Hi all, I have been lurking in the background for the past few months doing my research and have finally decided to buy a Impreza but need some advise.

Great website site by the way, I can’t keep away. You guys (and girls) really know your cars, especially Impreza’s, which is handy )

Whilst I am still young (20) insurance is going to almost kill me, but I would appreciate it if you very helpful people (note butt kissing!!) could answer the following questions for me as the search function is ‘down’ at the moment. Thanks loads.

I know that some of the questions may be difficult to answer (e.g. running costs - as these will vary depending on type of driver) but I would appreciate it if any of you can answer any of the following questions.

I do not have a strict budget and I am willing to pay to going rate (The Parkers Guide) for what ever model I buy, but depending on which model I buy depends on how much I need to transfer/finance/save/steal etc. and then that depends on when I buy one.

1. Saloon or Hatchback? Am I correct in thinking that the hatch version is the wagon? If so I don’t want it.
2. What’s the differences between the 2.0 GL 4WD 5d Hatchback and the 2.0 Sport 4WD 5d Hatchback?
3. Is it worth spending the extra money on the insurance (probably about an extra £300) on a 2.0 Turbo or just sticking with either a 1.8GL or 1.6GL?
4. Are there any years (models) I should avoid or go for? I seem to remember someone saying that if it’s possible go for a 97 or later model
5. If I bought a, say 1.8GL could I, in time whack in a 2.0 turbo engine or would it be best to just buy a 2.0 turbo car?
6. When I get my Impreza where should I get it serviced? Local garage (where I take my current car) or a Subaru dealer? I know it’s a pretty obvious answer but I want to see what people say and why
7. Where is the nearest Subaru service center/dealer to Brighton/East Sussex? I think there is one in Crawley as per the Subaru website
8. Just how expensive are they to run. I do about 12000 miles a year and don’t commute to work. (Work is about 5 minutes away). I do most of the miles on major roads (A and M roads, not much town driving)
9. Should I get a tracker installed? I plan to keep the car for a few years
10. Should I buy from Dealer or Private? I would like a dealer warranty or similar
11. What are the offset of the wheels? I think I was told 39-42
12. Are they are common problems I should look out for on my quest to find my chariot? Any guides, magazines anywhere? I have had a look at the SIDC FAQ’s but none of my questions seem to have been asked.

Right that’s it (I think) unless you lot can tell me any additional things that I need to know.

Thanks loads
Darren Lodge

 

go for a turbo, waste of money doing a transplant. Think of resale value - if someone wants a turbo they can buy one!

tracker for piece of mind. any performance car will cost a lot to run it's hard to say, but a leas one service a year a couple of tyres, MOT, road tax. MPG is about 25 if no town driving.

your insurance will go up when you get your first 3 points then you'll slow down.

if your worried about running costs get a focus.

 

Hi Darren
Welcome on board. In answer to your questions:
(1) Purely personal choice and yes.
(2) Not sure - probably extra cosmetic stuff on the Sport.
(3) Only £300 extra for the turbo? Are you sure? Plenty of people have a lot of fun with the sport (JohnFelstead in particular)so I wouldn't discount it.
(4) Rule of thumb is they got better with age. Buy the latest model year (MY) you can afford.
(5) Wouldn't even go there. Even if you did, getting an insurance quote would be like nailing jelly to the ceiling.
(6) Depends on what you end up buying. If you get a specialist car it needs specialist care - same goes for a cooking model.
(7) Not sure - Bell & Colville in Horsley?
(8) You can spend phenomenal amounts of money - again, entirely dependent on the model. I've lost my shirt on mine but love it. Some people I know run theirs pretty cheaply. If you take depreciation out of the equation, reckon on 45p per mile for a turbo (rule of thumb).
(9) Probably not on a GL. See how much discount your insurance company will offer and factor it in.
(10) I'd go private but that depends on your level of competence and knowing what to look for.
(11) I have absolutely no idea.
(12) Keep reading the posts and do searches on things you can't find.

