Mholland

apologies for my bad english - should say what does it mean (not what do)

Hi all, seen a couple of cars for sale where people say the car needs a new air flow meter fitting, in laymans terms what does this mean ? Knackered or not ?

Looking at buying a classic for about 3-5 grand but having difficulty deciding what to get, so here is a couple of questions for all of you that own one: 1. Would you buy an STI or just the normal Turbo ? 2. What would you do to get more power out of the car ? remap, exhaust ? i.e best bang for your buck 3. Did anything significant change between the 93-99 models that would make you buy a earlier / later model ? The reason I ask is I have seen a nice 93 STI with 48k on the clock for 3.5K. The only thing is its an import, not that its a huge problem Cheers Mark

the import sites all reckon the imported cars are a better spec than the UK ones, is this BS as I suspect ? Opinions please

Another thumbs up from me for Prosport, had my golf camber and tracking done there and have to say they know what they are doing and they are sound as well

I have just started looking for a classic subaru and am having difficulty. I fancy an STI but all the cars I find are miles away. Most cars seem to have alarm etc but trackers arent on most. With the exception of pistonheads and autotrader does anyone have other suggestions as to where to look to find cars advertised ? I would avoid engine rebuilds personally as I doesnt bode well for the rest of the car if the engine has had to be rebuilt

I am not massively mechanically minded but here is a nagging question: If I find a car that has been modified I like (and it will be hard not to find one that has been altered), if they have altered the turbo to increase the hp will the gearbox have needed adjusting as well ? otherwise if more hp is put through a standard gearbox wouldnt this damage it ?

Would people consider an STI to be a reasonable model to think about buying - I have seen STI models 95-97 for about 4-4.5k do people consider this to be an OK price or a bit high ? I know this is a bit hard to comment on. An example spec on the trader: Manual, 73,000 miles, subaru sti,uk car v3,98 reg,fssh,73k,mot 04/08,tax 05/08,cat 1 remote alarm immobiliser,abs,airbags,all round electics,air con,blaupunkt mp3 player,genuine 17" subaru gen 2 ultra lite alloys,rare f/f/sunroof,subaru toolkit,full leather bucket seats,new brakes, new exedy clutch,6"jap cut magnex stainless steel exhaust,3oo bhp with dyno printout,hks ssq dump valve,white dials, blitz turbo timer+boost controller,sti strut brace,apexi suspension,sti body styling sparco mud flaps,tints+decals,active triple gauge pod,superchipped+ remapped,£££'s spent and well looked after and not abused £4.5k Parkers suggest about 3.5k for a 1997 STI but I have often seen parkers to be way off

Cheers Ray, thanks for all that. When I bought my golf I looked at quite a few and you could say the standard and price varied enormously - from the absolute s***e and overpriced to knackered and cheap as chips. I think I will definately take someone with me when I go and look but I think I might have a look first at any for sale locally just so I can see the variation in quality for the price and what the cars are like. I definatly want a turbo, ideally with service history, dont mind if its been modded - if its been done right I honesly dont care a hoot. For that reason I might avoid the import cars, however, they do seem cheaper but you could end up paying for it in the end. The golf gives me 35mpg on the motorway tops so petrol eeven at the price it is doesnt bother me.

Cheers mate for the info, there does seem to be lots of imports around and I would be wary of buying one of those for the simple fact that you cant trace where its come from (but thats just me). Ideally I would want one with plenty of paper work. The golf I have is group 16 and pay about £300 (3rd party) for that so as you say insurance isnt much of an issue Fuel wise I get ~25mpg on the golf, less with city driving and more on the motorway Not bothered completely about mileage - dont consider 100,000 to be high, if its lower thats OK but its not an absolute because as you say they are a reliable car The main thing I was wondering about was models etc that will fit my price bracket, would like a Turbo definately - apologies if this is a daft statement and they are all Turbo'd. Would want to get something that can be modified but not bothered if the car has been modified as long as the work has been done by a decent garage As you say the biggest concern is the engine i.e has it been thrashed to death - I guess the only way is to have it checked. I know a garage that could do this for me and give me an opinion Overall, other than the engine and gearbox is there anything to look out for ?

Hi all, I have just joined the forum (literally) as I am looking for some info. I currently own a Mk3 Golf GTI which is a nice car but a bit on the sloooowwww side. So I am looking into buying something newer, nicer and quicker and would really like a Subaru Impreza. I am 33 years old, live in Manchester, dont have to drive a lot as I walk to work so I do about 3-4000 miles a year which are all Leisure driving. Insurance isnt a problem as I have 6 years no claims and I aint getting any younger. Budget wise I am willing to spend up to £5K (if its really nice) but optimally about £3-4K. TBH I really dont know where to start looking or what to look for ? I can spot things like bad body work and the other obvious things but looking for pointers from people who own one. Any advice on what to look for when buying, prices, models to avoid, what to avoid, insurance costs etc would be gratefully received. Cheers Mark