New & Looking for advice on purchase
 

Hi,

First off I,m paul and I hope this question is in the right section, forgive me if it isn't...

Since playing Gran Turismo 1 when i was a kid I,ve always said I,d own an Impreza one day :) and finally the time has come to start looking for one

The missus has given the go ahead and insurers are will to insure me and had landed a decent job so I,m good to go I guess.

I currently drive a 1.4 MG ZR .... so the only way is up lol

I have around 5k to spend on one, I keep look at wagons but then see a nice saloon and I,m left in two minds, wagon for dog and kids but then a saloon for the cool Impreza factor ...


what will i be looking at for around 5k

should i be looking for the most original i can find

Should i go for full history and cam belt done etc

I,ve seen a few nice ones with various upgrades now only thing that puts me off these is the thought that they have been ragged, but then i think if i owned a scooby I,d take good care of her... so in theory others would.

any help and advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Paul

I recently faced similar decisions - first consideration is shape ,, wagons practical but the saloon shape is waaaay cooler ,, i started looking for a wagon and ended up with a saloon :-)

Next question is wrx or sti - on a newage the sti have decent brakes and a six speed gearbox ,,, brakes on a wrx are pretty rubbish tbh but depends on your budget really if an sti worth having will be available

I went for a ppp pack wrx as theyre safely mapped by prodrive and great fun to drive compared to a standard wrx and id suggest as a minimum try and drive a ppp wrx before you buy a standard wrx ,, any wrx can have the exhaust and map done but when buying factor in costs of this if buying a bog standard un messed with wrx as they are a bit missing on the fun and noise aspect of owning an impreza

Service history is so important - mine came with full subaru history including recent cam belt and all ancilleries by subaru .,, some peace of mind there

Good value scoobys seem to sell fast but take your time and look at lots to get a feel for them ,, beware of cars with mismatched tyres etc as if previous owners cant even afford to keep matched rubber on a performance type vehicle its unlikely they would of looked after the rest of it any better

Check the for sale ads on here for enthusiast owned cars ,, at least here often you can check peoples previous posts for some background info on how troublesome or not the car has been and these guys know their cars and people so if someones blatantly trying to unload a dog i doubt they would do well here

Dont be shy to ask for advice as this forum is a wealth of knowledge and welcome aboard :-)