Dnalunchie

Hey all, since I live in NZ and other than us you guys are the only other country to get pretty much all the JDM stuff I thought I would ask some advice.

I have asked this exact question in my own local forum but I was after a larger membership base to get a more diverse range of opinions

Anyway due to a change in circumstances I am in need of a new car. The old one is.... ummm no longer viable.... yeah I'll go with that.

I will be moving soon to a city that has about the same friendliness towards traffic as central London.

I want something that is fun enough to keep me entertained, something reliable too.

I have 3 options I can think of.

1. Buy a cheapish 2-3k daily such as a corolla and use that to go to work etc and then spend more maybe 8k (I am converting to your pounds here) on something thats a fun weekend toy v9/10/11 sti, evo 9 or 10, 350z.

pros = of this are that even if I break the toy I still have my daily and the daily will be cheap to run on gas insurance etc.
Cons = two cars, twice the registration and other govt costs for a car.



2. Spend 4-5k on a daily that is kinda fun like a EP3 Civic type R (2001-2003) and then spend 4-5k on a cheaper v7 sti or a really nice GC chassis sti as my weekend toy or maybe a ST205 GT4

Pros = both cars are newish and both are fun to drive in their own right
Cons = could be higher maintenance costs as a JDM type R will cost more to keep on the road than a corolla. Still have to pay double registration costs etc.



3. Spend 10k on something like a mint evo 9 or 10 or sti v 9,10 or 11.

Pros = only 1 car to maintain and keep on the road. Potentially more reliable due to newness of car.
cons = I have a problem where I love to mod cars and modding a car that is both my daily and toy could go badly if I damage it or blow it up, will cost alot in gas as a daily and I dont want to subject a turbo to stop start big city traffic.

Also bare in mind that I am in no way rich or able to throw money away. I would say my income would = maybe 20k of your pounds so any car breaking down regularly would be really bad.

P.S as a side note.

My room mate brought a really nice v6 WRX RA and has been dailying it for the past year. Its totally stock but he does drive it hardish and its been perfect, no faults. Would this be typical for a subie of that age? (1999) or has he been lucky?> Reason for asking is that I would love to buy one but their reliability scares me.

Dnalunchie

I will also throw this in that these are some of the cheaper 4-5k options. any opinions on them would be great.

Evo 2

Evo 4

evo 5

evo 6

Sti V 4-6

ST205

averyp2

iTrader: (25)

Maintained/serviced correctly the classic gc8 imprezas are very reliable considering the performance and cost of both the car and spares.

I personally would go for a less lavish commuter car that is easy on the wallet but reliable, then invest in a limited edition Impreza such as a type r v-limited or spec C for the weekend/fun. The latter can be had between £5-8k.

Depends what you want from a commuter car but £3k should give plenty of options.

(I personally have a mk3 golf tdi as a daily drive and a type r tucked away for fun days)

wazlee

iTrader: (3)

Hi dna,

I spent a bit of time in NZ, travelling & then spending a while working just outside of Wellington.

I worked with a guy that had an early Jap Spec GC8 Sti - it never missed a beat all the time I was there - & having had 2 back here (Jap WRX & now UK Turbo), neither had any major issues.
I've also had a GT4 (albiet a ST165) here around 10/12 yrs ago which I had nothing but problems with...

My personal choice would be to get a reliable but cheap daily runner (like a Corolla or similar) and then get an GC8 Sti for fun times

Hope helps,

Dnalunchie

okay I like this idea but in NZ the cost of nice condition 99/2000 GC8 is only about 1k off that of a nice condition V7 STI. what are you thoughts between these two? the v8 blob eyes command a much higher price but we have SO so many v7's they are very cheap, we also have quite a few V7 spec c's and ra's. Are they worth the extra $$ (around $500)

If I use your currency a mint GC8 is about 3k v7 sti about 3.5-4k and the spec C about 4-4.5k

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

No brainer, get the Spec C, it's a great car. Just use the search function on here to see the love the car generates.