Hi guys.....new member recently joined and looking to buy my first impreza,but unfortunatly my budget will only stretch to cars with slightly higher mileages than i would really like....ive found a very nice standard wrx with full subaru main dealer service history,formally a company car which has spent its life on the motorways,.....its on a 51 plate but with 110,000 miles registered....how do the subaru flat four engines cope with high miles? any problems that you guys with experience know of? its had a recent cam belt change so i know thats ok.....should i really be looking at an older car but with lower miles,i only really cover around 7k a year my self .

many thanks

 

Generally the impreza flat four is very capable and reliable. They are not prone to mechanical failure.... very trid and tested over the years.


As long as the car has been driven carefully and warmed upo and down etc... not beaten constantly then assuming it still boosts ok, there is no real issue buying a high mileage version. The turbo may need reconditioning soon... but generally etc... not a real issue.

Then again, company cars are not driven how we treat our own.... the car is technically not yours so it could be possible that it has never been warmned up and cooled down etc, beaten inbetween gears etc before warm.

Depends upon the how the car feels.

Mechanically will be fine though...

 

Mine's an older scooby (1995) and has done 215k miles without any major problems so far. Consesus is that providing it's properly serviced and not ragged too much it should last a fair old age..

 

this is slightly off topic but how do you correctly cool down a car? I'm guessing warming up just means letting the engine reach normal temp. before booting it.

Naz

 

Warming up is actaully getting the oil temps right, this takes a lot longer then the water temps.

Cooling down usually consists of sitting your car for a minute after a hard/prolonged run and letting the engine idle. This allows oil to be fed to the turbo bearing taking away excessive heat and prevents your bearings being fried.
Or fit a turbo timer if your alarm allows

 

thanks for the replies guys,im kinda torn as to what to do,the wrx is a nice example from what i can see,looks well cared for,later bug eye model,leather interior as well,and as its on a dealer forecourt i think there would be some sort of redress if anything did seem to be amiss after i purchased it,but really i have no idea how its been treated by the previous owner,so it might be perfectly ok,or a rebuild waiting to happen

 

It's all pot luck. Some of us on here have had issues with new cars (my MY00 in 2000), brand new, needed an engine rebuild after all the piston rings lined up and smoke started coming from the exhaust. The car had done about 6,000 miles. You will never know how it's been driven, but the fact it's motorway miles is a pretty good sign. Few people live 30 secs from the slip road! If it looks like it has been cared for (as far as you can tell) then that's the best thing to go for. How's the leather on the driver's side bolster - with that mileage, if its worn then the guys be in and out of the car a lot. If it still looks good, then chances are he's been a long distance rep, and this also bodes well. That's about all you can go on...

 

well the interior does look like its had little wear,so it appears to be true about the motorway miles bit,as you say there is no way of knowing how its been treated....ive also got an option on a non turbo model scooby,(lower running costs etc) 44k miles one owner excellent condition so ill have to try both and see which suits my needs best.

 

have you thought about looking at the classic shape? or are you only interested in the newer models?

7k would get you a late classic, 98-99 at a guess, probably with half the miles.

just a thought

 

Think you might notice a bit of a difference between the two

Out of interest what does the dealer want for the 01 WRX?

 

Very valid point and I'd definately consider it if I were you. I was looking for an Impreza around November time last year (the wife already had her UK MY01 WRX bug-eye) and the revised shape models were either beyond my budget at the time or I would have needed to settle for a very poor example or one with very high mileage (I wanted it direct from Subaru too, for warranty, come-back, blah blah.)

I gave the Classic some serious thought, waited for a superb example to pop-up, and bought it in January -- a UK MY00 Classic with 32,500 miles, FSSH, mint, totally standard, and with 12 months warranty, new boots, and front pads I just couldn't resist. I paid £9.5K.

Same engine as the missus' WRX and a bit lighter I believe, different build quality (a bit more rattly in the Classic), but I find the ride is much firmer and the frontal look a bit more sporty. With its newly acquired H&S back box, it now sounds the nuts too.

I'm not shy of buying older, used cars and am glad I didn't pay extra just to try and keep up with the Joneses.

A good tip when buying cars is to not settle for second best and then have it bug you. Aim a little lower (read 'older') and get more for your money perhaps.

Happy hunting.

Jonts.

 

well the 01 bug eye is up for £7990 and as ive said its done 110k but with full dealer history,the reason im looking at both the turbo wrx and non turbo impreza is because due to a growing family i need to get a 4 door rather than the 3 door zr i have at the moment,zr has the works on it though,every extra that was available so although the scooby will obviously be more powerfull,im kinda used to having all mod cons and its on an 03 plate so if i could afford a 01 ish id be happy,but id obviously consider either the classic or bug eye,to be honest the bug eye didnt really become an option till i saw this high miler as i thought they would be well out of my reach,so id be happy with the earlier model if i can just find a nice example ( arnt we all ),though it seems 7-8k wont go very far,wife likes the look of the wagons too so thats another option to consider for me,more room for the kids stuff but still some fun to be had.

Just been to look at the bug eye and it is slightly tatty paintwise with scrapes on the front and rear,plus on the drivers A post,seat bolsters are worn on edges so mighthave been more stop start driving than the dealer is letting on,i think i might give that one a miss and settle on the classic.

thanks for all the opinions so far

( anyone know a good un for sale?)

 

Happy to help.

Looking at what Subaru showrooms have available nationally, the better examples are (4dr saloons);

£8,995 for a 99 plate Turbo with 45,500 miles
£9,450 for a 00 plate Turbo with 47,400 miles
£9,995 for a 00 plate Turbo with 49,178 miles.

I got my Impreza for the exact same reason (MR2 / family = null) and was happy to pay extra to get it from Subaru. Worth keeping your eyes and I'd say have a chat with your local dealership and get them to keep an eye open. If they spot one that's sat with a Joe's Autos outfit but qualifies for their Proven used car status then they can buy it in for you.

Jonts.

 

thanks jonty...im after a pretty standard car really,maybe just induction and exhaust mods at most,ive been out today looking at the bug eye then took a trip over to what i thought was my nearest scooby dealer over at henly in arden....turns out they have closed for some reason,so i need to see where else in the birmingham area might have some in.

 

Out of interest, have you checked out the Approved Used Cars section on http://www.subaru.co.uk/ ..? Certainly worth a sniff -- you can key in your post code and select whether you want 4 or 5 door, etc etc. I'd also do an Autotrader search and watch out for the Subaru tagged examples that get flagged up. Autotrader's more likely to be up-to-date aswell.

Happy hunting.

Jonts.

 

well ive sold my zr this morning so on the look out for an impreza......yeeha

 

There is a 64 thousand mile classic with some OK mods for 6 k in the for sale section on here.

 

drive a late classic (ie MY99-00) and then a Bugeye and you'll soon know which you perfer as they are very different cars.

Bob