The daily - Impreza 2.5 WRX Wagon
Discussion
7 months ago I had an E39 5-series diesel and a Supercharged MR2. Then I moved house and swapped the MR2 for a very silly little Westfield. The Westy is a huge amount of fun but it wasn't nearly as usable as the MR2 on a day-to-day basis (I'd often use it as my 'work' car if the weather was nice), and I quickly grew frustrated with having to drive a wallowy diesel almost all the time. Don't get me wrong, the E39 was a great car for 2 years and 40k miles but in grandad SE spec it wasn't exactly sparkling. Even if I did manage to get it on track once. On winter tyres...
Anyway...
What I needed was a more entertaining daily drive. Now this wasn't an easy choice, due to the following prerequisites:
20k miles a year
Must be fairly inoffensive, as it's my 'customer-facing' car
Be able to tow the Westfield
Not massively thirsty day-to-day
Practical (it's the only car in our fleet of three with a decent loading space)
Reliable
After much prevaricating, during which I almost leased a new Focus ST, and then almost bought a Golf GTI, I remembered how much I'd loved my last Impreza - a 130,000 mile bug-eye WRX wagon. In truth, I wish I'd never sold it (it's still going somewhere I believe!)
That was it, I wanted another. Except this time, instead of doing it on a shoestring (the last one was bought for £2.5k from one of those "car dealers" your dad warns you about in Ramsgate) I could hold out for one that I wanted. Low mileage, FSH, warranty, and a Prodrive pack.
As it happened, the search took me all of two days
I found a car advertised at Adams Brothers Subaru in Aylesbury which was my ideal spec. 54k miles, FSH, PPP. I went to have a look at it and it was immaculate, went for a test drive and all seemed in order. That mid-range torque is just addictive. 4 months and 7k miles later I still love it, despite a couple of niggles - the brakes are sticking slightly, and there's a clonking from the front left on full lock. Both of these will be sorted under warranty when it goes in for its service in a couple of weeks (12 months dealer warranty FTW) so I'm not overly worried.
Anyway, enough of my blithering.
Changeover day!
Mmmm...silver...
Quickly put to work!
S'pose I should clean it...
Not the most exciting car on PH, but I hope it finds some interest here
Anyway...
What I needed was a more entertaining daily drive. Now this wasn't an easy choice, due to the following prerequisites:
20k miles a year
Must be fairly inoffensive, as it's my 'customer-facing' car
Be able to tow the Westfield
Not massively thirsty day-to-day
Practical (it's the only car in our fleet of three with a decent loading space)
Reliable
After much prevaricating, during which I almost leased a new Focus ST, and then almost bought a Golf GTI, I remembered how much I'd loved my last Impreza - a 130,000 mile bug-eye WRX wagon. In truth, I wish I'd never sold it (it's still going somewhere I believe!)
That was it, I wanted another. Except this time, instead of doing it on a shoestring (the last one was bought for £2.5k from one of those "car dealers" your dad warns you about in Ramsgate) I could hold out for one that I wanted. Low mileage, FSH, warranty, and a Prodrive pack.
As it happened, the search took me all of two days
I found a car advertised at Adams Brothers Subaru in Aylesbury which was my ideal spec. 54k miles, FSH, PPP. I went to have a look at it and it was immaculate, went for a test drive and all seemed in order. That mid-range torque is just addictive. 4 months and 7k miles later I still love it, despite a couple of niggles - the brakes are sticking slightly, and there's a clonking from the front left on full lock. Both of these will be sorted under warranty when it goes in for its service in a couple of weeks (12 months dealer warranty FTW) so I'm not overly worried.
Anyway, enough of my blithering.
Changeover day!
Mmmm...silver...
Quickly put to work!
S'pose I should clean it...
Not the most exciting car on PH, but I hope it finds some interest here
Ved said:
Nice car you have there You weren't tempted by the £14k 12 year old STI they had in? I suspect it'll be there for a very long time.
Blimey! Er, no, bit rich for me. Plus the STI is a little too extrovert for my needs, I visit customer sites in this car so it had to be relatively low-key. You weren't tempted by the £14k 12 year old STI they had in? I suspect it'll be there for a very long time. petrolveins said:
Really like these. Especially in estate form, less offensive to normal people. Quite fancy a bug-eye like your old one as a bit of a shed to spank around back roads, prices are tempting now too. Are they reliable as their name suggests? Do they stand up to abuse?
Thanks - my bugeye gave me no problems at all, partly why I bought another. I think the general rule is try and buy an un-modified one, most of the issues seem to stem from ill-advised power hikes etc. I spotted 'my' old bugeye on eBay a few months ago with ~150,000 miles on it (IIRC), and the only performance mod it has is a Prodrive exhaust.Jandywa said:
Lovely car OP!
