Thinking of buying a 2004 or younger STI PPP impreza in the UK, got an
integra type R just now. Any STI owners in the group who can give me an
idea of running costs, servicing costs etc etc? How reliable are they
say compared to a "regular" WRX turbo and are they worth the extra £?
I've heard that the mpg is shocking but figures on various web sites
don't look that bad to me!

I know maintence and fuel costs aren't that important with this car coz
lets face it who buys one of these with that in mind but still.....I've
got a budget and want to see if I can get away with it. Any info
appreciated.

Thanks guys

"davea" <alexanderd (AT) tesco (DOT) net> writes:

I've been pleasantly surprised by my 2004 STi, and it hasn't been
coddled. It seems pretty reliable - indeed, very little needed done at
the 30,000 mile service. The Subaru dealer I'm using has kept everything
very cheap - e.g. a regular 3,000-mile service is USD20 with the coupons
they send me. It's the first car I've owned that I've positively enjoyed
driving. (Mine's the US-spec STi, so without prodrive stuff, but with
good HP from the 2.5l engine, so probably similar in the end.) It's
worth it to me to know I can significantly outperform most of the other
cars around me, because then I can easily evade idiots.

I can't compare to other WRX, though, because I've never tried a non-STi
one.

Of course, many parts are more expensive for the STi - e.g., the brake
pads. They're not /very/ much worse, though, and I was kind of used to
that with my last car anyway so maybe I don't notice so much.

Yes, you can get away with it. mpg isn't terrible unless you drive it
hard all the time - drive more gently, using the turbo less, and mpg
won't be outstandingly bad. So you can pick times when you feel rich
to have fun. (-:

Biggest cost for me so far was that I wanted tyre traction to match the
rest of the car's performance, so I have separate wheels+tyres for
summer and for winter, so as well as the OEM ones I use in summer I
bought a separate set of 17" x 7" wheels with Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2s.

One question you have to ask yourself: will you regret not having an STI
if you get the WRX turbo instead? Maybe try test-driving them both.

-- Mark

IMO if you're considering an STi, you will not be happy with a WRX.

If you work out that you can't afford the STi yet, don't get a WRX,
wait until you can get the STi, or get an older STi even.

Loren


davea wrote: