reppiz

Am looking at my first Subaru Imprezas over the next few weeks and having come from a VAG background (runs for cover!) am pretty unsure of exactly what I need to be looking out for in the way of good or bad features, most people have said to check the cambelt has been changed but is there anything else associated with the models that year that I need to be wary of?

Most of the vehicles that are turning up are 98-01 Subaru Impreza WRX's which is what I want to go for.

I drove one and fell in love with it- that's good enough for me to tell me its time for a step away from VAG.

Advice much appreciated, cheers.

Rep

averyp2

iTrader: (25)

First of all wrx's in the classic shape are imports, uk models are called turbo 2000's. Do a quick search and you should be able to find info regarding differences between wrx and turbo 2000's. In summary, UK's tend to be slightly less powerful but are a lower insurance group.
This will be your first choice to make.

With regards to common problems for the 98-01 (facelift classic), the only one I can think of is weak maf's, but thats not a massively expensive fix.

Sure others may contribute a little more engine-wise.

Best of luck and enjoy, you wont look back!

Paul

SunnySideUp

MY98 suffered from Piston Slap

Classic MY99-MY00 are the ones to go for

Avoid the ugly BugEye MY01 - unless you don't care about being pointed and laughed at - is my personal opinion

Get an unmodified example, do whatever mods yourself and know what you are getting

Ensure a UK car so you have some pedigree

One Owner is highly desirable, especially if that owner is mature - less chance of a thrashed redlined knackered one

Wagon's are generally a better looked after version

Avoid Gold Wheels if you can ..... so 90's ....

Sensible mileage and good Service History are musts

Finally, and this is absolutely true - there are NO cheap Impreza's (just knackered, shagged out, tat!!!) pay proper money and get a proper one.

Good luck!

averyp2

iTrader: (25)

Would also add, if your looking at one that has been modified, ensure it has been mapped to suit. Mapping aint cheap so the owner should have proof.

Paul

mje_wrx

iTrader: (6)

my98 wrx suffered piston slap also

midnight

iTrader: (10)

Classic MY99-MY00 are the ones to go for

Avoid the ugly BugEye MY01 - unless you don't care about being pointed and laughed at - is my personal opinion

Get an unmodified example, do whatever mods yourself and know what you are getting

Ensure a UK car so you have some pedigree

One Owner is highly desirable, especially if that owner is mature - less chance of a thrashed redlined knackered one

Wagon's are generally a better looked after version

Avoid Gold Wheels if you can ..... so 90's ....

Sensible mileage and good Service History are musts

Finally, and this is absolutely true - there are NO cheap Impreza's (just knackered, shagged out, tat!!!) pay proper money and get a proper one.

Good luck!

Abrilliant piece of advice given there by sunnyside up:

mine was a bog standard motor,was also a99 uk turbo,2 owners (last one 62 yr old gent),it is also a wagon,full service history with appropriate mileage,had silver standard alloy wheels ,but i changed for 'GOLD ' oz 17's - (so very subaru) lol.Had the car for 15 months now and apart from a faulty fuel pump car has not missed a beat dispite various modifications.

reppiz

Cheers, you guys are a real help. I thought I'd get flamed for being a VAG owner.I could list 100 things to look out for on VAG cars as I know em with my eyes shut but your advice has been great and I'll take that all in mind when I go for a look around.

So do you guys have galleries of your car here? I think I'll have a look around.

Cheers

R

SunnySideUp

Welcome to the advice .... good luck in your search!

reppiz

Cheers mate, have taken all that on board just scanning the ads now. I think it was the insurance that put me off originally but not anymore ha!

reppiz

Ah, I see what you mean about the headlights.I'll be looking for something unmodified interior and exterior.And lastly, I know this isn't easy but for what I'm after what should I expect to pay a rough Glasses' figure?

SunnySideUp

£2750-£3500 will get you a decent, one owner, standard UK Impreza Turbo Wagon - hence - no reason to accept any modded tat or Imports, or to accept anything less than perfect as they are so cheap anyway.

reppiz

I think I'm getting it.For instance the Golf GTI the 2.8 4 MO or 1.8T with an AGU engine block are the ones to go for, esp the 1.8T as you can upgrade the Turbo etc, but the 2.0 which looks identical and carries a GTI badge has NO turbo and 115 BHP as opposed to the 180 / 150 BHP on the 1.8Ts. So some of the Imprezas have turbos some dont. Am I right in assuming that the 'Sport' doesn't have a turbo, hence lower BHP and insurance bracket?

I'm probably WRONG and have made a complete tit of myself!!

reppiz

So should i go turbo or not?? i find driving with a turbo wayy more fun in the golfs plus there's the option to go bigger if you want..

BLACK V5

Yes go turbo version. All subaru`s with wrx, sti ,or turbo on them are turbo`d. The sport is not. And the non turbo cars are to underpowered for there weight.

nie

get a turbo one

gtijames

hi mate,i went from a mk2 golf gti(hence my username) to a impreza sport,i had it for 2 years,it ran absolutely faultlessly during the whole time i had it.it was a little bit slower than my old gti.i spent quite alot of money on mods for it but in the end i got frustrated by the fact it had all the show but none of the go.if you like power save time and money by getting a turbo to start with.i sold the sport and started looking for a turbo after 6 months i found the right car which i still love 2 years later its a my99 saloon with prodrive pack,it had 42k on it when i bought it full history etc etc bought off a middle aged bloke who still lived with mummy and daddy,no one had ever sat in the rear seats lol.
sunny side up talks alot of sense in this matter,apart from the wagon bit,dont be in a rush,be really fussy,if your not sure about the car get it inspected dont buy a thrashed example as repairs can be massively expensive.good luck

reppiz

Hello mate, good to hear from you. I'm pretty confused or being an idiot..Why are some of the Scoobys coming up Ins Grp 13? Like this one..and its 125 bhp, I think..This link looks huge!!