I've always had a soft spot for Impreza estates (my dad owned 2) and imo the exhaust that comes with the PPP is perfect in terms of both sound and looks. All too often you see imprezas utterly ruined with a piece of oil pipeline stuck out the back blaring out a horrendous unrefined noise.
Thanks! I've always had a soft spot for Impreza estates (my dad owned 2) and imo the exhaust that comes with the PPP is perfect in terms of both sound and looks. All too often you see imprezas utterly ruined with a piece of oil pipeline stuck out the back blaring out a horrendous unrefined noise.
I agree about the Prodrive exhaust, it's just right as far as I'm concerned.
AntiLagGC8 said:
There is something about Impreza's that gets under your skin.
Agreed! There's certainly more well-rounded dailies I could have bought, but I just couldn't resist another 
Now at 72k miles, still going well. Recent activities include towing the Westy on a 300-mile round trip to Woodbridge and back...
And then a 600-mile round trip into Wales for a few days, including some pretty entertaining unmade roads on the way to the remote cottage we were staying in:
The incline isn't clear in this picture, but the hill it's parked on was made of loose slate and gravel and was pretty tricky to walk up. The Subaru, despite being on three wheels in places, took it all in its stride
Top workhorsing continues
And then a 600-mile round trip into Wales for a few days, including some pretty entertaining unmade roads on the way to the remote cottage we were staying in:
The incline isn't clear in this picture, but the hill it's parked on was made of loose slate and gravel and was pretty tricky to walk up. The Subaru, despite being on three wheels in places, took it all in its stride
Top workhorsing continues
MOT and major service this week just gone, needed a couple of ARB bushes as well as a cambelt tensioner. Still, no advisories on the MOT! Looking at the mileage record I've now done 22k in the last year... Not bad considering it had only done about 5k in the three years leading up to me buying it.
Sort of thinking about moving it on, but I don't really know what I'd replace it with... Maybe I'll hang on over winter and reassess come spring.
Sort of thinking about moving it on, but I don't really know what I'd replace it with... Maybe I'll hang on over winter and reassess come spring.
Blimey, 5 months has gone!
Er, no news is good news really. I seem to have done less miles of late (now on 82k, so only 7k in 5 months), mostly down to a shift in work-related mileage (I seem to be in London a lot at the moment - the joys of public transport
).
I did half-heartedly try and sell it a few weeks ago but quickly realised that I wouldn't get enough to make it worthwhile moving on. So it's time to commit to keeping it for another couple of years and getting my money's worth
With that in mind I've just ordered a set of new KYB rear shocks, top-mounts and bump stops to cure theknackered slightly knocking rear suspension. These parts cost less than £300 all in, compared to the £800+VAT Subaru wanted for replacement struts alone 
. Should get them fitted by a local place in the next couple of weeks, so I'll report back. I'm also going to sack off main-dealer servicing - given the mileage I'm putting on it's not going to help maintain the value of the car, and to be honest I've been less than impressed with the general workmanship. Service is fine, but quality less so (particularly given the set of 'OEM' brake pads I've just replaced were the wrong size...). It's not worth paying the premium IMHO when there are well-respected indies on my doorstep who do what you ask of them the first time around.
Still, got a few jobs oop north coming up, and sprinting season is starting again soon which means it'll be thrown into towing duty once again. I reckon it'll see 100k by the time 2016 is done.
Er, no news is good news really. I seem to have done less miles of late (now on 82k, so only 7k in 5 months), mostly down to a shift in work-related mileage (I seem to be in London a lot at the moment - the joys of public transport
). I did half-heartedly try and sell it a few weeks ago but quickly realised that I wouldn't get enough to make it worthwhile moving on. So it's time to commit to keeping it for another couple of years and getting my money's worth
With that in mind I've just ordered a set of new KYB rear shocks, top-mounts and bump stops to cure the
. Should get them fitted by a local place in the next couple of weeks, so I'll report back. I'm also going to sack off main-dealer servicing - given the mileage I'm putting on it's not going to help maintain the value of the car, and to be honest I've been less than impressed with the general workmanship. Service is fine, but quality less so (particularly given the set of 'OEM' brake pads I've just replaced were the wrong size...). It's not worth paying the premium IMHO when there are well-respected indies on my doorstep who do what you ask of them the first time around.Still, got a few jobs oop north coming up, and sprinting season is starting again soon which means it'll be thrown into towing duty once again. I reckon it'll see 100k by the time 2016 is done.
Still here, still going and approaching 85k miles. Got some long trips due over the next couple of months so I'll be booking in for another service soon I imagine.
