What Classic Impreza for sub £5000 - local advice needed!

[wrxmania]

I have posted this in general too but some local advice from known sources would also be good.  My dilemma is as follows:

When I (shortly) plunge into buying a classic Impreza for sub £5k (preferably nearer £4k) - what should I buy?  Options seem to be pretty wide as it really is a buyers market and people just can't shift these things!  For the money I could get:

A choice of MY97/98 or even 99 UK Classic, with or without various mods and various mileages.

Various imports - WRX's, STI's, RA's etc at various ages from 1993 - 1997's with again a choice of mods (or not) and mileages.

Never thought it would be so baffling or so much choice for the price.  Help me make up my mind.

I need a car which does not look over the top (don't mind STI spoiler etc but NO STUPID KITS, big front splitter etc.).  It needs to be in mechanically sound condition and not really need any money thrown at it for a while.  Ideally with upgraded brakes and suspension bits (not necessarily shocks but drop links etc). It will do less than 5000 miles a year as a "toy" and fun car, but will be methodically looked after in servicing terms and, especially, bodywork - it will be detailed as much as possible - so need one which has also been looked after with care.  I will have it for quite a few years.  I know the spec arguments of the imports being superior in performance/equipment versus UK cars - but uk cars can be easier to shift on in a few years to buyers who know nothing about imports, and "may" be cheaper to insure and fuel. 

SO - opinions at the ready - which car for less than £5000?  Had quite a few offers already on my Primera GT (stupidly cheap price) as a P.Ex. against an Impreza - but what do I REALLY want?

There are many cars available - Scoobynet is bursting with them...

Brian []

[wrxmania]

Slipping already and no replies...

What would you buy?

[st3ph3n]

I'm no expert on the classics Brian. Still can't fully tell them apart to be perfectly honest.

BUT! On your requirements, and having though of this myself recently, it would be an RA. Age not THAT important, obviously late-ish would be good, but I wouldn't kill myself over it and would rather take the one in the best condition or that was already reasonably modified.

You know fine well that taking a late UK model would be a mistake. You'd track it or go for a bomb in the countryside with the rest of the nutters and be yearning after more power and a short ratio gearbox.

Practicality is not an issue, get one as "stupid" as you can afford and live with.

[wrxmania]

[]

Thanks Stephen - I can agree with your sentiments there.  I want one with useful mods (exhaust, brakes, suspension, map etc) without having rakes of unknown Japanese mods on it, ready to blow!  Or that I immediately need to spend £2000 on gear for it.

Brian []

[st3ph3n]

This sounds like a job for a superhero. One with magical teeth and who answers to the name of a small woodland animal.

[wrxmania]

Oh yes [] []

[philip_wilson]

Brian,

go for a face lift UK classic with a few mod's they will keep up with standard 2.0 UK STi's and Kill standard WRX's on the road. 

Philip_w

[gatecrasher3]

Buy the best spec standard version that you can afford. No point starting with a UK then spending cash to get it to WRX performance. Might as well start higher up to begin with.

[colin_ross]

As St3ph3n says if you intend to use the car as a weekend/track toy you'd be foolish not to go for the fastest, most hardcore version you can get i.e. and sti or ra.  At the price you're looking at condition is far more important than mileage, most imports have have the mileage "converted" anyway. Also if you're going to keep it for several years don't get hung up on what it's going to be like to sell.

If I were going to buy again I'd make sure I buy from an enthusiast and not just the cheapest one I could find. The owner is just as important as the car as I have found out to my expense on other cars. Ask obscure qustions and see if they can answer them rather than show you how loud the stereo is.

Make a list of mods you would be doing for yourself and see if you can find a car that already has them, you'll save yourself a fortune. As you said it's a buyers ,arket so haggle hard and don't be afraid to walk away if you're not happy with the deal.

[wrxmania]

Very good advice there - thanks for that.  I'd certainly be looking at an onwer who knew what he was doing - these cars need at least good servicing.  I don't want to buy a piece of crap someone is trying to offload.  I need a good one.

Brian []

[euan_r]

Buy the best spec standard version that you can afford. No point starting with a UK then spending cash to get it to WRX performance. Might as well start higher up to begin with.

like the man says its the way to go IMO

[rabskyline]

what about a mental type ra ?? hhhhmmmmm

[drb5]

Can't get better than an early RA for under 4k. Might not be the cleanest of cars, but it'll be the most fun for money.

 

Get a panel filter, decat zorst,Z5 ECU and whack the boost up! An easy 300+hp. Nice. []

[rabskyline]

round the back roads here in ayrshire this type ra is mental ! i was thinking of doing the z5 ecu and decat but sold her now to a rally driver/rally shop owner in wigton ! so thats that but it is a true drivers motor as yo udont get a minutes peace when driving it ! its all go !

[the squiggle]

Erm.......hello

Since you have the Lexi, there is no great distance challanges going to be thrown at this Impreza.

So in a nutshell the early RA would be my choice but for your said budget of close to 4k then bodywork condition is not going to be the highest quality due to the fact it will be aged 12.  There will be some out there with looked after bodywork but these will be rare

I advise anyone buying an import to ensure the car they are buying IS still limited to 180kmh..  The std ECU does not contain a map for above 180kmh and the first thing we do is derestrict them to 180 mph.  This is in my opinion the biggest killer of Import engines.

