I've been looking for a modified hatchback for a while In WR Blue, my focus has been mainly on a JDM car for the last couple of months with no positive results so far, that's mainly because i've been looking for one with a Varis kit on which are not easy to find, i could find a normal Sti or Spec C without too many issues.

Anyway, i went to view a UK hatchback yesterday thats been forged and closed decked and has had a lot of performance upgrades including to the suspension. Now ive not been in a Subaru for a long time, ive been out of the Subariu scene for a while, i got the urge a few months ago to get another Subaru. Lets just say that after that test drive yesterday where the owner who is a very capable driver, he's done track days, showed me the full potential of the car, obviously all within the legal limits of being on a public highway, lets just say wow, ive never smiled so much in any car, my current car which is an M2 doesn't give me that same smile or wow factor. The engine is running a turned down 400bhp with an SC46 turbo, it was mapped by Andy Carr, the performance was staggering to be honest, their is a lot done with the engine including being forged and closed decked, upreated everything without going into all the spec.

Here is the conundrum, i was expecting it to have some age related issues as its a 13 year old car at the end of the day, a few stone chips here and their and maybe some minor rusting on the casings, subframe and maybe a few of the replaceable components. This particular car has quite a bit of rust mainly on the back end of the car, it wasn't easy to inspect it as it was on someones drive, as well as on the subframe and some of the suspension components their was rusting areas on the sills and just above them on the actual bodywork, a lot of it will probably be surface rust but it's rust all the same and looks a bit unsightly. Now if it's in that part of the shell you'd pretty much can guarantee it will be lying in wait under the paint as i found 2 very small micro bubbles of rust blisters on the arches, again at the rear. Its probably going to be like opening Pandoras box over time, yeh you can get the underside restored, but then the top side will probably start to show the signs of it as well.

This is a well sorted car mechanically, the suspension is also uprated and the wheels are 1k+. Now here is my question, what levels of rust would you say are acceptable on a 13 year old hatchback, and if that were you is the rust enough to walk away even though the car is a well sorted car ?

Thanks

 

Personally, I don’t know if I could live with lots and lots of rust on a daily

ive had rusty cars before and it just seems to get worse and worse (obviously) and it’s difficult to fix so that it doesn’t come back.

for a hobby / track day car, for me, not so much of an issue, but if it looks bad, it’s like you say probably worse underneath.

id also ask myself why the previous owner hadn’t fixed it, unless the price reflects the condition (maybe it does already)

 

as you say rear subframe on a hatch was made out of rust from the factory they are terrible on most cars, mine included and it will be stripped painted and put back on with new bushes which are also shot.

I have one very small piece of surface rust on the rear door from a stone chip and a couple on the roof, they will need sorting in time with rub down treating and then paint.

i think if you look close enough at any scoobs of that age or older they are going to have these cosmetic issues, our roads are rubbish and stuff is thrown at our cars constantly. It was one reason why I didnt import a hatch because after my FSTI was imported and was mint, after 12 months it was covered in little chips and the underneath was looking almost like a UK car (despite being undersealed), it was soul destroying!

 

Cars tend to only last to about 15 years from new in the UK, largely due to our crap climate. It’s therefore not really surprising that a lot of these are getting pretty poor underneath now. Only way to avoid it is to not drive them in winter.

Fresh or recent import for me every single time, full professional underseal (not a dealer special) and avoid using it on salty roads completely.

 

You'd think in this day and age, especially with countries that have a harsher climate than others that they would have come up with a soloution better than the current steel shells, maybe a composite material or similar as carbon fibre would be too cost prohibitive, just something better than what we currently have, and what we've had for the last 100 years or so.

 

don't these hark from the era of the japanese metal scam (Kobe ??) where forged conformity certificates were used to pass poor quality materials off as the correct grade - lots of Japanese car makers fell foul of this

 

Why would a car manufacturer invest millions in research and development aimed at preventing consumers from needing to buy their products?

 

@RetroPug is bang on the money. These days they don't want cars to last that long but just long enough that they are "reliable". If you're getting a brand new car most people do lease or PCP/PCH, chop the car in after 2 or 3 years and then if its decent it becomes "Approved Used". After that they normally end up going to auction. An over simplification but you get the idea.

If the rust is as bad as you say then factor in getting that repaired straight away.

 

I agree, its how the world works, its the same with mobile phones, the same with other things where sooner rather than later you'll need to upgrade ......

 

Look at the servicing intervals on a lot of modern cars..i'm sure it's aimed at getting them through the warranty period and then big bills or throw it away and get a new one

Steve

 

Kia seem to start falling apart right after the warranty ends. So even though they advertise 7 years they don't last much after that. BMW service intervals are 24 months or 30k

 

As a friend can you expand on this, as a owner of a 17 yr old forester ive de-salted and recovered in a thin dinitrol (i forget the name of it) every year... Im still solid.
Ah i see your talking about engine components

 

I was talking about METAL components of all kinds not engine parts...........

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-k...-idUSKBN1GH2SM

 

That is unreal. I'm in the middle of purchasing a WRXS that just failed its MOT for a few things as well as an advisory for the rear sub frame being corroded. That may have to be top of my list to replace or refurb upon purchase.