Hey all,

Joined the other day, looking to get a scooby, want a 98-200 model ideally an RB5, my budget is around £5000 and have seen a few nice ones, even found 4 RB5's that fall into that price band, they have done around 90K thuogh but with full history, how good are these cars once the miles get up, anything to watch out for or should i stay clear of one with that kinda mileage.

Cheers.

Chris

 

Just a thought mate but i picked up my sti for not much more than your budget have a look at my scooby its a 99 with low miles and a good history so there are good ones there for buying

 

Personally I would not go for a scoob with 90K on it. You are better off saving another say £2-£3K which will give you a better scope of buying something with lower milage.

 

Don't spend the kind of money you are thinking of spending on a car that age. I have just sold my UK Turbo Terzo - another limited edition, with only 333 made in 1998. It was absolutely mint with a few sensible mods, Andy Forrest mapped Apexi ECU, and 74000 miles on the clock. I let it go for £3500, which is a sensible price.

Although I suppose you could perhaps expect to pay in the region of £5K for a totally original and mint year 2000 car with very low mileage for age. In this current climate, great cars can be picked up for peanuts...so make sure you have a good look around.

Here's a link to my advert for the car I've just sold to give you an idea. Subaru : Subaru Impreza Turbo Terzo

 

I know what you mean regarding RB5s. They do command a premium over UK turbos and they command a premium over other special edition UK cars.

Funnily enough I'm not actually sure I like the colour but they are nice cars. The only way I'm going to be parting with money is if the car is sonic blue - these also seem to be a bit more money.

 

If i saved another £2-3K then i could save another £3-4 on top of that and so on, i have set a budget that i can afford hence the reason i was asking mate, is there a problem with high miles on an Impreza is what i was kinda asking?.

Cheers

 

Another thing I don't understand is what's so special about the RB5? Surely just the exact same as a UK Turbo, but dressed up...the same as my Terzo was? No difference whatsoever performance wise.

 

Got to be a nice sti maybe even a type r , thats a good sum of cash for a really great car mate

 

5 grand will get you alot of car in that climate, dont settle for 90k miles examples..

 

Lad at work selling March '07 blue Impreza 2.5 WRX, unmodified EU import, UK Spec with electric sunroof, side impact air bags for around the £8k mark. Been garaged, as new only done 3K miles.

 

Can anyone actually answer the questions in my first post, also i stated twice now that my budget is £5000 so offering me cars for £8000 or telling me to save more money isnt really helping, im just trying to get some help/advice about buying one please.

Thanks.

 

That looked a very nice car mate, i would have snapped your hand off for that, and gave you the asking price.

 

To answer your question - history is more important that mileage.

If that car has every bill since first purchase and has done 100K with say 2 or 3 owners then it might be worth a purchase.

If its done 50K but has little or no history and has had 8 owners then odds on its a dud and walk away.

The point others were making is that RB5s aren't really any different to UK cars selling for 2K less for the same car. V5/6 STIs can be had for 5K which are more bang per buck than a UK car but will cost a bit more to keep - you then get into the import Vs UK car debate which has been done to death on here.

 

My point was that you will be in a better position in terms of choice. Lets face it, in terms of scoob engines they are not the toughest out there.

If it was a VW Golf at 90k then no probs at all since the VW engines bloody last forever!

Have a think about maintainance costs of an old car with high mileage not too mention the insurance will be a big % of your overall value of the car.

Have a look on Auto Trader on the net. Also Keighley Trade Sports & Performance have a couple of STis for around your price level.

 

Do not go anywhere near that place.

To answer the original question if properly maintained and looked after then the engines can go to high mileage. Look for a main dealer/speicialist history.
RB5's are lovely cars in my opinion but they are too exspensive for what they are. I would also consider buying a mint condition sti of similar age but usually much lower mileage or possibly similar mileage but with a rebuild carried out by a speicialist.

 

Am not sure about the history of Keighley Trade Sports & Performance - I just came across them on the auto trader.

