'99 Subaru Impreza Turbo
Discussion
cb1965 said:
Be very careful buying these for a fun car as they can have a major structural rust issue. I have owned four of these so am pretty well into them and know the cars well. The first signs of an issue is a bit of rust bubbling at top of the rear arches. You think... no worries, I'll get that rubbed down and blown over, but the problem is working its way out form the inside.
Have seen in the flesh several cars where the rear arches and suspension turrets are all but rusted through and of course your suspension is mounted to those.
To check pull out the boot lining and look all round the welds on the suspension area and get the rear wheels off with the car on a four post lift and shine light up the turrets and have a real good look.
Back of the sills/jacking points also have issues and these are covered by the sill skirts so when on the lift again have a good look.
If they are too far gone they are beyond economical repair.
My mate who owns his own garage has had a 1997 Scoob from new. It has had every bodywork inspection etc. but when he investigated the bubbling arches the rust behind was horrendous. Being a bodyshop he rebuilt it with new rear quarters and turrets, but he said had he been charging the job would have cost £2.5K.
Here are some pics of what he found when he first started digging:
Initially from the outside all you could see was a little bit of bubbling. So be careful out there.
What an incredibly nasty surprise! I expect there will be a huge number of Subarus affected by that in time.Have seen in the flesh several cars where the rear arches and suspension turrets are all but rusted through and of course your suspension is mounted to those.
To check pull out the boot lining and look all round the welds on the suspension area and get the rear wheels off with the car on a four post lift and shine light up the turrets and have a real good look.
Back of the sills/jacking points also have issues and these are covered by the sill skirts so when on the lift again have a good look.
If they are too far gone they are beyond economical repair.
My mate who owns his own garage has had a 1997 Scoob from new. It has had every bodywork inspection etc. but when he investigated the bubbling arches the rust behind was horrendous. Being a bodyshop he rebuilt it with new rear quarters and turrets, but he said had he been charging the job would have cost £2.5K.
Here are some pics of what he found when he first started digging:
Initially from the outside all you could see was a little bit of bubbling. So be careful out there.
bulldong said:
Other than the potential rust issues highlighted above, what are the running costs of these like?
They are not too bad actually aside form the fuel economy. Expect 23mpg max and bear in ind most run on super unleaded as only a few UK cars remain in standard tune and can use 95 octane. As a fun car the economy shouldn't be such an issue as you're not doing thousands of miles.Insurance is not too bad nowadays for the older cars, go on to Scoobynet or the likes and find the specialists. Expect to pay more if you have a list of mods though.
Servicing and parts are only a little more than a standard family saloon as long as you source parts from specialists rather than main dealers, Also masses of reconditioned and secondhand parts available.
Now if you want to buy one that is likely to appreciate in value you will need to be looking at a Type R Version 5 or 6 or maybe a P1.
The Type Rs are imports so check for rust protection and ensure the engine has been run on high octane fuel only! The P1 was a Type R for the UK and was a limited edition.
If you just want some fun get an import STI or fettled UK car.
The later shape cars like the Spec C etc. are also great, but the iconic shape is the original 'classic'.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff