From nursery school taxi (GTI-6) to dog walking estate (WRX)

[Pugnacity]

Hi all, I have a lovely, original spec, diablo red 306 GTI-6 which I will soon be replacing for a 'dog walking' small estate car. The beast is no longer a puppy and needs a more respectful transportation experience and our family SUV is a bit high for her to jump into...
My thoughts are leaning heavily towards an Impreza WRX wagon/estate/hatch - I will have a £5k budget. This gives me a certain amount of choice in the blob-bug-hawk-eye range, which would be raaather nice...
What issues are there that I need to look out for? I understand both the 2.0l and 2.5l engines have their merits and disadvantages relating to power delivery and transmission.
What tips do people have (or things they'd wished they'd checked...!) when visiting potential purchases?
Please pour out all (useful) love/bile as I want to go into this with my eyes open :-)
Many thanks!

Edited by Pugnacity on Wednesday 10th July 11:39

Edited by Pugnacity on Wednesday 10th July 12:17

[Xcore]

Forester. Impreza wagons are very small at the back due to the sloping window. How bigs the dog?

2.0 over the 2.5 as the ringlands on the 2.5 are a weak point.

[S100HP]

The estate isn't actually that big.
Watch out for rust.
The Hawkeye is in the high tax bracket (£550pa)
They feel very dated
They rust
Don't buy one blind from Scotland
Don't buy this one https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Col325]

My vote would be for a Legacy 3.0RSpec B estate instead a lot bigger than the Imprezas and they do go well...just sold one a few moths ago lovely wagon with full stainless exhaust for £5K lots of car and they do go well. I also have Nile 6 and E39 530d tourer for the heavy lifting. FWIW watch the tax band on the Legacy we sold was £500 odd for the year

[defblade]

Another vote for the Legacy - understated, overperforming... or not, depending on engine choice.
aka the WRX's grown-up brother, especially in Spec-B form.
(And I happen to know there'll be at least one nice twinscroll GT Spec-B on the market shortly for exactly your budget ... it could even come with a dog guard )

[Pugnacity]

Xcore said:

Forester. Impreza wagons are very small at the back due to the sloping window. How bigs the dog?

2.0 over the 2.5 as the ringlands on the 2.5 are a weak point.

XCore - thanks. Have taken that on board :-) She's a Large Munsterlander - essentially a long haired German pointer... so quite big. We're not talking handbag sized, fashion accessory...
Foresters I have thought of too, but we have an old Lexus RX and was concerned our driveway may look a little "Country Life" to the neighbours!

Edited by Pugnacity on Friday 12th July 20:10

[Pugnacity]

S100HP said:

The estate isn't actually that big.
Watch out for rust.
The Hawkeye is in the high tax bracket (£550pa)
They feel very dated
They rust
Don't buy one blind from Scotland
Don't buy this one https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

S100P - took me a while to realise it was your own thread! I haven't yet read all 18 pages, but got the gist after 2... what a mare!

[Pugnacity]

Col325 said:

My vote would be for a Legacy 3.0RSpec B estate instead a lot bigger than the Imprezas and they do go well...just sold one a few moths ago lovely wagon with full stainless exhaust for £5K lots of car and they do go well. I also have Nile 6 and E39 530d tourer for the heavy lifting. FWIW watch the tax band on the Legacy we sold was £500 odd for the year

At heart I'm a bit raucous, though my exterior would suggest mid-forties, small-town solicitor with aspirations of local council election (though I work in IT) so hence the Impreza option... Are the R spec B Legacys quick in reality? I see figures of 0-60 6.5secs, or is it "on the go" shove that they are good for?

[Pugnacity]

defblade said:

Another vote for the Legacy - understated, overperforming... or not, depending on engine choice.
aka the WRX's grown-up brother, especially in Spec-B form.
(And I happen to know there'll be at least one nice twinscroll GT Spec-B on the market shortly for exactly your budget ... it could even come with a dog guard )

Ooooh, defblade... that sounds interesting... I do like the thought of the twin scroll Legacys (or should that be Legacies - like Lexus-Lexi conundrum) - any issues with teh twin scrolls? They're Jap imports aren't they? So parts, servicing, insurance, etc all okay?
Keep me posted...

[ZX10R NIN]

Saab Aero Wagon

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Insignia Elite

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

300C 3.5 Lux

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Legacy

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

530i M Sport

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

4.2 A6 Avant

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Mondeo ST220

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Accord EX

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[defblade]

Pugnacity said:

defblade said:

Another vote for the Legacy - understated, overperforming... or not, depending on engine choice.
aka the WRX's grown-up brother, especially in Spec-B form.
(And I happen to know there'll be at least one nice twinscroll GT Spec-B on the market shortly for exactly your budget ... it could even come with a dog guard )

Ooooh, defblade... that sounds interesting... I do like the thought of the twin scroll Legacys (or should that be Legacies - like Lexus-Lexi conundrum) - any issues with teh twin scrolls? They're Jap imports aren't they? So parts, servicing, insurance, etc all okay?
Keep me posted...

