chris1811 Posted December 16, 2015 Posted December 16, 2015 Hi all, Currently looking at an Impreza Sportswagon GX 2.0l AWD 2003 manual. It has 125kk on clock and 12 months MOT. It is however the 120bhp non turbo. I will admit I am a massive fan of these motors no matter what engine Is in them. My question is 1) is it worth buying if price is right with intention to mod it 2) is it easy enough to get abit more ooomph without going the whole hog and turbo converting our sticking a new lump in it? Any help would be massively appreciated. I doubt I could afford a straight up turbo at the moment but hey you got to start somewhere. Cheers all
martyc Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 125k is nothing as long as it's serviced Getting more power would be flogging a dead horse Turbos are surprisingly not that much worse than n/a Imprezas on day to day running costs, insurance can be expensive but I paid 400 fully comp for my 1st year and was told after the 1st year of ownership it comes down (as long as I don't stack it) Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk
chris1811 Posted December 17, 2015 Author Posted December 17, 2015 To be fair I did a couple of quotes last night and the turbo was 100 quid cheaper than the NA. Think I need to look at turbos then. What kind of money am I looking for a half decent one. Something that isn't likely to blow up within a week of ownership?
martyc Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 Depends on what model you're looking at, but about 3k should buy you something with loads of life left. Main thing is service history and how it's been looked after, no good having done only 50k if it's only been serviced twice! Avoid anything with bad mods, and that generally seems abused as it could turn out to be a ticking time bomb waiting to blow (it's bottom end) Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk 1
quit Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 I would never mod a na again unless it's a big block American lump
chris1811 Posted December 17, 2015 Author Posted December 17, 2015 The one I'm looking at is an 03 plate and is standard engine wise. Apparently has lots of service history. To be honest I just like the sportswagon in general. Mods wise I'd be looking at Coilovers and exhaust that's it, but I'm guessing I'd soon get bored. What are the differences really in terns of fuel economy of a 123 NA compared with the 214/220 (however much it is) turbo? Basically I've always said I would one day own a scoob and I've got to the point where I now can :)
stants Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 Buy the turbo if you get the n/a you'd think what if or I wish.. 1
HoodedLime Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 If you already plan making it faster there is no point getting n/a ;) My first Impreza was classic sports wagon. I did like it. It was just short of 200k miles but the engine was spot on. But after a few months I swapped it for a turbo :)
chris1811 Posted December 17, 2015 Author Posted December 17, 2015 You guys are right, I swore I'd never have a NA again after my last turbo, then I had 3. Currently own a 170bhp NA 323 beemer. Which I don't mind. It's quite good fun. But my boy hood car is a scoob. (yes I'm sad)! :) Well got a few I'm looking at so will see what crack is with service history. Are cambelt changes every 100K or less? Cheers.
quit Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 About 40k I think ! Never heard of a 100k cambelt tho
chris1811 Posted December 18, 2015 Author Posted December 18, 2015 Never heard of a 100k cambelt tho Was reading something on the Lexus is200 just before posting and that said circa 100K?! Dunno. My old corsa was 70. Well hopefully I'll be viewing a sportswagon turbo this weekend.
quit Posted December 18, 2015 Posted December 18, 2015 Vauxhall got caught out aboutb10 year ago saying 60k then loads snapped by then ! So reduced it to 40 Most are 40:60 now , unless chain driven which I think the is200 is ,
martyc Posted December 18, 2015 Posted December 18, 2015 I doubt there's much in it mpg wise overall- I'm getting mid 30s in my 2003 wrx, admittedly a lot of off boost commuting but do like to give it the odd squirt (just like the missus) Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk
chris1811 Posted December 21, 2015 Author Posted December 21, 2015 Ahh cheers Matt, that makes sense. Marty that's useful to know, it's no different to my beemer. How do people find fhe mpg in traffic if your keeping off the boost? I'm pretty set on a scoob, just got to justify it to the wife haha
HoodedLime Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 I sold my e46 328 coupe to get my scoob about 3 months ago so I can relate to your situation I guess :) I did like my beemer but always wanted another scoob (had a classic a few years back). It does feel like it has slightly worse mpg and I'm pretty sure that it has smaller tank than BMW which also makes you feel you visit petrol stations more often. But to me there is no comparison. Wouldn't even swap for m3 :D Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
williamw1987 Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 Ahh cheers Matt, that makes sense. Marty that's useful to know, it's no different to my beemer. How do people find fhe mpg in traffic if your keeping off the boost? I'm pretty set on a scoob, just got to justify it to the wife haha I've got a completey stock WRX and MPG wise in traffic, not so good, but not the worst. Low 20s I'd say. From a full tank I get about 200 - 220 miles with traffic. But in good flowing traffic, 280 is achievable in my experience.
chris1811 Posted December 21, 2015 Author Posted December 21, 2015 I sold my e46 328 coupe to get my scoob about 3 months ago so I can relate to your situation I guess :) I did like my beemer but always wanted another scoob (had a classic a few years back). It does feel like it has slightly worse mpg and I'm pretty sure that it has smaller tank than BMW which also makes you feel you visit petrol stations more often. But to me there is no comparison. Wouldn't even swap for m3 :D Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk Aha cheers for that :) the 328 is definitely more thirsty than my 323, but at the end of the day as it seems anything above 1.6 cost the same for me to tax and insure anyway, so that's irrelevant. By the way tried to like your post, but have no idea if I did lmao, so apologies if I accidentally disliked it :s
chris1811 Posted December 21, 2015 Author Posted December 21, 2015 I've got a completey stock WRX and MPG wise in traffic, not so good, but not the worst. Low 20s I'd say. From a full tank I get about 200 - 220 miles with traffic. But in good flowing traffic, 280 is achievable in my experience. That's not bad really...I expected worse. How big are the tanks? 60 L? Sorry for all the questions guys, I'm learning as we go :)
williamw1987 Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 I'm relatively new to Impreza's too, so no harm in asking eh :)... all questions I wanted to know when buying too! I believe it's a 55ltr tank. It costs around £55 to fill up from when the fuel light comes on. Which isn't bad at all if you ask me. They're pretty good on fuel when it comes to long runs. I got about 340 driving like a granny on a recent trip from Surrey to Cornwall. But around town, low 200's are likely with traffic. They're actually a lot better on fuel than I anticipated to be honest.
chris1811 Posted December 21, 2015 Author Posted December 21, 2015 Cheers guys appreciate it. :) I'll take a wander around the forums and see what I can find. See if there is anything for sale too :)
martyc Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 If you need further justification for the missus use the following: Reliability if maintained and not abused Awd so safe in all weather conditions all year round Low depreciation if maintained 4 doors so plenty of space and family friendly Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk
HoodedLime Posted December 21, 2015 Posted December 21, 2015 And if you get a wagon you can even put a dog in the back ;-) Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
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