The new KYB rear suspenders are now on, and very welcome they are too. I am finally free of the infernal knocking
Otherwise, no news is good news. It has been exactly as dependable as one would expect through a fairly grotty winter, although I'm gutted there wasn't any snow!
And finally, a gratuitous pic with its stablemate:
The new KYB rear suspenders are now on, and very welcome they are too. I am finally free of the infernal knocking
Otherwise, no news is good news. It has been exactly as dependable as one would expect through a fairly grotty winter, although I'm gutted there wasn't any snow!
And finally, a gratuitous pic with its stablemate:
91k miles now. The new KYBs have settled in nicely and I have been enjoying clonk-free motoring for the last few months
The miles will start to rack up again over the next few weeks, with (on top of the usual work mileage) sprints at Croft and Angelsey meaning 1000 miles of towing coming up!
The self-levelling headlights played silly-buggers for a while and decided they wanted to illuminate only the bit of road immediately in front of the bumper. I've had all the connectors off and given them a good clean which only had limited success, so I asked my local indy to have a look. Their tests on the central control module were pretty inconclusive, but they've worked fine ever since so I'll hang fire on replacing anything just yet. Not least because replacement parts are extortionately expensive...
I'm pretty sure this is the most boring Readers' Cars thread on PH.
TL;DR: Man buys Subaru. Doesn't Barry it. Subaru continues to mostly work.
The miles will start to rack up again over the next few weeks, with (on top of the usual work mileage) sprints at Croft and Angelsey meaning 1000 miles of towing coming up!
The self-levelling headlights played silly-buggers for a while and decided they wanted to illuminate only the bit of road immediately in front of the bumper. I've had all the connectors off and given them a good clean which only had limited success, so I asked my local indy to have a look. Their tests on the central control module were pretty inconclusive, but they've worked fine ever since so I'll hang fire on replacing anything just yet. Not least because replacement parts are extortionately expensive...
I'm pretty sure this is the most boring Readers' Cars thread on PH.
TL;DR: Man buys Subaru. Doesn't Barry it. Subaru continues to mostly work.
Vitorio said:
Haha, not a bad thing at all!
How is maintenance on these? A previous neighbour of mine ran several GTs/WRXs, and i vaguely remember the motor needing some fairly involved servicing quite often (valve adjustment?)
Mine basically gets serviced along with Subaru's service schedule (although I use independents now). Genuine parts can be pricey but otherwise I've not had too many nasty surprises (touch wood). Never heard of valves needing adjusting though! How is maintenance on these? A previous neighbour of mine ran several GTs/WRXs, and i vaguely remember the motor needing some fairly involved servicing quite often (valve adjustment?)
In June I said.... said:
. I reckon it'll see 100k by the time 2016 is done.
99,500 miles now, so thought I'd give the old girl a service in preparation for her 'birthday.' They like having their fluids changed and I'm conscious of any additional strain that towing might put on the drive train, so I got on the blower to Opie Oils and took delivery of this little lot:
I also decided to take matters into my own hands with the servicing, so headed on down to This Is Your Garage and rented a bay and lift for a few hours. Typically the car fought back a tad (apparently the oil filter was last fitted by the Hulk) but hey, bleeding knuckles is all part of car ownership right?
So it's had new engine, gearbox and diff oil, along with the air-con and alternator belts (the latter of which was also a sod to fit). Certainly drives much better for it.
Tune in for the next exciting instalment. It might even get a wash
me73 said:
What are your thoughts on the seats in your current car compared to the bugeye. The seats in my bugeye are some of the most comfortable and supportive street seats I've experienced.
Good question. It's been about four years since I last sat in a bug-eye, but I'm pretty sure they're the same seats. EDIT: actually, I've just found a pic of the old car's interior and they're not the same:
Old:
New:
I wouldn't say they're the most comfortable seats I've ever sat in, but then my last car was an E39 5 series. They're plenty supportive enough for the long journeys I do though.
Furyblade_Lee said:
We ran an'01 bug eye 2.0 WRX Wagon as out daily for 10 years. Did 80,000 mikes and it NEVER broke down, just had a second hand turbo fitted at 110,000 and was as good as new. I actually gave it away to a friend last Christmas. Was the best car I have ever owned, ridiculously reliable and would travel as fast down a B road 100% standard as fast as anything I had ever come across in that time. Great car.
Yeah, it was the experience with my bug that made me go and buy this. A quick check on the MOT site suggests it's still running (despite from apparently having a 30k-mile 'haircut' a couple of years ago... I guess it must be on 160k+ by now). Aside from having a bit more poke the hawkeye feels exactly like the old car, and in stock form it's perfect for the crappy bumpy backroads around here. I'm certainly no faster in anything else!
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