Originally Posted by Agent_Chef

I've had my 1.4 Honda Civic for a good 7,5 years. Bought it when it was 10.

Did a few mods, transferred a lot of stuff, moved a few times, crossed Europe twice, but it had an idling issue lately, what i couldn't sort out. Changed the MAP sensor, cleaned the throttle body, but nothing changed. Couldn't find the exact same throttle body i needed and at the end i thought f**k it, i'll get a new(ish) car.

I've been eyeing with the scoobies for a long time, but i didn't have the funds back then and i knew buying a used one could end up badly.
So one friday afternoon i entered the words - subaru impreza - on the FB marketplace and scrolled through a lot of results, then sent out a few messages.

Saturday morning talked to my flatmate whether he would be interested looking at cars. He said: Oh, you wanna buy another Honda, right? I then showed him the ads and he instantly agreed to come along. Arranged 2 meets for sunday. Both of them 2.5 wrx hawkeyes for less than 5k, but one was with PPP.

Did look at the PPP first. It looked stock (apart from the PPP stuff). My flatmate was on the phone with his mechanic friend checking the bits on the car. (No mechanic mate was available due to the short notice.) Had a test run driven by the owner. Seemed quite alright, so i didn't hesitate and bought it. (And registered here on the same day as a proud owner. )

First thing i had to sort out is the road tax. I was like, wow, a bit more than my Civic!

Then i wanted to change the tyres, because one of them was close to the legal limit and didn't want to risk any accident mid december. Then i was also told to get 18" wheels and i thought that changing one tyre would be silly on a 4WD car so bought a set of used 18"-s and put some Bridgestones on them.

Next thing was a spare key, because i only had one. Been to the locksmith... 2 of them, had 4 copies made and none of them worked, because the orginal was so worn. I was told to go to a Subaru dealer, so i went there had made an original, what has finally worked. (For a bit more than £300, but hey-ho.)

In the meantime i found a matching throttle body for my Civic, went ahead and swapped it. Magic happened and the idling issue was gone, so just the broken rear parcel shelf had to be sorted.

Whilst i was there my mate plugged the scanner on the scooby as well and found 8 fault. I was like sh.... Secondary air pump, MAF sensor, o2 sensor, lean mix,... Damn it.

"Deleted them." - said my mate. "They may have been old problems being fixed, without the fault codes being deleted." - he added.

I remembered that i've put 95 in the tank for the first time just as usual, then watched a video about the benefits of the high octane fuels on turbocharged cars and started putting 97 after that (BP-s are on pretty much every corner, but Shell's are seldomly found in the area.). I think the 3-4 tanks of 97 washed out the 95, because weeks later we plugged the scanner on and the MAF sensor,lean mix codes were gone. (Or they may have been an older problems and have been fixed before i bought the car. God knows.) Secondary air pump still remained a PITA and the headlight beam leveling sensor fault is still on my dash.

Fixing the latter seems easier and cheaper, but have to find out whether it's the one on the front or the one on the back before i buy one. Was thinking about a used one as well, but i might get one that won't last a bit (we're talking about 10+ years old cars at the end of the day), so as soon as we find out which one, i'll get a new one.

Oh, the boot lid is f**ked as well. Couldn't open it from the inside when bought it, but it didn't bother me. Last time i went to pick up an office chair i opened the boot, i heard some strange noises then could not close it. Some of those rods might have popped out of their places. Ip ut one one back where i thought it was and it jumped out again. Closed the lid with a bit of force. F**k it. My mechanic mate will have a look at it next time.

Apart from the dodgy things and the fact that it's a thirsty monster, it is a JOY TO DRIVE (outside the town). It really puts a smile on my face every time i drive it. (Even after 2 months.)

Would love to take it to a dyno, just to see what's the difference between reality and the paper form and to check whether the ECU has been set properly or needs a bit of fine tuning.

Also looking at stereo head units (cassette/CD player in '06, LOL) and gauges (oil temp, oil pressure, boost) just to know when i can push the pedal a bit more. (Tend to shift before 2500rpm in the first 5-10 minutes of driving.) Don't even mind sacrificing half the space of the double din stereo, if i could get some sort of gauges in there and just a simple MP3/USB/BT stereo unit. (Don't want any flashy thing. Not very fond of the 'ironing board' at the back either, but it was there when i bought it. Prefer sleeper style look.)

I have to change the oil as well as it have been self-serviced and barely had any paperwork apart from the MOT in december and a few service papers without date, which is strange, but the oil didn't look too bad.

I know, only an idiot would buy a car with only one key and barely any service history and obvious signs of damage in the back, but it's a done deal now and didn't have any major issues ever since,so i can consider myself lucky (idiot).

Although i know a bit more than back then, when i bought my car i am still a noob.