Insuring an Impreza

[white_goodman]

I'm thinking of changing my Polo for an Impreza WRX hatch/estate(2003-2006 vintage). Originally, I was after a mk5 Golf GTI as it seems like such a polished all-rounder. However, I have been driving Volkswagens for the last 5 years and fancy something different. The Impreza seems like a lot of car for the money. I test drove one yesterday and liked it but the one I was looking at had the Prodrive Performance Pack and my current insurer (Churchill) would not insure me as the car has been modified. I am now considering a standard WRX which I have received a reasonable insurance quote for (£700) but they would require me to fit a tracking device which the car does not currently have. Neither of the cars that I have looked at have trackers fitted so surely they must have been insured elsewhere? I have also tried Adrian Flux insurance unsuccessfully who have been competetive in insuring higher performance cars that I have owned in the past. I realise that it is the kind of car which is more likely to be stolen but is this really necessary? I am a married 30 year old maths teacher who has been driving for 13 years, has 7 years no claims discount and no endorsements. I live in Gloucestershire and the car would be parked on my drive. I have a garage but it wouldn't fit. I am reluctant to switch insurers as my current insurance runs until April 2011 and I know there will be a financial penalty if I cancel my policy. My wife's policy is also linked to mine and I expect that her premium would also go up if I cancel. Any ideas on insuring an Impreza? Also, what should I look out for when buying one? I appreciate that they are not very economical but neither is anything with a V6 or a Focus ST for that matter. Other than fuel, how expensive are they to run? Any information/advice would be appreciated.

[bimsb6]

churchill are very good about cancelling a policy ,they returned my premium and just pro rata'd for what i had used , i think you had to have been with them a couple of years or so .

[Backtobasics]

a plan or keith michaels for insurance. I would expect you to pay much less than £1000. Normal stuff to look out for, fsh is a must, make sure the prodrive car has a prodrive certificate. Check the tyres and different tread deapths can wreck the diffs (although there are mixed opinions on this), accident damage etc etc

[stargazer30]

A Focus ST will be a heck of a lot cheaper to keep on the road than the WRX, even if they do drink fuel! I am your age and paid £650 on a standard focus ST so the WRX quote seems about right.

[nottyash]

white_goodman said:

I'm thinking of changing my Polo for an Impreza WRX hatch/estate(2003-2006 vintage). Originally, I was after a mk5 Golf GTI as it seems like such a polished all-rounder. However, I have been driving Volkswagens for the last 5 years and fancy something different. The Impreza seems like a lot of car for the money. I test drove one yesterday and liked it but the one I was looking at had the Prodrive Performance Pack and my current insurer (Churchill) would not insure me as the car has been modified. I am now considering a standard WRX which I have received a reasonable insurance quote for (£700) but they would require me to fit a tracking device which the car does not currently have. Neither of the cars that I have looked at have trackers fitted so surely they must have been insured elsewhere? I have also tried Adrian Flux insurance unsuccessfully who have been competetive in insuring higher performance cars that I have owned in the past. I realise that it is the kind of car which is more likely to be stolen but is this really necessary? I am a married 30 year old maths teacher who has been driving for 13 years, has 7 years no claims discount and no endorsements. I live in Gloucestershire and the car would be parked on my drive. I have a garage but it wouldn't fit. I am reluctant to switch insurers as my current insurance runs until April 2011 and I know there will be a financial penalty if I cancel my policy. My wife's policy is also linked to mine and I expect that her premium would also go up if I cancel. Any ideas on insuring an Impreza? Also, what should I look out for when buying one? I appreciate that they are not very economical but neither is anything with a V6 or a Focus ST for that matter. Other than fuel, how expensive are they to run? Any information/advice would be appreciated.

I bought one for the wife and paid £400 through Kwik fit, and she only had 3 years NCB. Again parked on drive and no need for a tracker although it had one that wasnt activated.
You have to shop around. Have you tried the compare websites?

It may be cheaper leaving your current insurer, unfortunatly this is one of the downsides of Impreza ownership along with fuel. The Blob ey 03 on was marginally better mpg than the bug eye which was marginally better than the classic. as you say, all these performance cars are not known for their economy.
On motorways at "motorway speeds" I averaged 26mpg in the classic and 28MPG in the bug eye. Not sure around town as the wife used them for that.
My dad gets 24MPG in his RX8 so compared to that they are pretty good.

We never ran them long enough for big bills, both ours were reliable. I used a Indy garage rather than main dealer and found general servicing/ brake discs/ pads pretty cheap.

Check service history, and always HPI if your buying private.

[BDR529]

ScoobyNet is the best place for you to get info on these what to look out for etc.

http://bbs.scoobynet.com/forum.php

Edited by BDR529 on Tuesday 28th September 20:03

[mikey-r]

I had an '05 WRX PPP a couple of years ago. Fantastic car!

Keith Michaels supplied a very good quote but it might be worth going back to your current insurer and trying to explain that it's not mod'd in the normal sense because it's actually a factory fitted option.

[rb5230]

stargazer30 said:

A Focus ST will be a heck of a lot cheaper to keep on the road than the WRX, even if they do drink fuel! I am your age and paid £650 on a standard focus ST so the WRX quote seems about right.

my impreza has so far proved to be no more expensive my old focus st, exactly the same on servicing so far but the tyres are cheaper as the wheels are a bit smaller which negates the £200 insurance difference.

