ray777

hi, looking for a blobeye whats the bad bits to check for when buying andd is 05 type 9 worth the extra money?

daz1968

iTrader: (13)

my05 sti's are better than earlier ones as a lot of changes were made, but the earlier ones are still very good, one important thing to check on five year old cars is to ensure they have had the cambelt changed, if not then use it as a bargaining point as will need doing.

ray777

what mileage should belt be done? how much roughly for belt service

alp27

50k but not sure on cost as mine was already done when i bought the car

topman2180

5 years if not 50k miles.

also rear knocking shocks im told are a common fault.

alp27

thats one of the reasons i went for my prodrive bug sti rather than a very early blob...

OP - have u considered an bug STI,ive had mine for 6 weeks and love it. plus they are a little cheaper..

ray777

looked at bugs but pref look of the blobeye ,

knocking rear shocks? is this a bush thing? as i would go to coilovers anyway

alp27

fair enough fella, good luck with the search, make sure u take ur time as there is a lot of crap to cut through before you find a gem

ray777

is it best to by uk or import? is there really any difference?

daz1968

iTrader: (13)

The old uk vs jdm debate is a difficult one as yes the jdm's are a better spec and are more sought after due to this, but the uk car is still a good car some will swear by jdm, I bought a jdm car, others prefer the sound of the uk car its all down to personel preferance.

T20Driver

iTrader: (3)

Ray .. you're better sticking with MY05 JDM or UK rather than using version 9 to describe the vehicle as people (including me) get confused.

Rear knocking is I believe due to inherent (mis)alignment 'feature' of scoobies which over time mean the nearside rear shock specifically goes - even on coilovers (well I had it on my ASTs)

I had my cambelt done at same time as 50k service and was approx (incl upgrades belt)
£400 all in ... can't be exact as there were other things done at the same time.

Am not aware of any other issues / areas to look out for specifically.

Hope it helps

Chris

casasteve

Hi folks. I hope you don't mind me dredging this thread up, but I figure there's some good info here.

I'm looking to buy either a bugeye or a blobeye non-turbo wagon (I can't really justify/afford insurance for turbo models). I really haven't decided, but it'd be my first Subaru. I've driven a modified bugeye wagon in the US (my brothers), and got the bug for Subarus

Anyway, I'm looking around and I spotted this car near to me. I suspect it will sell for more than I can afford, but I really like the look of it. I would appreciate any comments/advice on this or buying in general:

Blobeye GX Wagon: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281304103605

Happy to start a new thread if necessary.

adz556

iTrader: (5)

Have you driven a non-turbo before? I nearly bought one when I was 19 and then decided to wait until I could buy the turbo. My girlfriends cousin had one and on the dual carriageway my company car of 1.6tdi basic golf pulled away from it very slowly..... the 4 wheel drive system sucks a lot of power from what is a low bhp car.....just worth bearing in mind

casasteve

Interesting to note. Thanks for the feedback I'm currently driving a 1.4 W plate Civic, so ANYTHING is an upgrade

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Waste of time if you ask me. Save for something better. The only good thing about a sport is the 4wd. Mpg is about the same as the turbo as is the insurance.

casasteve

My insurance quotes I'm getting suggest a turbo, for me at least, is a few hundred quid more. I'm a bit of an odd one. I'm mid 30's but only been driving since August last year. My Civic 1.4 is costing me about £650 (10 month "accelerated") and a non-turbo is quoting about the same. Stick a turbo in and I'm getting upwards of £890. In hindsight, I think I could afford that if I can transfer over my existing insurance (only 2 months into my policy).

I would love a WRX wagon to be honest... Maybe I should start a new thread, I'm looking at Bugeyes as well

JusNoGood

Numerous insurance companies won't even quote you until you have 2 years experience, so might just be worth waiting until you've done two years and then get another quote....or better still, try putting in your details to Gocompare or whatever with 2 years experience/NCD and see what you get now?

I owned a GX and while it was underpowered by WRX/STI standards it was still a great car. So sure footed on the road and just really fun to drive. The problem with getting a GX is that it's still quite expensive to run. You pay very close to WRX servicing money.

If I were you I'd wait for the two years to be up....I'd absolutely hate waiting but it would be well worth it :-)

casasteve

Sound advice

casasteve

OK, if I stretch, I could do this:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...1403312943542/

Insurance seems to be similar to what I've already said, £850+. DVLA seems to think that VED is due to expire so that's something to bare in mind.

I'd really appreciate any thoughts on it Is it priced reasonably for age/miles?

Last one, promise!

JusNoGood

It looks nice and clean and also quite standard to me.

I'd suggest getting out there and seeing some. Make sure you see a few and test drive some very good condition ones so you know how they should feel. You'll soon get the idea on condition, history etc. Don't buy the first you see unless you know a lot about Imprezas.

I went to see and test drive about 6 before I settled for one. Each one of those 6 looked excellent on paper and sounded great over the phone, but when I went to see them they were't right. Heavy smoking in one, another said full service history but when I got there he only had three stamps (on a 11 year old car!), one the clutch was going, had different tires all round, 3 inches of water in the boot and had no oil (bone dry dipstick and had an engine rebuild a few years ago!).

So from my recent experience before going to see I would ask:

1. Anyone smoke in the car?
2. What service history does it have and can they send a photo of it?
3. What invoices?
4. When was the latest service?
5. When does the mot and tax run out?
6. Can you please give me the last MOT test number from the VT20 test certificate so I can check the MOT history? I'll be checking it here.... http://motinfo.direct.gov.uk/interne...CHIDDispatcher
7. What needs replacing/doing on the car?
8. how many owners


For a 96k car I wouldn't even bother looking at the car if it doesn't have a wedge of receipts and FSH. Price looks ok but it really depends on the answers to the questions and actually having a look at the car to see condition for yourself. I found genuine people with good solid cars and nothing to hide are quite upfront and will happily provide photos of documents and videos of the car even!

If you are travelling far I'd also do a HPI check before going, if I was happy with the answers they have given. If it's a 3 hr round trip and going to cost you £10 on the train then why not run a £17 HPI before you go so you know it's not been stolen or crashed etc.

Even asking all those questions doesn't guarantee its a good car but as long as you push them for specific answers and don't accept vague answers then you shouldn't waste too much of your time.

A good rule is not to rush into the purchase and make sure your head says its a good car and not just your heart. My heart was telling me to buy every car I saw

Jus

JusNoGood

Oh year, it's 11 years old so should have had two cam belt changes. (and don't believe they if they say it's every 50k) It should have been changed last year. If it hasn't that'll be £400+ you'll be forking out straight away

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

£400? If you're a mug!

JusNoGood

Why don't you be helpful and post a price?

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Supply your own parts and £250 tops for a cambelt change. Anyone with a bit of experience could do it.

casasteve

You know, I can't identify the body kit on that car I linked too. Other WRX wagons I'm looking at are a little less aggressive looking. Any ideas?