Lots of info over at uklegacy.com
Most parts very available, I've also grabbed a spare VF38 turbo that came up as they are a bit uncommon from "known good" cars... hopefully means I'll never need to use it
Servicing needs to be regular (like any other turbo Scoobie (or even any other performance turbo)) preferably with decent quality oil, but otherwise they only have the same issues as any other car, really.
Insurance is very reasonable for me, about £20 more than the E39 530i it replaced.

[Scottchester]

That insignia posted above look great, proper sleeper. Looks like a mid spec diesel.

I almost pushed the button on a legacy myself but couldnt afford the twin scroll, was scarred of the mpg in 3.0 and I test drove a 2.0 n/a but it was very slow (was the later 162 bhp as well).
But practicality wise they are great, they are huge but feel smaller on the road and the low seating position low roof line mean they still feel quite sporty to drive.
The Uklegacy forum is awesome and there is a good "what to look for / buyers guide" thread which is worth a read.
The twin Scrolls are awesome but need to be mapped to UK fuel and ran on super as they are all imports

[untakenname]

ZX10R NIN said:

Saab Aero Wagon

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

I've had a Saab and now own a blobeye WRX Wagon, the Saab felt more modern, has better rust proofing and far better NVH insulation plus is cheaper to run (better mpg and can run on normal unleaded) and with stage three (remap, intercooler and downpipe) modifications is genuinely a fast car, downsides are that parts cost more and there's less specialists around compared with Subaru.

Unless you're going off road or driving hard in the wet then the Saab is the more sensible bet imo.

[defblade]

Scottchester said:

The twin Scrolls are awesome but need to be mapped to UK fuel and ran on super as they are all imports

Or run on 99RON (Momentum/V-power). I've had mine the best part of 3 years, and despite carrying a couple of bottles of proper octane booster just in case, I've never been caught out.

[Pugnacity]

defblade said:

Lots of info over at uklegacy.com
Most parts very available, I've also grabbed a spare VF38 turbo that came up as they are a bit uncommon from "known good" cars... hopefully means I'll never need to use it
Servicing needs to be regular (like any other turbo Scoobie (or even any other performance turbo)) preferably with decent quality oil, but otherwise they only have the same issues as any other car, really.
Insurance is very reasonable for me, about £20 more than the E39 530i it replaced.

Will take a look at uklegacy :-)

[Pugnacity]

S100HP said:

The estate isn't actually that big.
Watch out for rust.
The Hawkeye is in the high tax bracket (£550pa)
They feel very dated
They rust
Don't buy one blind from Scotland
Don't buy this one https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

S100HP Out of interest, did you actually end up with a decent WRX? or have you been put off for ever?

[S100HP]

Pugnacity said:

S100HP said:

The estate isn't actually that big.
Watch out for rust.
The Hawkeye is in the high tax bracket (£550pa)
They feel very dated
They rust
Don't buy one blind from Scotland
Don't buy this one https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

S100HP Out of interest, did you actually end up with a decent WRX? or have you been put off for ever?

Put off forever. Wouldn't have one if it was given to me now.

[Pugnacity]

S100HP said:

Put off forever. Wouldn't have one if it was given to me now.

I'm still reading your thread. It's a bit of a tragi-com... particularly enjoying the memory of watching Argentina and Portugal being knocked out of the world cup. Small consolation for your problems, but a tonic of sorts I'm sure ;-) You should be writing for a magazine!

[defblade]

Pugnacity said:

defblade said:

Another vote for the Legacy - understated, overperforming... or not, depending on engine choice.
aka the WRX's grown-up brother, especially in Spec-B form.
(And I happen to know there'll be at least one nice twinscroll GT Spec-B on the market shortly for exactly your budget ... it could even come with a dog guard )

Ooooh, defblade... that sounds interesting... I do like the thought of the twin scroll Legacys (or should that be Legacies - like Lexus-Lexi conundrum) - any issues with teh twin scrolls? They're Jap imports aren't they? So parts, servicing, insurance, etc all okay?
Keep me posted...

Here you go:

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

[Pugnacity]

defblade said:

Here you go:

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

Ah wow! It looks really nice. I'm not sure I'm in a position to do anything till after the summer hols as simply won't be about to smarten up and sell the Pug and visit anywhere to buy another motor... which is a shame as it's rare to find an ad with so much detail, care and attention. Added to which you're from Wales! which is where I hail from so therefore you MUST be the real deal ;-)
I'd be tempted though I have to say