Morning folks. After a bit of advice, preferably from people who've owned one or both of the cars mentioned.
As a child of the late 90's (born '94) and completely obsessed with cars forever, Subaru Imprezas are a major weakness of mine. Ever since I watched Clarkson's Head to Head VHS which featured a 22B and an Evo 6 I was obsessed with Subarus, especially the 22B. This and the fact that Richard Burns was thrashing the WRC car across the world on TV most weekends really left an impression on my young mind. On lots of photos of me as a kid I'm either stood next to an Impreza I found (remember the times when you'd see several a day?!) or wearing an item of Subaru clothing. Safe to say, I'm a huge fan of the Impreza, always have been and always will be. I'd always intended on getting on when I was an adult. Obviously a 22B is now way beyond reach for a 23 year old working in a car factory.
J stuff has always been my area of interest, probably because of all the hours playing Gran Turismo 3&4 in my later childhood. This brings me onto the R32 GT-R, it needs no introduction and is a firm favourite of mine. All the stories of 1000bhp ones doing 200mph on Japanese motorways added to the car's appeal to me watching DVDs and early Youtube videos in the mid 2000s.
So in around 2014/15 I started to realise how affordable R32 GT-Rs were and promised myself that I'd get one when I was a little older and insurance was affordable. At this time they started at around £6k in Japan and £8-9k would have bagged a really nice one. I didn't really make much effort to save the money and buy one at the time due to the insurance issue (I was 19/20 at the time so it would've been insane). I'm now a bit older and have 5 years no claims, so I'm ready to buy something a few notches up from the Honda Type Rs I'm used to.
Sadly with the American market opening up to the R32 they've almost tripled in value, and with import duty and VAT I wouldn't expect much change from £20k. This is £20k on a car that is notorious for losing oil pressure and grenading its engine, thus needing a £5k+ rebuild. I'm not fortunate enough to have such a pot to dip into in the event of something going wrong, so this £20k dream car would become a £20k paperweight for a while until I could afford to fix it. Also small bits of trim have a horrendous Skyline tax applied. A mate who looks after his parent's R32 told me to avoid buying one, the parts prices and paranoia of what'll break next have taken a lot of the enjoyment out of the ownership experience.
Also, I don't have £20k sitting waiting to drop on a car, my savings are in the form of an Integra DC2 and Accord Type R (amongst other performance Hondas which I'm not willing to sell). I think if I sold both of these I'd have £6-7k and would be willing to add £3-4k cash. If I was to buy an R32 I'd probably need a £10k ish loan on top of selling the Hondas and adding cash from savings. Obviously I don't want to be making payments on a car, reducing my disposable income for it to then break and be unable to afford to fix it due to the repayments amongst other things.
So with all this circulating in my head constantly trying to think of a way to make it stack up, plus being bored on a night shift last week I started looking at Japanese used car ads and found that Classic shape Imprezas are on the rise but still affordable. I know these can be a financial nightmare too, but surely aren't as bad as the GT-R. Obviously the 22B is way up in the stratosphere and I'll never own one without a lottery win. But a nice 4 door Version 3/4 STI Type RA isn't bad value at around £5-7k in Japan. The later 2 door Type Rs also represent decent value, with (at a glance) similar looks to the 22B, especially if in Sonic Blue for around £8-10k. So over the weekend the idea has been floating around in my head and I'm quite inclined to let go of the idea of the R32 I'd promised 19 year old me, and grasp what I'd promised myself when I was still in primary school
But then I look at a photo of an R32 and I just think they're that little bit more special. A very very rare sight on UK roads and they look incredible when you're lucky enough to spot one. I could afford one, but only with a loan now that the prices have taken off. I just don't know if I could run one. It wouldn't be a daily, would be purely for when I fancy a drive. Wouldn't be used when the roads are salted. Same applies to the Impreza. But as I've already stated, I don't want to own my dream car only for it to spend months/years laid up with a hole in the block while I scrape cash together for a rebuild.
So what's the overall ownership experience like for these cars? As far as I can gather, I'll love the 32 but always be paranoid about it breaking, plus will be paying it off for a couple of years, which I think will really take the shine off owning it. I think I'll really love the Impreza too, I know they can break and they're not as cheap as a Civic to fix but they won't have the Skyline tax applied. I won't need to borrow money for an Impreza, or if I do it'll be a couple of grand not 10.
