EddScott

Hi all,

I could really do with some advice with buying an Impreza. Up until recently I was going for a Nissan GTIR having owned one before but I've got a small family and recently I've felt that an estate would be much easier hence looking at Wagons.

However, I know very little about Impreza's. I've got a budget of £6K and really only want a UK faclift model so Late P or R is what I'm looking at and as my budget is low I know I'm only going to get one which has past or is close to 100K miles.

What issues are there with high mileage Imprezas? I've seen a few around my budget and most appear to have FSH. One in particular on Autotrader recently in DGM but the mileage is not stated and its a helluva trek from sunny Wales.

Thanks for any help.

mista weava

you should be able to get a wagon with less than 100k for £6k if you go for a uk spec.

don't be frightened of imports though.

i bough a 93 wrx last year for 7k (addmitedly cheaper now) and has been fantastic.

the insurance is grp 20 as opposed to 17 which the uk cars are, but most of my friends who are early to mid twenties pay not much over a grand for imports and about 7-800 ish for uk. remember 300 quid over a year is very little bearing in mind the running costs of an impreza in a year!

i recently (3 weeks ago) went shopping for an impreza with a friend. looked at 1 uk and 1 import - both were awful. then we came accross a really sweet balck wagon wrx and got it for £5450!! bargain - really tight engine. great buy.

he is 23 and 3 years no-claims and paid £1000 for fully comp plus had to fit tracker (£500 but most insurers will specify tracker anyways)

whatever you buy, look at a few until you get the right one - there are lots of good ones. it is a buyers market also.

he got japanese service history with his also - i got nothing, but you will know a good one when you see it.

hope this helps,

Weava

mista weava

indeed i would also go for pre-facelift - defo more tuneable and interior can be sorted - although the wagon interiors are more difficult to get.

7bhp down is very little. go for a full exhaust system and you should get a healthy 30bhp gain and driveability to-boot.

i have done this and transformed car.

uk spec have smaller td03 turbo i think and is less laggy - import tends to have td05 turbo which is bigger and more laggy, but dump valves etc largely sort this. if you don't want noise go for re-circulating type.

i was after a uk wagon to start with, but found my import and have never looked back. both are great, i personally would not rule out either option, just make sure it is a gooden.

the one thing that a uk owner said to me the other day about owning said, was that if you get a uk with FSSH then you will want to keep that up which can be expensive. if you are the sort of person who has a good garage, or do the work your self, then with one of the service schedules available from SIDC FAQ, you can keep the cost lower.

Subaru drop oil at 7.5k mile intervals i think, i personally prefer 3.5-4k mile interval max, due to the caning i give it and all the short runs i do.

Weava

NACRO

If you look around I'm sure you would be able to find a lower mileage (60,000s)wagon for your budget.

Be aware there was a model change in 96. Personally I would go for a pre-facelift as I believe these have less problems with piston slap than the 97/98 and are more tuneable- I may be wrong though. Bear in mind the pre-facelift has a more unpleasant interior than the later ones and less torque.

Look at the SIDC FAQ's for more info.

[Edited by NACRO - 9/11/2003 3:21:31 PM]