Used fairly inexpensive fun car?

Postby **RX-7 Chris** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:14

doesn't the Subaru Forester XT have the STI bottom end with the WRX turbo? So it can be upgraded to an STI very easilly?

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:14

RX-7 Chris wrote:doesn't the Subaru Forester XT have the STI bottom end with the WRX turbo? So it can be upgraded to an STI very easilly?

You are correct sir. Typically a VF39/42 (stock STI) turbo, STI TMIC & reflash bump them up to STI power. So, for basically ~$500 invested (stock STI turbos/TMIC's are cheap & OpenECU software is free), you have a ~3200 lbs vehicle with around ~300bhp... although in theory, should be faster in a straight line that an STI due to the fact that the old FXT's had a 4.44 FD vs 3.90 FD on the WRX/STI.

Although, yesterday after work I went to test drive another Mini Cooper S... seriously, that is my favorite FWD car... but it's still FWD. Fun to drive on the right road for sure, but probably a bit too twitchy for a daily driver for me, and I really couldn't stand the torque steer.

On my way back from driving the Mini, I saw a used E46 330i I stopped to test drive, but the battery was dead.... I ended up driving a regular Subaru Legacy 2.5i 5MT, and honestly, for a daily driver/beater, it's not a bad car. In truth, I would rather drive a base Legacy 2.5i than either a Civic Si or MCS as a daily driver... yes, I hate FWD that much. *involuntary shudder*

So, I started doing a bit more thinking... I bought the Miata as a project car that I'll one day boost, so what's the point in having a fast daily driver that I never use to it's full potential anyway... ?!? So I started looking at used base Impreza 2.5i's, and realized the damn things just don't devalue enough for me to justify one, but right now Subaru is giving out 1.9% & 2.9% financing on them new, putting a new one in the same payment range as a used one.

So I'm now looking at possibly just considering a base Subaru Impreza 2.5i. Doing a few calculations, based on financed price with options I'm looking for (at in-voice price of course, won't pay a dime more), at the term I'm looking for, with their special interest rate, along with a drop in insurance (not much, whopping $12/month) and fuel savings based on fueleconomy.gov, if I get rid of the Bimmer on a new Impreza, I should be able to save an extra $260+/month over what I'm paying now over the same term.

I didn't factor in decreased maintenance costs, but obviously they would be significantly lower since my free maintenance is almost up on the Bimmer (~3 months left, after that I have to start paying haha).

Either way, an extra $260/month would be welcomed, as it could be put into savings (possibly eventually go towards boosting the Miata), help alleviate a large pay-cut, and would give me more headroom for a mortgage if I decide to buy a house in the near future.

Granted, a base Impreza isn't nearly the car my 335xi is, but at the same time, while I love my Bimmer, I am finally starting to think I would love extra cash in my pocket even more.

What thinks you CMZC?

Postby **RX-7 Chris** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:14

I think that's a great idea. You could always put some of that extra cash into the miata.

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:14

RX-7 Chris wrote:I think that's a great idea. You could always put some of that extra cash into the miata.

That was my general thought. We'll see what happens.

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:14

Even though it's FWD, if I'm looking for new cars, I just realized that the Mazda is now giving out 0% interest for 60 months.... I might have to take a look at a new Mazda 3.

Postby **RX-7 Chris** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:14

What about the new 2012 Focus?

Learjet45 · Postby **Learjet45** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:14

Back to the Legacy for a second:
http://www.stevinsontoyotawest.com/used/Subaru/2007-Subaru-Legacy-c3d2e9ca0a0a006400f91c8f475f6935.htm

Pretty good deal on a nice car

Good luck with things man!

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:14

RX-7 Chris wrote:What about the new 2012 Focus?

I like the look of it, and from what I hear, it drives pretty well for a FWD car, but after checking Ford's site, the lack of factory incentives (i.e. uber-low financing rates or rebates) kind of crosses it off of the list for me. I dig the styling, as well as the optional dual-clutch gearbox, but the old school driver in me thinks I would still prefer to row gears myself and have a 3rd pedal. If it had 0% interest like the Mazda I would be taking a much closer look at it.

Learjet45 wrote:Back to the Legacy for a second:
http://www.stevinsontoyotawest.com/used/Subaru/2007-Subaru-Legacy-c3d2e9ca0a0a006400f91c8f475f6935.htm

Pretty good deal on a nice car Good luck with things man!

Oh wow, NICE find! I might have to look into that car....