[Bungleaio]

Keith Michaels are widely recognised as giving good quotes for Imprezas but they haven't been able to beat Greenlight for me. I've been with greenlight for 4 years now and I've been through fault and non faults with them without issue.

[bls1]

Have you tried Admiral ? Cheapest for me, but of course insurance company quotes can seem like random number generators. Also as mentioned above, speak to them on the phone and try to explain its a manufacturer-approved upgrade, not a 'Halfords' modification, especially if the PPP was fitted by the supplying dealer from new. My point being, don't hide it from the insurers, but see if they'll be lenient.

[stargazer30]

rb5230 said:

stargazer30 said:

A Focus ST will be a heck of a lot cheaper to keep on the road than the WRX, even if they do drink fuel! I am your age and paid £650 on a standard focus ST so the WRX quote seems about right.

my impreza has so far proved to be no more expensive my old focus st, exactly the same on servicing so far but the tyres are cheaper as the wheels are a bit smaller which negates the £200 insurance difference.

Really? don't you have to take the engine out to change plugs, plus you have to renew tyres in groups to avoid screwing the diff up, plus they need more frequent oil changes etc.... or was my mate telling me fibs, along with his £500 service bill for a major service!

[anonymous-user]

PPP shouldn't be a problem. Get Confused and Go Compare!

[Bungleaio]

stargazer30 said:

rb5230 said:

stargazer30 said:

A Focus ST will be a heck of a lot cheaper to keep on the road than the WRX, even if they do drink fuel! I am your age and paid £650 on a standard focus ST so the WRX quote seems about right.

my impreza has so far proved to be no more expensive my old focus st, exactly the same on servicing so far but the tyres are cheaper as the wheels are a bit smaller which negates the £200 insurance difference.

Really? don't you have to take the engine out to change plugs, plus you have to renew tyres in groups to avoid screwing the diff up, plus they need more frequent oil changes etc.... or was my mate telling me fibs, along with his £500 service bill for a major service!

Engine out to change the plugs? Admittedly it's not as easy as changing them in a inline engine but it's certainly not an engine out job.

Changing tyres at the same time is recommended but the fronts still wear faster than the rears so you can rotate them between axels to get full use out of the tread.

I can believe a £500 bill for a major service but this would be main dealer, I've been using an indy and a full service including all fluid changes and new plugs for £300. There's quite a few large independents/tuners that will service scoobies so it's easy to avoid the main dealers.

Services on the newages (2001 onwards) are 10k miles or 12 months although if you were running a tuned STI i would be changing the oil more frequently.

[nottyash]

stargazer30 said:

rb5230 said:

stargazer30 said:

A Focus ST will be a heck of a lot cheaper to keep on the road than the WRX, even if they do drink fuel! I am your age and paid £650 on a standard focus ST so the WRX quote seems about right.

my impreza has so far proved to be no more expensive my old focus st, exactly the same on servicing so far but the tyres are cheaper as the wheels are a bit smaller which negates the £200 insurance difference.

Really? don't you have to take the engine out to change plugs, plus you have to renew tyres in groups to avoid screwing the diff up, plus they need more frequent oil changes etc.... or was my mate telling me fibs, along with his £500 service bill for a major service!

Engine out to change the plugs is a stupid thing to say clearly by someone with no idea.
Service intervals were about 10k on my Newage WRX, and they dont need more frequent oil changes than Subaru recommend, I never understand why people do it unless you have modified the car. If your calling a major service the cambelt service, well I dont think £500 is that bad.

[duckson]

Gary Moulsen @ Keith Michaels for good quotes, direct number is 0208 2880275.

£775/£350 excess (no tracker required) on my GB270 Wagon (a limited edition WRX with PPP and other Prodrive parts), 34yrs old, 9yrs NCB, no points or claims but 42 day ban (SP30).

Edited by duckson on Wednesday 29th September 23:53

[MGZRod]

^^^ That looks stunning! Nice choice sir.

[rb5230]

stargazer30 said:

rb5230 said:

stargazer30 said:

A Focus ST will be a heck of a lot cheaper to keep on the road than the WRX, even if they do drink fuel! I am your age and paid £650 on a standard focus ST so the WRX quote seems about right.

my impreza has so far proved to be no more expensive my old focus st, exactly the same on servicing so far but the tyres are cheaper as the wheels are a bit smaller which negates the £200 insurance difference.

Really? don't you have to take the engine out to change plugs, plus you have to renew tyres in groups to avoid screwing the diff up, plus they need more frequent oil changes etc.... or was my mate telling me fibs, along with his £500 service bill for a major service!

no you dont have to take the engine out to change plugs, tyres will be replaced in sets of 4 but have worn much slower than on my focus st and are only 17s which is £60 per tyre cheaper than the 18s on my focus.

oil change every 6 months is £60 with a filter, and a £500 service would be the one every 4 years including a cambelt, although a specialist would usually charge more like £600 with all the fluids and tensioners. on a focus st the cambelt service would be a similar price. although less frequent, i went for a basic service at a ford dealer with my focus which came to £280 without even thinking of a cambelt.