Best of luck.
Kav

 

Welcome and yes that is a sad face
Unless your willing to invest alot of money in the car (and we are only talking fuel, insurance, parts and service costs here) you can look on spending over 6k a year for 12k miles (insurance will kill you at 20 and yes most insurance companies will ask for a tracking system to be fitted).
The turbo is defiately the best car to go get, the down side is you cant park it anywhere as those theiving scum bags have a tendancy to want to steal your pride and joy (comes with the territory unfortunately)
Also at your age id forget about modifications, they will hammer you as it is the other options you could go for are the following:-
a standard civic type R.
Yes its more expensive to buy, its also going to be cheaper to insure than a scoob and cost alot less to run (also only 1000 to be produced this year so its more rare)
Am i trying to put you off i hear you say??
Yes a little, its no good owning a car like this when its crippling you in insurance and fuel (average 280miles to a tank) and yes they are quick but they are not very forgiving if you mess up normally ending up in a big smash
Its not a car id reccommend anyone who hasnt been driving for over 5 yrs to buy IMHO as it feels so easy to control but it isnt but thats my opinion.
If you have your mind set on the car then buy one, just be warned that they do cost money to run, look for atleast 200quid a month for fuel at 12k miles a year, 2 services a year (7.5k or 6 months whichever comes first so thats on average 3-400 quid a year for that as you have one slighly more expensive one than just the 100 quid oil change).
It isnt worth being at home when you throw all your money into your car, have enough to enjoy yourself AND spend on your scoob

Tony

 

Thanks for the answers guys. I’ll have to look for some more info once the search facility comes back on line.

I know that running the car is not going to be cheap and I accept that. With regards to insurance, I was quoted £2000 Fully Comp for a 2ltr N reg turbo, which I thought was good considering my age, lack of experience, type of car, etc.

I am not really planning any modifications for 3 reasons, the first is my insurance would go through the roof, the second is that before I start mucking around with the engine making it go faster I need to get used to the car first and the third is that the Impreza’s look good even as standard.

I will probably leave buying one for another 6 months to a year so that I get another years NCB + I can save more money, I am going to need a lot of it!!

Thanks again for all your help everyone. I doubt this will be the last time I will be asking questions.

 

where abouts are you in the country??
Think i need to move there as my insurance may go under 1k

Tony

 

Dude - dont bother...I bought my scoob at 22...insurance was 1200 notes a year...I'm paying 300 notes a month to International Motors as finance...and it only does 18 to the gallon...
and then every sodding copper in the world thinks u nicked it and every sh:tbag in town wants to nick it...and then there are the ***** who wanna race u everywhere u go...

Cheers
Rich
(having a w4nk day in the office, when every other tosser is down the pub) [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

 

1. Hatch is the Wagon. Pretty much the same performance & handling.

2. The Sport has the bodykit, seats AND the suspension settings of the turbo. I think the only difference is softer anti-rollbars on the Sport. The Sport is a rally car, the normal one isn't.

3. Insurance from non-turbo to turbo is normally a lot more than £300!

4. They're all good, buy the most recent one you can afford.

5. Not unless you were prepared to replace most of the drivetrain and gearbox as well! It wouldn't work as the Turbo delivers a LOT more torque than the other engines and you would be forever breaking things in the drivetrain. Plus the suspension and brakes would need uprating to cope with the power too.

6. Subaru dealer if it's still under warranty. After that, somewhere that specialises in them if possible.

7. Dunno

8. 240-270 miles on £40 of Super Unleaded (SUL). 300 miles on all motorway, below 200 if I'm out having fun!

9. If you get a newish turbo then you might find you won't get insurance without it.

10. Dealer costs more but you get the peace of mind. Horses for courses.

11. Dunno.

12. Other than the usual problem of previous owners doing impressions of Colin McRae, make sure you listen for piston-slap from the engine. If it sounds like a diesel, walk away.