You say that the engines can go to high mileage but yet in your second paragraph you then go on to say

"I would also consider buying a mint condition sti of similar age but usually much lower mileage or possibly similar mileage but with a rebuild carried out by a speicialist"

To me that indicates you too don't have faith in high mileages and as such would not buy a high mileage yourself?

 

They CAN go to high mileage, but thats not to say they will. Personally I would not spend £5k on a 90k mile car that had not been rebuilt. My personal preferance would be one of lower mileage or rebuilt or priced resonably so that I could budget for a rebuild should the need occur.

The previously mentioned garage is a shocker and would not go anywhere near it. You could only know though if you'd the mispleasure of a visit.

 

Just so you're not in any doubt: the history of KTC is not good. Do a search on here, it'll shock you.

 

Insurance isnt an issue, £310 fully comp for me, im 36 with full no claims etc etc, the car wont get used that much and im considering getting limited mileage policy, i only work 8 days out of 25 with my shifts and the car will mostly live in the garage, i had an Impreza when i was younger and owing to a recent separation i fancied another.

I like the RB5 because of its colour and the fact its limited edition and UK model, im not gonna get into the UK v Import debate but i found the UK cheaper to insure and repair(im probs gonna be told im wrong).

Have been offered an RB5 with 59K, one previous owner and full service history, maf changed and cambelt done, its the non WR model, it falls within my budget plus the owner is a member from here...good buy you think???

 

Its starting to sound like i should just forget Imprezas and look at something else..

 

Just use some common sense when viewing any cars and if possible take someone who knows a sump plug from a wheel nut lol, I paid litle over 5 grand for a car that has reciepts in the last year for 14k being spent there is good cars out there privateley and at reputable dealers / importers

 

No, not at all. Great cars if you get a good one; Just a nightmare if you end up with a bad one. That RB5 you mentioned above sounds good if it falls within your budget.

I just wouldn't pay over the odds for a limited edition, when I'd get as much enjoyment from a Turbo 2000 - just my personal opinion.

 

Probably but as mentioned, I would haggle on the price so you can keep as much of your budget for repairs/mods/rebuild. Theres so many out there you can afford to say no if you can't come to agreement on the price.

The impreza I get will be 2nd car so I too am keeping my budget down but I'm doing it because I can't justify tying up 8-10K in a car that sees daylight now and again.

 

To the OP

That kind of budget could get you something like this

Subaru : WRX STI5 low mileage, lovely car

and don't forget to haggle!!!

 

I tend to agree with terzoalan, RB5 is indeed a nice car, but you've limited your choices quite dramatically if you narrow it down to a special edition. Of course if that's what you've got your heart set on, then really that's the way to go. My 2002 sti had 118K on it and no problems to report. Sure there are others with different experiences but mine was just fine, albeit al later model. The model you are looking at sounds good to me.

Good luck!

 

I'd agree with that (of course I would having a bog standard uk turbo).

I bought my car over two years ago with 60k on the clock and 1 owner, full subaru history.

I have maintained the full subaru history and its now on 101,000 - still drives great, no engine issues.

Have to agree with others on here, be sensible when assessing a car, the history, number of owners, general condition will all be key to getting a good one.

I would buy a high milage subaru if the history checked out ok. Rather get high miles with history then low miles with none.

 

get an import mate there the nads

 

I used to buy performance car magazine back when the RB5 came out and the ones they tested had a pro drive engine upgrade to 240bhp and 258lbs and they raved about them because they produced peak torque at about 3200 odd revs compared to the high revving Sti 4 of the same vintage. Seemed to rate them better suited to british roads, whatever that means
Check the RB5 documentation to see if had the engine package as well as all the cosmetic guff.
Think the car was more involved than just a badged up special edition though

 

That'll be the Prodrive Performance Pack which would be an option from the dealers. It was an option on Turbo 2000's as well...

 

Fancy a V3 STi Wagon import? Something a bit different:

https://www.scoobynet.com/scoobynet-...-thoughts.html