mystery machine

Doesn't seem to be too many Blob STIs for sale ATM, so it's hard to come up with a realistic figure... FWIW, Parker's reckons £6,450 for a private sale of a good-condition '04 STI with 60,000 miles. Take a wee bit off for your higher mileage and add a wee bit on for your PPP and that figure might not be a bad starting point. Maybe weigh-in with a higher price if you're not in a rush to sell? As nice as the alloys, grille and new suspension/brake parts might be, I doubt whether they add much value to the car - more things to point out when the haggling starts, eh? JMO. You could ring around the dealers and ask what they're going for ATM, but it's hard to escape the fact it's in their interests to undervalue your car in the hope that you'll come around to their place and trade it in for peanuts! http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/used-prices/Valuation.aspx?deriv=24719&plate=75#amount=7000&years=3

How long before some chump chimes in with: "Get ureself an classic m8 LOL"

Car tax has to be the most grossly unfair tax we're forced to pay, especially now that it is now effectively an 'environmental' charge. How can a CO2 tax be fairly applied to a vehicle without taking usage into account, bearing in mind that a car produces absolutely zero CO2 while parked with the engine off?! Consider these two cases... Case one (my Scooby): Impreza Hawkeye STI Avg CO2 emissions: 257 g/km Annual mileage: 9K miles (14.5K km) Annual CO2 emissions = 3.7 tonnes Annual 'car tax' = band 'M' = £435 Case two (high mileage driver): Ford Mondeo 2.0L Avg CO2 emissions: 187 g/km Annual mileage: 25K (40K km) Annual CO2 emissions = 7.5 tonnes Annual car tax = band 'J' = £235 So Mondeo man chucks out twice as much CO2 as me, yet I'm paying twice as much tax?! OK, then you might argue that we need a road tax that takes into account mileage, fuel economy, driving style, etc? Well, we already have that - it's called "fuel duty" (+ rising VAT!). Therefore, even if you do believe that human-generated C02 is the main cause of climate change (and I remain unconvinced), then the example above illustrates that car tax as a scheme for reducing C02 output is seriously flawed. Rather it seems that its motivations are political and financial - the political motivation is to appease a frankly gullible section of the population who are too brainwashed by the constant government/media mantra of "cut CO2, cut C02, cut C02" to think for themselves, aren't willing to do the maths to consider whether the scheme actually rewards environmentally-friendly car use, or are so blinded by the prospect of saving a few quid on their own car tax that they're quite happy for those of us who chose to drive cars with larger engines - which don't necessarily output more C02 per year than theirs - to be royally shafted... But of course the overriding motivation is the aforementioned financial one - 'Car Tax' is quite simply a nice little earner for the government. Perhaps not quite so bad if it went towards improving our transport systems - including the scabby roads - in some significant way, but do you see much evidence of that? Certainly not here in Central Scotland! The only way we could change things is to refuse to pay this tax, en masse. Unfortunately we'd need support from those whose cars fall into lower tax bands, and I don't imagine the majority of them would be interested, for the reasons given above What do we do about it then?

If the existing paintwork's unsavable, then I'd say go for it. Might also be worth asking the garage to state on the receipt that the respray was for cosmetic reasons and not part of an accident repair. You having the engine bay, panel undersides, etc done too?

BBC news story Surely if the guy's forewarning other drivers of a speed trap, then he's only ever likely to cause them to reduce their speed, which supposedly is the point of speed cameras anyway? Or is this just a case in point that it's all about 'catching people out' and generating extra revenue? 21st century British motorists - fecking piggy banks on wheels!

If I have anything left after paying for petrol (some hope!)... I fancy Whiteline front and rear ARBs and perhaps even some uprated steering rack bushes

Good plan - Britain has had the arse torn out of it beyond recognition

Rising oil prices + VAT rise + forthcoming fuel duty increase = taking the p1ss in a big way Time to blockade the refineries again

The odd tweak here and there then? How much of a difference did you find the steering rack bushes made? I quite fancy those... And surely with all those engine mods you should be calling yourself RB862(hp)? C'mon, geez some pics - would like to see your brakes, if nothing else...

