I need a reliable, fun ride which will cost me less than 5k. Looking for roughly a '98 Scooby estate with realistically 90k on the clock. Are there many problems with high mileages with this sort of car? I'm currently driving a '91 MX5 and am used to bullet-proof reliability.

Any help greatly appreciated.....

Cheers, Chris

 

same as other cars, if looked after they are reliable.

 

I've got a scooby with 95,000 on the clock only probs are a rattle from engine and the rad went

 

Guy I Know has a Classic wagon with 160,000 on the clock.Original engine. Has it serviced regularly! Goes like a train. Doesn't smoke but plenty of flames

 

Just bought a STi MY02 with 93k on no probs really

 

As said they last if looked after.. just can be difficult to know a high mileage one has been looked after..

I run the original engine to 186,900miles on my 96 wagon and replaced as I had built a new engine expecting it to fail but it didn't.. swapped it anyway.. about to click over to 199,000miles.

Simon

 

on my third scoob, sold my last to a good friend with 95k,when he sold it on it had 138k and no problems,in my opinion,look after them and they are bullet proof

 

I'd say no. Bought a 98 WRX wagon last year, imported when new, only two careful owners, had all the services etc, 105k on the clock. Like a fool I thought that Subaru meant reliable with all these tales of 250k Legacies etc.

The thing I forgot is that regardless of mileage, old leggy cars, that are driven fairly fast, just wears out. And servicing doesn't catch these kind of things which all add up. This was a car and seller that were totally honest by the way, I don't feel cheated or that I was sold a pup.

However, in the last year and a bit I've replaced or rebuilt - engine, turbo, gearbox, almost every sensor known to man, brake calipers/discs/pads, oil twice, all filters, had the hydraulic clutch system all out numerous times, all four dampers and springs, ARB droplinks. These were all jobs that were done because the part was knackered, not just replaced for a bit of fun.

I wouldn't buy a high mileage Scooby again. Or in fact any high mileage car. I've had too many 100k+ motors that have a good, honest life, but they reach a certain point where everything just wears out and I end up throwing money into the black hole. It may be the way I drive. But even if it is, how come my wife's '01 Yaris T-Sport which I drive just as hard hasn't missed a beat in 5 years? Literally the only thing I can think of is the OEM brake discs are **** and I replaced them with Mintex, which have been fine. And just last week, they wrote to her about a recall they had to do. It was in at the garage for an afternoon, obviously free of charge, they fully valeted it and gave her a bottle of champagne for the inconvenience. No wonder people rate Toyotas.

And Subaru parts prices aren't cheap enough so that I can afford to replace parts 'just in case'. At the moment I'm hunting down an idle problem. I'd like to replace the MAF and a few sensors but a new MAF is almost £300 for my model. So that won't get done because I guarantee if I take the plunge and buy it, it won't make any bloody difference. And so I buy second hand because that's all I can justify, then I don't know whether it still has the same problem. Even if I was a millionaire I wouldn't pay £300 for a MAF. It's a rip-off. Or almost £100 for a speed sensor.

 

Gulp. Thanks for that. I think I need to think a little harder about this.

 

Hi i run a 95 uk turbo wagon which has done 108k all seems good no major probs since owned and bought with no history ( long story )

 

LOL don't want to put you off or anything. Just that I think in our quest for value for money, a lot of people - me included - think 'yeah, buy a leggy but tidy motor and it'll be OK'. And I've found out a number of times that even if major stuff like the gearbox or engine holds up, just replacing fiddly dealer-only stuff e.g. reverse switches, throttle position sensors, really adds up. TBH if I was looking at a high miler again, I'd get a Golf GTi or something - that way pattern parts are cheap and easily available. With Subarus you're paying through the nose for basic stuff that should cost very little, which is OK if it's an almost new car just out of warranty, but not so great when you're only spending 5 grand on the whole car in the first place. To pay for a new engine, new gearbox and a remap I've spent 4 grand in dribs and drabs, plus numerous other bits and bobs that needed replacing. And when a gearbox or engine goes, you've got a simple choice - fork out hundreds if not thousands of pounds to get it fixed (unless you can do it yourself), or try and sell a dead car losing over half the value of the car in the process.

With hindsight, I'd say buy a leggy motor if its very cheap. However tidy it is, mileage takes its toll on most parts, even if it's been run on a motorway the whole time.

 

I've got a '92 legacy single turbo with 170k miles on the original engine, has the fabled tappy tappets when cold but shes fine when warm and is quicker than my friends freshly rebuilt 200sx with lots of money spent on it! i think its a lot of luck really, some engines are just crap to start with.

 

no problem at all with high mileage scoobys as long as they've been looked after just like any other car

 

For 5k I think you will get a pretty low mileage one at the mo! as the market for Subarus isn't doing to good at the min.

 

I'd expect something like a '98 sti with around 60k on for that sort of money, remember you can get new WRX's for £15k these days from the online car companies, so an 8-9 year old model isn't really worth any more than 5k despite what us classic ownners would like to believe.