peter a

iTrader: (2)

Aaarrrrhhhh I am in a bit of a pickle, I am looking out for a new impreza and there are so many to choose from, I have about 10-12k available but am happy to spend a bit less if the car is good enough. Now do I get

S202 low miles and mint one uk owner who is known to me but no service history.

Sti type uk tsl333 fitted my05. I really like the look of this car.

Type 25 spec c my05 blob eye. This one is very nice but seller wants top dollar for it.

Jdm sti my05. I have not seen one in particular but they seem to be rated highly.

2003 spec c, there is one for sale near me which is a bit tatty on the paint but on a test drive was nice.

Opinions and experiences most welcome.
Help what would you guys get

peter a

iTrader: (2)

One other thought , I've not seen one for sale but are there any spec c type ra-r in the uk, if so how much do they go for? I appreciate they are going to out of budget but I'm just curious.

Pink_Floyd

I wouldn't buy a car with no history. Even if you can live with it, can the next potential buyer if you have to sell? Also why does it have no history?

Cannon Fodder

iTrader: (100)

The S202 has no history not even from Japan? Shame really as this would be my choice.

Failing that the JDM MY05 or the Spec C MY03 would be my choice in ascending order.

The thing to remember with the MK1 type 25 is that they suffer from most of the problems that UK 2.5's suffer from ie head gaskets and I have heard of one case of a piston ring problem.

peter a

iTrader: (2)

I'm going to see the s202 tonight, it has got import papers etc and receipts from oil changes etc, but as the car only has 15,000 miles the owner has not followed the service schedule, ie last oil change was 18 months ago but the car has been parked under a cover for 10 of those months. I will check through the paperwork tonight.

Pink_Floyd

So it's got 18 month old oil in it?

peter a

iTrader: (2)

apparantly so, but it's done hardly any miles since the oil change at all.

how bad can that be?

peter a

iTrader: (2)

The type 25 is a Spec c wr jdm model 2005, does that make a difference?

Pink_Floyd

It's your money mate but it doesn't sit well with me. If I was buying a car like that I'd want a good history, preferably full. I think the least I'd expect is they changed the oil before sticking it up for sale, if they can't be bothered to do that can they be bothered to do anything else?

peter a

iTrader: (2)

in fairness to the guy it wasn't up for sale, a friend knows him and asked if he wanted to sell it as he knew it was not in use for the last year, i'll take a look and see how it is, in the photos i have seen it looks mint....

trevsjwood

iTrader: (2)

Might be worth getting an engine oil analysis,which would give you more information

peter a

iTrader: (2)

googled it don't worry...

juggers

iTrader: (1)

RA-R will be 25k+

peter a

iTrader: (2)

Cheers Immy, i knew it was out of budget but whoa, how many are ther in the uk?
Didn't you have one ?

peter a

iTrader: (2)

I have spoken to the seller, the car has been in the country since 2003 having done 9000km and he has the import papers for this, the speedo was then converted to mph and a full service was carried out and stamped in the book, since then it has had two oil services, one at a subaru dealer with a stamp in the book the other one a diy oil change and filter 2 years ago. Since then the car has done maybe 1000 miles tops
in the whole time in this country it has covered 9000miles.
Should this be a major issue providing as soon as i get it i put it in for a full service including belts and spark plugs etc ???
secondly how much should this affect the price he wants for it???

Pink_Floyd

I'm sure one of the really experienced chaps will come along and offer their opinion soon, but basically you're looking at;

2003 Full service
2003 - 2010 i.e in seven years it's only had 2 oil services and 1 diy oil service

It's not much is it? If you add in the fact it's been sitting still for so long it's not ideal. I guess it depends on inspection. If you plan on keeping it for it's life then you could negotiate a bargain and have a full service with the belts etc.

It's a buyers market right now, although I appreciate this is a rarer care.

Cannon Fodder

iTrader: (100)

No not really, the MK1 Type 25 will have basically the same 2.5 litre block as the Uk 2.5 litre engine, they are both prone to head gasket failures.

Before I bought my Spec C I was considering a MK1 Type 25 that was for sale on Pistonheads until I read that the owner had already had the head gaskets done in the last 9 months I believe.

If you want what is basically a bomb proof engine (well about as close as a Subaru can get) then go for a JDM engine.

I hope all goes well with viewing the S202, perhaps it might be worth knocking the price of a major service off the asking price or at least get a hefty contribution towards the costs.

juggers

iTrader: (1)

I supplied two ine in white and one in yellow and I think litcho's supplied two white ones aswell so about four in total.

As cannon fodder said a spec c is your best bet or an S202.
Try to stay away from 2.5 conversions as they are prone to failure it's just part of the inherent design the head gaskets will always go.

Choices choices choices!

juggers

iTrader: (1)

As pink floyed says above I would be very cautious if it has no history!

peter a

iTrader: (2)

Ok I have been to see the car and it is mint condition and has done 15000 miles in all, it had a full service in 2003 and an minor service in 2004, since then the owner did a oil and filter change himself 2 years ago, since then the car has only done 500 miles.
The seller is a very reasonable guy and has said he is happy to either carry out a full service Inc belts and plugs and all fluids or knock £800 of the asking price and I can get all the work done myself, what kind of price do you think the car is worth with this lack of history, bear in mind it is silly low milage.

It has been offered at £11000 with all the service carried out or £10200 with me to sort out the servicing.

I do like it and it is a Rare car but some of me says I can buy a really nice 54 reg my05 type uk sti with a tsl 333 setup for 9k which looks better and is a lot newer.

Arrrrrrhhhhhhhh

will I lose money on the s202 or is it a safe bet at that price with such low miles?
Too many choices to make

Cannon Fodder

iTrader: (100)

S202 definitely if you can sort out the pricing to your satisfaction.

The S202 is without a doubt as rare as hens teeth and I'm still extremely gutted that I sold mine and feel even worse that the new owner binned it after 2 weeks.

Ok the UK Blobeye STi is newer but the TSL upgrade is nothing that can't be bettered by an upgraded panel filter and an Ecutek remap on the S202, and the UK model 'only' has a VF35 and the S202 has a quicker spooling VF34.

The UK STi is only a tweaked standard production model whereas the S202 is a limited production run factory special with all the best toys that STi could throw at it.

As for the S202 looks they grow on you and with the JDM headlights they look far better than the UK equivalent.

Get the S202 - rare as rocking horse poo and will not disappoint, but I am biased but for a very good reason.

Moley

iTrader: (9)

Personally i'd go for this one.... https://www.scoobynet.com/private-fo...5-jdm-sti.html

peter a

iTrader: (2)

another question, when going over speed bumps slowly there was a squeking noise from the front suspension, which the guy said it always does due to all the polybushes???
He said that this is like this on S202's????

Is that right?

fpan

iTrader: (11)

Could be the grease on the polybushes has dried hence the squeeking.

f4la k

iTrader: (1)

Probably because it hasnt moved for a while, the bushes could all be cracked with standing so long. Get the price down to 9.5k fully serviced and you'll take it. Tell him with it having no history it knocks quite a bit of cash off it...