Ive got a guy looking to do deal and he wants to p/x his 1999 (T) uk turbo 2000 wagon, is there anything to look out for inparticular on these? Ive never had much dealings with subarus...

Any help much appreciated

Thanks

 

head gasket issues love at the overflow tank if its overflowed and take it for a drive give it a boot full and once stopped lift the over flow tank lid and bubbles is sign oh ead failure happened on my sti

 

Ok no probs cheers for that, hes just emailed me some more details its a 99 Uk Car, 140k miles with service history belts changed at 130k, front mount intercooler, 3inch exhaust, 1.0bar of boost remapped... "he says the bodywork is clean"

Any rough idea on value?
Ive said roughly £800, dunno how far away on pricing that is!

 

with mileage id say your bang on buddy, you cannot buy rear arch panels so if its rotton it will have to be cut and fabricated.

Fantastic cars my sti version 5 was a great car

 

Good guess then ha! A few people have said that they are good cars, but ive never had much to do with them, we shall see i suppose!

 

If poss get a STI,,, I love mine though I never used it in almost 4 years lol

 

The biggest issue is previous owners, shoddy maintenance and shoddy tuning work. So once you can rule out any issues there.....you've a good starting point lol.

External bodywork can get shabby around arches etc. Up inside the rear strut turrets can rust....almost always rust. So that will be an MOT issue if they havent been sorted

It 140k I'd be surprised if it hasnt needed an engine yet given how poorly most are maintained.
So it would be worth checking engine number. A Replacement might be a good thing, or another huge variable.
Always nicer to know it was rebuilt by a competent person, than some cheap POS thrown in as a replacement

But then that comes back to my original point about knowing it's history.

5speed boxes arent strong, but a good one works fine. Clutches can be an issue as with most 4wd cars...again, when they go some people throw in cheap crap, others replace properly

But it's an oldish car now, it's hardly an expensive car, so you'll hardly expect it to be a pristine well maintained example.

Head gaskets are rarely an issue though ( unless blown through dodgy tuning or from overheating due to other causes )

 

as stevie says, gearboxes arent great, turbos can fail, bottom end rattles, rust and then some more rust but the biggest issues with imprezas is as theyre so cheap they get bodged

 

Even when they were expensive, they still got bodged. Far too many people think they can work at them themselves, or rely on dealers or garages who dont have a clue.

they certainly arent difficult cars to maintain....but for some reason, far too many are maintained badly.

Get a good one that has been looked after, and continue to do so and they are superb cars, and will give very good service to it's owner

 

Should hopefully be getting a look at it over the weekend, i really dont have any urge to keep it if im being honest just plan to move it on... As you guys have said too many previous owners not keeping up with maintenance is the main issue! At this point ive only seen pics of it, which as well all know its hardly anything to go off!

 

N/s rocker cover gasket leaks are comon and a bit awkwardbut then so is changing plugs in them

140k will be a VERY tired example and generally fooled so wouldn't bother,,, get one with less than 80k or you will spend the cash you save in repairs,,, oh lots of garages are scared to touch these and others just charge stupid money

I got quoted 1000 to do a clutch by a garage who said its cause the traction control is a bitch,,,,,, though it only has ABS

 

True about rocker covers. Plugs are easy as long as proper maintenance has been carried out. ie the plugs havent been left in there for 140k and are likely seized, which amazingly does happen !!!

And by 140k, most problematic stuff should already have been dealt with, so I wouldnt be concerned about the miles at all. Again it all goes back to a proper history.
At 80k...you could eaisly buy a lemon because no maintenance work at all has been carried out for 80k.

£1k for a clutch is just stupid, unless it's a competition clutch making up the bulk of that cost.

 

I find the clutch myself in the end,, infact it's the 3rd gearbox on it

Performance cars are money pits though and failing at 140 is gonna be a car with worn bushes