Andy-pay

been looking at Turbos for sale, generally MY00 or older, with 40,000 miles or less generally, but have noticed many with higher mileage (say 70K or more) that have had engine rebuilds at about 60-70K, some replaced under extended warranties.

there was even a MY03 STi for sale recently, with a new Subaru short engine, and had only done about 35K

is this fairly common?

some even have gearbox rebuilds as well.

all in all, makes me a bit nervous about buying one.

any thoughts, like is it best to avoid ones fitted with de-cat pipes and induction kits (wouldnt touch with ind. kit fitted really, MAF and all that), or are they really that dodgy at this sort of mileage?

also, is the 6month servicing regime really vital, or just the 7.5K service intervals, as some seem to have been serviced on miles and not time (need to watch the cam belt - three years IIRC).

any help/thoughts appreciated.

Andy.

fitzscoob

Depends on who has been driving the car and how hard to be fair.

All cars are different.

I have a my99, touch wood, no problems into 50k miles now, running smooth as silk with full decat.

ethanrob

iTrader: (3)

I wouldnt worry too much about an impreza doing 40k,strong bloody engines they have matey
i have owned a classic turbo with over 100k on the clock and i had the clutch changed at 85k and two wheel bearings done at 95k
Thats some life for a clutch and wheel bearings,my mothers seat ibiza needed a new clutch at 22k

Also if buying from a dealer(subaru)you generally get a good warrenty with the vehicle

Ray_li

think you have be totally misinformed about subaru engines.
Subarus are built like a tank.
40k on the clock for a 4 year old car is fine.

induction kits you should stay away from. As for decats you might want to buy one without but you'll only end up decating it yourself.

I bought a MY00 7 months ago and Im loving it

Ray

skoobidude

Some imports tend to go back around the 30k mark. This could be due to the wrong fuel being used in uk or the car been thrashed when cold, redlined too much etc.
Could be a number of things.
I ran an STi3 for 2yrs with no problems. Bought it with 31k on the clock, sold it with around 47k IIRC.
Currently running an STi6 Type R. Had it for over a year now with no probs.
You've just got to look after them like any other turbo'd car and service/change oil regularly.

Nick

Andy-pay

yeah, heard all about them being bullet proof etc, but when started loking quite a few have had blow ups - mostly looking at UK cars, dont want import due to needing to service and run easily/reliably.

but even these seem to suffer.

I will try to find the recent ads, and quote from them if I get the chance.

babber

I wouldn't agree with "Subarus are built like a tank" but yes they are reliable. I got a mate who's wagon is on 140 k and drives the same as my RB5 with 60 k. The car is very quick. My legacy (pub / dump car) is on 105 k with no worries. Slightly tappy on startup when cold, but told a oil change with help. Early Subaru turbo engines are a little tappy

I have run my car with lots of mods including a K and N induction kit with no real issues. As long as the car has been service properly and things like MAFs and Lambda changed every three years, they been fine.

Thanks Phill

acf8181

iTrader: (1)

off subject a tad...but my golf vr6 is still on its original clutch at over 120k, and theres still lots of life left in it.

wide

To be fair the ones that get the re-build work have probably had a hard time, driven by petter solberg wanna-bees, any car will last if its been looked after, but subaru have a very proud record of reliability much like any other jap manufacturer

Chris L

My first Scoob did 50K miles with no problems, my second has done 78K miles with no problems either. No engine rebuilds etc etc. I think an awful lot has to do with how they have been treated. Look after them and they will give you years of reliable motoring.

They are powerful turbo cars. Skimping on maintenence on any car is a bad idea. Doing it on a high performance car is just plain daft. FSH are a must in my opinion. The Scoobs I've owned have been the most reliable cars I've ever owned. In fact mine is for sale. Details in the For Sale section

ThrustSSC

I hope there are no risks... I've done 42k so far in my MY03 STi 108k to go...

Peanuts

iTrader: (15)

107kmiles on a 99 here.

cw42

iTrader: (1)

91.5k miles on my MY99 DECAT TURBO, no worries for me so far, just passed the 2nd cambelt change with flying colours
You'll always get stories on this bbs of broken engines, just like any other manufacturer. Treat it well, warm up properly and cool down after hard runs, and your engine will live long and prosper
The clutch on my car was apparently changed at 20k, before I bought it, but thats still going strong now even with 315lbft torque going through it.
chris.

