[Davey]

Sorry to jump in with a question for my first post, and one you have probably all heard a million times!

Me and my other half tend to have one "fun" car that we share, currently we have got an MR2 but we want to upgrade to an Impreza. I've been looking around and spotted a 94 Black WRX with 75k on the clock.. I took a trip down to the garage to take a look, I dont know much about Impreza's but I know a fair bit about cars.. The engine seems sound, no smoke, no un-usual noises and no cross contamination of fluids, the gear box feels sound, it drove in a straight line and pulled like a train on boost. The only problem I spotted is that the temp gauge doesnt work and the passenger seat was a bit tatty (poo stain maybe?? )..

Anyway offered the bloke £2,700 and he seems happy with that..

So enough rambling; My acutal question(s) are/is: does that seem like a fair price and what sort of things should I be looking for.. I.e. things that are going to cost me a right b*llock when they go wrong as I drive it off the forecourt.

Thankyou in advance for any helpful advice and humorous notifications of my poor english and grammer.

Typer Jim

Mate, dont know a massive amount about the early WRX's but that seems like a bargain if the car is sound..... You will be getting a lot of car for your money there....

Dont take my word tho, wait for some of the other experts to give advice, they will be along soon enough....

[Davey]

The "value for money" idea doesnt appeal to me I'm affraid, I've got a 2001 new shape Omega that cost me £2k with 64k on the clock a damn sight more car for the money but a few people have said the impreza is a good deal..

Really interested in knowing what sort of things fail at around this age/mileage, I'm going to take a proper look at it tomorrow before hopefully stumping up the cash on tuesday if all is sound

Being a longitudinally mounted engine I would assume cam belts and clutches are a piece of **** to replace?

Cheers

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Cambelt takes around 3 hours, clutch takes around 4-5hours, so no, not cheap at all. You may buy a cheap impreza, but it WILL NOT be cheap to run!

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

And as for the engine, you do know what a flat 4 is, don't you?

[Davey]

The fourth flat in a block of flats??

P.S. that was sarcasm

I fully understand how the engine is configured, I am merely relating it to something like a Lancer which has a an engine mounted accross the bay with the gearbox on the side and a funky transferbox for the rear wheels.. A pain in the **** to get to the cambelt / clutch..

Sorry shouldnt have used the word "Longitudinal", I know it actually refers to something completely different.

highlander68k

That stumped Mr Lewis.

Davey, welcome to Scoobynet.

There are a lot of things that can go wrong, and at any time. Unfortunately, it can be anybody's guess what may go wrong next week.

I'm concerned that the temperature guage doesn't work - it may be that it doesn't work, or it could be hiding an overheating problem.

Cambelts should be replaced every 45k (check for receipt of previous change).

Check the tyres for uneven wear.

Usual car buying checks (rust, mis-aligned panels etc).

As you're buying from a dealer you've got a lot more legal protection if things do go wrong. See what sort of guarantee they can offer.

Check that the mileage tallies up with the condition of the car etc.

I could be here all day, as I've just compiled a very comprehensive buyers guide for Classic Imprezas.

Just use your common sense.

Typer Jim

Sorry I wasnt any more help, good luck!

[Davey]

This is something I am planing to look into and question when I go for a second veiwing

Thats exactly the sort of advice I'm after! Much appriciated, I will check for cam belt receipts etc, if he cant come up with the goods then he's going to have to knock down the price..

The mileage seems to be backed up quite well, the condition of the car is good, pedals, gearstick and wheel arent too badly worn and he has the import documentation with the import mileage from 7 months ago at 106,000 odd KM.. Its currently around 120,000km (roughly 75k) which seems pretty realisitc for 7 months daily use..

Steve Whitehorn

iTrader: (13)

Early WRX....

Power stearing fluid reservoir are of poor design and leak - worth replacing with the newer version.

Also the coolant reservoir is weak.

Top hose that goes into the rad is also prone to crack - worth replacing.

The 2 pot brakes are s_it for the power of the car. So a brake upgrade is a must to get full potential out the car. Sometimes worth shopping around for a WRX that has a least a set of four pots on the front.

Usual gasket leaks start appearing.

Jap spec aftermarket exhausts are not stainless -so often blowing

Noticed exhaust heatshields rattling on a fair few

MAF sensors are stronger on these earlier cars -but do have a tendancy to go especialy when induction kits are on, as they tend to suck dirt into the MAF. A car with a pannel filter is a better bet.

Engines - well some peoples melt and some peoples just go on and on. Personaly I feel one of the key factors is the quality of the fuel that is used. Always aim for the highest RON possible - unfortunately you never know what it has been run on before.

Clutches don´t have a massive life - a car with an upgraded clutch is also a plus point.

As mentioned -check for tyre wear in the inside edges of the tyres. Often tyres look fine on the outside- but it is only when you feel the insides with your hands that you feel that the inside edges are bald.

Good tyres with pressures you are most comfortable with are a must to get the most out of it - personaly Goodyear Eagle F1 are excellent for the scoob. Their are a few other favourites which other people like. But I have found this to be an excellent road tyre witha progressive loss of grip. Cant stress what a massive difference this can make. Stay away from Pirelli Hedgefinders


Thats all I can think off off the top of my head.

Sounds like a good deal. Just be prepared to throw a some money at it at some point.

Steve

Budgie

iTrader: (4)

if you like this free advice
check out scoobymag and subscribe
you will love it

budgie

[Davey]

Thats for that Steve, Much appricated! I will add to to my checklist.

No doubt we will be signing up once we've found a good-un!

[Davey]

I've noticed something else.. Decided to get the car checked out, the report says the car is a "Impreza 2.0 GL" but the chassis number matches up.. Is this simply because its an import model??

The chassis number starts GC8 which seems to corraspond to the WRX/STI models?

Seems strange!