What to do with old Spec C Impreza?
Discussion
I am looking to get cash for my car, though it isn't in good nick.
It has had 2 knocks. A T-bone at a junction, and a rear impact from OAP forgot to put handbrake on. Both low speed collisions.
Has rear bumper damage, a little rust damage on front wing, front bumper/splitter damage.
Fuel cap does not open with the button.
Turbo not what it once was - low/weak pressure.
Steering is very loose (main complaint) it has been seen by a few mechanics who say it is 100% fine - even though it handles like a dog. The steering continues to deteriorate with time.
It makes a rattle sound when you go over bumps, and strange clunking noises coming from the body of the car towards the mid/rear on certain movements.
Engine blew 1 - 2 years ago due to a cooling failure, engine got rebuilt at a cost of £2.5k, been great since.
Would keep the car if I could get the steering fixed, and the rattle issues, though finding a decent mechanic is hard. Must be a deep/hard to find issue with it - or lazy mechanics as they say it is absolutely fine!
What's the best way of getting the most car of of this car?
I am not comfortable selling it in its present state (even though I drive it every day)
Breaking would be an option - except I don't know a thing about dismantling cars.
Don't know if anyone with mechanical knowledge would be interested in fixing it up, make a project out of it. It is a rare Spec C, after all. Done 50k miles. Closer to 15K miles if you start at the engine rebuild.
Could try palm it off to one of those webuyanycar types.
What do you think?
Thanks.
It has had 2 knocks. A T-bone at a junction, and a rear impact from OAP forgot to put handbrake on. Both low speed collisions.
Has rear bumper damage, a little rust damage on front wing, front bumper/splitter damage.
Fuel cap does not open with the button.
Turbo not what it once was - low/weak pressure.
Steering is very loose (main complaint) it has been seen by a few mechanics who say it is 100% fine - even though it handles like a dog. The steering continues to deteriorate with time.
It makes a rattle sound when you go over bumps, and strange clunking noises coming from the body of the car towards the mid/rear on certain movements.
Engine blew 1 - 2 years ago due to a cooling failure, engine got rebuilt at a cost of £2.5k, been great since.
Would keep the car if I could get the steering fixed, and the rattle issues, though finding a decent mechanic is hard. Must be a deep/hard to find issue with it - or lazy mechanics as they say it is absolutely fine!
What's the best way of getting the most car of of this car?
I am not comfortable selling it in its present state (even though I drive it every day)
Breaking would be an option - except I don't know a thing about dismantling cars.
Don't know if anyone with mechanical knowledge would be interested in fixing it up, make a project out of it. It is a rare Spec C, after all. Done 50k miles. Closer to 15K miles if you start at the engine rebuild.
Could try palm it off to one of those webuyanycar types.
What do you think?
Thanks.
Thanks for the replies.
Sorry, this is not an ad, not selling it right at this moment... I take it you need to pay for ads, given the sarky comments?
Happy to put an ad up nearer the time, this was just to get some ideas.
I still rely on the Spec C as my sole car, so need to find a replacement etc first.
Will try get pics up soon.
Definitely want to see it go to someone with knowledge, who will fix it up as a project. Car is a beast when it's in top form!
Sorry, this is not an ad, not selling it right at this moment... I take it you need to pay for ads, given the sarky comments?
Happy to put an ad up nearer the time, this was just to get some ideas.
I still rely on the Spec C as my sole car, so need to find a replacement etc first.
Will try get pics up soon.
Definitely want to see it go to someone with knowledge, who will fix it up as a project. Car is a beast when it's in top form!
Don't know about you guys, but I'd hate to buy a car of an owner like this unless the price was cheap.
I absolutely hate owners of performance cars ot cars in general chalking up non maintenance to normal wear and tear.
Spec C I think is the yellow hatchback one? So not that old. My 94 MR2 was still on its original turbo up till this year ( changing for a bigger) and is perfect working order. The trick? No trick just good maintenance.
Owners expecting anything else are kidding themselves. Problems never fix themselves and usually snowball if ignored.
Take an interest in your car, less you should just get a boring Civic or something which you don't have to worry about apart from filling up and oil changes.
I absolutely hate owners of performance cars ot cars in general chalking up non maintenance to normal wear and tear.
Spec C I think is the yellow hatchback one? So not that old. My 94 MR2 was still on its original turbo up till this year ( changing for a bigger) and is perfect working order. The trick? No trick just good maintenance.
Owners expecting anything else are kidding themselves. Problems never fix themselves and usually snowball if ignored.
Take an interest in your car, less you should just get a boring Civic or something which you don't have to worry about apart from filling up and oil changes.
I have dropped cumulatively £1000's on attempting to get this steering problem fixed. They say the steering is 100% fine - at this point I'd agree. So the problem may not be the steering per se, but it is definitely something AFFECTING the steering.
At this point, I have do desire to drop more money on it. It's had 4 - 5 seperate mechanic visits (to a few different shops) and all of them cannot find the problem. I have zero confidence in them.
As for the turbo, yes I have not bothered to get that fixed as the steering now can hardly cope with the weak pull. I already get torque steer (or whatever) because of the loose steering on boost. No way the steering can handle the turbo full boost, as it is savage.
and the Spec C is the white one.
Found a pic from it's old owner...
http://i35.tinypic.com/mrfwu9.jpg
At this point, I have do desire to drop more money on it. It's had 4 - 5 seperate mechanic visits (to a few different shops) and all of them cannot find the problem. I have zero confidence in them.
As for the turbo, yes I have not bothered to get that fixed as the steering now can hardly cope with the weak pull. I already get torque steer (or whatever) because of the loose steering on boost. No way the steering can handle the turbo full boost, as it is savage.
and the Spec C is the white one.
Found a pic from it's old owner...
http://i35.tinypic.com/mrfwu9.jpg
I have no idea, I am not mechanical, otherwise I would have had a good look.
If by tracking you mean alignment, then yes, it has that done a few times.
I am seriously thinking about getting one of those 100-point RAC checks things, and telling them about the steering. I honestly think they would have a better chance of getting to the root of the problem than these mechanics.
Maybe it is something to do with the cars structure, not the actual steering, given the T-boning?
It has a weird disconnected feeling - like I imagine what driving a truck with a trailer feels like - as if the front wheels are disconnected from the rear wheels. And I feel like I need to give tight corners a wider berth because of this, turn in more, and I need to be aware of my 'trailer' (rear end of car) in case it hits anything (e.g. when overtaking a cyclist)
Don't know if this makes any sense
If by tracking you mean alignment, then yes, it has that done a few times.
I am seriously thinking about getting one of those 100-point RAC checks things, and telling them about the steering. I honestly think they would have a better chance of getting to the root of the problem than these mechanics.
Maybe it is something to do with the cars structure, not the actual steering, given the T-boning?
It has a weird disconnected feeling - like I imagine what driving a truck with a trailer feels like - as if the front wheels are disconnected from the rear wheels. And I feel like I need to give tight corners a wider berth because of this, turn in more, and I need to be aware of my 'trailer' (rear end of car) in case it hits anything (e.g. when overtaking a cyclist)
Don't know if this makes any sense
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