Scoob99

iTrader: (1)

I bought mine with 30,000 on the clock as long as it is serviced properly, and looked after their is no reason why it should not go on to over 100,000 miles I beleive a couple of guys on here one has one with 145,000 miles on it and the other 150,000 miles on it.
Cheers
Colin

antera309

40k is nothing, as long as the car hasn't been caned or poorly serviced. Full Subaru service history is essential, regardless of mileage.

Imprezas come due for their first cambelt change at 40k though. If this hasn't been done by the previous owner, you will need to get it done. So get a quote from your local Subaru dealer, and use this when negotiating the price of the car.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Hiya mate.

I think you may have been unduly influenced by the negative bias inherent on thes kind of message boards- no one posts to say their car is still working. IIRC The Clasic Scooby topped the JD customer satisfaction ratings twice and does consistently well to this day. They are very reliable cars (touchwood etc) providing

1) They are serviced by specialists according to Subaru UKs schedule.
2) You don't scrimp on fuel and oil; you get out what you put in!
3) You treat them with respect; they need properly warming up before being extended and cooling down after a hard drive.
4) You get one that has been intelligently modified by experts/not modified at all.
5) You get one that has changed hands as few times as possible.

Regards,

De Warrenne

Plenty of sound advice above - to reiterate, warm up & cool down, service when you should, and you'll have plenty of happy motoring.

MY98, 82K, no problems (touch wood)

PaulT00

On the other hand, although they are reliable they're not bulletproof. And they do have problems occasionally.

My MY00 has just had major engine work to correct piston slap, at 45K. Subaru (eventually) did it as a "post-warranty" claim (i.e. F.O.C. to me) because the mileage was so relatively small and the car was fully historied.

This is a car which currently does less than 5K a year, is always warmed up and cooled down, and has been serviced to the letter of the schedule by a dealer.

On the plus side, at least I was able to have a new clutch fitted for just the price of the parts while they had the engine out... which has cured the clutch judder.

But apart from that, mechanically the car hasn't cost me more than standard servicing in the 4 years and 30,000 miles I've owned it; and apart from when the battery died completely (it went flat because the car wasn't doing enough mileage to put a charge back in it!), it has never let me down.

7 Foot

With regards to the modifications, as long as they have been modified sensibly/professionaly they are not always something to worry about. When I bought my MY00 UK Turbo 3 years ago I was only interested in buying a std car. I now realise after having spent 000's on modifying it that I have lavished more care and attention on this car than any other I have owned. The fact that someone is prepared to spend serious extra money on their car can often show that they really enjoy and look after it rather than thrash the 4rse of it.

You should also remember that a lot of people remove all of the mods on their cars prior to selling. The std car you go and test may have only been std for 5 minutes. . . .

Pilgrimage

Mine had the same problem when i bought it and i eventually got a similar result to you.

I now have quite high mileage, but it runs perfectly (touch wood).

Pilgrimage
2000 AWD Turbo 1998 S

EddScott

I wouldn't say full Subaru history is a must. The closet Subaru dealer I trust with my car is over 2 hours away from where I live. I full service means I have to drive there at 7am. Hang about all day reading a book and leave the place at say 4pm.

The closet specialist is 30 mins away and can provide a car so I can drive back and for to work and not lose a day plus a full tank of optimax. If I were to re-sell my car I would point out that the specialist in question is very highly regarded by scoob owners round these parts and if they didn't like it theres plently of other cars to choose from.

VTEC to Turbo

Not Quite true mate, later MY00 Cambelt change increased to 60K!

Si of Sheff

This is true but I think time is more the point here. They should still be done at 3 years, and as the cars being looked at are 4 years old I'd hope its already done all of them.

Avoid them otherwise, rubber perishes and it would be a very expensive mistake if a 30k mile car's timing belt lets go just as you drive away!

Si

PS MY00 Turbo, 60k (just) with belt changed at 3 years (45k). Also, only non- service repair was a rear wheel bearing that had water ingress. Can be a problem, but when fixed an extra sleeve is used to stop it happening again.

Look at how its been used, not just the mileage.

DaveD

iTrader: (2)

I have a MY93 WRX which has clocked-up around 130k miles - 85k of them in the UK since I imported it. Only engine mod is a full de-cat.

Has had regular oil changes by myself, and apart from a few niggly things going wrong (eg; fuel pump died, split rad hose) the car has given no problems. Failed the MoT last year on worn rear drop links (only failure in 5 years).

