hey all, looking at a couple of cars at the moment, mainly a subaru legacy or impreza, some are imports, on getting insurance quotes every quote said £0 excess, why is this? also once they are here and registered is it a basic m.o.t they need? and i suppose most importantly is it worth buying a car thats imported? they seem to be much cheaper than same spec/milage british registered car

Assuming the imports are from Japan, As the car is being brought in from outside the EU, it will not have EU type approval. You will need to get the car SVA tested at a VOSA centre, before that can happen you will need to sortout the lights to conform to current EU legislation including things like the rear foglight and speedo. The SVA is far stricter than an MOT test, and the car will fail if any aftermarket parts that are not manufacturer approved are fitted.

Once SVA'd you can register it, and tax it. Then you can have the speed limiter removed, and replace the radio which wont work in this country properly.

alot do say in adverts they are already SVA'd, so they only need this test once?

Yes, just the once. The fact they are SVA'd will mean that they should be good to go on our roads.

Just be careful about the millage, many imports have a few or several thousand miles knocked off them on the way over. There is a odometer verification methods such as a JEVIC inspection

It's always easier to buy from a trusted importer who will SVA the car, as well as get the clocks changed to miles and ensure the engine has been remap'd for UK fuel. Remember, Jap fuel is 100RON and ours is 95-98. If you don't run on super with Octane Booster or get the necessary remap then you will definitely melt the engine rather quickly

WRT insurance, for modified and imported Scoobs, speak to Gary Moulson at Keith Michaels Insurance, or Rob at the Thatcham office of A-Plan Insurance.

Ask around on Scoobynet for reputable dealers near you, but off the top of my head amongst the best are Iain Litchfield (Litchfield Imports), Richard Henry in Bradford, Performance Centre Manchester, and maybe WRC Sales in Bradford. DO NOT under ANY circumstances visit Keighley Trade Centre (or any of its other names) !!!!!!

It's always worth checking enthusiast forums for well maintained, cherished and well modified examples. Look on Scoobynet in 'General For Sale' and 'Cars For Sale', with the added benefit of being able to view the sellers previous posts to get an idea of the car and owners history. Avoid low post-count sellers who are either traders trying it on, or people hiding a dodgy car under a new user-name !

Scoobyclinic near Chesterfield often have a selection of cars for sale, and they (IIRC) give a 6 month warranty. Being amongst the most respected Subaru tuners and repair shops in the country they are good to deal with. Speak to Kev (The Gaffer), Adam (SpecialX) or James (JB24).

Some general advice - Scoobs run badly and gain no performance whatsoever from VTA dump valves. The exhaust/turbo/intake/ECU is designed to run with the OE recirculating valve, and changing for the silly noisy ones risks not only poor running, but reliability. Only when modding to the level where you have FMIC's and uprated ECU systems running a MAF-less set-up is there any benefit in a VTA DV. Similar story with Induction Kits. The OE intake is excellent, and I/K's usually give no extra power, often reducing power due to drawing in hot, dirty engine bay air instead of nice, clean cool outside air. On some MY cars (notably 98-00) they also have a habit of killing the (hotwire) MAF, leading to engine meltdown, so stay away from both these items.

These cars are extremely fast and capable in standard tune, and amazing when the power starts to rise. However, contrary to popular belief they don't handle very well at all. The best and most rewarding initial modifying route is always to start with the chassis, suspension and brakes. Pre-98 cars mostly had 2-pot calipers and these are not adequate. Look at the later 4-pots at the very least, with uprated pads, lines and fluid. A (Whiteline) rear ARB with solid alloy drop-links is one of the moat rewarding mods you can do. After that, look at springs and dampers, or even coilovers.

Once the handling is sorted, simple exhaust mods allied to a remap can easily and cheaply get them to 300bhp or slightly more. To get any higher though you'd be looking turbo's, injectors, fuel pumps and intercoolers. This is when it gets pricey, so I always say it's time to get out and drive the bu99er instead of tinkering.

HTH

Edited 26 July, 200916 yr by corradoboy

thanks, very useful info there:thumbup: ive been looking at WRC and ive seen a few on keighley trade centre, why must they be avioded though?

i cant say it was going to be a car i modded, id contemplate better brakes but standard in terms of speed is enough really, plus its the insurance, been reading up a few topics on a enthusiasts forum and they say about how the slightest mod and how their insurance have spanked them, there seems to be alot more involved to a subaru than a mondeo ST220 which is also what ive been looking at, im all for less hassle really, thought with what they get for 14/15 year old models they would be quite solid and reliable

Do a Google on KTC and draw your own conclusions. They are reputed to stock very low grade imports which have often been track toys, thrashed to within an inch of their lives and mod'd beyond common sense so they're near meltdown. Their cars are also often quite obviously damage repaired, but there would be no UK record of how bad they were damaged. Customer service and after-sales aren't a strong point either, with some horror stories I've heard quite scandalous.

Speak to the insurers I listed as imported and modified vehicles needn't be silly money. My Scoob was heavily modified in the chassis department and came in at £500 or so. A mate with a Litchfield Type 20 (Jap spec STi running 330bhp and awesome suspension set-up) paid IRO £550. Both A-Plan.

The Mondeo won't hold a candle to a well sorted Scoob, trust me !

I wouldnt trust a grey import for this very reason. You have no idea if it was accident damaged, or stolen.