Hi Guys,

I have been looking into getting a scooby for a while now and have started researching them a lot.

Would you say it is fair to say scoobys are quite delicate e.g. Prone to fault?
As it seems from reading this site and others that a lot of people have had problems, rebuilds etc or is this purely as the cars have been modded and then break?

I used to have a 96 M3 evo, raced it on a daily basis and never had any problems with it what so ever.

If I were to get a standard 96 WRX, what would you suggest as a minimum to look after it and avoid it blowing up etc.

Any feedback from all you scooby owners would be much appreciated.

 

UK Scoobies are tough: IF you drive them with mechanical sympathy, warm up and cool down, service them properly, use the right grade of oil, modify them sensibly or not at all then you'll be very unlucky to have any problems.

Imports are prone to go bang if you don't use SUL preferably optimax AND octane booster, you'd want a Knocklink to monitor any harmful det caused by bad fuel etc... A long term solution is to get them remapped for UK fuel. Problem solved. The above provisos for UK cars still apply though!

I think you're being swayed by the inherent negative bias on these forums: we don't all write in to say that our car is fine every morning. Buying an import of that age is riskier as often you'll not know how its been treated by prev owners. That said there are some good uns out there.

NS04

 

How much would it cost for a remap to UK fuel?

 

Thanks for the feedback mate, I can appreciate there are good and bad in all cars but just wanted to make sure I didnt get a delicate car as I tend to drive what ever car I am in pretty hard.

So as far as UK scoobys, is it possible to get a decent 96 WRX for around £6,500 in your opinion?
I heard all WRX & Sti's were imports and it would only be possible to get a 2.0 Turbo as a true UK scoob! Is this incorrect?

Also, with regards to modding, if I were to just add a slightly louder back box and filter, would that be ok?

 

I my experience they are tough and very reliable.



Thing is, if you visit any model related car forum and have a good read, you find that people have no end of bother with all cars. This includes Hondas, VW's... the list is endless.

I had a Civic type r for 2 years and this visited the garage 3 times for repair, and my clio 182 4 times. Not wanting to turn this into a 'scoobs are better than any other car thread', but the fact is that my 03sti has never been back for repair in 1 year 8 Months.



Best car I’ve ever had, Do it.



Dipster

 

Thats correct. The Uk (up to 2001) only got the turbo (208/215 bhp). Every other model whether it be a wrx, sti, wrx type r sti type r, type ra, v-limited etc, is an import. The UK did get special editions such as the Terzo, RB5, P1 and the awesome 22b (only 16 officially imported to the UK!) but you will very unlikely to find one of those in your price range.

I have had my sti 4 (98) for 18 months now and can report no problems. (apart from a cracked brake disc) I have however ran it exclusivly on optimax (no remap just yet) with occassional use of octane booster, Mobil 1 15w50 oil + filter every 3000miles, also let it warm up and cool down etc. I also invested in a knock-link which tells you if your engine is detting. ( igniting before spark, which leads to melted pistons!) It's just a warning device really, but well worth it.

Go and look at as many examples as you can, ask the seller qusetions regarding maintainance, warm procedure etc. You can almost tell what condition the car will be in by just talking to the seller!

 

If I'd have read Scoobynet before buying I would probably have never bought one It seems they are exploding all over the place on here..!

But bear in mind that it would be a pretty boring thread to read ' My scoob is running perfectly well - no problems'

I've had my UK (highly recommended fuss-free scoobyship) for over four years with no major problems. A couple of blown sensors, and that's been it. I don't drive quick all of the time, but generally I use the car for what it was designed for. I always warm up extensively (oil temp gauge you see!) and cool off nicely.

The UK's seem to be pretty much bullet-proof, as long as you drive with care and follow the simple rules.

Scoobynet is great, I've saved a fortune and learnt some cool stuff, but if you're new to Scoobs it can easily seem as though they are about as reliable as a 10 year old citroen.

 

OK cool thanks, so if I go for a 96 WRX (which is ideally what I would like) it will be an import, so will need a bit of extra TLC, right?

So what will this entail, just octane booster and regular maintenance?

Also, how much is a re map and does it simple "set-up" the car to run more effectivley on UK fuel (OK, so i'm not so knowlegable on this stuff yet )

 

Exactly, sometimes makes you wonder if it's worth bothering with these forums, but then there is still some good stuff and still some good people on here.!

Jason

 

Effectively a Rempa would be setting your car up to run safely on the lower octane fuel we have in the UK. JDMs are set up for 100RON hence SUl and octane booster.

Cost of a re-map varies depending on where you go and whether you go for a remap or a new ECU etc... I believe it's a little more difficult on pre 99 cars. I'd contact some specialists (in no particular order) like Scooby Clinic, BR Developments, Xtreme Scoobies, Roger Clark etc.. for advice.

A word of advice, make sure you prepare for the costs of ownership (esp the insurance, fuel bills, consumables and servicing). There are cheap scoobies to buy, but there is no such thing as a cheap scoob to run. Neglect the maintenence and it'll all end in tears!

Best,

NS04