Newbie looking for an Impreza

[cboi23]

Ok so Im a Ford man at heart and know pretty much next to nothing when it came to Imprezas, but now Im in the position to afford a decent 2.0 turbo as much as I would like a Cosworth there getting a bit dated now and it seems for bang for your buck Imprezas are a good start. So my question is for around £6500 whats the best to go for? After a bit of research into them I def dont want a bug eye one and would obv prefer a STI. I am going to go onto the scooby sites to ask as well but seeing as I was pistonheads I'd thought I'd ask here first, cheers for any advice Andy

[rhinochopig]

Best bang for buck in terms of age vs performance is the bug eye - they're ugly so are less desirable. Don't overlook them - they're all pretty ugly cars so you should be buying on spec not looks.

For that money hough you could squeeze into a P1, which would be my choice (a friend paid 6k for his and amazingly it's in good fettle). OK they're older, but look at them - they much better looking the newer cars.

Have you thought about an Evo too. 6k will get you a V or possibly a VI, which are a better drivers car IMO.

Edited by rhinochopig on Monday 15th November 13:20

[paulmoonraker]

You wont get a decent blobeye STi for that money, but you may get a WRX PPP that’s fairly new (04/05). Here is my old one for sale (I am not selling it, so I am not trying to plug it

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/www/cars_popup.js...

Great car. A WRX PPP is a great car, or just get a bogo WRX and get the mods done (which will be more expensive than the difference between a bogo WRX and WRX PPP). You may get a bugeye STi for that money, but the look is a more acquired taste.

Edited by paulmoonraker on Monday 15th November 13:46

[cboi23]

Thanks for that I did think about the P1 but would rather have a post 2000 car and as much as the bug eye is like the blob I just dont like them so would rather have the blob.After another look about it seems your right I wont get a STI for that money so I think I'll go for a decent WRX. The PPP one does look good as have been down the mod-it-yourself route and would rather buy the car with the extra bhp already. What does the PPP push the power up too and is it just engine modification or is the suspension uprated too?

[cboi23]

Dont worry about the last bit have had a read up on the PPP package and will probably go for one of these. Blue would be the colour I'll probably go for, not really a silver man

[paulmoonraker]

The PPP on a WRX takes the power from around 225 to 265 (I may be a tad out on those numbers, and if so, somebody will correct me). The PPP totally transforms a WRX, and off the line makes it nearly as fast as an unmodified STi. They are also easy to insure as most insurers recognise the PPP.

You can do the equivalent of a PPP yourself, and many will argue (correctly) that you get better results. However, the price difference between a WRX and PPP will be far less than the sum cost of all the parts (even if you ebay).

Blue will cost a bit more I think.

Great car, you wont regret it at all. I had one for 2 years and loved it.

[Octoposse]

paulmoonraker said:

The PPP on a WRX takes the power from around 225 to 265 (I may be a tad out on those numbers, and if so, somebody will correct me). The PPP totally transforms a WRX, and off the line makes it nearly as fast as an unmodified STi. They are also easy to insure as most insurers recognise the PPP.

Agreed - my 2005 WRX with PPP claimed 261 bhp (say 220 at the wheels at 30,000 miles in real life). In terms of driveability the PPP was great - enough low down power to make bimbling through traffic with baby in the back easy, but relentless top end surge for A road overtakes.

Having said that, the suspension on my (Blobeye) WRX was softer than an STI, so handling less crisp. But with SL spec it had leather, heated front seats and electric sunroof which I wanted. P-e-r-s-o-n-a-l-l-y I think the Blobeye the best looking Scoob ever - an SL Blob would definately be in your price range now.

My other suggestion would be a mint cared for Classic from a loving home.

[NorthDownsScooby]

If your intending to mod what you buy in the future then I would go for the highest spec un-modded one you can. For example, see if you can find a standard STI rather than a modded WRX - may be difficult at your price point but if you can it'll save you money in the long run as you'll need to upgrade fewer components to get the power you're looking for.

Rich

[kayzee]

I just got myself a 2003 STI PPP (blobeye) for £7000, so the prices are getting there haven't actually picked it up yet, get it this Saturday!

Excited, although not at the prices of this thing (fuel/insurance/servicing/TAX) but I think it's gonna be worth it. The speed of the thing and handling is just immense...

[paulmoonraker]

kayzee said:

I just got myself a 2003 STI PPP (blobeye) for £7000, so the prices are getting there haven't actually picked it up yet, get it this Saturday!

