along the "brand snobbery" line....

[y2blade]

would you avoid buying a car with a chavy reputation if it was something that suited your needs?

or would you look elsewhere?

[kambites]

y2blade said:

would you avoid buying a car with a chavy reputation if it was something that suited your needs?

or would you look elsewhere?

Wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

ETA: However having to put up with the attention associated with is, is definitely something that I would take into account.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 2nd February 10:25

[motoroller]

y2blade said:

would you avoid buying a car with a chavy reputation if it was something that suited your needs?

or would you look elsewhere?

Example?

[briSk]

you're thinking about a rally weapon aren;t you?!

i think sod it but you have to expect people to look at you as though you carry a carpet knife and drink in pubs with setanta.

or you could go down the well trodden Forester with impreza sti suspension route if you don't mind looking like a welsh postman pat.

[Papa Hotel]

Savo VTR, MG ZR, Subaru Impreza, Evo, that sort of thing?

I might buy a VTR as a fun cheap runaround, definitely not a ZR but that's because I had one and didn't love it and there are thousands of alternatives to the 2 rally reps that are as much fun to drive, better equipped, more comfortable, cheaper to buy, insure and fuel and better screwed together. Might not go so quickly but I'd rather not bother.

Would the chav image put me off? Not on its own, but it'd give me more to think about.

Edited by Papa Hotel on Tuesday 2nd February 10:26

[motoroller]

Most cars (completely stock) are fine. If it came with any of the following, I wouldn't buy it.

LED washer jets
Loud exhaust
Wheels that are more than 4" bigger than stock
Any form of vinyl stickers
Aftermarket bodykit / spoiler

Those are all fairly bad signs - the car will look stupid and most likely be thrashed.

[CampDavid]

I bought my Saxo VTS almost because of it's chav rep. It was a fairly heavily modified car and would stick to almost anything on the B roads of the Cotswold's and was such enormous fun.

HOWEVER - You do occasionally get followed by panda cars for absolutely no reason what so ever. I've only been pulled over once ("random" drink drive breath test) but it does grate. Coming back home from work late at night always seemed to cause the police to assume I may be going off to sit in a car park somewhere and do hand brake turns.

Car wasn't externally modified to any great extent (fractionally lower, OZ wheels to clear the brakes and a fractionally louder exhaust) but it still got plenty of attention which I've never had, before or since, in any other car.

[y2blade]

briSk said:

you're thinking about a rally weapon aren;t you?!

yes was looking at Version 1-6 Imprezas or even a Version 7

have looked at loads of bdised and chaved up ones on Autotrader and tbh it has pretty much put me off ...

...in a "I don't want to be a part of that" kind of way

to top it off, on Sunday was out for a bit of a run in my T5 and came across a Version 7 Impreza, it was Blue with bright yellow 555 and Subaru rally stickers all over it and bright Yellow extended mudflaps...I just thought "what a COCK"

[Seez]

y2blade said:

would you avoid buying a car with a chavy reputation if it was something that suited your needs?

or would you look elsewhere?

Yes, I would never buy a Bristol

Sorry couldnt resist

[Tangent Police]

y2blade said:

briSk said:

you're thinking about a rally weapon aren;t you?!

yes was looking at Version 1-6 Imprezas or even a Version 7

have looked at loads of bdised and chaved up ones on Autotrader and tbh it has pretty much put me off ...

...in a "I don't want to be a part of that" kind of way

to top it off, on Sunday was out for a bit of a run in my T5 and came across a Version 7 Impreza, it was Blue with bright yellow 555 and Subaru rally stickers all over it and bright Yellow extended mudflaps...I just thought "what a COCK"

Sounds great. You have a duty to a rally weapon, which is to make it very much so. Are you going to use it as a weapon, or just to look 'ard?

[Agoogy]

I had an stock Imprezza back in 2001.
Non-turbo. Loved it.

I would dearly love an RB5
or an Ice blue STi

The fact that that most WRXs are more affordable and therefore ruined and abused by daft graphics and OTT exhausts doesn't mean that I still don't take a second look at a clean, well cared for Scoob.

[bazking69]

Stereotypes don't really bother me.

I wouldn't own a Wayne Rooney orange Focus ST purely because I don't like the look of them, but I'd happily own say an old shape Civic Type R.