It gets driven like it should, but is always allowed to warm up & cool down. I've not even had to change the clutch!!

VTEC to Turbo

Sorry mate but I have to disagree, if Subaru say 60K they don't mean 3 years! 20K a year is not average. (12K miles per year is average and that equates to 5 years).

3 years is the time they allocated to the 45K cam belt change!

Rubber does perish but, I've just started designing fan belts and these have a minimum requirement of 10 + years (I know not under the same stress as a Cambelt but they are not design to the same spec either).

Completely agree that you should find a car that has been looked after though! I waited 4 months for the right car and walked away from a couple!

Touch wood nothing has gone wrong yet, bought it just after its main dealer 45K service, it's now coming up to the 52.5K service where the belts will be inspected but I will not be changing them early unless I'm advised to do so by the garage!

If it is good enough for Subaru it's good enough for me! I would recomend buying any Impreza as long as its been looked after and the mileage is on or below average. If its higher mileage for the age, price should reflect this.

A great car to drive, happy hunting.

Andy-pay

Right,

having looked for a while, it was these sorts of ads that were making me nervous -

'01 P1 - 75K, FSSH, engine changed by subaru at 65K

'99 RB5 - 91K, FSSH, new engine, gearbox & clutch at 60K (with a note to 'no damaging engine mods')

'98 Terzo - 78K, fill engine rebuild at 66K

'99 UK - now with loads of mods, but new gearbox at 20K.

Also, seen MY03 Sti, with new short motor (about 35K IIRC), and an 02Sti, whose engine has let go (admittedly a Jap import)

not saying they are unreliable, but when looking at these which are, say, about half of the ads looked at in an evening, a bit of a pattern seems to develop.

Have owned MY01 WRX, and 03STi, just not sure whether to risk a higher mileage car really.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Andy,

What you have to remember is that you're dealing with a performance car now; they are designed to be driven hard, but do need frequent expensive specialist care and expensive consumables. Combine that with very pricey insurance etc... and it's a recipe for some cars to fall into the hands of people who just 'use and abuse' them. Even those who do adhere to the service schedule and so forth don't always treat the car with the appropriate mechanical sympathy. I've seen people floor it when the car is cold, turn the car straight of after a session of driving extensively in "on boost" conditions, dump the clutch etc.... If you treat it with respect, it will last!

-There is a known prob with piston slap, seemed to afflict MY98 cars most often. Usually manifests itself before 20,000 miles. Shouldn't be an issue for cars with the milage you're looking at.

-Dodgy Mafs are a common cause of Engines going bang. Replace these annually- probelm solved.

-Cambelts not being changed properly/at all. Another good cause.

-Dodgy batch of fuel and lead right foot yet another cause. Solution- get a knock link.

-Not checking oil another invitation to disaster.....Do I even need to say how to rectify this! :-)

-Clutch life depends entirely on use- it is a high powered 4wd car, afterall.

-Ditto with gearbox, oil can be another culprit for failures...easily monitored.

Bottom line is that when you're thinking of buying one, check out the owner as well as the car....As they say in the trade: if you don't like them, chances are you won't like the car! Try and get one that's had one owner, or if its had more, see if you can contact the previous owners. Ask the owner about what petol and oil they run it on, see how they behave during the test drive.

Get a good one, and you'll be grinning like a loon.

Regards,

larks

every performance car has the odd bad one my mate has just had to spend 6k on his evo5 and it was fine when he bought it 5 days before.Just watch the obvious get fsh low owners etc and the rest then is luck and how you treat it and a boost gauge is a very very good idea my car was running stupid boost (22psi) and it would of gone bang long before i knew if i didnt fit a gauge.

JamieMiller

I agree with what everybody here says, I run a MY00 with a full de-cat and an ECUTEK 2.5. I'm on 97000 miles now and no real probs. Just keep the thing serviced regularly and warm and warm down. It's a bit of a pain but well worth it. Mine had a clutch at 90k, but I did it myself so it was only £120. As for servicing, always the dealers, I'm well capable but it's nice too have a fresh set of eyes going over it.
Jamie

Andy S.

the truth is a well looked after car will last

Also you dont here about the ones that last as there is nothing to report, you only here the horror stories!

My MY99 has 86 on and still going strong it still has FSSH to this date it is always warmed up before reving hard and then is allowed to cool before turning off.