Need help choosing a Subaru

[Stubie]

Hello people,

Need a bit of help.

I have about £2500 to spend on a subaru and i need some advice.

Can you please tell me whats the better car and diffrences between...

Impreza
STI
WRX

are the imports better??
and what is the difference in insurance between import and english models.

Cheers
Stubie

[japgt]

Sti engine is better, blueprinted whereas the wrx isnt, although saying that, you can sometimes end up with a wrx with the closed deck block of the sti which is strongest of the lot.

Wrx will be around the 230-240bhp standard and the sti depending on model year will be anywhere from 250- 280bhp.

If your planning on modding it then start with the sti in the first place as in the long run it will be cheaper, you will be looking at imports for that sort of money and insurance isnt that much difference in my opinion between the english market ones, ive had both so can comment on that without issues.

[Mastodon2]

japgt said:

Sti engine is better, blueprinted whereas the wrx isnt, although saying that, you can sometimes end up with a wrx with the closed deck block of the sti which is strongest of the lot.

Wrx will be around the 230-240bhp standard and the sti depending on model year will be anywhere from 250- 280bhp.

If your planning on modding it then start with the sti in the first place as in the long run it will be cheaper, you will be looking at imports for that sort of money and insurance isnt that much difference in my opinion between the english market ones, ive had both so can comment on that without issues.

I thought among other things, the STIs had upgraded suspension, upgraded brakes (Brembos) and slightly bigger turbos? Obviously there have been a few different generations of Imprezas so there will be differences with age.

I'll give the obligatory "Look for one with the Prodrive Performance Pack on it" comment, but in all seriousness it's a good shout. 30bhp extra, factory fitted and Subaru approved. The only weakpoint is the Prodrive exhaust, which imo is a pretty rubbish sounding piece of kit. Makes WRXs genuine STI botherers and makes STIs fookin quick!

[japgt]

Yeh, slightly different suspension, brakes depend on age of car, my94 sti came with crappy 2 pot caipers n the front and sliding on back, but version 3 onwards come with 4 pots and these are adequate with decent discs and pads and a set of braided lines for most people.

Not sure you will get a car with a ppp on it for the money you are looking at unless its the arse end of the bugeye wrx model with hypergallictic mileage, prob not worth bothering with.

[paulmoonraker]

For that money I would get the newest car possible. Perhaps a new-age WRX and then do the PPP mods to it. Don't fuss about a PPP (unless you find one with it) as the 'approved Subaru' benefits are meaningless now its out of warranty. Instead, budget for equivalent modifications (map and exhaust).

A WRX with PPP will keep up with a standard STi to 60 (as near as damn it anyway). However, the STi handles much better and when you get it singing a totally different animal.

The PPP exhaust is nice - ignore Mastodon

[paulmoonraker]

japgt said:

Not sure you will get a car with a ppp on it for the money you are looking at unless its the arse end of the bugeye wrx model with hypergallictic mileage, prob not worth bothering with.

Just looked - your right! A new-age will have some miles on for that money

[5paul5]

For that money you can pick up a nice classic wrx or even an Sti, the imports are usually a little more expensive to insure but are more powerfull too.

[rb5er]

Anyone seen this program? They seem to think the ver3 sti was the most playful, possibly in budget too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoVzaHTRGMM

[rb5er]

5paul5 said:

For that money you can pick up a nice classic wrx or even an Sti, the imports are usually a little more expensive to insure but are more powerfull too.

Just make sure its been undersealed or budget for it.

[Skullfudge]

Keep saving. P1

[TAS1981]

You should buy mine!
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3255008.htm

I just left the uk for Sydney with work and had to say goodbye to mine. its currently sitting on my dad's drive waiting for a good home.

Its a V1 Sti and I have pampered it. The STis have slightly stronger internals and a few mods on them from the factory, lightened Ally bonnet and Intercooler waterspray etc.

I cannot stand anything not being right so it gets anything it needs. I can speak (bore) at great length of all the work I have done on it, just fettling and servicing. No smoke, strong clutch, none of the usual stories about heistation or anything like that. Its largely standard but I had a few small mods done, sports cat and panel filter. It doesn't need to pass the emmissions test because its pre-1995 and imported and not on the Vosa database, cheap tax..only the petrol costs!

I RR'd it when I got it out of interest and it made 260bhp which is spot on. Its had a few mods and I think its about 280bhp now which is fine on the standard internals and gearbox.