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:14

I like that Impreza 2.5i's keep their value since I own one, heh. We just bought out my wife's lease on her 2008 and got a crazy low interest rate. But I will tell you that while it is a decent car to drive, it is gutless as hell. We actually lined up at a light one night with her driving her Impreza and me driving my Miata and they were dead even from a stop. It's that slow. But it is badass in the snow even on the factory all-seasons that are finally wearing down after 3 years.

And it has been super reliable so far. No major issues at all. So I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one, especially if they have really good deals going on new ones. We just want to eventually have no car payment on her vehicle so that's why we kept this one instead of trading it on another new one.

So bottom line, if you can deal with the huge drop in power and the interior downgrade, an Impreza 2.5i is a great, reliable daily driver that will handle all of Colorado's changing weather with ease and save you some cash while you beef up the Miata.

Learjet45 · Postby **Learjet45** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:14

I agree that the 2.5 engine in the Legacy and Impreza is pretty gutless. But it's not a bad car to drive. And there's the option to turbo it if you want

$3200 gets you the AVO Turbo Kit for the 2.5 n/a engine in the Legacy and Impreza.

And that's the Legacy I wanted to get

Even though the one I ended up getting is a year newer and has like 18k fewer miles, I still would have taken the manual transmission. Silly automatics are no fun.

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:14

That's another reason my wife's 2.5i is so slow. It's a 4spd auto.

Learjet45 · Postby **Learjet45** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:14

Haha. At this point I will take what I can get so long as it's safe. That's important for me. I'd rather not have my own car if it isn't nice and safe

but yeah. I've also got to say I really like the Legacy much more than the Impreza I drove.

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Thu May 26, 2011 9:14

erod550 wrote:I like that Impreza 2.5i's keep their value since I own one, heh. We just bought out my wife's lease on her 2008 and got a crazy low interest rate. But I will tell you that while it is a decent car to drive, it is gutless as hell. We actually lined up at a light one night with her driving her Impreza and me driving my Miata and they were dead even from a stop. It's that slow. But it is badass in the snow even on the factory all-seasons that are finally wearing down after 3 years.

And it has been super reliable so far. No major issues at all. So I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one, especially if they have really good deals going on new ones. We just want to eventually have no car payment on her vehicle so that's why we kept this one instead of trading it on another new one.

So bottom line, if you can deal with the huge drop in power and the interior downgrade, an Impreza 2.5i is a great, reliable daily driver that will handle all of Colorado's changing weather with ease and save you some cash while you beef up the Miata.

Actually, even though I hate FWD, for 0% financing for 60 months, I'm going to have to at least drive the new Mazda 3 before looking at the 2.5i at this point. Dead heat with the Miata eh? LOL, yeah, that's pretty gutless haha! I'll see how it goes.

Learjet45 wrote:I agree that the 2.5 engine in the Legacy and Impreza is pretty gutless. But it's not a bad car to drive. And there's the option to turbo it if you want $3200 gets you the AVO Turbo Kit for the 2.5 n/a engine in the Legacy and Impreza.

And that's the Legacy I wanted to get Even though the one I ended up getting is a year newer and has like 18k fewer miles, I still would have taken the manual transmission. Silly automatics are no fun.

If I buy a 2.5i there will be no turbo-ing it haha! Truthfully, if that was the plan, it would be more cost effective to just buy a WRX to begin with, you would end up with less problems, better handling and a warranty. Not to mention a better motor for boosting: WRX= DOHC motor with lower compression vs 2.5i= SOHC motor with higher compression. I bought the Miata to play with/break eventually haha, just looking for a cheap, economical, daily driver to save some cash.

spoof3r · Postby **spoof3r** » Thu May 26, 2011 9:14

I love the Volkswagen GTI. You can even get a MK5 or possibly a MK6 in the same budget range as those other vehicles. I'm coming from the Euro scene, though, so I am partial to it! I love(d) my MK4 GTI 1.8T

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Thu May 26, 2011 9:14

spoof3r wrote:I love the Volkswagen GTI. You can even get a MK5 or possibly a MK6 in the same budget range as those other vehicles. I'm coming from the Euro scene, though, so I am partial to it! I love(d) my MK4 GTI 1.8T

Yeah, I try to stay away from VW's for the most part, for a number of reasons. I actually have a "Euro" car right now (BMW 335xi), but in truth, BMW (and their subsidiary Mini) are the only German cars I've ever really been interested in, other than a couple of really high end Audi RS & Mercedes AMG cars that I'm not going to go broke trying to afford haha!

Thanks for the recommendation though.

Used fairly inexpensive fun car?

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