[Woodstar]

Ah, you want stereotypes?

Here you go

[y2blade]

kambites said:

y2blade said:

would you avoid buying a car with a chavy reputation if it was something that suited your needs?

or would you look elsewhere?

Wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

ETA: However having to put up with the attention associated with is, is definitely something that I would take into account.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 2nd February 10:25

that is the thing!

it is the opposite with my current car

you just pass by without anyone really batting an eyelid, people let you out of junctions and move-over on the motorway, it doesn't draw any unwanted attention when parked up or when driven at a fair rate of knots for that matter

[briSk]

y2blade said:

...in a "I don't want to be a part of that" kind of way

to top it off, on Sunday was out for a bit of a run in my T5 and came across a Version 7 Impreza, it was Blue with bright yellow 555 and Subaru rally stickers all over it and bright Yellow extended mudflaps...I just thought "what a COCK"

i totally empathise with you.
my cousin and i were driving a long one day and an impreza was accelerating hard the other way and we both made the p-choow noise as the revs rose..and it didn;t happen as he changed gear..! the amount of extra 'respect' for NOT having the chavvy noisy dump valve goes to show what your expectations are..!

[Smiler.]

y2blade said:

briSk said:

you're thinking about a rally weapon aren;t you?!

yes was looking at Version 1-6 Imprezas or even a Version 7

have looked at loads of bdised and chaved up ones on Autotrader and tbh it has pretty much put me off ...

...in a "I don't want to be a part of that" kind of way

to top it off, on Sunday was out for a bit of a run in my T5 and came across a Version 7 Impreza, it was Blue with bright yellow 555 and Subaru rally stickers all over it and bright Yellow extended mudflaps...I just thought "what a COCK"

I reckon I saw that the other day parked across the entrance to the office park. I did think "attention we", but I also thought it looked quite good ("car-smut" alert).

How was it being driven (or was it similarly parked)?

[gazchap]

If you're thinking of a rally weapon but want something a bit different that doesn't seem to attract such a "chavvy" reputation, why not take a look at a Celica GT-Four? The later model, the ST205, is shockingly cheap to buy now and as long as all of the main failure points have been sorted they're a good buy and should go for a long time to come.

Mine hasn't been modified much, the last person to own it in Japan fitted a performance exhaust to it which is louder than some but not overly loud (only 87db static) and it's enormous fun to drive. None of the "chav brigade" really seem to know what it is either which is a bonus, and I hardly ever see another one around so rarity is a factor.

[y2blade]

Smiler. said:

y2blade said:

briSk said:

you're thinking about a rally weapon aren;t you?!

yes was looking at Version 1-6 Imprezas or even a Version 7

have looked at loads of bdised and chaved up ones on Autotrader and tbh it has pretty much put me off ...

...in a "I don't want to be a part of that" kind of way

to top it off, on Sunday was out for a bit of a run in my T5 and came across a Version 7 Impreza, it was Blue with bright yellow 555 and Subaru rally stickers all over it and bright Yellow extended mudflaps...I just thought "what a COCK"

I reckon I saw that the other day parked across the entrance to the office park. I did think "attention we", but I also thought it looked quite good ("car-smut" alert).

How was it being driven (or was it similarly parked)?

it was being driven like the proverbial ......

as are most the Imprezas I've seen on the road come to mention it

Edited by y2blade on Tuesday 2nd February 10:51

[y2blade]

gazchap said:

If you're thinking of a rally weapon but want something a bit different that doesn't seem to attract such a "chavvy" reputation, why not take a look at a Celica GT-Four? The later model, the ST205, is shockingly cheap to buy now and as long as all of the main failure points have been sorted they're a good buy and should go for a long time to come.

Mine hasn't been modified much, the last person to own it in Japan fitted a performance exhaust to it which is louder than some but not overly loud (only 87db static) and it's enormous fun to drive. None of the "chav brigade" really seem to know what it is either which is a bonus, and I hardly ever see another one around so rarity is a factor.

I'm not necessarily after a "rally weapon" just a AWD car that goes well

have been looking out for Celica GT-Fours but the old ones (not round headlight) are pretty few and far between

Edited by y2blade on Tuesday 2nd February 10:55

[Agoogy]

Integrale!