Anyway ping me an email if interested. Its up for £2750 but drop me a mail, I doubt you will get as honest an impreza as this for the money.

Tom

PS sorry for the blatant plug!

[micron750]

You misssd one Legacy GTB twin turbo loads of space bloody quick has the sti engine check out www.uklegacy.com great site very helpful members too

[bazza1000]

Go for an STI as got all the goodies on from standard, if you get get one within your budget. Beware of rust on some of the early imports. All top cars though - so you are onto a winner, good luck in your hunt for one! Make sure whatever model you do get has a good regular service history etc.

P1 or V5 Type R are the best one's to go IMO, but demand a premium.

[johnnyr6]

If you get offered a P1 or type r for £2500 walk away it'll be full of problems. Imho go for a tidy, well looked after classic sti. The V1 offered to you in the earlier post, if in really good condition is worth a look as they are getting rare and in the future will be sought after, along with early sti ra's.
I've owned a V2 sti for around 8years and it never missed a beat in over 115k miles. (its fecked now though..lol)

Anyway i rekon you could pick up a v3 or v4 sti for your money which will keep you happy. Also check out scoobynet or sidc as there are always cars owned by enthuiasts up for grabs.

As for insurance iirc 17 for uk car, 19 for wrx and 20 for sti imports. For the record i paid less than £400 a year comp with protected no claims on my sti.

Johnny

[cheesesliceking]

paulmoonraker said:

For that money I would get the newest car possible. Perhaps a new-age WRX and then do the PPP mods to it. Don't fuss about a PPP (unless you find one with it) as the 'approved Subaru' benefits are meaningless now its out of warranty. Instead, budget for equivalent modifications (map and exhaust).

A WRX with PPP will keep up with a standard STi to 60 (as near as damn it anyway). However, the STi handles much better and when you get it singing a totally different animal.

The PPP exhaust is nice - ignore Mastodon

One benefit of the PPP one is insurance, its no more expsneive to cover than a standard WRX, where as if you modified it yourself to the same standard and declared the modifications you would be paying more to insure.

Agree on the exhaust, sounds lurrrrrrrrvly

[Ekona]

cheesesliceking said:

One benefit of the PPP one is insurance, its no more expsneive to cover than a standard WRX, where as if you modified it yourself to the same standard and declared the modifications you would be paying more to insure.

You're kidding, my missus struggled like buggery to get her blobeye STi with PPP insured as none of the insurers had a clue what it was. We eventually found one helpful guy at Admiral of all places who sorted it out for a fair price, but it's a mod and it certainly cost us more because of it. What insurer doesn't charge extra for it, would be handy to know for next year?

[paulmoonraker]

Ekona said:

cheesesliceking said:

One benefit of the PPP one is insurance, its no more expsneive to cover than a standard WRX, where as if you modified it yourself to the same standard and declared the modifications you would be paying more to insure.

You're kidding, my missus struggled like buggery to get her blobeye STi with PPP insured as none of the insurers had a clue what it was. We eventually found one helpful guy at Admiral of all places who sorted it out for a fair price, but it's a mod and it certainly cost us more because of it. What insurer doesn't charge extra for it, would be handy to know for next year?

The WRX PPP is listed by a number of insurers as a model (it's on my old certificate), but it is more expensive. However less so than the mods declared separately. The same is not true for the STi so you have to list them individually. Specialist brokers such as Keith Michaels are great when you get into modifications as whilst you list them, they don't individually effect price.

[Ekona]

You learn something new everyday, cheers buddy! Will give them a try next year.

Still, I won't moan about the cost of the insurance too much as the STi PPP is utterly mental out on the roads, and happily gives my 911 a run for its money on the local b-roads. Insanely good fun

[Ekona]

You learn something new everyday, cheers buddy! Will give them a try next year.

Still, I won't moan about the cost of the insurance too much as the STi PPP is utterly mental out on the roads, and happily gives my 911 a run for its money on the local b-roads. Insanely good fun

[paulmoonraker]

Ekona said:

You learn something new everyday, cheers buddy! Will give them a try next year.

Still, I won't moan about the cost of the insurance too much as the STi PPP is utterly mental out on the roads, and happily gives my 911 a run for its money on the local b-roads. Insanely good fun

There are few things that can keep up with an STi or Evo on b roads