills? Conversely, is a £3.5k car really twice as good as a £1750 car? Should I run from high mileage (stuff over 100k), or is it okay (at an appropriate price) if it's got FSH? Obviously stuff at 49k, 99k is coming up for a major service so how much cost should I factor in for that?

As you can see, I have lots of questions - does anyone have any opinions for me?

Thanks,
Stuart

wrx fifer

iTrader: (34)

my opinion would be not to be looking for a 1k subaru, regardless what you want it for as it will be a pile of crap, yes it's a buyers market these days thats right but there are plenty of dog rough impreza's out there

pokerpro

If you only have a budget of 3k and are concerned about insurance costs. An impreza is not for you.

Save up and do it properly it a couple of years. Dont be one of these guys who buys cheapest wrx they can get their hands on and then skimps on servicing, repairs, insurance etc

Other than that a few tips I would give anyone buying one would be

FSH
Dont be scared of high miles if in good condition
If you are concened about costs a wrx is not the car for you, if you want a performance car a wrx is not the car for you
Dont touch a 2.5

wotagr8bigchief

iTrader: (1)

If I was you bang for buck I would start out with the best classic you can afford, the later uk spec facelift classics have most of the creature comforts whilst still retaining the lightweight body. I have bought classics for as little as £700 OTR that have been great fun to drive and caused me no bother at all. There are plenty of sheds out there tho, avoid heavily chavved up examples at all costs also ignore big power figures unless theres paperwork to back it up. Lastly look out for rust on the UK spec classics, they are prone to corrosion especially around the rear wheel arches. Spend around 2k on a well loved uk turbo and you wont go far wrong.

steverashi

iTrader: (1)

Can back up what pokerpro said. I bought mine an 04 WRX after test driving it once, case of heart over head. Had it since April and had to get it serviced and get the discs and pads done as they were sh@gged, at a cost of £300 just for the brakes. Cheap to run they are not. Fuel costs are stupid but I wouldnt change it for anything!

StuLemanski

Pokerpro: I understand where you're coming from with your comment to "save up and do it properly", but I don't actually aspire to own a modded out 500bhp STI that'll make me look like an extra in Fast and Furious. If I had £20k to blow, it wouldn't be on a car, and even a WRX *is* a performance car compared to a Mk2 Diesel Mondeo .

Thanks to all for the replies so far.

I know scoobys aren't the cheapest cars to run, but I've factored in the costs before deciding I can look at a scooby: I can get under £400 for a fully comp WRX (I'm old and boring and have a large NCD), figure on £500-600 a year for servicing (for a standard car that isn't going to go pop because I won't be trying to wring 350bhp from it), and £240 tax (or thereabouts)

Thanks for the advice about not being scared off by high mileage (if good condition). How high should i start to be scared off by? 100... 120... 150?

Is FSH a must, or just recent service history? EG. if all the consumables (e.g. clutch, cambelt, brakes, etc) have been done in the last 20k then does it matter if it doesn't have dealer stamps all the way through from day 1?

Thanks for the advice about avoiding big BHP. I am keen to avoid modded examples: for insurance, because I don't want the car going bang because the last owner ran everywhere with 2 bar of boost, and because my wife is going to drive it too.

The opinions so far seem to be pointing towards a recent classic. Sounds like it's probably the best fun on my budget - how does it compare to bugs/blobs as a family car?

I know "if I want a family car the Impreza isn't for me" (that's not a dig at anyone's advice BTW). I want a fun car but can't buy an Ariel Atom because my wife will need to drive the kids around in it from time to time...

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

My advise would be to buy on condition.

Look at a few cars and see what's on offer for the money you want to spend. A service history is not essential if you're keeping the car - mine doen't have full history as I do most of the servicing myself, but it looks and drives very well.

Make sure it's been owned by someone who can afford to run it. Check the simple things like brake discs and pads, oil condition, general wear and tear.

A well cared for car; Turbo 2000, WRX, 2.0 2.5 should all be reliable in standard form and yes they are all 'fast' cars, which is why the insurance is so expensive.

Good luck in your hunt.

Infected by sti

iTrader: (6)

TBH I would have thought that the wrx is more likely to have had a hammering by a youngster purposely because of the reasons you list, as they can't afford an Sti or to insure it so go for the next best thing or so to speak, and would say that more classics than newage regardless of spec and model etc had probably seen more action and used more to its potential by some owners over its life time and probably more younger drivers than mature or weekend drivers. If your wanting reliability then sourcing a car with full history is a start but your never gonna know how the car has been treated previously by others unless you know where the car originates from and all the previous owners, or I you find a tidy classic with 1 owner or very few then that is going to reflect in he price so it's catch 22 really bud IMO, granted the Sti is a little more to insure but it makes for a better car from the off if your budget would allow you to go that far.

