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Hi , peoples opinions differ when there in the market for an older Subaru. I’m talking classic to newage as there the most risky with our cars. Can you tell me what you look for first?
1. MOT HISTORY (says a lot)
2. what’s the next thing which you look for when you plan on spending a fortune? This is completely personal opinion many people will have different techniques....
Rust is high on the list, my last 2 Impreza'a needed welding. I wouldn't want to be paying 7000 for a rot box, which a lot of them are. Lad I know bought a low mile classic last year, no rust visible at all, looks clean. Just failed mot on strut turret mount needs welding.
Rust is high on the list, my last 2 Impreza'a needed welding. I wouldn't want to be paying 7000 for a rot box, which a lot of them are. Lad I know bought a low mile classic last year, no rust visible at all, looks clean. Just failed mot on strut turret.
no way! You know what, I’m not going to even look for him now, I’m just going to say I’m looking etc as it’s a risky business and I don’t want to point him in the direction of a rust bucket with perfect MOT HISTORY if you get me....
And to being abused with it being this type of car unless your lucky to find one that's been truely enthusiast owned throughout it's life which is rare, they generally change hands a lot hence a lot of them have quite a lot of owners.
Import one from Japan it will be rust free in in way better condition than UK ones , I have a JDM import and the subaru japan serivce history is awesome...
Maybe I was just lucky with my forester but I'm never buying a used car from the UK ever, I'll always import from Japan
As stated above, Just import one through a reputable importer. Nearly all UK cars will have some kind of rust issue.
The thing I look for on second hand cars is how many owners they've had too. Generally (not always) cars with fewer owners have been decently maintained, I guess if you're keeping the car for a while you spend the money.
Import one from Japan it will be rust free in in way better condition than UK ones , I have a JDM import and the subaru japan serivce history is awesome...
Maybe I was just lucky with my forester but I'm never buying a used car from the UK ever, I'll always import from Japan
Importing one from Japan doesn't guarantee it will be rust free, it all depends on what area of Japan the car has come from, they have a lot of areas where the climate is just like ours with a lot of rain, they also have areas where it snows and is colder. Generally a JDM car will be in better condition than a UK one with the same miles, you have to do your homework though, get a good import specialist in the UK to do all the groundwork for you, they'll know all the different climate areas around Japan. I know all this because ive been in the process of looking for a car in Japan myself, Torque GT advised me against one car because of the area it was coming from which was very wet.
Just get a WRX for £4k and set aside the rest of the budget for fixes and mods. Most of the rust issues are around the arches and easily fixed. It's only the rear turrets that are a major issue and they are not hard to spot.
Importing one from Japan doesn't guarantee it will be rust free, it all depends on what area of Japan the car has come from, they have a lot of areas where the climate is just like ours with a lot of rain, they also have areas where it snows and is colder. Generally a JDM car will be in better condition than a UK one with the same miles, you have to do your homework though, get a good import specialist in the UK to do all the groundwork for you, they'll know all the different climate areas around Japan. I know all this because ive been in the process of looking for a car in Japan myself, Torque GT advised me against one car because of the area it was coming from which was very wet.
Totally agree. There's some lemons in Japan too so use a good agent. From my experiences, there seems to be more of an emphasis on servicing in Japan so the cars are generally well kept and the roads are much better.
Totally agree. There's some lemons in Japan too so use a good agent. From my experiences, there seems to be more of an emphasis on servicing in Japan so the cars are generally well kept and the roads are much better.
We specifically avoid all Sapporo / Hokkaido auctions due to rust issues.
Sapporo is on the island of Hokkaido in the far north of Japan very near Russia, they have about 7 months of snow each year and salt the roads. That means many vehicles there are affected by rust. Transport to the nearest Port of Yokohama also costs about 60,000 Yen extra depending on the vehicle.
We also avoid JU Gifu auction in the Nagoya region on Saturday, this auction is often used by dealers reselling vehicles from other auctions for a quick profit so many vehicles there pass in unsold as the reserve prices are too high.
It's worth importing if you know what you're are doing and do it yourself if you go through the importers the price will be too high, you will get piece of mind though, If I had the money I would go through TorqueGT and not worry about a thing.....
Buy from an auction as now in Japan a lot of russians and sri-lankans moved there and opened car dealerships and inflate the prices , a car I was after sold at auction then I've seen in at a dealer in Japan a cople of days later, for almost double the price, you need patience and lots of time and you can get some bargains from Japan, not when it comes to anything STI though as they are very expensive even there, you'll be better of to buy an STI form the UK.....
