urban

iTrader: (1)

Stevie - you're wasting your time and effort arguing with f1
Don't you remember - he's always right, and everybody else is always wrong

Micheru

Just out of curiosity, did you do quotes online or by phone?

I'm paying £1070 on mine and online quotes, even from the same company are £2,000+

Where as quotes online for a Nissan Silvia S15 are £900 or R33 GTR are £1500. Might be worth calling up if you haven't as you might find quotes for decent Hawkeyes to be reasonable, unless of course you want a newer car.

paulbu

You only have to floor the throttle in third gear in the 300PS RS Focus (many have been dynoed at much less than 300) to give wheel spin and if the road is anything less than perfect then you are fighting with the steering wheel.
As far as engine failure goes, apart from the odd unlucky owner who has played it by the book, these failures are down to cars being modified, run on the wrong fuel, not checking oil levels etc. You only hear about the tiny percentage that have failed and not the many that have covered 40-50k plus trouble free.

InfernoUk

hey, normally direct quotes are more expensive, but you can just reference the online quote and then they charge the lower ammount, they really dont seem to care as long as you can make the correct details show a price. My whole family use internet quotes we then quote the reference over the phone and ask them to check its all good and it always is fine.


So guys, all the blown engines are down for mods?

I could probably buy one for around 15-16k and then drive it until I have the money to re do the engine and still be fine?

Are there any other issues apart from the engine?

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

OK to the OP apologies for the fact this thread is going off topic but this guy doesn't seem to want to leave it alone despite the obvious irreleavnce of his question.

The FRS is lighter and doesn't suffer the same level of transmission loss as the Impreza for obvious reasons therefore a reasonably sorted Impreza and an FRS probably wouldn't be that far away from each other performance wise and in real world terms the difference would be down to the driver more than any edge the cars had.

On loose or very slimiy surfaces the Impreza will have an advantage with traction, but realistically how much driving does a real world car do in those conditions to make the difference a deal breaker and things like being on the right tyres can make more of a difference than AWD anyway.

Then there is the driving experince. Having driven both, albeit in the case of the hatch not for that long I admit, I really have to say that the FRS feels more of a complete package and it certainly feels more nimble out of the box.

So to say that with a forged rebuild the Impreza would be a much better car than the FRS is just not true IMO.

Your problem is you are looking at it through a Subaru fan's eyes and not from a neutral perspective. I have had 5 Scoobs but find the hatch an abortion so I will admit I find it hard to look beyond its obvious deisgn and potential engine failings but equally I am hardly Ford's biggest fan so when my mate bought an FRS I was very sceptical... having driven it several time I have changed my mind and been pleasantly surprised.

Also there is the subject iof resale value, the RS is holding up well, the Impreza isn't and then there are the running costs which are cheaper for the Ford.

Taking all that into acocunt and in a real world scenario it's hard to argue against the Ford so I won't

urban

iTrader: (1)

That's probably not totally true.
The problem would appear to be mainly the ECU map

InfernoUk

a right thats a shame.

Looking like stretching to the FRS financially may be the best move just for piece of mind, I will be 22 and still have the rest of my life to own an Impreza when im in a better financial situation to deal with the issues that may arise!

urban

iTrader: (1)

We'll good luck with whatever you do

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

There is a lot written about what the actual probelm is, but while the ECU map can prevent it happening on a lot of cars it is my belief that it doesn't fix the issue which is one of poor quality components hence the whole forged idea.

Reports of the seats wearing prematurely (search on here) and on NASIOC there is a thread where rust has appeared in the roof seams ... not sure how big an issue that is, but a fair few cars were affected.

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

to the OP seriously test drive them and see what you think you will be ahppy with, sorry if you ahev felt that i or f1 have deviated away from your initail post as that was not my intention he is just stuck in the old days and cant see how the brand has moved on lol


only joking f1_fan it would be a dull place if we all drove round in inferior RS badged counterparts

InfernoUk

no problem, gives me something to read!

Though i do prefer the looks of the RS and feel it has more presence than the hatch.

No doubt no torque steer and the possibility of more power is nice, but the reliability and having to buy a car then send it to a garage for work is a bit annoying. I will drive both before purchase and if the Hatch is really that much better ill reconsider.

rob84

iTrader: (5)

As much as I like the looks & sound of the frs They seem like everyones got one, I'd still have one tomorrow but for me were I live in the miserable winter months I'd get no-were, Untreated single track roads I'd bin it thats even if it managed to get itself scratted off the drive. just my 2p's worth for what it counts. My hatch does what I need & a hell of alot more than the focus could, if it was dry all the time then things would be very different.

Its your money mate do what you feels best, Subaru's will always be a money pit

InfernoUk

roads are pretty fine where I am and my dad has a navara im insured on for days its not. they arent a common car where i like (FRS) but i have just seen 3 in the last 2 days, which is more i see in a year normally!

not looking for a money pit at the moment, just a fast car with decent insurance that isnt going to break my bank in maintenance!

chopperman

FRS does 0-60 in 5.9 secs. That's not so quick by today's standards. Must be due to FWD. Doesn't the hatch sti do it in 4.4 secs ?

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

Please keep in mind that although a fair wack have gone pop but its not all and there are many an owner who is well into 4 years of ownership who have had no issues. It's never going to be stated all over the place of how many have been ok you will only ever hear horror stories. Let's be honest here how many classics went pop.......loads did but no one talks about them, the only real models that didn't was the bugeye and blobeye.

End of the day its a possibility but not guaranteed, please don't assume the moment you buy it you will "have" to get it rebuilt. Buy one from a main dealer with a year warranty and enjoy it.

InfernoUk

yeah i know what you mean, the minority with issues shout louder than the majority on the internet.

I prefer the looks of the FRS but i have a feeling the Sti may be the better of the two, ill have to see after driving them but at the moment im in favour of the ford, also i cant see any main dealers including a warranty on pistonheads, or is the warranty auto implied when buying from a subar dealer?

rob84

iTrader: (5)

Every vehicle sold from a dealer has to be supplied with a warranty its part of the dealer terms and conditions. we cant sell one without one.

STI for me as a good all-rounder with good scope for upgrades, to make one hell of a car.

InfernoUk

so buy from a dealer, run for a year, if it breaks i get the repairs all done under warranty and should be fine after that?

Or do i forge when it breaks along side warranty repairs / wait until it breaks a 2nd time

And then i guess theres the outcome that it breaks outside of warranty for the first time, which would be an expensive bill

Thats assuming it breaks at all...

still not as nice looking as the FRS though and that may sway it for me

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

By from a Subaru main dealer with a years warranty, at the end of the term you can opt to take a chance and if it goes and I have to stress IF then forge it, the other choice is at the end of the year take the car to the dealer and have an extended year warranty, from memory its about £450 for an extra year. Much cheaper than a rebuild if it went out of warranty but please these is all based on IF.......not when

InfernoUk

ok and IF it blew out of warranty what would be an average total cost to get it forged and running again?

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Virtually no unmodded UK cars with the exception of the P1.

That's the difference. The standard out of the showroom hatches are going bang!

rob84

iTrader: (5)

PPP is a modification and have you seen the figures for the std vs the PPP Failure on the hatch ?? I guess not, Talking **** as usual

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

Hard to answer with a precise figure as it depends on what power you would want to run. Some advise just pistons are the issue and would suffice others say head studs and better gaskets. Others say once its all out then do the rods, bearings too just depends on what bhp you are after.

Would bank on 3k which is a chunk of change, that I don't disagree with. there are plenty out there running fine, some on custom maps with no issues and some have had it forged for peace of mind as they have the money to do so. I think some of the tuners offer a drive in drive out package for around the 3 mark.

Some one else may be able to shed some proper figures for a basic rebuild?

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

Well I had a UK turbo that had gone pop so that pee's on your strawberries and second the p1 was sold as a UK car lots of those went too lol again one I had. Plus plenty of UK turbo's went pop along with a huge chunk of the imports to and not all were due to the wrong fuel mix before you try and push that point. Yes the 2.5 has since its introduction in late 06 had failures but I would hazard a guess that its not as high as its is perceived sake as not all EVO ayc pumps fail and not all BMW e46 rear subframes fell out etc etc there are horror stories on loads of cars bit its probably less common the. It's made out to be.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

No they didn't, you're taliking utter **** now. Were you even driving when they were coming top of every reliability survey in the late 90s?

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Says the brainwashed fcukwit who works for Subaru

chopperman

I thought the early ones suffered bottom end issues like bearings and con-rod bolts snapping?

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Yes but those were generally imports usually run on incorrect fuel or pushing a good bit more power than the UK cars. I bought my first UK car in 1996 and then had a 99 and a 2000 (2 in my household at the same time... I really liked these cars ) and all of them went way past 100K on standard engine and gearbox with no trouble. My mate has a 1997 reddish blue UK car that he has owned from new and it has 194K on the orginal engine. The relability surveys of the time had them at number 1 or 2 every year until around 2000. The UK cars may have less power but at least they seemed to stay in one piece.

ScottishRayman

Stevie - 100% correct mate in your estimation as I'm currently reviewing that potential option on my 08 Sti & that is indeed the price range I'm getting.

urban

iTrader: (1)

My 1998 T2000 went bang after around 18months.

I think you'll find that he doesn't work for Subaru - got your facts wrong yet again