What about the driving experience? I've not been lucky enough to drive either, so I'm completely in the dark other than Youtube videos. The Skyline looks pretty nimble for its size and weight, but it's still not far off 1500kg with not much of a power advantage over the Subaru. The Impreza looks more chuckable and fun, in fact one video stated it felt similar to a Honda, which is good for me as I've owned loads of Hondas and love the handling of my Civic VTi and Accord Type R. Performance wise I assume they're fairly close, I know a lot of the JDM Imprezas crack 60 in 5 seconds or less, have nice short gearing and a good 4wd system.
Worth noting that I'm not looking at the UK WRX/Turbo 2000 models, only the full nutter spec Type R/RA.
I am aware of the Impreza's chav image and couldn't give a toss. I like them. Although the Skyline is surely better in this department.
The Imprezas I'm specifically interested in are the 4 door Version 3 and 4 STI Type RA, and the slightly later 2 door Version 5 Type R.
4 door Type RA, nice simple lines, looks like McRae's championship winner but for the road:
Version 5 Type R, look a bit fancier, resemble the later WRC cars and the 22B.
I think I've made my mind up and answered my own questions TBH, but every time I see a photo of an R32 I feel a bit gutted. They're just so cool, but would've made so much more sense 3 years ago.
Another thing worth mentioning is that whatever I buy WILL get thrashed pretty much every time it comes out, obviously it'll be maintained and treated with utmost mechanical sympathy but I'm not one for locking a car away waiting for the value to increase. Future value isn't really a concern, however I feel the Impreza is more likely to rise in the coming years as there's a huge worldwide following and the American market will open up to them in the next couple of years. The R32 has already hit that point and values probably won't continue to rise as quickly as they have in the last couple of years. Whichever I buy will also get some light mods such as intake/exhaust, brakes, wheels etc. Nothing too crazy unless it goes bang and needs a rebuild.
So what would you do in my position? As I've already said, I think I've already answered my own question but it'd be good to hear from another perspective, especially people who've owned one or both of the cars mentioned.
Also, if anyone could give me feedback on an importer they've used that'd be great. The plan is to fly out and have a bit of a holiday there, whilst also trying to find a car. I only need the deregistration/shipping sorting if I do it this way, plus I'd love to drive the car in its homeland. Someone that can access the auctions and possibly take me with them would be ideal.
As a child of the late 90's (born '94) and completely obsessed with cars forever, Subaru Imprezas are a major weakness of mine. Ever since I watched Clarkson's Head to Head VHS which featured a 22B and an Evo 6 I was obsessed with Subarus, especially the 22B. This and the fact that Richard Burns was thrashing the WRC car across the world on TV most weekends really left an impression on my young mind. On lots of photos of me as a kid I'm either stood next to an Impreza I found (remember the times when you'd see several a day?!) or wearing an item of Subaru clothing. Safe to say, I'm a huge fan of the Impreza, always have been and always will be. I'd always intended on getting on when I was an adult. Obviously a 22B is now way beyond reach for a 23 year old working in a car factory.
J stuff has always been my area of interest, probably because of all the hours playing Gran Turismo 3&4 in my later childhood. This brings me onto the R32 GT-R, it needs no introduction and is a firm favourite of mine. All the stories of 1000bhp ones doing 200mph on Japanese motorways added to the car's appeal to me watching DVDs and early Youtube videos in the mid 2000s.
So in around 2014/15 I started to realise how affordable R32 GT-Rs were and promised myself that I'd get one when I was a little older and insurance was affordable. At this time they started at around £6k in Japan and £8-9k would have bagged a really nice one. I didn't really make much effort to save the money and buy one at the time due to the insurance issue (I was 19/20 at the time so it would've been insane). I'm now a bit older and have 5 years no claims, so I'm ready to buy something a few notches up from the Honda Type Rs I'm used to.
Sadly with the American market opening up to the R32 they've almost tripled in value, and with import duty and VAT I wouldn't expect much change from £20k. This is £20k on a car that is notorious for losing oil pressure and grenading its engine, thus needing a £5k+ rebuild. I'm not fortunate enough to have such a pot to dip into in the event of something going wrong, so this £20k dream car would become a £20k paperweight for a while until I could afford to fix it. Also small bits of trim have a horrendous Skyline tax applied. A mate who looks after his parent's R32 told me to avoid buying one, the parts prices and paranoia of what'll break next have taken a lot of the enjoyment out of the ownership experience.
