Subaru Impreza WRX STi

[R6jonny]

Looking at getting an '03 ish Impreza.

Going to try and test drive one tomorow, anyone had experience of these. Any things i need to look out for/Pros and cons of owning one.

Anyone got one they are selling etc etc...
____________________
Honda NSR125 - Yamaha R6 - Ducati 748 - Suzuki GSXR750K6/GSXR1000K7/GSXR750K8 - Ducati 848 - Honda SP1 - Triumph Daytona 675
"simply because she is a female and is thus her actions largely make no sense whatsoever by default"

[Dischord]

I've had a brief experience of one, it absolutely trashed me on a backroad They go around corners so well, and all round are just fast as fuck.

I wouldn't like to run one on a daily basis though, weekend car only if I was to own one. I like the 3dr Type R or possibly a P1 but they are quite unreliable from what I hear and only made until 2001 or so.

I've looked into them a bit and from what I've read the newer ones are nice and reliale aslong as they are serviced every 4000 miles or so I think.
____________________
2012 KTM EXC 250

Check out my vids - https://www.youtube.com/user/KTMSparky/videos

[R6jonny]

4000 miles per service ?!? Thats shorter than my Ducati was, cant be right surely.

It wont be a toy, it will share commuting duties with the SP1 so needs to be fairly reliable
____________________
Honda NSR125 - Yamaha R6 - Ducati 748 - Suzuki GSXR750K6/GSXR1000K7/GSXR750K8 - Ducati 848 - Honda SP1 - Triumph Daytona 675
"simply because she is a female and is thus her actions largely make no sense whatsoever by default"

[Dischord]

From what I've read an oil change every 4-6k seems to be the norm on an STi, probably slightly longer on the WRX. I've no idea why it's so short, they're pushing a nice ammount of power but it does seem extreme.
____________________
2012 KTM EXC 250

Check out my vids - https://www.youtube.com/user/KTMSparky/videos

[Valentino Mossy]

[G]

I considered them but ended up with an E36 m3 for various reasons - similar league and definitely worth considering for a fastish road car.
More sensible service intervals and fuel economy. E46 has come down in price a fair bit, too.
General consensus was that the rally cars, oddly enough, were a little better on real back-roads, while the beemer's and similar a bit better on A-roads.

[R6jonny]

G, i have always wanted an E46 M3 and they are fairly reasonable now but have quite high mileages for my budget otherwise i would have one. The E36's just dont ring my bell

Also the problems with my current E46 3 series have put me off a bit. The insurance is well over a grand for an M car too.

Got a quote for an 03 Impreza at £720ish full comp, 25yo 5yrs NCB in South East London added my girlfriend on which helped!

Fuel consumption is an issue that i will just have to accept. I want a fast car and now is probably by best opportunity. No kids/mortgage and pretty good disposable income. Actually i have no major outgoings whatsoever so not a major issue.

I am looking at a couple tomorow with 45-50k miles on them in classic Impreza blue so will get a feel for them and go from there.

Cheers for the Scooby forum link too!
____________________
Honda NSR125 - Yamaha R6 - Ducati 748 - Suzuki GSXR750K6/GSXR1000K7/GSXR750K8 - Ducati 848 - Honda SP1 - Triumph Daytona 675
"simply because she is a female and is thus her actions largely make no sense whatsoever by default"

[Phoenix]

At least with an M3 you've got no turbo and cambelt to worry about and i'd bet on it being a hell of a lot more reliable too, resale is better aswell.

Oil service intervals of about 5000 is fairly normal for a sportscar, a bog standard diesel has oil services of 8-10K. Actual engine servicing isn't unusually frequent on Imprezas afaik it's Lancer Evos that have the silly intervals apparently, no idea what they are though.

[the grim reaper]

It is the Evo that has services every 4k miles, the Subaru is every 8k, at least it was when I owned one.

Things to look out for are the fuel pump, the wiring on the classic runs under the rear seat, if you sit a fat blooke behind the driver, expect the connector to work loose and then the car sometimes won't start. The actual fuel pumps are weak as well, there is an upgrade which, with bigger injectors and a free flowing air filter is a cheap power boost.

Make sure that the crank oil seal has been done (at the front of the engine) as these go quite often and it's a cambelt out job to fix it. Also make sure the cambelt has been done at the correct interval, as it's a flat four the belt is quite pricey (it's long) and the intervals are relatively short, if I remember correctly.

Cheers

Grim
____________________
Adverts don't always work: Remember that advert, where the army are running across the desert and they have a wounded man on a stretcher. They get to a ravine, the bridge is down and a caption pops up that says, 'What are you thinking?'. I don't know about you but I was thinking, 'Christ, I'm glad I'm not in the f***ing army'.

[MarJay]

I've got a 2001 WRX. Its not an STi but it does 23mpg. Bear that in mind when you think that fuel prices are supposed to be going up to £1.15 per litre soon, and you have to run it on Super to get the best from it really.

Also bear in mind that the standard WRX can be remapped to 270bhp with a few mods, which is what the STi makes as standard. The WRX is also more practical with better steering lock and a slightly lighter clutch.

According to Honest John turbos and clutches can be due for replacement at 50k miles, but I've never heard of that actually being the case with a real owner.

They are good cars, but the STi is too showy and the MPG is crippling me on my plain old WRX.

If you want to buy a Bugeye WRX I know of one for sale!!
____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[RatBlack]

I considered an STi but the running costs were just to scary. Couple of mates who drive them for the job said they could sometimes get fuel to as low as 10mpg

I decided to go for a VRS Octavia instead. Awesome car!!

BUT if you can afford to insure, fuel, service and run the car then get one.
____________________
Robocop "Dead or alive, you're coming with me."

[Wave2k]

If its a toy you are after john.

Consider a Vauxhall VX220 Turbo (dont worry its really a lotus)

Standard trim VX220 tubby

4.7 to 0.60 and lotus handling to match and weighs 800kgs

Subaru STI is 5.3 to 60 and doesnt handle as well and weighs a hefty 1475kgs

Basically the Scooby will guzzle fuel, cost loads to service and be LESS fun the a VX220 which its only downside is space, still enough to go shopping in though.

and remember, turbos are easy to get re-mapped, a 240bhp VX will be a handful though.


I hate scoobys personally, plenty better cars to be had, the VX is just one of them.
____________________
Ducati 1299 Panigale
2009 Corvette C6 z51
RS125->CBR400->RXS100->GSXR750K2->Ducati749S->CBR600RR5->TL1000R->DRz400->RSVR1000->Honda VTR SP1->CBR400->GSXR1000K6->Honda H100->CBR600RR3->Ducati1299

[R6jonny]

Yeah i pretty much realise its gonna get expensive but i want a fast car and they all cost. The VX220 i thought about before but i just cannot get in and out of them without looking like a twat.

I would like a tiny bit of practicality as i often end up carrying lots of stuff for no good reason, so the Scooby fits that.
Drove an 03 STI today, completely standard and i was very impressed. Fastest accelerating car i have driven, which doesnt say a lot but i absolutely loved it and fell in love a bit. Gonna have a couple of days thinking about it now

Fingers crossed for the new job with plenty of overtime potential for the fuel bills!!
____________________
Honda NSR125 - Yamaha R6 - Ducati 748 - Suzuki GSXR750K6/GSXR1000K7/GSXR750K8 - Ducati 848 - Honda SP1 - Triumph Daytona 675
"simply because she is a female and is thus her actions largely make no sense whatsoever by default"

[R6jonny]

[andyscooter]

dont know quite what he was getting mpg or what spec it was exactly but bro in law had one

cost him 60 quid a week to go to work and back just in fuel it was ten miles each way

[Wave2k]

Small cars are so much better than big ones, handle better ,easier to park, better mpg.
____________________
Ducati 1299 Panigale
2009 Corvette C6 z51
RS125->CBR400->RXS100->GSXR750K2->Ducati749S->CBR600RR5->TL1000R->DRz400->RSVR1000->Honda VTR SP1->CBR400->GSXR1000K6->Honda H100->CBR600RR3->Ducati1299

[Valentino Mossy]

Just a query, who was the insurance quote with ? Mines up for renewal in 2 months..

Cheers...
____________________
Ducati 916,white framed corse replica https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=239309
Ducati 160 monza jnr soon to be cafe racer
https://blauschatfroums.freeforums.net/

[G]

Why not try and get a few more test drives in that time?

Not sure about your budget, but considered a TVR? I quite like the idea of a a Cerbera. Plenty of people do use them daily, though they don't have a great reliability reputation. Power/weight ratio is very good - well better than pretty much any even slightly considerable production car. Apparently 'requires skill' right on the limit, but good before that.
The interior is an acquired taste, but I like it personally.

[R6jonny]

[Valentino Mossy]

Are you looking at import impreza's ?
Cause the insurance is alot higher... Try looking at uk turbo's instead.
215+ bhp roughly for the uk's (classics)

I was going to buy an evo 4 instead of the scooby, but after looking for a while and coming across some really rough ones i settled for the scooby. Again Evo's are more bhp then the uk turbos and cost more to run,insure and maintain.

Some people say by getting a uk car then getting a bigger bhp import the next year it brings the cost of your insurance down.
____________________
Ducati 916,white framed corse replica https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=239309
Ducati 160 monza jnr soon to be cafe racer
https://blauschatfroums.freeforums.net/

[rac3r]

OP I have an E46 M3 for sale (well it's my uncles) it's an SMG 'individual' in Silverstone (the colour). If you want more info let me know
____________________
Bikes : 2006 CBR125R - 2004 Monster 620ie - 2004 ZX-6R B1H - 2005 Monster S2R 800 - 2011 Street Triple - 2009 Streetfighter 1098 - 2014 ZX-6R 636

[R6jonny]

Go on then rac3r, you might as well tempt me with the details

Seeing as i fucked up and got the insurance numbers wrong
____________________
Honda NSR125 - Yamaha R6 - Ducati 748 - Suzuki GSXR750K6/GSXR1000K7/GSXR750K8 - Ducati 848 - Honda SP1 - Triumph Daytona 675
"simply because she is a female and is thus her actions largely make no sense whatsoever by default"

[R6jonny]

[rac3r]

He has the pics but here's what I can remember:

05' E46 M3 individual SMG
42k on the clock (roughly)
Silverstone with contrasting interior
Sat nav
Harmon/Kardon
Xenon angel eyes professionally fitted
Fully loaded basically

This is the day he got it:

https://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv299/rac3r786/M3.jpg

Sorry for being a bit sketchy on the details but I need to speak to him, which will be tomorrow. Asking price is about £20k, you won't find one like it

____________________
Bikes : 2006 CBR125R - 2004 Monster 620ie - 2004 ZX-6R B1H - 2005 Monster S2R 800 - 2011 Street Triple - 2009 Streetfighter 1098 - 2014 ZX-6R 636

[R6jonny]

£20k looks spot on mate but its about twice as much as the scooby i am looking at and a bit out of my price range, cheers though
____________________
Honda NSR125 - Yamaha R6 - Ducati 748 - Suzuki GSXR750K6/GSXR1000K7/GSXR750K8 - Ducati 848 - Honda SP1 - Triumph Daytona 675
"simply because she is a female and is thus her actions largely make no sense whatsoever by default"