big eck

Hiya folks I need some advice on a few issues that i'm having over which car to buy, I've always liked the scooby and now I finally have the financies (only just though) to buy one, i'm looking for an L or M plate with good spec not bothered if its an import or not what I need to know from you guys is whats the pros and cons of these cars and could you give as much detail as possible as I know nothing about them (i'm a vauxhall man just now).
Its got to be quicker than my corsa 2ltr 16v as I can keep up with most uk spec scoobys and be in the price bracket of £4.5 - £6k.

Thanks for your help

P.S I've read up on the cars but need to know what there like in the real world and not on paper.

evojkp

Corsa 16v keeping up with UK cars.....must be wrxmania driving

Have a look at the FAQ over in the SIDC website http://www.sidc.co.uk

wrxmania

Hoho friggin ho!!!

Cheers for the vote of confidence!

my94

If u have a few years no-claims and you are over 30 then u should get a grey sti(version 1/my94) for six grand.If ur under 30 with no no-claims,then get a UK car as insurance+tracker+alarm will add an extra two grand on to the price of the car.

s-man

hi mate

having owned an early uk turbo and now a fairly early (P) jap import Sti I can give you my take on this if its any use?

The uk car was a great step up from what I owned before (a citroen turbo diesel - ok wouldnt be hard to top that!) and it was a great car to own but even though I liked it ...

UK:
1) the interior on early uk cars is truly crap and at least the front seats need swapped if you want to stop feeling like youre driving a 1 litre nissan (mmm tweed!). My other half refused to be a passenger til I got decent seats for it....350 quid later a nice set of Sti seats and everyones happy again.

2) My M plate uk had 15" alloys and these look gash as well...so they were swapped for 16's at the first opportunity...£200 from someone on this site (should really have got at least 17s with hindsight but hey)

3) The car was getting on for 90k when I got it...now a lot of these early uk cars, though they are more likely to have full service history, are getting up into the high mileages. In case you don't know the 90k service is a monster on a scoob and you'll be looking at at least 500 quid if you get a garage to do it.

4) Even though the power was fine for a while (208bhp on early uk's remember) - it wasn't long before the need for more started to get the better of me. Exhaust, scoobyecu, dawes were all slapped on to try and get more power. These did help but I always felt that its best suit was the 0-60 no doubt about it. Standing starts are a scoobs strong point and the uk will waste a lot of things that way but I always felt the in gears at higher speeds (50mph plus) were a bit disappointing. Put it this way...your valver with 2wd and much lower transmission losses will shift once its rolling I imagine so you may not find it feels as big a difference as you'd hope.

In short I ended up spending thousands trying to make the car go, stop and drive better and whilst it worked the return isn't spectacular for the cash you have to spend.

JAP
last year I bough an Sti3 after deciding that no matter how much I spent on the uk car I would be happier with all the nice bits and more power as standard. Obviously the Sti is another step up again from the early wrx but in general the following apply to a greater or lesser degree (and there are pros and cons):

1) better base specification (proper seats, air con etc) If you do go for an sti then you get improved intercooling, ic water spray, strutbrace(s), quickshift gears, steering and other sti goodies.

2) higher engine output - I believe even the early wrx put out around 240bhp. My Sti feels quicker in every department - especially at higher speeds - the extra 50-60 bhp and lower gearing really makes a difference.

3) An Import NEEDS proper fuel or a remap or (depending on age) a scoobyecu to let you run without octane booster and optimax at every fill up. Some people have been fortunate enough to run these cars on standard 95 ron etc but if a cars tuned and designed for a country where 100ron fuel is the norm then at the very least youre looking at a power drop - and at worst a lunched engine so the £2.50 a tank for octane booster is good value insurance against a 2k rebuild.

4) Can be tough to insure an import if under 30 (all are group 20 I believe) so have a phone around to get a feel for the possibilities before you take the plunge.

So in short the uk turbo is a good reliable choice that is easier to live with in some respects, cheaper to insure and fuel. The Import WRX and the Sti's in particular are what you want for the all out scooby experience it sounds like you're after. BUT you have to be prepared to foot the bill for higher insurance and the best fuelling you can afford.

Just in case you're interested The Sti 3 is up for sale ...but you'd need to save another grand - not that much really I've bought a sensible car so the 300bhp monster has to go....

cheers and good luck with your choice

Steve

Scooby Dooby Blue

A mate of mine has just gone from a 2L 16v Nova to a Scoob and is finding the fuel costs unbearable as he's finding himself filling up with Optimax every second day!

If you feel you're stretching yourself to buy the car, perhaps a re-think is in order as I typically spend £4-500 a month on fuel, getting little over 200miles from 50litres.
As s-man said, insurance can play a big factor in what to buy, particularly if you're under 30.
Remember you're also in the top road tax bracket (you probably still had 1L Corsa on your V5 )
Drive a Scoob fast and you'll need tyres and brakes done regularly too.

Te alst thing I want to do is put you off buying an Impreza but the buying the car itself is far from the bottom line cost.

Drive through a tunnel at 7000rpm with a full de-cat though and every last penny suddenly becomes justified

Paul

PG

If your finances inc a budget for running costs and the likes then fair doos but I wouldnt buy one if you can "just" afford it. They are expencive cars to run. I had to give mine up when the wife went back to uni and it is frightening how much £££ you save not having one I am running 2 cars for the money the scoob would have been costing me.......do miss it tho !

big eck

Hmmmm mixed opinions there,

S-man you were a fantastic help mate, its good to get a proper opinion from someone who has owned both types of cars.

Scooby dooby its a GSI corsa i've got so the chearper tax dosnt apply unfortunatly lol.

PG in that case I will seriously re-think what i'm gonna do I looked at one today and it looked and sounded amazing but needed to know more real life stories about the car before I take the plunge.

In short thanks for all your advice folks

VAL113R

I am the guy who has just swapped the valver for the scooby.

The nova was fast but the scooby is a lot faster and a more 'safer' ride if you know what I mean.

I dont think insurance would be too much of a problem as I am only 25 and I got a quote for £1150 on an import wrx.

The petrol might be though as at the moment I am going through a half tank a day, which is £21. I live about 3 mins from work, but usually take the long way ;-)

As has been said above, saving up to buy one does not finish there. You need insurance first and then you wont be happy with something on the car so will need to replace that.

I was lucky as the car I bought had a few engine mods already including a full decat. But it still has the orange bumper indicators. I just wish I had a spare £70 kicking around for a clear set :-(

ta

VAL113R

Also depending on what car you get and more importantly what turbo you get you may find it a total different drive to the valver.

I believe I have a TD05 turbo which kicks in higher up the revs.

What that means is I floor it and nothing much happens until about 4k then I get the kick. IMO this is not really much use as before you have got anywhere you have popped the limiter and need to change gear. I feel this is no use for normal racing around as the person you are racing gets quite a head start. Ok you will eventually sail past them and I have been told that the car will hit 160mph but where are you going to get a road long enough to drive at that speed ?

VAL113R

what colour is your corsa ?

Its not the silver one which goes to crail is it, looks pretty standard apart from being lowered ?

big eck

Val mine is the grey GSI and I do go to crail whenever I get the chance, had it for just over a year and it suprises alot of things as you know having owned a valver yourself, i've kept it as standard lookin as possible only lowered it a wee bit 3" tail pipe and some 15" speedlines, a bit of a sleeper really.

VAL113R

Dont think I have raced you up the strip

I only had the nova on it once.



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