I am looking to step up from my modified astra gsi turbo to an impreza. I have been looking for an sti model of either 265ps or hopefully 305ps. I test drove my first impreza today. it was a 53 plate 305ps with 12,000miles. The garage was looking for £16,495 which to me after browsing through autotrader seems on the cheap side. It did however have a few problems. There were a number of small scratches that i don't doubt could be repaired no problem but what did concern me was that the brake discs were badly warped after 12,000. Does this happen often with brembo's fitted to the impreza? Once near the end of the test drive i heard a klunking noise not too unlike a cv joint? It was whilst turning left 1st gear from the drivers side. It sounded bad but i could not get the noise to repeat. The garage said it would have a subaru dealer rectify the problems under warranty but i don't think they will consider the brakes surely? Also it was 22 degrees during test drive and the fan always seemed to cut in very quickly after stopping. the temperature gauge never went higher than 87-88. I was surprised how heavy both brake and steering felt. None the less it was pretty damn quick, i was impressed. I was expecting more lag and it was pretty quick in response. Also the other one i looked at yesterday was also a 53 plate a type uk "333" model. Does that mean anything as the salesman never knew? He claimed it was over 300bhp but i never drove and cant tell the difference. It did not have prodrive exhaust unlike today's,but looked like a custom build stainless exhaust. What did concern me it had 3 bridgestones and one budget tyre. Is that as bad as i think for a 4 wheel drive system? The car had 24,000 miles and the guy was looking for £17,000. Other than that there are not too many for sale at the moment. All help and advice gratefully accepted.

 

Best advice is if you have any doubts then walk away (like I would for both the above vehicles).

I would go to either a franchise dealer (yes you pay more but you get a proper warranty and some comeback) or post your approx location and I'm sure someone can give you the name of a reputable specialist nearby. Either place and they will know what they are selling you. I would avoid general trade places if i were you - most of the stock is usually **** that the dealers offload.

 

Apologies for chopping your post to the above, but they're the bits I can possibly answer!
At 12k you might be looking at pads being 2/3 worn, even after a couple of trackdays but warped discs suggests a very hard life. Could still be covered by warranty if a UK car & IM can't prove track abuse.
333 model is probably a TSL333 modified car. Similar to ppp but on the 53 platers a lot better power delivery & imho more driveable. Warranty with Subaru would be compromised though.
Hope that helps a bit.

 

Could you not get a Subaru dealer or specialist to give the car a once over for you and ask them to check. Then you have some peace of mind that everything is OK (or not) and it will not cost you much. Worth knowing and paying for I would say, but you will also have a warranty for some of the issues you mentioned...

 

if i was paying 17k for a car i would want it 100% wallk away mate. lots more about