Subaru Impreza WRX Buying advise

DannyW

DannyW

DannyW

Man of Honour
Joined
31 Dec 2005
Posts
4,869
Location
England
Hi guys

My brother is looking to buy a Blob eye Impreza WRX 2003-2006, I've only ever driven them never owned one properly so I know very little about them

Can anyone help please, Basically we want to know the common faults to look out for? a lot of chavy cheap ones on eBay say 'replacement engine fitted' what's all this about?? I thought they were very strong engines

Budget £3000-4000

Any advise appreciated
 
They're strong if left alone, start mucking about and pushing it too much on stock turbo/ internals and that's when there are problems.

Plenty of guides on here and elsewhere if you do a bit of searching
 
Look for the most stock one you can find. Looking over the STI wannabe examples will make you understand why.

Also avoid any with monster energy decals.
 
They're good cars. Rust on rear arches on some examples, something to notice.

Make sure it is a standard example, check for any oil/water leaks, any split hoses.
 
As said look for a nice standard kept one and you'll be fine.

I've had one, my folks have had two, never any problems throughout either ownership.
 
You can always head to SN (Scoobynet), and check their classifieds. Be careful of a car that's been modded and returned to standard. Sometimes it's not bad, but if owners have been running crazy boost on standard internals and really pushing the engine, there could be a chance of it letting go when your brother owns it.

It's difficult to find a good example, but they're pretty cheap now, just don't end up being attracted to a cheap one and ending up with a lemon.

I know all about that. :o
 
Get a standard'ish car from someone who can string a sentence together and who has preferably owned it for 3years+ and you will likely do well :p
 
Last edited:
For the money he wont be bothered if a bumper/door has had paint main this is it is mechanically sound
 
I wouldn't be too bothered if there was an innocent reason for it being painted either.

It could just as easily have had a good old thump, especially given the type of car it is
 
DannyW said:
Ok thanks, we've seen a few of his youtube vids, that's why I thought they have strong engines, all the abuse his takes lol

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/subaru/impreza-wrx/subaru-impreza-wrx-turbo/1484751

this one looks quite nice
Click to expand...



The good news is that it looks like hardly any mods have been done. The bad news is that mileage. The normal rules about high mileage cars do NOT apply to turbo Imprezas. The highest absolutely confirmed mileage I've ever heard of is about 150k miles. Most other stories are just that - stories. Any time after 120k miles something expensive is going to break, probably the turbo. That's a £1000-1500 repair. You might be lucky. But assume not, and factor high bills into your budget. However, the bodywork seems to go on forever: most break long before they rust.

The bit about ragging newage WRXs is true. In theory the engine is good for about 340bhp without shortening the life (but it's downhill pretty quickly above that). However, most of the people who mod the engines up to that level seem to drive like ****s and pretty soon something important goes bang. Usually one of the con rods. If it hasn't yet, it's always a good possibility.

In general, a non-modified car is always a better bet than a modified one at your budget. Be aware that it's a buyer's market, and Imprezas really are not selling well. Most seem to be up for sale well above what they are actually likely to fetch. Unusually, that one is only a little inflated in price. Personally I'd walk away from anything over 100k miles, but that might just be me.
 
Meridian said:
In general, a non-modified car is always a better bet than a modified one at your budget. Be aware that it's a buyer's market, and Imprezas really are not selling well. Most seem to be up for sale well above what they are actually likely to fetch. Unusually, that one is only a little inflated in price. Personally I'd walk away from anything over 100k miles, but that might just be me.
Click to expand...

It is a buyers market. They're cheap as chips at the moment, the imports do command a premium though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom