blip

Need to cut down on running costs, BUT I love having a fast car. Are there any cars that are as practical as my scoob, are faster (through the gears) but are actually cheaper to run/own.

I keep thinking she'll have to go, but whenever I consider other fast cars I can't see anything that would give me the same (or more) speed whilst saving me money on running costs (servicing, fuel and insurance). Oh and needs to be reliable too....

john banks

330d 204 BHP chipped, 330i, S3, S4, TT, M3, M5, Octavia vRS, Leon Cupra R, Fabia vRS, Ibiza - there is a new Cupra with a diesel - quite quick I believe, Clio 172/182, 150 TDis chipped, all worth thinking about?

Variety of prices, speeds and running costs there, just a few ideas.

what would scooby do

Merc E55 AMG ??

blip

Thanks John

S4, M3, M5 - surely more expensive to run than my 03WRX PPP?

S3, Octavia vRS, Cupra R, Fabia vRS, Ibiza Cupra, Clio 172/182, 150TDi - surely all slower than my car??

TT - not practical

330d, 330i - hmm.....although I can't see they are much cheaper to run??

When talking about running costs I am ignoring depreciation. Just looking at combined fuel/servicing/insurance (in other words actual monthly outgoings).

Remember am looking for something at least as quick if not quicker than my 03WRX PPP AND cheaper to run. Must be practical and reliable too.

Mitchy260

LCR 210/225 with a remap from Jabba/Revo (£500-750)

280bhp/300lbft going through 2 wheels instead of 4. Seriously quick! It won't suffer the Tx losses the 4wd scooby does.

Won't be as quick as a scooby off the mark due to traction but once it hits 3rd+ it'll move like a missile.

Top end goes off the 160mph clock. Looks good inside and out and has 18'' and 4 pot brembos as standard.

sulli

Classic UK wagon with a few mods - quicker and more practical

john banks

M5 might cost similar to your WRX to run? Sounds ludicrous, but fuel economy is similar, I'm getting similar quotes to insure one as a WRX PPP or STi. Octavia vRS chipped can be quite quick indeed and they cost little to buy, as can the 182. Chip a 150 TDi to 180-190 and it could be fun too. 330i or d could be cheap on fuel, servicing, depreciation.

Depends on where you want them to be quick. A lot of these cars in the real world may be nearly as quick as a WRX PPP. You'll probably have to compromise somewhere.

blip

Hmmm, sounds tempting Practical, quick + cheaper to run. Although I'm guessing the tyre bill at least wouldn't be much different to a scoob with all that going through the fronts!! Wonder if fuel economy on a Jabbad LCR 225 would be better or worse than mine???


Sulli - mine is a wagon so the practicality would be the same Aren't the classics more expensive on servicing due to shorter intervals?

john banks

Fuel economy will be considerably better on the LCR given the compression ratio, engine capacity, drivetrain losses, aerodynamics and engine management used.

Mitchy260

I've just bought 1 after getting rid of my scooby, im very pleased with it. Can't wait to get it remapped.

RR

A chipped Lcr will leave a wrx with PPP in the gears. And there not a bad price either.

princessyin

honda accord type r, chipped?

Pastor

Can you chip an accord? What would be the point it's n/a so I presume not much of a gain to be had.

davyboy

Clio 182

papascooby

i think no is the simple answer

what's an lcr?

andy_w

Seat Leon Cupra R

Andy Hamilton

Interesting thread......

Sold my 03 WRX PPP for similar financial reasons earlier in the year and am currently running a 'regular' 180 bhp Leon Cupra.

I also looked at the Cupra R as well and the one I drove felt almost as fast as the scoob if not as fast. It's a very good drive as well and a great package/price, obviously wet weather traction is nowhere near the scoob but it's pretty good for a powerful fwd hatch.

I opted for the regular Cupra on financial grounds and it's not bad, it's not exactly going to tear up the tarmac but it's brisk, practical, well built and costs a hell of a lot less to run! For instance insurance was 60% less than the scoob!

I think an LCR with a REVO/Jabba remap would be a very good alternative

blip

Thanks Andy - that's v helpful

Out of interest how do you find fuel costs and servicing costs compared to the scoob??

TBH I'm really struggling to sell mine. Haven't had any interest whatsoever for several weeks now. I keep dropping the price but it really is depressing how little it's worth already. Feels like I'll be giving it away at the end of the day.

