Hi folks,

The time has come to buy myself an Impreza and I was hoping to get some advice. A couple of years ago I had a 2004 Blob WRX which I absolutely loved. Then when my Mrs announced that she was expecting our first child I sold it to buy something a little more sensible ( a Focus ST ). I'm now in a position to buy myself another Impreza and I think I have settled on the following models:

• A Hawkeye STI Spec D
  
• A Hawkeye GB270
  
• A Hawkeye STI

All of these seem to be within my budget of £11000. I would need to purchase from a garage so I can part-ex my Focus. I've been doing lots of research on this website and other local Subaru sites too. I'm not worried about the tax or MPG, headgaskets or knocking struts. But I am concerned about the reliability of the 2.5 engine in these models and later models.

I've read so many articles where people say that the answer is forged internals but the truth is I can't seem to find an estimate cost for this. I don't mind budgeting for this, and I do have a couple of other cars so the Impreza won't be my daily driver.

So what are people's thoughts? Am I mad to contemplate a Hawkeye? I don't want anything older than 2006 and the JDM models seem to be either out of my price bracket or seem to have been heavily modified.

Help my convince myself that I should buy another Scooby .... PLEASE!

Cheers,

Paul.

 

Slightly over budget but you won't need to save for an engine build....

http://www.hurstcars.co.uk/used-cars...01510238076460

 

.....thanks mate! That does look nice but as you say it is above my budget . As soon as I go above £11K my Mrs wants me to consider a Golf GTI

 

Consider a Golf and then decide it's not right

Explain to her that if you spend 11K on a UK hawk it'll be a further 3K next year to rebuild it... or, spend 13K now and live happily ever after

 

U could go for a jdm hawk for that money I think.....

 

Forging my Spec D was £5,500 inc VAT then Bob Rawle map approx. £600 which included the license.
It's not all about the internals, things like belts, idlers, oil pump / modines....machined heads and block, skimmed flywheel, ACT clutch...soon adds up.


Cracking 07 UK fast road car. Stealthy, and the clueless mugs out there think it's a WRX by it's spoiler.
Why is it always a BMW 118d that wants a rumble?
Golf R...now you're talking...my Spec D is 342 bhp and 410 lbs ft torque and just has the edge on a brand new Golf R DSG.
Want a 2.5? Get a forged / mapped one is my advice.

 

......thanks for all of the replies folks. I think you have confirmed what I suspected. A 2.5 isn't going to be for me unless I can find one already forged or unless I keep £5K in reserve for a rebuild. Looks like I may have to look for a 2.0 instead . Such a shame as there are three really nice Hawkeyes near me , all around £10K.

 

.... any recommendations then? I have £11K, and the car should be reliable enough to use as my daily driver if necessary. Not looking for mega power or a race car. Circa 285 BHP with some nice chassis mods making for a fast-ish road car.

 

I'd look for a low mileage 2.0 jdm. Stay patient and keep an eye on the hurst cars website (other importers are available). Possibly even look at importing one yourself...

 

Other thing to consider is that, the way things have been going recently, i think a well maintained, good spec 2.0 sti will hold its value far better than a golf gti...

 

Why not go for a 2005 Widetrack STI, pretty much identical interior to the hawkeye, reliable & will hold its value.. Plus lower tax bracket.

 

This on the face of it looks a very nice example at a VERY good price IMO

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifie...landed/5952708

 

There's a nice JDM WIDETRACK running a 2.1 engine etc over 400bhp at bout 9k very nice example on eBay

 

I need to unsubscribe from this thread. Too much temptation being posted.

 

 

Genuinely thanks for the advice guys. Looked at a Spec D and even though it was immaculate with good service history I have decided to rule it out. This is pretty local so thinking of going to view it tomorrow. Any opinions?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2320777647...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

I've dealt with James at Ribble valley very genuine bloke deals in all sports and prestige and wouldn't sell crap very picky your in good hands they value there reputation and have been around along time there bro it's where I bought my widetrack from I'm inly round the corner from them

 

.... thanks mate, that's good to know.

 

That looks like a really good example. Let us know how you get on!

 

Give us a shout if you want me to have a look at it with you bro

 

.... well the car I sent a link to had already sold. Went to another garage who had also sold out of all Subaru! Looks like I could be in with a long wait before I am back in an Impreza.