Also look at the inside of the ECU to see if it is chipped or not, a UK chip like a ScoobyECU is fair enough but any Jap chip at all is a defo no no as it is you that will be paying for it when, and not if, she lets go

The best early car that is pure driver orientated is the STI RA with its DCCD, quick steering rack and other goodies but a decent early one is gonna be about the 5-6k mark for a decent one.  You will come across cars for under 5k but these will need a very thorough check over and will more than likely have had a hard life

So for my hard earned money looking for a 2nd fun/track car it would be an early K or L plate WRX RA and spend a couple of hundred UK proofing her or hunting down a proper 1995 STI RA and hope it falls into your price range  .

drb5 suggestion of panel filter decat and Z5 ecu is a proven reliable route to 300hp and this coupled with a lightweight RA chassis will give you more than enough smiles per miles 

IMHO govt is paying music teachers way toooooo much wages for sitting there in thier cardy teaching kids Val Doonican hits

Take someone that knows about these things to view potential cars before the AA or RAC check it over as we know more than the RAC in some respects.  There are a lot of abused examples out there in import form but spend a bt of time and the right car will come up for the money and hopefully get one fresh off the boat that used to belong to WRXMANIASAN in Nagasake, poor analargy but Japanese enthusiast cars do exist and they do eventually end up here .  You just need to hunt hard to find the right car

You are an Advanced Driver if i remember right, and with this in mind i think you would really get the most out of an early RA with some minor suspension changes ( just needs Geometry setup and drop links)

if this sounds like mumbo jumbo, then blame the Guinness and grab me at the next meet or phone me over the weekend

 

Shrew

[rabskyline]

tim finch rally sport hasnt collected my car that i sold him yet so if you want first refusals on a  minted for age (two very light panel marks) type ra with loads of top spec goodies then give me a buzz brian. pic here in case you forget what this nutter looks like . spec available on request( WELL WHAT I CAN SEE ANYWAY !)

offer removed.

[wrxmania]

Post removed - mis-timed overlapped with rabskylines.  Misunderstanding caused.

[rabskyline]

that was harsh ! mines as tight as a nut ! just been serviced too ! cheeky monkey !

pm noted too ! i'm not daft ! i'm [:@]sorry i offered now !

 

no longer on offer !

[wrxmania]

Eh? What PM?

My post had nothing to do with your car or your post - if you look at the times they are only a few minutes apart and I was writing my reply to Grant when you posted yours.  Not aimed at your car - I know nothing about it.

 

[rabskyline]

definately don't want one which looks as if it was track or drag prepared...it don't want an £3k rebuild a few months in!

Grant - thanks again.  PM noted and returned.

Brian ]" src="/emoticons/emotion-1.gif"> 

 

mmmmmmm ,  ok then i am paranoid !

[wrxmania]

You must be []

I am still a bit lost about the PM thing - Grant sent me a PM, I replied, that was it.

I want a pretty standard car, still limited and with little or no mods...that is what my comment meant - I am sure there are many RA's/Impreza's track prepared or drag prepared - I was not getting at them either.

 

[rabskyline]

whatever ! duely noted [:#]!

looks mighty suspicious at any angle !!!

so get the best/fastest you can for your money but dont buy anything thats been set up for drag or race etc ???mmmmmm and show me a mint ra from an enthusiast in japan that is untouched for under 5k and i'll eat your shorts never mind mine ! and as for a proper 97 sti ra lol ! tablets please !

 i have read all the posts again to see if i was being para/weird'crazy etc................and no sorry,  still get the feeling if underhanded pm's going around ! very sad ! if i am wrong then i will apologise but i am sober and of partially sound mind and see what i see and thats all i can comment on.

[the squiggle]

http://ayrshirescoobies.myfastforum.org/ftopic128.php

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 11:32 pm    Post subject: is it me or has that rodent be slagging me by pm ???

---

read this thread and tell me if i am being paranoid. cos if i'm not then the wee diick better be able to either a] run like a rabbit , or b] fight like feck !! http://forums.sidc.co.uk/forums/747645/ShowPost.aspx

---

Sent Brian a PM with my mobile number

A, would never run from you

B, can fight like feck

C I am 6ft 3inch so that does not make me wee.

D I read ayrshirescoobies for a laugh so stop calling me rodent

[micra_wrc]

Brian,

sounds like you've decided on a jap import RA (good choice []) 

but it will be difficult to find one that meets your requirements for

your budget.

have a look at the For Sale forum here

there were a few RAs for sale a couple months back, incl a v2 for £5250 on the road.

The RA forum is a good site and it is dedicated for RA owners, higher chance you'll find one thats been looked after.

if you are prepared to do some homework and travel to view cars (there

are more choices down south) you may hit the jackpot and find the car you are

looking for.

I was really lucky in finding my car, but it was the result of a couple

months research and a weekend of travel to view possible cars.  I

had the same sort of target car in mind and was prepared to spend money

looking at cars rather than buying them straight from the Autotrader

website......

my post on

how I found my car

all the best for your search for a classic (again good choice!) and I'm sure that Grant will be happy to help []

[wrxmania]

whatever ! duely noted [:#]!

looks mighty suspicious at any angle !!!

so get the best/fastest you can for your money but dont buy anything thats been set up for drag or race etc ???mmmmmm and show me a mint ra from an enthusiast in japan that is untouched for under 5k and i'll eat your shorts never mind mine ! and as for a proper 97 sti ra lol ! tablets please !

 i have read all the posts again to see if i was being para/weird'crazy etc................and no sorry,  still get the feeling if underhanded pm's going around ! very sad ! if i am wrong then i will apologise but i am sober and of partially sound mind and see what i see and thats all i can comment on.

I can only apologise Rab is you think there are underhanded PM's - there are certainly not.  I was out last night - when I got in people had replied to my post, including Grant, and I had several PM's.  In grant's post he said to phone but as I don't have his phone number he sent me a pm - the only thing it contained was his number - not even a single word, just the number.  There is nothing in any of the posts above where I have written anything relating to you or your car.  Apologies if you think that, but you are wrong.

Brian.