1994 SUBARU Impreza 2.0 GL 4WD

midnight

iTrader: (10)

The reason for the cheap insurance is because the car featured is a 2.0 ltr sports with turbo bonnet,and bodykit.A uk turbo is a group 17 insurance,and an import is a group 20.
A turbo motor will have a minimum of 208 bhp if uk and 217 bhp if import .

Does look like the real mckoy,but with 125 bhp its all show and no go,1600 cc saxa's and clio's will dust that with ease A turbo'd motor will have a tad more weight - but a hell of a lot more go than a sport imho.

reppiz

aha, sorry I am googling as well but you guys are the experts.cheers..Hows yours handling in the snow? I took the golf and and overshot two junctions

midnight

iTrader: (10)

Mines handling quite well in the snow ,just wish it had the diff lock option like on my legacy gtb so you could lock the centre diff and have 50/50 power distribution.

shamone

iTrader: (1)

The non-turbos don't have anywhere near the power of the turbo models. I went for a uk turbo for the slightly cheaper insurance (group 17 instead of 20), the power is a bit lower but can be increased easy enough but putting a decat exhaust on. The uk turbo 2000 is already mapped for uk fuel too and can be used with 95 ron fuel with no problems, unlike the import wrx's of those years that need 100 ron (unless remapped for uk fuel). The uk model also has a longer final gear, so i'm told, so will be slightly better on fuel when motorway cruising (useful if you have a long commute).

SunnySideUp

Basically you have one choice:-

A MY00 Turbo Wagon UK Car Un-Modded and FSH 95,000miles One Owner and £3500 to part with.

Nothing else is really worth bothering about.

shamone

iTrader: (1)

+1

the 97-99 are not mappable without an aftermarket ecu so the MY00 is definitely the one to go for..... will save you lots of pennies should you decide to mod/remap at a later date

gtijames

so are you selling up then pete,another thing to consider when comparing a sport to a turbo is fuel economy my turbo does around 24 ish mpg and my sport did about 27 ish mpg not a massive difference,also my turbo costs about the same to insure as my modded sport.when you take this into account the sport doent make alot of sense assuming you can get insurance for a sensible price.

golf gti
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13...ea/asitwas.jpg

sport
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13...a/IMAG0047.jpg

turbo
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13...anthea/new.jpg

miss_scooby

iTrader: (1)

[quote=midnight;9144468]Classic MY99-MY00 are the ones to go for

Avoid the ugly BugEye MY01 - unless you don't care about being pointed and laughed at - is my personal opinion


DONT avoid the beautiful bugeye versions, I got a 2002 52 plate wrx done 45k for £5000 and its great, just needed new rear bumper. BARGAIN i thought. Look at my pics and you will see its not ugly.

SunnySideUp

I'm sure your beauty makes up for the car .....

midnight

iTrader: (10)

shamone it is the 1997/98 ecu's which are not mappable without an aftermarket ecu,1999 models were the changeover and on the phase 2 engines(208 bhp to 215 bhp increase)and are mappaple via an ecu tek licence.For more info follow the link:


Eta Tauri Site Impreza Reference - Road Cars MY99

midnight

iTrader: (10)

Agree with sunnyside:Miss sccooby i am sure more people stare at your good looks than your pretty bugeye lol.

tyler120706

hi pal im on my third scooby now 2 turbos and a sport before them, make sure you take someone who knows about these cars with you even if you have to pay for a rac inpection any oversight no matter how small (i was going to say may but i mean) will cause you major issues later on if not sorted. example i bought a t reg impreza uk turbo 2000 sunday and i made them mistake of buying in the dark i got it a little cheaper cos the legendry Maf sensor was fooked during in this week it has overheated twice i noticed the idle control vavle had loads of play in it the oil was like treacle and blew worringly amounts of smoke out when it was been booted after a trip to the scooby clinic chesterfield and £350 its now running great but i might not of been so lucky and could of caused permenent damage if gone unnoticed . MY ADVISE SEE WHO IS LOCAL TO YOU AND GET SOMEONE WHO KNOWS IMPREZAS INSIDE OUT AND GET THEM TO COME WITH YOU WHEN YOU BUY EITHER THAT OR RAC as i said before not doing this or buying on a whim may cost you dearly. where are you from

reppiz

Cheers everyone, you lot are really helpful - especially as I'm still a VW Golf owner; I was expecting to get shot down in flames..What are your opinions on this, everyone has said its a bit old..Also due to its age and from what I have learned from you guys I take it its a non-turbo job. This is it anyway, its one of many I'm scanning the ads for, there's quite a lot coming up.What do you think a peach or a lemon? I know it looks really standard but I like that as standard is something I steered clear of in the VAG world and it gets a drag in crap weather like this, lowered and all that stuff.