bucski

Nearly bought an imported wrx type ra, 94 for 6000 the other day. Until a guy warned about reliability saying it would cost me a fortune to run, he said wheel bearings go every 7-10000miles, there is a problem with the 4th piston, the cam belts wear quickly, and lots of other problems.
Are they really expensive to run? I fancy a turbo model that won't be too expensive but a bit of fun, for around 6000 pounds.
Any recommendations?
He also reckoned that the ra was only designed to last for 3-4 years and that's why a lot of imports are coming from japan over here
thanks in advance
tim

OllyK

Get the impression this guy doesn't like Scoobs or is jealous that you may be getting one!

In surveys (JD Powers etc) Scoob tend to actually come out very high on the list for reliability - Jap engineering, what do you expect?

The service interval is frequent, 7,500 for older and I think up to 10,000 now for the newer models, but the price for a service is cheaper than I used to pay for a Pug 206 so it seems to average itself out. There are a couple of big services 60K and 90K as I recall that will set you back circa £400 or so but even that isn't too bad considering the 40K service for my old 206 cost over £750.

HTH

GU5

Why not stop an AA/RAC patrol and ask how many broken down ones they've been to

BlueSimon

Make sure it is an AA/RAC van and not a Subaru assistance van

Simon

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

It looks like the guy didnt like scoobs at all that you talked to.
Wheel bearings, as per any other car will last 90k+, fuel on the other hand will last as long as the way you drive the car, ie foot to the floor and you wont have it in the tank very long
Services though will set you back a fair few bob.
For a 94 car you will be looking at a 10yr service (150k) which will be comprised of diff/gearbox/engine oil changes, id see if the car has had a cambelt change at the 9 year (135k) service, if not or if you dont know, id get this changed as its cheaper than new valves etc. This 10year service could set you back upto 500 quid if you need a cambelt, you will also need speciallist dealer servicing as you wont have the option of using a UK subaru dealer as they dont touch Grey import cars. The intermediate service at 6 months/7.5k (whichever one is first) will set you back around the 100 quid mark, an 11year service is less than 150quid if you dont need anything replacing due to wear and tear, the 12yr service will be expensive though (500+quid again). This is the price you will have to pay for subaru ownership, but it is worth it
(your average mpg will be around 15mpg in town and upto 28 on a long motorway run so you know what your getting into, you may get more or less than these stated figures depending on how you drive).

Tony

[Edited by TonyBurns - 1/16/2004 10:39:44 AM]

bucski

thanks for all your help
It's difficult when you don't know yourself
The guy I talked to is a fan of scoobs and used to work at a dealership, he seemed to know everything about them I think I will phone him back and mention what you guys said
Is the RA as reliable as any other scoob?
Is there any truth in the fact that they are shipped out of japan when they are on there way out?
ta lots

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

The main difference with the RA is the gearing (shorter than the normal car) and some other minor cosmetic parts (ie no electric windows/aircon/central locking as standard) plus you get a roof vent
As for the japs getting rid of the cars that are ready for the scrap heap.... well i saw an STi2 before xmas, 15500 miles on the clock (full jap service history with book etc), the only fault i noticed was a small dent in the boot, this car was immaculate but i would get a second hand JDM import checked over by either a speciallist (preferred) or if your a member of the AA/RAC etc, get them to do one of their checks.

Tony

SiPie

Most unreliable and costly (repairs wise) car I have ever owned ...

Guess I must of just been unluck

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Oh i should state that these cars "NEED" to be run on super unleaded fuel and octane booster (as they are mapped for 100 ron fuel and not 95 ron). If you dont it can lead to serious mechanical problems fairly quickly

Tony

dnb

Mine's been reliable so far (touch wood!!) There's been a few niggles of course, but no more than I would expect from a 7 year old "performance" car. (late MY96)

rocker cover & crank oil seal leak @ 80k, dampers died @ 70k, clutch died at 65k. (total cost of £500 for me to repair)

Of course there are the usual consumables of brake discs and pads, servicing etc. and thirst for petrol.

I've had the car 2 years and it should be noted that I don't exactly give it an easy life!

Pavlo

mine's done 125,000 miles, of which 25,000 were mine.

Days off road due to failure = 0

Money spent on repairs = 0

Paul

wiltshire_boy

Ypur mate might be getting confused about the Japanese MOT which is a LOT stricter than the UK one. This is one reason why there are so many newish Jap cars leaving the country.

This does not mean that they are not as good as a UK car just that the Japanese seem to buy new cars rather than struggle to get through their MOT.

bucski

again many thanks, will keep looking for a scoob for me to get my hands on, you lot have definitely persuaded me to head in that direction!

Abbylad

iTrader: (4)

7-10000 miles for wheel bearings??????? i`d better go and get 4 in then, they`ll be 'due' to go again soon! lol

You can buy a warranty through the AA IIRC, dont know if its any good, but a bit of research will tell you the answer. Would provide a bit of peace of mind

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Tony.

Subaru dealers will service grey imports now; it's a fairly recent change of heart though!

X.

bucski

interesting idea ta - wil give it a look

bucski

have found you can insure a scooby for 12months for around 200 squids. If you click on this link it will take you to the autotrader site which offers links to warranty sites.
Seems excellent value to me and you don't have to get your car serviced at a main dealer (necessarily)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/CARS/motoring/war/warranty-centre.jsp

Turbotits

iTrader: (2)

Well one off the replies said ask an AA man. Im one so I'll answer.
In 5 years of being an AAman I've been to 3. 2 were only because of alarms,and the other was a fuel pump. I run one myself and provided there serviced properly there as reliable as all other jap cars.

XT

Have you actually read any of these surveys??

On the contrary, Subaru is the Japanese brand with the worst reliability ranking among all japanese brands......

julian N/W wrx my93

i've got a my93 showing over 150k on the clock which is about 110k miles, and nowt much up with it, apart from i blew the head gaskets by not noticing a water leak and still caning the nuts off it!!!!! took it to pro sport in manchester( use to be stanford garage) they fixed it 18 months ago and nothing wrong since. oh i service mine myself, using jap parts and quailty 5w30 oil and it costs me about 25 quid to do an oil filter with oil, and air filter change.

pippyrips

spoken to people like this before - they try and put you off just bcause they can't have one - Scoobys are as reliable as they are looked after

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Julian.

Sorry to hijack the thread but do you think that servicing the car yourself will give you problems when it comes to selling ie not having a full service history that can be verified?

X.

julian N/W wrx my93

who says i'm selling, i'm keeping till it goes the big scrapyard in the sky! plus it's a hell of a lot cheaper doing it myself, plus only takes about 20 to 30 mins to do.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Julian.

Fair comment mate!

The servicing can be expensive but as I'm not planning to keep mine forever I get it done by a Dealer (for the stamp in the book mostly). Still, if the poor response to my add to sell here is anything to go by it looks like I'll be keeping my STI for some time yet (not selling on for peanuts to any f*cker!).

X.