Newbie wanting a more knowledgeable opinion
Discussion
hey just joined the form but been looking through the website for a while i am just about to turn 21 and looking for a new car got a 1.4 golf just now but want something with a little bit more poke and four wheel drive due to the back road i have to travel to work (probably one of the scariest roadds in Scotland saw a few bad accidents whilst on it) been looking at subaru WRX for the four wheel drive and can afford the insurance but was wondering more on running cost whetherone would be a good investment lookin at 51-53 plate ones? opinions please
Tagsyboy said:
hey just joined the form but been looking through the website for a while i am just about to turn 21 and looking for a new car got a 1.4 golf just now but want something with a little bit more poke and four wheel drive due to the back road i have to travel to work (probably one of the scariest roadds in Scotland saw a few bad accidents whilst on it) been looking at subaru WRX for the four wheel drive and can afford the insurance but was wondering more on running cost whetherone would be a good investment lookin at 51-53 plate ones? opinions please
The Subaru Impreza is a very expensive car to run and maintain. The worst mpg I have experienced and I've currently got a 5.7 Chevy engine, have had 3.5L V'6's and a Z3M roadster. Take from this what you will 
Subaru is not a bad choice, but the maintenance on the turbocharged versions will be a bit more than a normal medium sized car - however you might be interested in doing some of it yourself. They are also not particularly fuel efficient - expect 25-28mpg sort of level as an average. They are pretty reliable though, things tend not to go to badly wrong with them and they are great fun to drive!
A Golf 4motion or RS32 might be an alternative?
Cheers,
FT.
A Golf 4motion or RS32 might be an alternative?
Cheers,
FT.
my friend has a GTI-R and i would love one but i think the maintenance bills would really cripple me.
i was looking at the mark 4 1.8 turbo golfs even though they are not four wheel drives they seems a good car! looked around the forums users cars but had really mixed messages on the fuel consumption
i was looking at the mark 4 1.8 turbo golfs even though they are not four wheel drives they seems a good car! looked around the forums users cars but had really mixed messages on the fuel consumption
21.. no idea these days but wont insurance be horrific, ie will you get insured? negativing that...
Audi, 9k about a 51-53 plate? a few possible S-cars there...
your just out of the S4 V8 range there, but you could get a B5 (older shape) S4 2.7tt
or an S3?
or if your feeling upmarket, an older V8 S8? economy is more of a suggestion with one of those though...
quirkier daft suggestions slightly older but... Skyline, Pulsar GTiR, UR quattro, Integrale EVO, Cossie?
9k would get you a nice BMW 3 series coupe for that. or even an S1 elise.
As far as rain goes, tyres... its the one thing i will never skrimp on, made the mistake of buying sod it they will do for years. Then had goodyear eagle F1's a few years ago... its the one upgrade i think is always overlooked to a car to change the way it drives, in all conditions.
Audi, 9k about a 51-53 plate? a few possible S-cars there...
your just out of the S4 V8 range there, but you could get a B5 (older shape) S4 2.7tt
or an S3?
or if your feeling upmarket, an older V8 S8? economy is more of a suggestion with one of those though...
quirkier daft suggestions slightly older but... Skyline, Pulsar GTiR, UR quattro, Integrale EVO, Cossie?
9k would get you a nice BMW 3 series coupe for that. or even an S1 elise.
As far as rain goes, tyres... its the one thing i will never skrimp on, made the mistake of buying sod it they will do for years. Then had goodyear eagle F1's a few years ago... its the one upgrade i think is always overlooked to a car to change the way it drives, in all conditions.
Edited by istoo on Friday 25th April 15:17
i am around 700 for a wrx as long as it has a tracker which isnt as horriffic as my first car a 306dturbo! i would like a jap car but cosworths pulsars skylines really aren't practicle for me lol, i would only be doing 5000 miles a year if i got a subaru or sometimes less depending on whether i take a work van home or not just looking for something a bit more grown up than my 1.4 mark 4 golf
Not being cheeky but if you're an enthusiast surely the best way to learn is in a stipped hatch (106 rallye etc) or an old school rwd car ?
If i were your age (sadly not close anymore) i'd rather cut my teeth in something communicative and then choose a 4wd rather than the other way round.
On the VX sites we see plenty of young drivers coming from scoobies / evos etc, getting their first powerful rwd car and promptly binning it.
Hope this comes across as helpful as that's how it's meant !
If i were your age (sadly not close anymore) i'd rather cut my teeth in something communicative and then choose a 4wd rather than the other way round.
On the VX sites we see plenty of young drivers coming from scoobies / evos etc, getting their first powerful rwd car and promptly binning it.
Hope this comes across as helpful as that's how it's meant !
5k a year, cant be far to work, i wouldnt bother with a 4wd either.
£9k, 21, no kids, no economy worries, i would be heading straight for an elise... sure the scoobies are quick, words failingme here but, its worth owning a car that gives you back what yo put into it...
not a huge jap car fan (current ones although i have always loved the 240z) but the integras are really fun to drive. maybe time to try a few and get a real cross section.
