Wellsaline

Hello I'm new to the forum,

I'm after a bit of advice. My wife is 4months pregnant and we currently have an old dog an old FTO and an old Prelude. Unfotunatley when the new babie comes along we'll no longer all fit in one car. At the moment we fold the back seat in the prelude flat and put Duke the dogs bed in so he can ride like a king. He splays his legs out and leans into the corners like a motogp pro. Apparently it's not legal to put the baby in the dogs bed with Duke so it's looking like the Prelude has to go. We are therefore looking for an estate/wagon but still want something with a bit of go. Currently looking at Impreza's, Legacy's, and maybe a Lexus SportCross (I have also looked at alfa 156 sportwagons and Saab 9-5 hot's but I have decided to stick with Jap dependabilty) At the moment it looks like the Impreza is favourite.

I've searched the forums and can't find a buyers guide anywhere are there any? Are there any known problems I should look out for? (I previously had an MGZT and wish I read the forums before hand, it was a terrible money pit).

I only have around £3500 to spend. Ideally I'd like to go for the blob eye shape wagon WRX. I've seen a couple go for around that money with 80k on the clock. Did they have any comman problems I should look out for?

Also what are the non turbo 2.0's like, (the GX sport?), are they worth looking at? What's their standard hp is it 124 or 160 I've a couple of conflicting things? 160 might do 124 sounds a bit underpowered. (obviously a standard 220 WRX sounds better again! As do the 350 to 400 cars I've seen on here but I'm on a budget both for buying and running)

How about the legacy are they a worthy alternative? I quite like the 'sleeper' nature of them.

Thanks in advance for the advice.
Mark

P.S. I've still got 5 months so I can take my time to find the right bargain!

yabbadoo4

iTrader: (8)

ive got a wagon and love it. ive got a 6 yr old and my missus and it suits us fine. its a daily driver but ive had it mapped from andy forrest running 315bhp. dont bother with non turbos m8 they are almost as expensive to run but nowhere near as much fun! servicing is the key with imprezas m8, regular oil changes every 5-8k cam belt change as well if you dont know the history of the car. take someone with you that knows cars preferably scoobs. an enthuisiast owned car is your best bet or a standard unmolested one. a big pile of receipts is a good sign its been cared for.the only thing id say is take your time and consider it carefully as you have a new baby and the modding bug can bite real hard and these cars can empty your wallet faster than a night on the bevvy with olly reed! stay away from chavved up chariots with claims of 400 bhp with just a manual boost controller. any car which has a knocking sound from the engine walk away as these cars are well known for it. some of your other choices might be more wallet friendly and ive always liked alfa estates too. have you checked out insurance quotes as well? depending on your age and area it could be quite expensive! one last thing: if you do go for one make sure the brakes are uprated! even in standard form the standard 2 pots are terrible at stopping these cars. go for 4 pots at a minimum especially with a young baby on board. just take your time and make the right choice there are plenty cars around that money as the market is pretty stagnant just now. good luck!

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Speak to Chocolate O Brien, (Andy) on here. he has wife plus baby now nearly two and wagon.

scoobyman2007

iTrader: (5)

I have a fto and I can get no one in the back mate

hedgecutter

iTrader: (5)

Got 2 teenagers, 1 medium size dog, bikes etc, and impreza blob wagon is our daily driver over diesel legacy wagon; its fine for fun and space, but obviously you are going to be paying more for insurance and fuel than some alternatives.

Spoondanny

get a wagon buddy ive just got a uk 98 and i love it. plenty of room bags of power and its not that bad on fuel it depends how u drive. if u have a 5lte v8 or a 2.0 u can get the same mpg if u drive it normally, but if u gun it yes i will gulp a drop but thats part of the fun. parts are cheap easy to fix and uk models are cheap to insure

Spoondanny

o and just to say my wagon is totally standerd and i paid £900 for it, with full service 5 owners and loads of bills
bargin u cant go faster for lessssss

pflowers

Get a forester! The ultimate sleeper car and well within your budget

yabbadoo4

iTrader: (8)

+1 for the forrester. that was my other choice after the wagon

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Forrester is a good car. Comes with a special place for your pipe and slippers.......only joking.......it's just for the pipe really! LOL

Wellsaline

Yea forester just doesn't do it for me.

I love the look of the 156 v6 but they seem to live up (or down) to the reliability reputation.

zippy!

iTrader: (1)

I had two legacy gtb twin turbos and found them to be great all rounders massive inside great power and very comfortable

Octoposse

156s are actually OK for reliability (so I've heard), better than 159s. I'd go 4 cylinder twin spark rather than V6 though, for both reliability and handling.

My wife's (and therefore the family car at the moment) motor is a 52 plate Impreza bugeye non-turbo saloon, currently on 128,000 miles. Reliability is stunning - was shocked to actually need a new numberplate bulb this year on top of routine servicing! Certainly not fast, but adequate for keeping up with traffic.

We have a toddler, and my Porsche 944 has to go. Already got a £620 Ebay Punto for shopping/nursery run, but I'm looking for a performance estate or roomy saloon for weekends away, holidays and fun, and decided on a Legacy - although if I stumbled across a really good Volvo 850/V70 T5 in the meantime I could be diverted.

Looking through the adverts all these cars - Legacies, Volvo/Saab/Alfa estates - seem pretty cheap in the current market, although looking for well cared good ones that aren't deisel and/or automatic narrows the field quite a lot, and they always seem to be wrong end of the country!

turbomax

iTrader: (5)

i will say v3 sti wagon as used to have one

Spoondanny

stay away from alfa they break down and cost a fortune to fix!
ask jezza on top gear
ive owned a 155 and a 156 both had electricalproblems, the twin spark systems are not reliable

Spoondanny

go for a wagon or a legacy,

Wellsaline

Yep already made that decision, it will be Japanese. I always have a look at the warranty direct listings. I think as they have to pay out on unreliable cars they should have some pretty sound data. I'm also a designer (bikes not car) and have worked with yamaha a bit and know how the japs engineer things!

Spoondanny

you made the the rite choice
there cheap to pick up now days

JamesDundee

iTrader: (2)

Another vote for a Legacy GTB. Big comfy wagon 280bhp, Jap reliability, If you get one with the bumper lip kit it still looks sporty but nobody knows what it is so you don't get grief on the road.