It's a buyers market at this moment in time IMO so chances are if you wait and take your time you will find a car that your happy with, with a nice number of owners and has history behind it and will be within your budget, do your home work ( as you seem to be ) and I'm sure you will come away with something your more than happy with

All IMO of course

pokerpro

i wasnt mean do it properly as in spend thousands on mods. Mine is totally standard.

What I was trying to get accross is that the extra cost between the wrx and sti is not a a lot of money. lets say its a extra 1k to buy and say £300 a year extra in running costs. My logic (rightly or wrongly) is that if a thousand pound is a lot of money to you, do not buy either as impreza are a expensive car to run.

These days a thousand quid is not a lot to me but 5 years ago it was a heck of a lot of money to me. Back then there was no way I would even contemplate buying a impreza wrx or sti.

Look after your money and it will look after you.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

I have both a classic sti and a blob wagon ppp, as a daily driver/mrs and kids you can't beat a newage, i bought mine for £4k over a year ago which was a good price at the time considering it came with AP 4 pot brakes, 2 owners one was the dealer and the other was an enthusiast and knew his scoobys, it had 92,000 on the clock and ran better than my mates with 40,000 so milage isn't everything.

I'd buy on condition as has been said above, don't rule anything out and just keep looking until a sweet one comes your way, there are some nice ones to be had still, just a case of biding your time, rust is also an issue on bugs so make sure you have a good look at the front subframe on those.

My newage is just just as quick as the classic, they are just a different drive, newage is more stable so inspires confidence, with the classic you need to be on the ball all the time when pushing on, they are both fast but go about it slightly differently, it's horses for courses, whichever you buy, you will have a quick fun car for those days when your in the mood.

Happy hunting.

StuLemanski

Thanks again to all for your replies:

Pokerpro - point taken (and sorry that I'd misjudged where you were coming from earlier). Whether a grand is a lot of money to me depends on what it's for
£3k for a car as capable and reliable as a decent impreza is a bargain really, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't prefer to spend £1k on it if all an extra £2k bought me was ***** waving credentials. Sounds like 1k is too low though and that I probably ought to be looking at £2k upwards (or look VERY carefully at anything cheaper).

Ditchmyster - thanks for the classic/newage comparison. It seems you back up the general view that the classic is more enaging to drive. Presumably a classic is still friendly to drive for the Mrs, but overall the newage is likely the better family car?

To everyone else that has replied - thanks too. All very useful points. It looks like there's no substitute for getting out and looking closely at actual cars (not just adverts).

I'll update the thread if I make any progress!

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Just FYI my mrs hates my STI type r with a passion and calls it the jaylop, but conversley she loves the blob, i'm constantly telling her to slow down when she drive it, she's a bit of a traffic light derby specialist, and drives it too fast compaired to her ability, fortunatley the blob is very forgiving, the type r will bite you in the a$$ with the dccd if you don't know what your doing.

LeeMac

iTrader: (1)

After having 2 classics and a blob, I don't think there is much between a MY00 and a MY04

daz b

My two pence worth,finding someone who can look after your car is as important as buying one.

M1keS

Hi Total Newbie here,

I have always been interested in a WRX for the last 5 years or so. Having previously owned a modified import MX5 for the last 7 years I wanted something that would give the same keen driving experience with a bit more poke and practicality.

So.... I looked for a number of months and eventually a part ex example came in at a prestige car dealer (Morgans, Nobels, Aston Martins etc). It was a Blobeye WRX Sportswagon 52 plate 2003 example with 55k on the clock, owned by the wife of a doctor and part ex'd for a Mitsubishi evo 10. The full service history was present and last service included Timing belt, all new discs and pads all round and 4 x Bridgestone potenzas from a Subaru specialist (£1300 all in). An honest car with a couple of bumper scuffs but nothing major on the bodywork/wheels.

Price...£3500

Been absolutely bullet proof and a lot of fun since August.

There are good ones out there to be had, just be patient. I managed to be the first caller on a Sunday morning and view the car first (the dealer had had 7 calls by the time I got there), so don't hang about when a good one comes up.

I've just got to get the driving position sorted out....cramp in right foot....

Good Luck!

StuLemanski

Thanks again to all with the advice, helpful replies, etc. As of today, I am the proud owner of a Black 2001 WRX Wagon!

46k on the clock with clear HPI check and FSH (cambelt done), so the mileage is genuine. It looks mechanically sound - engine, clutch and gearbox all working at they should (no knocks or noises), the engine bay is tidy, and the oil is so clean you can hardly see it on the dipstick.

It's a tidy car inside and out (a couple of little stone chips and trolley dings, but nothing that I can complain about at that age and price). I think I'm going to be a very happy scooby owner (even if my wife jokes I'm having a mid-life crisis....)