VR6man

Some of you may have read me going on about a Impreza Terzo edition......

Right...

well it is specced as follows

34,000 miles
Full Subaru Service History
Cambelt service due... will be done
12 months subaru warranty
STi rear spoiler
Sti front skirt
Hasn't got the gold wheels... looks like them but not gold....
6 months tax

£13995 (maybe a bit pricey but it looks nice and seems in good nick)

however 3 owners on a 98 car .....is that bad / usual whatever ???

should i be concerned or am i flapping about nothing.....

i have put a refundable deposit down on it so it's mine in theory if i want it

any advice welcome

SlowBoy

iTrader: (1)

It does seem pricey. For that price I would have to be convinced that it was a good 'un. The 3 owners thing doesn't have me convinced. The car doesn't sound like it's been someone's pride and joy. There will be other cars.

SlowBoy

iTrader: (1)

I thought cambelt service was due at 45k?

SlowBoy

iTrader: (1)

Oops, me again. OK, service could be due according to age of the car (whichever comes sooner).

chrisp

See if the car has had th episton slap fixed. The 208bhp 97 and 98 cars were well known for this. The only really way to check it to started it from cold ie. first thing in the morning. When the engine is warmed the noise should go away. There are a few .wav files on the web and I think Ihave one at home but basically it sounds like a diesel when you start it up, loud knocking/ticking. The fix was a replacement short engine or more recently to rpelace the affected piston. Worth getting done as a 98 car is out of original warranty.

Cheers

ChrisP

suffolkscoob

If you're set on Terzo there is one for sale in Ipswich. It parks across the street from where I work, not there today though(typical). Price was £12400, but I can't remember the milage. Looks in good nick though.

If you want me to check further - phone number other details etc. let me know and I'll do me best.

Bill

VR6man

i'm getting a "second opinion" hopefully tomorrow from a friend of mine who is a car dealer...

to me... it looks good but i'm no expert.

from my perspective, the advantages of this one are that it is from a main subaru dealer, it has all the "used and approved" checks done and it has 12 months parts and labour warranty which seems to cover a lot of things.

the disadvantages being the three owner thing (in my eyes) and the fact that on top of the price of the car, i need a tracker + the old stereo and changer and car kit ripping out and fitting in the new cart (£100 + VAT to remove and refit head unit and changer which i think is quite good)

any more comments ???? / opinions ?

VR6man

would the "piston slap" you mentioned be covered under warranty ? was it a recall or something like that?

it might not have been started from cold when i saw it but it didn't make any untoward noises.....

having said that, it sounded very different to my VR6 !!!

JoeyDeacon

VR6Man,

I would be very interested in what "used and approved checks done" actually means.

The reason I ask is that a while ago I sold my car to a Subaru dealer and I thought they would go over it with a fine tooth comb before they offered to buy it (i.e up on the ramps, fully check out service history etc) . All they did was have a quick 10 second look inside the car, Started the engine for 10 seconds, had a quick look around the bodywork, opened and shut the boot very slowly (probably to check for accident damage), had a 5 second look at the stamps in the service history and then offered me a price. I couldn't believe they didn't even bother driving the thing.

Oh and that car seems, way, way overpriced.

VR6man

hmmmmmmmm...

not sure what to do really...

i'm going to wait until someone who knows something about cars has had a look at it for me.

unfortunately though....

for sale through trade and lets say from subaru dealers, there aren't many non standard imprezza's (that look a bit different) for sale... or can someone prove me wrong and point me to one

for around (less than) this price....

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

For that money buy a MY00 Euro Import in the same colour blue.

banshi

We searched the network for another Terzo. Planning to run a his n hers pair of twins
Couldn't find a similarly loved example at (what I considered sensible) £. So we bought a new one.

Got 14 for ours fifteen months ago.

My usual rambling comments for what they're worth

FSSH, worth nothing, Needed to maintain the warranty so only a complete loon/pauper would go elsewhere. Value = zero
Any reputable dealer would undertake an imminent service and the 12 months warrant is standard on network approved cars ( which should be serviced before sale anyway) so again worth nothing.
STi rear spoiler & Sti front skirt personal choice but no tangible value unless considered a must have which you would subsequently spend cash on. May be a consideration if comparing two otherwise equivalent cars
Hasn't got the gold wheels.. Why? Scuffed, bent, upgraded?
A Terzo is a Limited Edition which should only command a premium over the std model if it has all the original kit. (IMHO) So does it come with the original mats and are they in good order?

3 owners, depends. Was it a demo, how long did they keep it, was it a part ex, can you speak to the previous owner!!!!!!

Not all 98 suffered piston slap, ours didn't up to that point. It still drove like new with no squeaks or rattles maybe I should have drivin it a bit harder eh Chris

333

VR6man,

Got my Terzo 6 months ago and loving every minute of it,I paid 13.5K from a Subaru main dealer, It is a standard Terzo apart from high spoiler & colour coded mirrors & skirts, It is in excellent condition and looks smart (even if I do say so myself)

45K & FSSH & 2 previous owners (contact them as I did)

The price looks about right maybe a tad high when compared to others for sale from main dealers (check out the Subaru web site, 2 for sale last time I looked both around 13-14K)obviously if you buy private you will get them cheaper.

My doubt would be the gold wheels, as the originals set the car off nicely.

