Thank you everyone, it is all extremely useful.

We went to take a look at a few today. She took a shine to an RB320 (I wonder why? ). We also looked at a bugeye (UK300), it was an amazing spec and well priced but was certainly an enthusiasts car so not for us.

We also looked at a very vanilla WRX blob. It even had bare black plastic side skirts, not nice at all. Good price though, nice condition and low miles, just not for us.

We didn't have a chance to drive anything but the clutch weight was fine.

We also confirmed she doesn't like the hatch.

The garage has a Hawkeye PPP Wagon coming in next week with 18" OZ wheels. We are going to pop along and take a look at that. It's a 56 with just less than 50k and 1 owner with FSH. Recent cambelt too. It's going to be about £8k though. We'll wait and see though as she's not sure if she likes them.

I think out current preference though is a hawkeye PPP saloon, with reasonably low mileage, FSH, black or blue in colour. An SL would be nice. preferred budget is about £8k.

 

Mmm....

Shouldn't be a 'recent cambelt' if it's a 56.
Replacement is every 70K or 5 years.

NOT a problem, just goes to show how manufacturers provide feed for their dealers.

However, unless the previous owner thinks like me I'd wonder if they have done any/everything else by the book.

Oh, and thank The Lord that 'VictoriaYorks' is a 'female'.
Wouldn't want SN to be done under the Trade Descriptions Act

All joshing apart, nice to see people come on here asking for advice and getting it, and decent and honest at that.

 

Right, the Wagon is off the table. The narrower body has put her off.

Currently on the shortlist is a Type UK in blue, a WRX hakeye in black and a WRX300.

 

If you like the Hawkeyes check out the gb270. Nice spec, look halfway between a WRX and an STI. Prodrive power upgrade (hence the 270) but not the bigger STI turbo so may be more reliable. Same wheels as rb320 but in silver not gunmetal. Best ones to look for have black suede interior upgrade. Ride not as harsh as STI so easier to live with every day.

 

I feel I'm too old to refer to myself as a girl anymore!

 

its still a 2.5 and has the same hg and ringland failure issues

 

That looks like a very good idea. Thank you.

 

But less common on the WRX compared to STI, but yes I do agree tubs.

 

Hi and welcome.

What concerns me slightly are the comments regarding mpg and 95 Ron fuel.

It really isn't advisable to run these cars on a tight budget. They are what they are. Cheap to buy but quite expensive to run.
If you see better than 25mpg, you are doing well.

Also, the clutch is a lot heavier than my wifes Peugeot 107. Most cars to be honest. It is the main reason why my Mrs won't drive my wrx. Stop start traffic isn't much fun which such a relatively heavy clutch pedal.

 

Thats interesting. So they de-tuned the Hawk then to run tolerate 95.

I'm with you, I wouldn't stick 95 in any WRX.

 

Got my wife a Blobeye STI a couple of months back.

I occasionally get to drive it at the weekend which is good.

Really puts the fun back into driving.

 

We are a two-scoob household. Mine started life as a JDM 2.0l STi blob, but is now rather far removed from what it used to be

My wife has a 2.5l WRX hatch - completely standard apart from us fitting a stock STi back box as we liked the 4-pipe look. It has done 94,000 miles and not missed a beat.

For a daily driver I would have a hatch WRX over a blob any day. It is a much much nicer place to be: quieter, smoother, more toys. Yes, there is the potential for ringland failure, but I believe this is quite rare on a WRX - that said, and if IIRC, the WRX was only sold here for a year or two then dropped, so probably not enough around to get any meaningful stats?

I would recommend seeking one out and taking a test drive - a lot of car for the money IMHO. They will be about 6 years old by now, so if they were going to suffer engine failure I would think it would have happened by now.

Oh, and we run it mostly on VPower or Tesco 99 but have put the occasional tank of 95 RON in it. MPG is better on VPower (26-27 average) and that compensates for the extra cost compared to 95 RON so it's a no-brainer to run it on decent fuel.

 

You'll be happy with a wrx 300, has ppp and a better interior than standard wrx.
But as the name says there were only 300 produced in 2005, so take out the ones that have seen the wrong side of hedge and those that have been modded that far they no longer qualify as a 300, probably be hard to find a nice one.
Apart from mine.
But that's not for sale! :-)

 

I've spotted a very nice one but it's a little rich. Not ruling it out completely though.

 

Quick update.

For our budget, we are in the realms of anything from low mileage blob STis to low mileage hatch WRX.

Based on the (potential 2.5) issues, aethetics of hatches and a few other things based around colour (it is my wife we are talking about here), we are looking at a black or blue blob STi, with no mods and mileage below 60k (preferably below 50k), with FSH and a recent cambelt.

I thought a nice PPP WRX would be the way to go, but a standard STi seems to be much better value for money when you look at all of the trick its on it.

My preferecne is a Spec D but she doesn't like, nay, hates silver cars and doesn't want to comprimise.

 

They always come round to their senses in the end . My girlfriend wants a black blob STI as her next car with a bit of advice given to her from me .

 

Probably the same advice I've been giving mine!

 

I'd consider a wrx for her in doors and by that I mean in exchange for

 

My wife has a hatch WRX as a daily driver she loved it when I bought it a year ago.


She's not so happy with it now.

 

Never been a fan of the hatch and i'm glad Subaru binned it, 5 door hatch backs never look good.

But to be fair you've done a good job on that wrx, i bet your wife loves the low profile tyres

 

Never mind the WRX get some pics of the Porker up.

 

tbh well worth it, a wrx is alwasy worth swapping for the wife,,,,,,

 

Update.

We've checked what insurance will be and it's cheaper than her current car, so that's a winner.

There's possibly a blob STi available next week that fits our needs. It's quite far away so we've got to find something local (really struggling to do this) for her to try out before committing to the one we want.