Hi I thought my first post should be a combination of introduction and question!

My name is Adam and I am an Army mechanic currently posted to Woodbridge in Suffolk and I am thinking about getting an Impreza Wagon. once I have my Land Rover back together again and sold I will have just under £2000 and looking around in my budget there are classic turbos and early bugeye wrx's. I was wondering what would people suggest, am I better going for a more expensive, and hopefully better condition classic or a bug from the lower end of the price bracket?

I am looking for a uk model, close to unmodified or some minor mods mainly for insurance reasons but also to convince the wife that it is a sensible family car!

Adam

 

Classic is more of a raw driving feel and the bugeye is more refined. Best bet is to go and see a few and see which you prefer the drive of. Bugs have issue with rusty front subframes and the classics suffer for rusty rear arches.

 

Hi mate, just up the road from you! I went classic as its the car I grew up wanting to have, rust in the back is an issue with most but it can be fixed with the right method.

 

Classic also comes in 2 flavours original and facelift.

 

I must admit it was always the classic that I preferred but wife prefers the look of the bug, my friend has just got himself a 4 door and that was what prompted me to have a look at insurance, I couldnt believe that the quotes where not a lot higher than the mondeo diesel we have at the moment! So as I have just been promoted at work and we are doing less miles overall than we were is about time I got a car for driving rather than as a tool!

Apart from the obvious visual differences, what changes did they make between the pre and post facelift classics?

Where abouts are you blackvenom? is your a 4 door or wagon? Just read the writing next to your post! whereabouts in Ipswich are you?

 

The classic engine has 3 phases:
Phase 1 Enigne
Phase 1.5 Engine
Phase 2 Engine

I cant remember the differences in the 3 phases but know that the coil pack setup is different on all 3. The facelift as far as I know has only cosmtic changes i.e better looking

We also went for a Bug as the wife thought the classic looks too dated and the bug looks like a more modern looking styling. The Bugeye is a mamite version though, some people love the looks some people hate it.

I do own a facelift classic as well and as a drivers car I prefer the classic but for a family car I prefer the Bug.

 

Is the any issues with reliability on the bug that may be heightened by going for one at a lower end of the market? I will obviously be looking out for an owner who covers the basics, correct start up and switch off, decent oil etc

Adam

 

If you are trying to convince the wife it is a reasnable family car I would go with the Bug- it is more refined and comfortable but still retains the pace

 

OPSEC!

 

I have a my00 classic saloon, with the late facelift you get 440cc injectors and 4 pot brakes, early ones have 2pot and 330cc, I like the interior in the newer ones, I am located outside Ipswich, just up the a12 from woodbrige.

 

Shame you don't have funds now and just that bit extra as I am about to advertise my (genuine factory) WR blue Prodrive Bugeye WRX wagon for sale at £2500. Brilliant car with absolutely zero rust / corrosion, and only has 4 mild mods, which are gold BBS CH 18" style wheels, KnN panel filter, exedy STi clutch, and godspeed grooved discs all round. Its had thousands spent on it recently and within the last 2 years, gearbox, clutch, flywheel, cambelt, turbo, discs and pads all round, brand new goodyear eagle f1 assemetric 2's all round etc.... I'll be writing an advert for it in the next day or two and will post it in here.

 

Sounds lovely mate but I still have to put the engine and gearbox back in my land rover, then the interior, then a couple of other jobs in order to sell it, plus have got a Mates mini to get through its MOT!

 

Sounds like you've got your hands full there then mate!

 

It's a big mechano kit, shouldn't actually take more than a weekend, it's just finding a weekend with enough spare time to get it done!

 

I was looking at bugs today, does the bug wagon have different front wings to the saloon? It seems like the saloon has a crease/ flare that the wagon doesn't, is it possible to put the saloon wings on a wagon? Would a prodrive front bumper fit a wagon?

