Hi all looking for my first impreza and was after some info from the pros??? seen quite a few high mileage 90.000 upwards scoobs for sale . Is it safe to buy a high mileage one ???? of couse i wouldnt touch it with out history but when dose a impreza engine start getting tired????
just a bit woried with it being an engine to be driven hard.

thanks for the help.

 

90000 miles is nowt.........

mines showing well over 150000 on the clock with no probs at all.......

and whats histroy got to do with it?????
i do my own servicing regually so my car has no history, but has been well looked after

 

History is nothing if you know its good, if you have serviced your car from day one, then you will know its been looked after. Buying a car with no history is always going to be a gamble. I did all my own servicing myself on my last one, but it had dealer histore before that. I always kept my own record and reciepts to show what had been bought and what mileage it had been put on or in my car.

A car that has not had the oil changed on a regular basis can be a possible nightmare, not chanding the oil over time DOES damage the engine internals with metal pick ups and general crap thats held in the oil.

I would say that if your looking at high milage cars, make sure they have a history, of some kind. not even this is garenteed, but IMO your giving yourself the best possible chance.

A major mechanicle failiure can and will be costly.

There are lots of examples out there so take your time and choose wisely.

Possible take another member of SN with you, theres plenty of helpful guys n gals on here that im sure will only be to happy to help, me included if im anywhere near you.

John

 

Ditto!

Mine has done 98k on original clutch, discs and head gasket. all seems tikkity boo at the mo. (fingers crossed!) I have seen plenty of tuned cars with 130k+ so I peronally don't think high miles are too much of a prob.

 

Dont the belts need doing at 90K on older models though ? ( as well as at 45K )

If you are looking at a car with just over 90K or if its nearly there, make sure this has already been done otherwise you'll be looking at a good few quid on top of the purchase price. I think quite a few people sell the car when its getting close to major service time to save the money.

 

I too am looking at buying my first scooby. A work colluge of mine is selling his R reg Turbo 2000 with 170,000 on the clock. I'm glad this thread has been started as it was putting me off a little, as well as the Midland thefts recently.

The gearbox on this one is starting to go. Is it a b***er to do or reasonably easy?. I have a garage which will do the work for a bit over cost as they use some garage software I have written for them.

I also worry about how long the car will last, Is it likely I'll end up killing the thing from driving it too hard?

Cheapest quote for male 23 yr old, 6yrs no claims, 1 SP50 off licence (2001-2004), no mods to car £784 (fully comp) with a huge excess. Think it was £500 + £250 vountary!

The trouble is the car has been modified, exhaust, bigger better brakes, spoiler, tinted windows etc?

Anyone else no declare things like this and then have to claim?

Would it be silly to let them know or silly to hide?

The other insurance quotes I have got are in the region of £2500

 

have a look in the insurance section mate, i have go my insurance through Aplan, its just under a grand for a modified 05 WRX, thats with the PPP on. im 24 with 3yrs NCB and 1 fault claim in the last 3 years.

As for the tints, take them off, i know im gonna get shot down here, but there more hassle than there worth if you get pulled by plod. I know theres alot of it goes on in the durham area.

From the other mods you have listed, there are no great performance increasing, i would definatle try aplan, there good with them from what i can see.

like i said in my previous post, i would look about, drive as many as you can. At 170K the engine will be coming close to the end of its life.

 

With 170K I'd say it depends on how cheap he's selling it - compare the price to other R reg cars and see if the difference is worth it.

You need to remember its not just the engine that had done 170K, its the bodywork, suspension, interior etc.... as well, so it could work out cheaper buying a car with lower mileage.

Average mileage is quoted as 10K per year, so his car 'should' have done around 80K - anything above this is going to devalue it quite a lot.

 

Thanks for your advice, I did get a quote from an insurer reccommended off this forum in the Insurance section, I think it was A-Plan. They thought the £780 was a steal and were quoting a lot more. They were saying there wasn't much they could do till I hit the 25 yr mark.

The guy is going to put the scooby up for sale at around the 4k mark and funnily enough his wife wants to buy my car 306 XSi N reg. Are engines easy to find, should I end up needing one ?

What sort of milage are people running on 2000 turbo's, as high as this ?

 

like Mike said mate, its not just the engine thats done the miles.

I have just done a quick search for you, have a look at these for the 4 to 5 grand mark

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW...ch_full=SEARCH

theres a load of lower milage cars for sale on Autotrader, its definatly worth your while looking around.

Theres a green low milage one on there for £4800, might get it for 4.5 k


John

 

Sorry,
MikeCardiff must have posted while I was still writing my essay/post.

I see, there are some decent buys to be had, there's no way I'm now going to pay that sort of money for the car after seeing that. I have use Autotrader before but forgotten about it recently.

Thanks,

 

Mark, make sure you're only looking at UK cars though, imports sell for less but will cost LOADS more to insure at your age.

£5K ish seems about right for a P or R reg with average mileage and not many mods. I paid £6500 for my S reg on 70K, but that was in the spring when prices are higher, and it has over £5K of mods on it, private plate, £700 of stereo etc... so was worth paying a bit extra for.

Make sure the belts have been done if its near or just over 90K.

TBH, you're buying at the perfect time though, this time of year sellers are desperate to shift cars as they know they will be stuck with them until next spring unless they sell cheap, so its worth making an offer if you find something you like.

 

Thanks for that john will def ask around for info before buying, and thanks for mark he made this thred very informative. I do know what you mean about the sevicing, I currently do all my own servicing on my pug. one of the joys of being mechanicley minded. was just a bit unknown on the boxer engine for reliabilty.

 

no problem mate, i would hate to see all your next posts in the problem section...

Just take a bit of time and a friend, they can give you the second opinion, just the usual stuff really..

look forward to seeing your purchase...


Ps, you can have my 05 at a very decent price, i made a mistake with mine, i want the STI now.....

 

I too would like to thank people for their help on this one, I have come to realise that not only purchasing (not running) a scoob is affordable to me but I can also get a decent car for the money. Not a 170k tired motor.

Follows link to autotrader, to find car.....
....
...
..
.

 

mate check this out, an 800,000km scoob!!!!!!!!!!
on routine maintenance!!!!!!!!!
http://hometown.aol.com/nv1z/subaruh...eage.html?f=fs

 

i like it lol

 

Mine (UK MY95 turbo) has done 223,000 miles and is still going good