 

Wagons are alleged to handle better than a saloon....
(guess wot I got )

 

Rich,

Over all though, do you regret buying the car? Don't the pros out weigh the cons?

Darren

 

Darren, if you can leave buying one for 6 mths to a year, prices of newer models will fall further (dunno how much further but they will), and you will cut chunks off insurance. I think you'll get a lot better car.

If you get a Sport, be prepared to stay with it for a few years or lose money when you change to the Turbo you always want.

I refused to buy a wagon for pride, got a Terzo (limited edition with no folding rear seats), then swore I would never buy a saloon car again when I realised just what I couldn't get in the back (bought a house, needed to furnish it). There is no real difference in handling, the cops look at you less (unless your name is Markus and you drive with pimp tints and a rear-mounted dustbin ), and you might find they're a bit cheaper than saloons.

Good luck

BJH

 

Apart from the odd big ones (cam belt at 35/70 Kish etc) servicing isn't too bad. No worse than say a honda civic vti. 7.5K service interval so you're looking at approx 1 little and 1 medium a year (say £100 and £150)

Tyres - say 12K a year and you enjoy yourself with a turbo - Probably fronts every year and rears every other year. Average £85/Corner for the 16" Wheels, Less for the very early 15", more for 17s

Insurance - start saving

MPG reckon on 22 on average - more on Mways - less when you enjoy yourself.

Deano

 

Darren - all valid points made above. In terms of insurance try Privilege insurance who seem to be good with youngish drivers, alternatively try Greenlight Insurance, Direct Line or Tesco.

A Tracker is a must IMHO if for nothing else than peace of mind although most insurance insist on one. Relatively cheap at the mo - 24 hour Protector is £78 up front and then £23.50 with RAC Trackstar.

Imprezas are not cheap cars to own but they certainly put many a smile on the old boat-race ... worth every penny!!

Cheers
Phil

 

Darren - no I dont *regret* buying the car....I do *regret* not thinking about things more....

 

11) The offset of the wheels for a 7" width is: ET45-53

 

Just though I'd add my comments before I hit the sack...

I started out with a 97 R sport. I personnaly wouldnt buy any of the smaller engined scoobs, as they are a heavy 4wd car and anything less than the 120bhp from the 2.0 will be slloooowwww and embarasing. Just try a justy to see what I mean

When I bought this car It had 54k miles and cost 8k from dealer. My insurance at 23 with 0 NCB, clean licence and 1 accident in 2000 was, are you sitting down for this? £1,500 (inc small interest for paying over 10 months). I must have been mad.

I traded this in this year for a 01 last of the line sport special (like a sport but with turbo interior). This has the facelifted model, with slightly revised engine etc. It has more power and IS faster than the pre facelift model (Ive had 130 out of it!! with optimax) however mpg is worse at about 29

I wanted a turbo and still do, but still cant get decent insurance, and am paying 950 with 1 NCB year now.

Whats my point? You wont get insured on a turbo for less than 2k. You dont need a tracker etc unless its a turbo in in high risk area. Buy from dealer. Buy as new as possible. Facelifted models are soooo much nicer inside and as I said, have more poke. Dont buy less than 2.0.

Lastly, it will cost you a fortune in mods!! Everyone has new front speaker, exhaust, fog covers/protectors, Salsa-King stickers etc etc he he

 

Thanks everyone.

I have been looking at insurance again as this is where it's going to hit me the hardest. For some reason the quote I did with www.quotelinedirect.com has jumped in price by £650. Not nice. This pushes it from me £2000 as mention above to £2600 for 1 years fully comp insurance!! More than I am willing to pay. I got the day off work tomorrow so I will have a ring round the usual companies but I don't expect to get much below this. If this is the case I will HAVE to forget about getting one for another year. Buying the car isn't a problem as I have got savings and get paid very well for my age, but when you whack on £220 just for insurance a month and then another £200 for petrol a month and another then servicing on top of that, I'd be broke and my savings and pension would have to stop.

Darren