Really sorry to hear about your health problems, Grant - I sincerely hope that things turn around for you some time soon. I never met you in person, but you will certainly be missed around the forum - you've shown true commitment to the Subaru/Rally/McRae legacy (unlike a fraud such as myself, who is only here because he can't afford a Lotus or a Ferrari!). Hope to see you back some day in the not too distant future

You're not farting about with those brakes, are you? Hypertech will supply and fit Whiteline ARBs.

My only other suspension mod is a Whitline Anti-lift kit, which increases caster angle - its purpose is to increase steering feel and reduce understeer (by increasing dynamic negative camber). Quite a popular Impreza mod, but I had it fitted at the same time as the coilovers, so it's difficult to say how much difference it made in its own right. The only other suspension mod I'm considering is an uprated rear ARB, but it's not really crying out for one so no rush Done around 3K on the coilovers - i.e. long enough to comment on how they're performing, but too early to talk about reliability! Coilies and ALK were fitted by Hypertech in Bonnybridge, who also did the geo - what they call a 'fast road' setup, which is basically a little more static camber than standard. I don't take the car on track, but the Variant 3 I believe are intended to be a good compromise between trackday performance and fast road use. For an even more track-oriented setup you might consider the KW Clubsport, which use constant rate springs, as opposed to the Variant 3's more comfort-oriented (!) progressive springs. Is that the RB320 suspension you're running then? Any pics of your car? P.S. Welcome to the forum!

HYN, folks! So far, so-so - loving the snow-free country roads, hating the petrol prices and the potholed streets...

I have KW Variant 3 coilovers on my MY06 STI - absolutely love them, MASSIVELY improved the car's handling - much more involving to drive now KW site: http://www.kw-suspensions.co.uk/uk/kw_variant_3.php Separate adjustment for rebound and compression - I have mine set on the stiff side and even then the ride is firm but not harsh. Some clever valving in the shocks to ensure that low/high speed damping is dealt with separately, for better ride comfort. Stainless steel casings for corrosion resistance. TUV approved. More expensive than BCs, but cheaper than Ohlins: http://www.just-subaru.com/suspension-hawk-eye-69870-0.html Posted this after having them fitted:

Ouch! I 'spose there's always that chance if you park those two arch rivals near each other they're going to try to have a scrap as soon as your back's turned Reminds me of Billy Connolly visiting a cemetery in Northern Ireland. They had buried both Catholics and Protestants there, but such was their distrust for each other - even when deceased - that they were segregated into two areas, with an underground wall running between them

Snow? At least 75% of the snow we had has melted now :madnoel: Glad to hear the new clutch is feeling nice - can't beat a new clutch, almost like having a new car

Ouch - don't think I could go that long without at least stopping for a Bruce Lee

I have no beef with my fellow wretched motorist, but I might like to aim one of those contraptions at the local council, who - for the handsome swedge of tax paid to them each year - can't even replenish our empty grit bins (let alone grit or plough the street, heaven forbid!)

Canada? Any tips on how to keep transport moving through winter? Took me 3hrs 20mins to get home from work tonight (usually takes about 40mins) :icon_rendeer:

I passed through Fallin yesterday, you barely had any snow!

And that's from The Sun? I dunno, if there's one person in that photo who doesn't need to be topless.....

Wuss? WUSS?! You're the wuss for needing all-wheel drive in the snow! My only concession to being a total "hard basturd winter driver" is that my car is front wheel drive and not rear wheel drive! Och no, AWD or not, the Scoob's far too nice to be dragging through some of the 'orrible stuff I've had to drag the other car through recently - or to risk being pranged by some other chump

Reminds me of that joke... Q) What do you call a snowman who sits beside a coal fire, playing the piano? A) Metlin' John.

Very true. My Scoob hasn't turned a wheel for nearly two weeks and isn't likely to until the snow has gone, which might be about April 2011 by the looks of it... So Scooby ownership really isn't something I'm thinking much about at the moment... other than how much I'm missing driving it!