Cheers
Richard

VR6man

banshi, what did u get for yours then 15 months ago... and what mileage were we talking (just out of interest) ?

the wheels looks to me to be the gold ones but not gold if you see what i mean so i guess reconditioned....

i like the look with the front skirt and different spoiler so not a bad thing in my books....

does have the mats... i noticed the driver side one had a "terzo" logo on it..... slightly worn which is probably why i noticed it

no idea about the previous owners etc... this, i need to look into.

VR6man

ok... well i'm getting some interesting feedback here....

food for thought etc...

i've put a deposit (returnable) down on the car so it buys me a little bit of breathing space...

ok then

Warranties...

what does the kind of warranty i will be getting with this (from scooby main dealer) cover ?

does it cover the turbo ?

does it cover the clutch ?

are these stupid questions ?? I wondered as these are things that immediately say to me.. ouch.. that's gonna cost if it breaks or wears out...

any ideas ?

banshi

Questions Questions

That's as in 14,000 UK Pounds, not potatoes or pesatas!

The car had done just over 30k (that's miles thousands of ) Virtually perfect car and loved to bits, still a picture of it in the lounge, how sad are we

555 plate,PIAA driving lights, high level r/spoiler, fully colour coded (a must in my opinion) full size spare. Dealer swapped head unit and cd player for nowt whilst we waited, so a ton plus the dreaded is extracting the usual!

When we left fourcourt, if I'd £14,000 under the mattress I'd have driven her home again Depending on who's been driving it for the last year it could still be a good buy.

I never offered it as a private sale, as my wasted time/intolerence of tyre kickers ain't worth the few extra quid. But a friend of a friend asked a trader to assess the car with a view to purchasing. Even though they aren't listed in the guide he concluded it was too expensive and asked what I'd take!
More than I'd already been offered ????

You originally asked for advice not opinions so lets be blunt.

1. Don't rush, the right car will arrive eventually. How many have you seen? I had endless telephone conversations and travelled miles to see overpriced average cars.

2. Your pal in the trade will give u an assesment of the car but unless he's big into Scoobs won't help on values.

3. People will say, and have, a Terzo is not worth the premium. In the cold light of day they are correct. How much are you paying for a/c, rally blue paint, a set of mats and a few stickers!

But... my part ex delivered at least two grand more than a std car would have returned and I never (truly never) saw another on the road. Did see one parked at an SIDC day at Donno though

4.Finally, walk in and GET YOUR DEPOSIT BACK.

I'm not saying don't buy the car, just make sure it's the one for you. Then start seriously negotiating again, you wouldn't believe the number of calls I got a week or so after I'd walked away from cars I didn't want.
If your worried someone else will grab it don't even leave the showroom. You should at least get em to replace the carpets or install the ICE, at worst swallow yer pride and tear up the man's cheque

VR6man

fair enough...

i needed some advice other than the little voices buzzing around in my head !!!!!

i'll still wait for an opinion from my friend

but i think unless i can get a better price, i may pass on this one

(i'm looking at another £500 quid on top of the price or thereabouts for the tracker and ice stuff) and on a car which i think is still too expensive....

thanks for the realistic suggestions though !!!!

RB5#295

Parks of Exeter have a MY99 DBM 4-door with 17" TSW Venoms, STI lamp covers and clear indicators, and more importantly turbo timer, 'sports suspension' and a brake upgrade. 35k miles for £15,995 (and I think they have a grand off that on the screen). Not for me because of the wheels and the lack of air-con.
They also had a Terzo with 54k for £13,995 a couple of weeks ago but it was a bit too used for me and I think it has gone now.
For reference I paid £14k for a pukka RB5 with 37.5k and one owner from a Scoob dealer 10 days ago.

[Edited by RB5#295 - 7/15/2002 5:30:48 PM]

banshi

IIRC, the dealer warranty is v close to the original manfr one.

Should cover turbo, but clutch is likely to be considered a wear and tear item like brakes tyres etc.

Check with the man at the showroom when you ask him to chuck in a tracker to clinch the deal

RB170

VR6man hate to do this but if your interested I'm selling my RB5

RB5 WRsport No 170 250 bhp 241 lbs
Full PPP
Prodrive spoiler
Eibachs
Bilsteins
45k miles
Sony mini disc ice
Eguard sat tracker
Anti car Jack system

£14,800



If your interestd then send me a mail mikej.griffiths@ntlworld.com

Mike

VR6man

very very nice

but i'm looking for lower mileage more around the 30k mark.....

but yes.... i like it a lot

and for the benefit of anyone that is interested, i'm going to ask for the deposit back on the Terzo and wait and see what comes up....especially as those RB5's look rather appealing....hmmmm.......

SlowBoy

iTrader: (1)

IMHO, an enthusiast's car with a few more miles on the clock is worth more than / makes more sense than a car with average miles, which may not have been as well looked after. Just read some of the posts on this forum. Some owners seem to pamper their cars like / more than family members

VR6man

could well be true, as you say, some cars are certainly "pampered"

i'm sure my other half thinks that i love my car more than her already !!! (and its only a lowly vr6 !!)

however, i'm still looking for fewer miles or an absolutely incredible car with a few more....

i certainly want one with less miles on than the Highline....(54k)

RB170

Oh Well worth a try

Hope you find what your looking for

Mike

banshi

Always worth buying an enthusiasts car, trouble is ensuring they're not just holigans in disguise.

I obviously spoke to the previous owner, and the supplying dealer, before I committed to the car. When I went to finalise the deal, he turned up to see who had bought the car, spent around an hour chatting about Scoobs generally and then took me for a run out in his new Evo