Which Impreza ?!!!?

Sam

Sam

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I know we have a few impreza nuts on here and wanted to ask the question as i dont know a lot about them. A friend of mine has around £13000 (£13500) to spend on a Subaru Impreza. It needs to be an WRX STI with PPP or equivalent as he does not want a slow one. P1s are great but are getting on abit now so is looking to buy a 2005 - 2006 model which i belive isnt the horrible horrible bugeye type affair.

There seems to be so many models out there and to be honest i dont have a clue. Im guessing the Type UK etc are the more special ones as they command more money ??? Could an evo be on the cards or are they just scary money to run (as i have been told)

Cheers Guys, links to pistonheads etc appreciated !!!

:)
 
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£13.5k can squeeze a hawkeye STI PPP, which would be my choice. Or he can possibly go for a reasonably modded blobeye. Theres plenty floating about on pistonheads and scoobynet.
The bugeye looks were subjective, I loved it :p

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/744979.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/666373.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/754077.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/748312.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/755942.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/762003.htm

They are all pretty damn awesome and its a buyers market with imprezas....hes got loads to choose from and theres always room for haggling :)

There are still some dreamers out there who are pricing their cars way above current market value, so best avoid them. Unfortunate as it is to say this, its a good chance to take advantage of people who are looking for a quick sale due to their misunderstanding of the current economic climate.
 
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What are running costs like on these ?

Service intervals are 12k or yearly IIRC. I had mine serviced every 6000 miles. An oil service, and a full service. Subaru will charge dealer prices so its best to go to a good specialist, and they are plenty about. The big service is the 50k where the cambelt is done.
My last major service was £400, that included all oils, engine, diff, GB, spark plugs, uprated airfilter, etc.
Fuel wise, dont every expect to get more than 25mpg at a push, I never got more than 20mpg. So youre looking at around 230-270 miles from a tank.
Tyres are 225/40/18 on most of them (unless it comes with the standard 17 inch wheels, which arent v nice) so expect to pay £100-120 ish per corner.
Theyre pretty reasonable to running considering the amount of performance you get out of them.
 
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You'll struggle for a Hawkeye I would have thought? But you may be lucky.


The differences between the three saloon "newage" models ("bugeye", "blobeye" and "hawkeye") are essentially cosmetic. There was a major re-doing of the insides when the blob came out in 03, but it still looked dated (and no-one buys a scoob for luxury anyway). The big mechanical difference was the 2.5 litre engine for the hawkeye. This brought up the low revs torque and threw away the scooby "burble". Other than that it was slow progressive tweaks to engine and suspension - apart from the cosmetic stuff on the outside.

If you plan on tweaking, there's not much in it. The two different engines are both good for about 450bhp without a rebuild, but they require different turbos to do it.

The only classic worth bothering with the 22B, and it's way out of your price range - think £25K and up.

Bugeyes can be had for silly money (you can have mine for £8500). I personally don't like the blobeye's looks, as I think they look lumpy. If you can get a hawkeye for your budget, I'd go for it.

It's not that Type UKs are worth more, but that JDM imports are worth less! The dubious provenance and extra insurance most companies will charge put people off them, hence the lower price.

There's not much in running costs between scoobs and Evos, but an Evo will be rather more expensive to buy for the same age and performance as an equivalent scoob. Scoobs drink petrol (expect 22-24mpg), eat tyres (my fronts are nearly gone after 10k miles), are group 20 insurance (an old, safe, unconvicted man like me pays £460 or so a year - but youth will shove that figure way up). The principle difference is servicing: 4500 miles for the Evo, 10k for the scoob. Although I get an oil change and checks every 5k anyway. A minor scoob service a good independent will be about £160 and a major may be £400.


M
 
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Service intervals are 12k or yearly IIRC. I had mine serviced every 6000 miles. An oil service, and a full service. Subaru will charge dealer prices so its best to go to a good specialist, and they are plenty about. The big service is the 50k where the cambelt is done.


10k, and actually the 30k and 60k tend to be more expensive than the 50k - while the 50k is the cam belts, it's the only major work (and it's actually pretty easy), whereas the 30 and 60k involve all the fluids including brake, plus a load of other stuff.


M
 
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10k, and actually the 30k and 60k tend to be more expensive than the 50k - while the 50k is the cam belts, it's the only major work (and it's actually pretty easy), whereas the 30 and 60k involve all the fluids including brake, plus a load of other stuff.


M

Oh thanks, I couldnt remember of the top of my head. I bought mine just after it had its 50k/5 year service and there was a bill for £700 in there. My 60k/6 year (even though Id only done 50k) service was £400 from Subaru4U.
 
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*Sam go's away on pistonheads to look for the diffrence between bug eye hawk eye and blob eye lol



Of panthro's six links, the first four are to blob-eyes, and the last two are to hawkeyes. Mine is a bugeye:

sti_new_front_l_q.jpg



That's a WRX STI Type UK Prodrive, to give it the full name. Note that the Prodrive refers to the body kit, not the PPP, or Prodrive Performance Pack. PPPs are available for all models after 2000.

The specials to watch out for are Lichfield Type 20s and Type 25s. If you go for an import, then watch for things like RA-Rs etc.


M
 
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Could an evo be on the cards or are they just scary money to run (as i have been told):)

They are not that bad at all. Have a look at THIS.

They key bit is not to take it to Mitsubishi for servicing, use a Specialist such as Norris designs.

If you need any help or advise on what to look out for then give me a shout.
 

Ev0

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WR1 can be had quite cheaply (relatively speaking) now, either that or a post facelift bug eye STi :)
 

Sam

Sam

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Meridian when you say the hawkeye looses the sound, do you meen it loses it COMPLETLEY! I cannot imagine a scoob without that sound. I may also have to chop the VX in if i dont get my company van back as im not having it as a daily driver. A scoob could be an idea, would have to be better than the one my mate buys mind you :p

Cheers guys for the info :)
 

Sam

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Ah so thats the thread you were chatting about in the pub ;)

EDIT - I cant be bothered to go through every page, wheres the juicy pictures and such like ....
 
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