Many thanks

Adam

 

Yes it does but they are a straight swap

 

Your obviously not too bothered about the looks of the car or you wouldn't be looking for a wagon. If you like the bugeyes get one but not many people do. You can get a half decent bug for 2 grand but wouldn't be as good as a classic in that price range. The engine gearbox and turbo are the same in the facelift classics as the bugs. So its all down to which one you prefer the looks of inside and out.

 

I need the wagon to house the pushchair and other kit that goes with having two kids, I know it's still not a hugely massive boot but the little bit extra over the saloon is just enough and personally I don't think there is anything wrong with the looks of the wagon, everyone obviously has their own opinion, that's why we don't all drive around in identical cars! And although the bug eyes are less desirable, they still have their fans and I wanted people's opinion who had experience of both classic and bug, good and bad so I can make an informed decision! It mainly comes down to what is available when I have the money from my land rover in my hand!

Adam

 

Hi I'm also new on here so thought I'd offer my help here as one of the only posts I feel I know anything about.

I had to go through the same choices when I got my first turbo a couple of years back now and was shopping in the same price range. I need a Wagon as use it for work tranporting computer equipment up and down the country. My deciding factor ended up being based on insurance price, power and looks.

I didn't really like the look of Bug or blob eyes to begin so veered towards the classic as couldn't afford more. Kind of wished I had tried to save up for a blob eye or later though as had to spend about another grand on little bits and pieces since i've had it that probably wouldn't have been needed if I had saved up for later models.

Basically, as far as I could gather, if your getting a Turbo then they all versions were called a WRX when the bug eye ws introduced in 2001. Any WRX's before that were imported Turbo's. If you want a UK model then they were all labeled Turbo 2000 prior to that with the classic model's (might be that you could get a UK WRX STI model but I didn't look that far into it). If you get a UK Turbo 2000 then you save yourself about £250 on insurance with the Wagon's over the WRX badges ones.

The classics got a facelift in 1997 which changed bonnet and front vent along with plusher interior. My first car was a MY95 GL model which had the first interior and deffinately prefer the facelift over that but never compared to a bug.

The last two Manufacture Year's that the Classic was produced under Turbo 2000 then they altered the engine slightly, think it was change in cyclinder or piston diameter, strength and gave an extra few HP increase up to 218 from 210 (Don't quote me on these details though). Also a few other things were changed as mentioned in an earlier post such as 4 pots as standard on the front brakes.

These factors made me go for the MY99 UK Turbo 2000 Wagon. Got it with 100,000ish on the clock but with full service history and well looked after for £1700 and that was 2 years back.

Since having it I've had a few issues with the MAF and Oxygen sensor causing irregular boost which I hear is common with this age so something to look out for on top of rust. Also worth checking for ECU error's on test drive before buying if you can get an OBD2 reader.

 

Also, what ever you try and fool the wife into thinking, she will still always complain that it's too expensive or you drive too fast. But what does she know when she drives an F'ing Yaris?

 

I know it is a failed argument with the wife but once we have it bought then its easier to argue to keep it!

It does get complicated trying to distinguish between the models but I have done a lot of reading on this forum and other places on the net, I am going to stick with a uk model for insurance reasons and think about something a little faster and a little less practical in a few years time!

Adam

 

Classic every time. Lighter, same power and more fun to drive, looks better too.

 

That has always been my thought but I then saw that bugs had fallen into my price range and I love the look of te prodrive front bumpers and black headlights on a bug but the classic just has something about it!

 

no amount of prodrive goodies will make it as nice! its just the ugly kid in the family

 

I only bought a bugeye sti cos it was the better headlights! Rest of them are
Having had a uk turbo as well, the refinement in the bug is much better than the classic, although I had more fun throwing it around!
If your wife is like my husband, she will prefer the bug. Also depends on who will be driving it the most

 

Bug looks are growing on me big time! I now prefer the Bug STI to the Blob

 

Borrowing this picture from another thread on here, hope macmac doesn't mind me using his picture but this is the picture that makes me want a bugeye!

 

The Bug struggles for pace against a Classic!

 

The STi looks a world away from a WRX imo!

 

WRX