Hi there everyone, I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to scoobies, but I was told this was the place to come and ask questions, so thought i'd come and pick your brains!

So, I'm considering buying an Impreza turbo, there's a mass of models about, but i've managed to find some information about them from google, so i'm 99% sure what kind of car i'm looking for...

What I don't know is what kind of problems i'm going to encounter with the cars, and what I should be looking out for!

1 car sepcifically has taken my eye - it's a 1996 N reg' (as far as I can gather that's a later registered one) serie McCrae. It's got a fair few miles on it (130k) but has 16 service stamps and a load of receipts for servicable parts... So what i'm after is, what should've been replaced at this milage (shocks/springs/bushes/entire car)? And what issue can I expect to go wrong on a higher milage car?

If anyone would be so kind as to point out a few of the common problems with the turbo Impreza's, then that'd be fantastic aswell!

Thanks loads for your help guys, and if this has been posted before I do apologise, first day on the forum, did a bit of a search but didn't come up with much!

 

I don't know if this will be of any help to you.

http://www.sidc.co.uk/faq.htm

 

Should be on 3rd cam belt.

Check for noisy turbo

Check air filter - you may find oil in the filter box in which case MAF may be dirty (or dodgy anyway), which can lead to a lower than actual reading by the ECU and leaner running resulting in expensive engine trouble.

Clutch will probably be on its way out if it's not been changed.

I got mine with 80K on the clock and touch wood, nothing has needed doing apart from service (and mods ) it's one of the reasons I got it. If treated well they seem to be pretty reliable.

Oh and if the brake shoes (for the handbrake) have not been changed, it may be a complete pain to get the rear discs off - mine where a sod

Best of luck

 

scoobdogg, I'll take a look at that link when i get home, but think it was the one i was looking at earlier!

Clint, cheers mate, that's a big help!

Anyone know how long stuff like suspension lasts on these? I want to as much as possible avoid laying out a load of cash for the car, then having to lay out a load more to get it up to scratch!

And I didn't see the thread about high milage buying... d'oh!!!

 

Perhaps consider buying a low mileage import? got mine at 44k for £3250.

I've only spent £300 for cambelt + tentioner and Lambda (O2) Sensor.

Plus 2k on mods

 

to be fair mate, the thought of getting an import has crossed my mind a few times, but you never really no what you're getting... I'd prefer a UK car with some history, but the low money that the imports go for kind of draws me to them! lol!

I no a grand total of 4 people with imported jap cars, 2 have been fine and had very few issues (the ones they've had have been fairly easy for me to solve), but the other two have been a bit bad, the scoob in particular killed a gear box, then soon after it got a new gearbox, killed the engine big style! The other is a Celica GT4 and he's had no end of issues with ECU fault codes, seriously worn suspension, not to mention a clutch and new set of belts and tensioners (anyone with experience of GT4's will no a clutch replacement costs an arm and a leg!).... So i'm sure you can see why i'm a little doubtful of the quality of imports!