£9k, 21, no kids, no economy worries, i would be heading straight for an elise... sure the scoobies are quick, words failingme here but, its worth owning a car that gives you back what yo put into it...
not a huge jap car fan (current ones although i have always loved the 240z) but the integras are really fun to drive. maybe time to try a few and get a real cross section.
Lazydonkey said:
Not being cheeky but if you're an enthusiast surely the best way to learn is in a stipped hatch (106 rallye etc) or an old school rwd car ?
If i were your age (sadly not close anymore) i'd rather cut my teeth in something communicative and then choose a 4wd rather than the other way round.
On the VX sites we see plenty of young drivers coming from scoobies / evos etc, getting their first powerful rwd car and promptly binning it.
Hope this comes across as helpful as that's how it's meant !
I agree. I cut my teeth with a 900cc Fiat from my 17th birthday onwards, when I left school my Dad thought I should get a bigger car coz I was going south for uni, got a Civic, great car, owned that for 6 n a half years, I learnt how it handled and I could throw it into slides and have a wee bit of fun with it. When I was 19 I got my race licence and bought a XR2 to race, that taught me alot about driving. When I was 21, I bought a very powerful Mercedes, great fun but it tried to kill me(not my fault, mechanical failure)! I now have a mundane car, I've had my licence taken away due to my health. If i were your age (sadly not close anymore) i'd rather cut my teeth in something communicative and then choose a 4wd rather than the other way round.
On the VX sites we see plenty of young drivers coming from scoobies / evos etc, getting their first powerful rwd car and promptly binning it.
Hope this comes across as helpful as that's how it's meant !
I would buy a cheap 80s run around with a big engine and RWD, you won't learn much from an Impreza, they're japanese tin boxes and my Mum drives one! An old BMW or Mercedes etc.
it's not far to work only 9 miles if that cycle it on a good day! to be honest i just wanted the four wheel drive for the race track style back road to my work, got my friend to drive it in his civic and now he loves the road! mercedes might be an idea as my uncle is a mechanic for them but will thy not be even more insurance than a impreza not wanting to go over 1k for insurance again
Tagsyboy said:
it's not far to work only 9 miles if that cycle it on a good day! to be honest i just wanted the four wheel drive for the race track style back road to my work, got my friend to drive it in his civic and now he loves the road! mercedes might be an idea as my uncle is a mechanic for them but will thy not be even more insurance than a impreza not wanting to go over 1k for insurance again
I think my brother got quoted for my Mum's bottom of the range Impreza, £800 and he was 25 at the time! They are favoured by boy racers and when they "let-go" they really do go!Tagsyboy said:
it's not far to work only 9 miles if that cycle it on a good day! to be honest i just wanted the four wheel drive for the race track style back road to my work, got my friend to drive it in his civic and now he loves the road! mercedes might be an idea as my uncle is a mechanic for them but will thy not be even more insurance than a impreza not wanting to go over 1k for insurance again
I have had an Impreza for years and I love it, however if you are on a tight budget its not the car for you IMO. Although its very reliable, spares are very expensive. Also with your journey, the car is only just going to be warmed up by the time you get to work and you dont want to be using much turbo (over 3k revs) before its warmed up. This is true of any car, but especially true of turbo cars. also when you do use the turbo, economy goes out the window, big time!Probably a good idea for you would be to do a couple of performance driving courses, 4wd lulls you into a false sense of security, yes they have a high limit of adhesion, but when they do break away they are very very difficult to get back and again, IMO its not the best way to learn performance driving, I think the other posters idea of a Lotus Elise would be a better idea for you, acouple of track days and you will be having more fun that you could ever have in an Impreza.
G
Tagsyboy said:
hey just joined the form but been looking through the website for a while i am just about to turn 21 and looking for a new car got a 1.4 golf just now but want something with a little bit more poke and four wheel drive due to the back road i have to travel to work (probably one of the scariest roadds in Scotland saw a few bad accidents whilst on it) been looking at subaru WRX for the four wheel drive and can afford the insurance but was wondering more on running cost whetherone would be a good investment lookin at 51-53 plate ones? opinions please
perhaps an audi s3 woudl suit u.stewie732 said:
Tagsyboy said:
hey just joined the form but been looking through the website for a while i am just about to turn 21 and looking for a new car got a 1.4 golf just now but want something with a little bit more poke and four wheel drive due to the back road i have to travel to work (probably one of the scariest roadds in Scotland saw a few bad accidents whilst on it) been looking at subaru WRX for the four wheel drive and can afford the insurance but was wondering more on running cost whetherone would be a good investment lookin at 51-53 plate ones? opinions please
perhaps an audi s3 woudl suit u.We had one for a while, it never worked properly because we swapped a racing car for it knowing that the big ends had gone, the guy said he would get new ones for us but didn't then accused us of the racing car being a copy. The Quattro was cool, ice white and very 80s, even with the digital dash, I was only 11 and it appealed to me.
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