Also, I don't have £20k sitting waiting to drop on a car, my savings are in the form of an Integra DC2 and Accord Type R (amongst other performance Hondas which I'm not willing to sell). I think if I sold both of these I'd have £6-7k and would be willing to add £3-4k cash. If I was to buy an R32 I'd probably need a £10k ish loan on top of selling the Hondas and adding cash from savings. Obviously I don't want to be making payments on a car, reducing my disposable income for it to then break and be unable to afford to fix it due to the repayments amongst other things.
So with all this circulating in my head constantly trying to think of a way to make it stack up, plus being bored on a night shift last week I started looking at Japanese used car ads and found that Classic shape Imprezas are on the rise but still affordable. I know these can be a financial nightmare too, but surely aren't as bad as the GT-R. Obviously the 22B is way up in the stratosphere and I'll never own one without a lottery win. But a nice 4 door Version 3/4 STI Type RA isn't bad value at around £5-7k in Japan. The later 2 door Type Rs also represent decent value, with (at a glance) similar looks to the 22B, especially if in Sonic Blue for around £8-10k. So over the weekend the idea has been floating around in my head and I'm quite inclined to let go of the idea of the R32 I'd promised 19 year old me, and grasp what I'd promised myself when I was still in primary school
But then I look at a photo of an R32 and I just think they're that little bit more special. A very very rare sight on UK roads and they look incredible when you're lucky enough to spot one. I could afford one, but only with a loan now that the prices have taken off. I just don't know if I could run one. It wouldn't be a daily, would be purely for when I fancy a drive. Wouldn't be used when the roads are salted. Same applies to the Impreza. But as I've already stated, I don't want to own my dream car only for it to spend months/years laid up with a hole in the block while I scrape cash together for a rebuild.
So what's the overall ownership experience like for these cars? As far as I can gather, I'll love the 32 but always be paranoid about it breaking, plus will be paying it off for a couple of years, which I think will really take the shine off owning it. I think I'll really love the Impreza too, I know they can break and they're not as cheap as a Civic to fix but they won't have the Skyline tax applied. I won't need to borrow money for an Impreza, or if I do it'll be a couple of grand not 10.
What about the driving experience? I've not been lucky enough to drive either, so I'm completely in the dark other than Youtube videos. The Skyline looks pretty nimble for its size and weight, but it's still not far off 1500kg with not much of a power advantage over the Subaru. The Impreza looks more chuckable and fun, in fact one video stated it felt similar to a Honda, which is good for me as I've owned loads of Hondas and love the handling of my Civic VTi and Accord Type R. Performance wise I assume they're fairly close, I know a lot of the JDM Imprezas crack 60 in 5 seconds or less, have nice short gearing and a good 4wd system.
Worth noting that I'm not looking at the UK WRX/Turbo 2000 models, only the full nutter spec Type R/RA.
I am aware of the Impreza's chav image and couldn't give a toss. I like them. Although the Skyline is surely better in this department.
The Imprezas I'm specifically interested in are the 4 door Version 3 and 4 STI Type RA, and the slightly later 2 door Version 5 Type R.
4 door Type RA, nice simple lines, looks like McRae's championship winner but for the road:
Version 5 Type R, look a bit fancier, resemble the later WRC cars and the 22B.
I think I've made my mind up and answered my own questions TBH, but every time I see a photo of an R32 I feel a bit gutted. They're just so cool, but would've made so much more sense 3 years ago.
Another thing worth mentioning is that whatever I buy WILL get thrashed pretty much every time it comes out, obviously it'll be maintained and treated with utmost mechanical sympathy but I'm not one for locking a car away waiting for the value to increase. Future value isn't really a concern, however I feel the Impreza is more likely to rise in the coming years as there's a huge worldwide following and the American market will open up to them in the next couple of years. The R32 has already hit that point and values probably won't continue to rise as quickly as they have in the last couple of years. Whichever I buy will also get some light mods such as intake/exhaust, brakes, wheels etc. Nothing too crazy unless it goes bang and needs a rebuild.
So what would you do in my position? As I've already said, I think I've already answered my own question but it'd be good to hear from another perspective, especially people who've owned one or both of the cars mentioned.
Also, if anyone could give me feedback on an importer they've used that'd be great. The plan is to fly out and have a bit of a holiday there, whilst also trying to find a car. I only need the deregistration/shipping sorting if I do it this way, plus I'd love to drive the car in its homeland. Someone that can access the auctions and possibly take me with them would be ideal.