Excited, although not at the prices of this thing (fuel/insurance/servicing/TAX) but I think it's gonna be worth it. The speed of the thing and handling is just immense...

Thats a keen price... what the milage on it? Colour?

I paid just shy of 11.5K from a dealer for my MY05 STi DCCD with 31K on the clock.

[JFReturns]

Personally I think a bugeye with prodrive lights is the third best looking scoob... However, if the OP really does not want one, then WRX PPP is the way to go.

[kayzee]

paulmoonraker said:

kayzee said:

I just got myself a 2003 STI PPP (blobeye) for £7000, so the prices are getting there haven't actually picked it up yet, get it this Saturday!

Excited, although not at the prices of this thing (fuel/insurance/servicing/TAX) but I think it's gonna be worth it. The speed of the thing and handling is just immense...

Thats a keen price... what the milage on it? Colour?

I paid just shy of 11.5K from a dealer for my MY05 STi DCCD with 31K on the clock.

It's mielage that killed it, 90k. But only one owner from new and full service history from a Subaru specalist... it's mint oh and it's white, very rare I hear! Got the Prodrive wheels on it too.

By the way this whole MY thing that I see over on Scoobynet, is that simply the year of your car? For instance do I say mine's a MY03!?

[NorthDownsScooby]

MY = Model Year.

Doesn't necessarility refer to the year the car was first registered. For example my car was first reg in Sept 05, so is technically a '55 (if it was reg in the UK)...but it is the '06 model issue, hence MY06.

The new Impreza (sorry WRX STI) that is on sale now is the MY11.

In a similar vein, my first Blobeye Impreza - a WRX300 - was Sept '05 (a 55) but was MY05....the MY06 being the Hawkeye.

Edited by NorthDownsScooby on Wednesday 17th November 12:16

[mmcd87]

If you can find a nice WRX PPP I would go for that. I'm finding mine much better than I ever thought I would, though it isn't the cheapest of cars to run (tax/insurance/fuel). Mine is a wagon, which seems to slip under the radar nicely for the many not in the know.

You have to ask whether you want to modify the car in future. If yes, perhaps a PPP car is probably not for you (unless you can get a similar condition PPP for the same price as a regular WRX).

The beauty of a PPP car is that it offers the piece of mind of Subaru approved reliability. I'm not trying to tell you that a tuner couldn't extract more performance safely, just that PPP takes into account all operating conditions, and should be fine under standard servicing.

Evo Magazine often stated that they thought the car was a better steer than the STI under road conditions -
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/3564...

You generally will find that most PPP cars make poor figures on rolling roads - this is due to the ECU cutting boost, etc due to the increased intake temps. Many maps will not do this and many people don't realise. Mine certainly feels fit for all its horses.

I would try and get a 2005 facelift 'blobeye' WRX, with the facelift interior and various other tweaks.

Edited by mmcd87 on Wednesday 17th November 16:31

[paulmoonraker]

Something else to consider is how often you are going to use it. For a daily driver then the WRX PPP is great - I did 40K over two years and it was fine, and relatively speaking okay on fuel. My STi however is a non-starter for a DD, unless you have deep pockets and a very soft, shock absorbing behind.

If you look on the prodrive site you can see the BHP and Torque graphs - look at the torque improvement - its that what makes the PPP feel so quick.

[stevieb]

Here is one for u.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2052632.htm

[paulmoonraker]

112K miles! Certainly not a DD, and more of a weekend toy perhaps!

[stevieb]

Don't be afraid of high milage on a scooby.

1 owner from new and all services at the same dealer. You won't get a better history than that.

Edited by stevieb on Wednesday 17th November 21:22

[cboi23]

Again thanks for all the comments and help. I think the WRX PPP is the one for me. I've already been down the moddifying your car with aftermarket tuners road and would prefer to come already slighty uprated with the PPP. So I think the best thing to do is find the best one I can. I'm not in any major rush to change so will give me time to fine the right one. I dont mind having to find a few more ££'s for it so what is the best one I'm looking to get? From reading the comments it seems a blobeye with the interior faclift is the one to go for? ps Are the running costs that bad? Obviously a 2.0 turbo is going to be quite healthy on the fuel front, but what sort of MPG am I looking at, and are the service bills that bad? These arnt major questions really as I want one whatever but suppose I should ask just in case lol.pps yes this will be my daily driver thanks again Andy

[stevieb]

Have a look at my garage, i ran an impreza WRX for 60k miles never really had a major problem with it in that time.

My average was 23mpg. Around 30mpg on motorways and 18 around town.