Back on the road! New car?

[My T5]

At last,after an expensive week the tank is once again taxed & mot'd.
One shock absorber,cv boot kit,steering rack boot,2 handbrake cables,shoes and a few hours labour and 6 months car tax and im £450 worse off!
But another years whooshing about will soften the blow,a bit!

I keep on getting an urge to buy a subaru impreza wagon turbo.Its a bit of a dilema,i love the volvo but really fancy that turbo kick with almost limitless grip.So, what do you think? And whats the Volvo worth?(see sig for details.193,000,12 months mot, 6 months tax) Cheers people.

[Rob S]

Having come from a Subaru Impreza to a T5, I might be able to help with this.
Other than being fast estates, they don't really compare.
The Volvo is better built, less likely to get stolen by some scumbag, and less likely to get cut up on the road. They are easier to work on (by a mile, especially the engine) and the parts are cheaper and more easily available.
The Volvo's are much bigger, and cheaper to insure.
The Subaru is potentially quicker, and definitely faster down a country road. The seats will hold you better, and the sound of the boxer engine is infectious.
They'll both be pretty poor on jungle juice, but the Impreza I hahd did between 22-25 on normal running and about 10 if I was playing.
Generally, they can do high mileages BUT be safe in the knowledge that everyone who's ever owned the car you look to buy has at some point pretended they are a rally driver and thrashed the arse off of it. Not exactly typical of Volvo ownership!

If this sounds a little biased, here's why.
I bought a standard UK car, one owner with FSSH and good mileage.
I serviced it straight away, and did nt muck around with the boost. In three months, it broke down three times, the final time being terminal as the headgaskets failed.
Due to the boxer configuration, there was no way I could sort it out, and not many garages would either. I was quoted between £800-1200 to fix it, just for the gaskets. to be fixed, considerably more for the clutch and all the other bits " you might as well do" while the engine's out.
I'd always wanted a "real" performance car, but the experience has left me feeling I'd never have one again.
The Volvo feels unburstable, and much more likely to stay in one piece.
I've know doubt your car would sell, especially as it seems such a nice example. Whether you'd get enough to cover your costs, and leave you with enough to get a decent Subaru is another thing. (I'd only do it if you've really got to have one, and can have it either as a 2nd car, or have about a grand sitting in the bank waiting for the repairs, nothings cheap on them-eg 2nd hand engine £7-800)

Good luck with your dliemna mate.

[flyingbrick]

At last,after an expensive week the tank is once again taxed & mot'd.
One shock absorber,cv boot kit,steering rack boot,2 handbrake cables,shoes and a few hours labour and 6 months car tax and im £450 worse off!
But another years whooshing about will soften the blow,a bit!

I keep on getting an urge to buy a subaru impreza wagon turbo.Its a bit of a dilema,i love the volvo but really fancy that turbo kick with almost limitless grip.So, what do you think? And whats the Volvo worth?(see sig for details.193,000,12 months mot, 6 months tax) Cheers people.

Great news mate.
I know were your coming from with the subaru thing. There was a nice one outside work the other day growling its head off (Yes it was blue with gold wheels LOL) I love my 850 but the Subaru thing its there for me aswell. But I here all the nightmare stories about them. Its taken alot of time and money to get my 850 up to the standard it is today and dont realy want to go through it again so soon with a subaru.
I will have a WRX just dont know when.

Cheers Mark....

[Hallsy]

I was in a similar boat when deciding what to buy, I wasn't looking at the Impreza wagon (more a stretched hatch back than true estate), but I was looking at Legacy GT or GTB wagon, which is a similar size to the 850.

I was looking at both 850 T5's and the Legacy GT's (~'95), I liked the looks of the Legacy and also the AWD, sound of the boxxer and power out of the box (240bhp for GT, 260 for GT-B iirc).

Prices were all over the place tbh. In the end I chose the Volvo as it seemed to have a higher level of trim, better reliability/build, and plenty of tuning options - whilst also being different, and less likely to attract attention from scrotes/chavs.