My car all in all to have it on the road here in the UK was about £8200, same model/year were being sold by QUAY VEHICLE SOLUTIONS for 10-11k
Import one from Japan it will be rust free in in way better condition than UK ones , I have a JDM import and the subaru japan serivce history is awesome...
Maybe I was just lucky with my forester but I'm never buying a used car from the UK ever, I'll always import from Japan
are there many cars left to import now? with the importing of jap cars being popular for the last 15-20 years there cant be many left surely?
The good stuff (STI WRX and special editions) are very hard to find now and it's only getting harder, even the usual importers like TorqueGT etc have a hard time finding good cars, also a lot more countries are now importing (Africa Sri-lanka some middle east) so the prices have gone way up especialy for anything special....not really going our way.....but still with a bit of luck and plenty of time on your hands you can find good stuff.....
I want a wrx classic or Blobeye got £5000 to spend.
Originally Posted by MB84
Import one from Japan it will be rust free in in way better condition than UK ones , I have a JDM import and the subaru japan serivce history is awesome...
Maybe I was just lucky with my forester but I'm never buying a used car from the UK ever, I'll always import from Japan
And I bought through http://autospecsltd.com/ very good and no issues....Here is a good guideline for the pricing:
''Vehicle purchase price = (??)
Our service fee = JPY 100,000 (+ 5% on any purchase amount over JPY 1,000,000 – it won’t be applicable for your Forester, but let me know if you would like me to explain in more detail)
Insurance (optional) = usually JPY 8,000 – 15,000 (depending on the cost of the vehicle)
Ocean freight to Southampton, UK (at cost) = roughly JPY 120,000 for the Forrester
You would then add on your local customs charges, import fees, tax, duty, cost of registration etc. If you haven’t already checked these, it would be best to contact a customs broker to find out how the importing process would work for you in the UK and your local registration office to find out how to register the vehicle and the costs involved in doing so.
The auctions work similarly to E-Bay, you let us know the maximum price you would be happy to pay for a vehicle and we will try to win it for as low as possible within your maximum budget. If you are the highest bidder at auction and the seller’s reserve has been met - then you win the vehicle for 1 bid increment higher than the 2nd highest bidder (vice versa if we bid up to your maximum, if you are 2nd place you will lose the vehicle by 1 increment). The bids are all in increments of JPY 1,000 – 5,000 depending on the auction, and you cannot manually enter a bid amount or skip an increment.''
Putting my JDM WRX in px against a camper van.................if your mate is interested ( I would rather it go to scooby fan) it's a.2.0l, 250 bhp, Auto, 83,000miles with no rust anywhere ........
And I bought through http://autospecsltd.com/ very good and no issues....Here is a good guideline for the pricing:
''Vehicle purchase price = (??)
Our service fee = JPY 100,000 (+ 5% on any purchase amount over JPY 1,000,000 – it won’t be applicable for your Forester, but let me know if you would like me to explain in more detail)
Insurance (optional) = usually JPY 8,000 – 15,000 (depending on the cost of the vehicle)
Ocean freight to Southampton, UK (at cost) = roughly JPY 120,000 for the Forrester
You would then add on your local customs charges, import fees, tax, duty, cost of registration etc. If you haven’t already checked these, it would be best to contact a customs broker to find out how the importing process would work for you in the UK and your local registration office to find out how to register the vehicle and the costs involved in doing so.
The auctions work similarly to E-Bay, you let us know the maximum price you would be happy to pay for a vehicle and we will try to win it for as low as possible within your maximum budget. If you are the highest bidder at auction and the seller’s reserve has been met - then you win the vehicle for 1 bid increment higher than the 2nd highest bidder (vice versa if we bid up to your maximum, if you are 2nd place you will lose the vehicle by 1 increment). The bids are all in increments of JPY 1,000 – 5,000 depending on the auction, and you cannot manually enter a bid amount or skip an increment.''
Alloy bonnet
Much better seats
Better weighted steering
Better headlights
Greater front end clearance/less over-hang
Better cup holder...
I'm assuming that the changes are the same across EU/JDM models. Obviously JDM get better engine and shorter gear ratios.
With the Blobeye facelift, they basically softened the car, tried to make it a bit more luxurious and to differentiate it further from the STi, without spending anymore money. So comfort seats with airbags instead of sports half-buckets, heavy steel bonnet instead of alloy, lighter power steering, reflector HIDs instead of proper projectors etc. The Bugs just feel more sporty and focussed compared to the Blobs. Obviously a lot of parts can be swapped over between models and STi.
Looks are of course subjective and if you really prefer one over the other, then the differences aren't that great. But if you aren't bother by appearance, I'd say the Bug is a slightly better starting point.
05 June 2021, 07:23 PM
Buying a Subaru