Of course whatever price I get for my scoob will determine my budget for a new car

john banks

How much are you after for the 03 WRX PPP?

Andy Hamilton

Servicing wise I don't think there will be a lot in it as they are both 12 months/10,000 miles intervals, the Leon may be slighter cheaper but not had a service on mine yet!

Fuel economy is much better and on a run the computer reads over 35 mpg, obviously goes down in town but I've never managed over 25mpg in any of the scoobs I've owned and I've had 6 of them! monthly fuel bill is definitely a fair bit less though. Insurance was the final nail in the coffin for me with the WRX PPP......

The Cupra Diesel (or FR as they are now called) is a very good car worth considering if you do a lot of miles and is pretty quick, also responds well to a remap My brother runs an A3 Quattro TDi sport and gets 500 miles from a tank......

blip

I've got it priced at £15995 ono at the moment. Have it listed here: http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=374121

john banks

Same price as a new Euro import then. That might be your difficulty? Unfair I know, and I know you have the PPP as well.

Jiggerypokery

Fuel economy WRX03 PPP:
I managed 33.3 MPG on a long run this week. 355 miles before I filled up, the warning light was not on, and there were 2.5 gallons left in the tank. This was mostly at a constant 70 on the motorway, but stuck in traffic (I'd guess about an hour at <5MPH) going through a few roadwork sections.
Not bad at all.

Staying on the wrong side of 90 will see the fuel economy drop to 26MPG.

blip

I don't think 'unfair' quite sums up the emotions I am feeling right now about the residual values of Subarus!!!!!!

The car cost me just under £24k 18 months ago and you're telling me it's worth what less than £15k now? So a drop of nearly 40% in value in that time. Unbelievable.

Jeez I wish I'd bought an R32 (which I did consider) - look at their residual values now!!!

And those Euro imports, that is £15995 OTR with the exact same spec as a standard UK WRX is it?

Stainy

not far off. only missing the locking wheel nuts and the alarm IIRC

TaviaRS

Re the Octavia:

Had mine for 32 months, did 138k miles in it.

Fuel economy; motorways cuising at 80-85 indicated, I'd get about 38mpg, A roads about 35, brisk driving on A roads about 30-32, trackdays about 12 and the Ring about 8-10 mpg.

Servicing costs: You can either go variable servicing or fixed 10k servicing. I went 10k due to my mileage and needing to know when it would need a service. Costs were:

10k = £58
20k = £148
30k = £58
40k = £200
50k = £347 - I had a new clutch fitted as a precaution
60k = £372 - Had cambelt done, again a precaution as I reckon the recomended 120k interval for it is way too long
70k = £65
80k = £220
90k = £78
100k = £189
110k = £68
120k = £550 - had cambelt and clutch changed again
130k = £93

My car had a very hard life! Of the 138k on the clock when I sold it at 32 month old, nearly 12k were track miles

So, other than services listed above, what did I break?

2 x NSF wheel bearings
1 x NSF wishbone bush
1 x main cooling fan (led to overheating problems at the Ring as it had packed up)
1 x OSF wheel bearing
1 x engine @ 135k miles. The MAF had degraded, much like Scoob ones have been known to do

Tyres, even with track use lasted about 15 - 20k for a set. Insurance was about £500 per year, all mods declared, fully comp.

Any questions about the Octy, ask over on www.briskoda.net quite a few Scoob converts on there.

Did I like mine and would I recommend it? Yep So much so, I bought another Octavia (diesel this time due to my silly mileage ).

Oh, almost forgot, depreciation. Bought new for £14,100. Sold at 32 months with 138k on the clock and paintwork that looked like it had been blasted by a shotgun, for £6,500.

As for whether it'd be as quick / quicker than a PPP WRX, perish the thought

Abdabz

Use the back of a What Car as a guide. Performance figures and servicing costs are documented and are a pretty good guide.
I played this game about 4 months ago myself due to running costs and all that came close were hot hatches, and without mods they dont really come close enough or I guess!
Anyway I'm still on my 99 classic which in 18 months has also lost 40% of its value!!
Dont change unless you're absolutely certain that its for all the right reasons...
P

john banks

40% depreciation on a new car (especially if you include the cost of PPP) in 18 months is not bad IMHO. Some cars lose that in a year.