The Legacy is nice but it's still typical Jap inside (not knocking, I also own a Celica and 200SX) and I preferred the interior of the 850, as well as the options (mine is a CD).

The major thing for me, was that you didn't see many of these cars on high miles, unlike the T5's), and engine rebuilds didn't seem uncommon. Most of them suffer from piston slap, which seems to be accepted, and also if they have ever been run on crappy fuel (JDM ones) you could have potential bottom end problems. The twin turbo setup on the Legacy can be problematic if the control system starts to perish (vac lines, etc) and it's also reknowned for having a flat spot between the two trubo's.

Sorry I'm banging on about the Legacy (I just feel that is a better comparison to what you already have than the Impreza wagon).

In the end, they are both great cars, but I think my Volvo will long outlast any Legacy/Impreza I would have got for the same budget/age.

HTH.

For me the impreza has always been in the shadow of an Evo anyway, Evo 4's are quite affordable now, but they have their problems as well (crankwalk, higher servicing costs).

Maybe drive a few impreza's to see what you think.

[T5arrrgghh]

SAME SAME i looked at imprezas when looking for the veemus but decided against it. i have had a Pajero Evo with 350bhp and although it was a flame spitting animal it was a nightmare i once took it out for a half hour drive and had to get flatbed'd home and it cost me a grand to fix! fun times. i also have a friend with a 340 horse prodrive sti probably a 54 reg or something and it breaks continually costs him the earth but it is fun to drive and there is a part of me thaat would as others have said own one at some point.

but really i would like to save up (a long time) and wait for the depreciation to almosst kill the ccurrent owner and get an Audi RS6 580 horse!!!! its the new 850 t5.

[My T5]

Thanks for all the info and opinions guys.If i went for a subaru funds would dictate a high miler which by the sound of it is a bad idea ! My sensible brain cell says keep the volvo,the money ive invested in it makes it the better car.However my petrolhead brain cell hears an impreza coming down the road and wants one! Volvo it is then....For now!

[p fandango]

i vote Mitsi VR4, altho i'm not a 4x4 fan & think there boring i must give credit my bro's old one. With a simple decat, 3" exhaust & boost control he finished 2nd in the Avon park Jap racer series, ran a 13.8 1/4mile & 2nd in a group VR4 dyno do. Nice 2.5litre V6 & twin turbo set-up gives it a fair bit of poke. Servicing can be expensive but cheap indies who specialise in them are about

[PaulZX]

that was a lovely sounding car, that vr4, used to make my windows rattle as it went past, burbling away to itself.....

actually.... you can see my xr4i on the drive, (about ten houses up on the right) just the right of that telegraph pole...!!!!

awww.... I miss the old girl....

oh, and volvo all the way. You wanna sports car, get an Elise... now they give you a rush.....

[My T5]

i vote Mitsi VR4, altho i'm not a 4x4 fan & think there boring i must give credit my bro's old one. With a simple decat, 3" exhaust & boost control he finished 2nd in the Avon park Jap racer series, ran a 13.8 1/4mile & 2nd in a group VR4 dyno do. Nice 2.5litre V6 & twin turbo set-up gives it a fair bit of poke. Servicing can be expensive but cheap indies who specialise in them are about

Sounds nice,ill investigate into one of those.What price do they go for?

[p fandango]

Sounds nice,ill investigate into one of those.What price do they go for?

his was a sought after manual but can't remember if he sold it for £2.5k or £3.5k a couple of years ago

plus they use 2 Mitsi 7T turbo's, grab a couple of cheap 15G's off here for even more smiles

[Hallsy]

A Legnum VR4 will fetch more money that the equivalent Legacy.

Very sorted cars, handle well, go well, but do really drink it. V6 twin turbo setup in a heavy car equated to around 18mpg iirc.

Also, as they have the AYC and 4wd setup from an Evo, if anything goes wrong with the drivetrain it is very expensive.

I looked into these as well Would still love one if I had the funds to run one and fix it if it ever went tits, but at the moment, I don't, lol!