Buying advise for a Scooby (Impreza) around

[corradophil 3]

A mate of mine is after an Impreza, but doesn't about them i.e. what goes wrong, what problems to look for etc... Also he's unsure whether to go for an import or UK model. Insurance quotes for imports appear to be far more expensive.

 

He's been on scoobynet, but doesn't seem to be getting very far.

 

Can anyone provide any useful advise?

[vr6storm 0]

.........on a Corrado forum????

[corradophil 3]

.........on a Corrado forum????

 

Well people on here seem pretty clued up and out of the 6100 registered users I thought there may be a chance someone will know about Imprezas, so yes "on a Corrado forum".

[vr6storm 0]

:roll: calm down a bit then :lol: ...........but i would imagine his best bet would be advise from ppl on scoobynet :D

[corradophil 3]

i would imagine his best bet would be advise from ppl on scoobynet

 

Thats what I thought, but he's not getting much help there.

[davidwatsonok 0]

HERE's a good place to start. After that try to ask intelligent and well worded questions on Scoobynet. Also worth doing is finding out where your most local club meets, and in your area there is a massive and very committed club known as the Essex Scooby Crew headed by a rather nice, and exceptionally large guy called Tiny. Go along to one of the meets and introduce yourselves, and don't be shy to ask lots of questions. There's nothing a Scooby owner likes more that talking about his Scooby.

 

Imports are more expensive to insure as they tend to be more powerful (WRX 240bhp, STi 280bhp and UK Turbo 208bhp) and the panels can be different (especially on Type R/RA) meaning they have to be sourced from Japan and imported in the event of a crash, pushing up repair costs. Until you know more about them I'd stay clear of imports and anything modified, as many are mod'd badly leading to reliability issues. Imports may also need to be run on Optimax with octane booster to bring it up to Jap 100RON, unless you want the engine to DET itself into meltdown for a £4k rebuild. They can be remapped for UK fuel, but you must double check this with whoever did the mapping (receipts and printouts).

 

Apart from that, they are superb drivers cars, very reliable and awesomely powerful and fast. Classics and feel faster, but they only feel faster. New-age cars are much smoother with much tighter chassis' and better brakes. Speaking of which, the brakes are a definate weakness, so a set of >98 4 pots with braided lines and decent pads should be first on the shopping list before any power mods.

[corradophil 3]

davidwatsonok, Thanks, some useful information there, I will pass it on to my mate. The 100RON fuel issue is something which was mentioned to him.

 

Certainly sounds like a UK car is the better choice for an easier life.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

My mate bought a Jap import as his first Scoob and it was lethal! The differences between UK and Jap are massive. Jap has much shorter gearing, thinner body panels (weight saving), more power, more aggressive cams, less restrictive front pipes blah blah... his was quoted as being 260hp but it felt a lot more due to the gearing. Maxed out at 120mph, but it was ferocious through the gears.....much stiffer suspension aswell.

 

It was noisy, harsh and it blew a diff within a month of ownership, so he took it back to the garage with a nice big "import lesson learned" sticker slapped on his back and swapped it for a 2000 WRX classic (Uk car).

 

They were chalk and cheese, the WRX was mushy and understeery and a LOT slower. But as WRX front pipes are 30% blocked off, you can fit Hayward & Scott ones and a system, remap, filter and take power up to 240ish. Then it goes a bit better. We killed the understeer with a whiteline rear ARB and fitted Eagle F1s.

 

Then he flogged that and bought a bug eye one, and now he's just gone and bought a current shape STI. That is definitely the best scoob of the lot.

 

Anyway, as you're Essex based, go to Extreme Scoobies near Witham mate.....they're really know their scoobs.

[corradophil 3]

kevHaywire, Cheers mate, another vote for the UK model.

 

8) I've never even heard of extreme scoobies before, and I work within 10 minutes drive of Boreham. :oops:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah they're out in the sticks past some kind of cement factory or what ever it is.....I'll get the exact location from my mate.

[corradophil 3]

Kev, just had a look at their website, the directions seem pretty clear, so we should be able to find them without too much hassle.

 

Thanks for your help :thumbleft:

[mtc R32 0]

I previously had A 3dr 2000 - wreg P1... Now that was an awesome car!!!! Fast as F*ck and nothing really can catch you in it. I used to upset alot of people in mine, especially New m3 owner!!! :) :) :)

 

I've drove a standard one, which i thought was ok!! It was a sport wagon version... But i've seen loads upforsale with silly bhp figures...

 

I do think the Japs are the way to go for performance...

[vr6storm 0]

Q here why do ppl refer to the 2dr Coupe as being a 3door.........fair enuff the C is a 3 door coupe but thats basically cos its a coupe/hatch.......whereas the Scooby other than s/w is a saloon or 2 dr saloon/coupe???..........its a small thing i know but its quite bemusing to me