It was my birthday on Monday and Leoness has agreed to allow me to buy another impreza. yaay! think it will cost me in the long run - noticed travel brochures in the house!!!
I sold my old impreza (1995 - Jap Import) some years ago in a moment of regrettable haste, and have longed to have her back ever since. I think I have found one which meets my criteria.
No mods, UK Car, Low Mileage, FSH & careful owners. Aside from the lightweight bodywork which is easily bent, what areas should I be focussing my attention on with the newer models?
Incidentally I checked with the local police if the car had any adverse history ie - stolen or stolen & recovered - I was told that they could not release this information under data protection - Surely data protection only applies to data about people??
spoke to a local deslership who told me nothing major ever goes wrong with the engines unless you habitually red line her, or dont warm and cool the engine. They recommended 10,000 mile services using semi-synthetic oil as they said fully synthetic introduced a knocking sound to the engine. I was aware of the other things he stated, poor quality aftermarket parts, mods done on the cheap, poor chip mods etc.
I think the wheels have been upgraded to 17" x 7" alloys shod with 215/40 ZR 17 Potenzas. If I recall correctly these cars are very offset specific and 55mm springs to mind as a figure. Can anyone confirm or assist with this? Are these larger wheels / tyres likely to catch an arch when on the pace???
Any comments on the factory fitted security? these motors are obviously inherently attrictive to the workshy chavs, and the steal to order outfits. Have about a grand in my back pocket to upgrade security and do a general tidy up. Was thinking about fitting one of the tracker devices for peace of mind.
Any comments as always most welcome.
Leon
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In terms of security, I was the subject of an attempted car jacking in my Scooby Forester XT (new Turbo) a few months ago. It seemed to be the concensus of opinion that Tracker was only worthwhile if a) you really love your car; and b) the insurers will give you a decent discount on the premium. However your NCB should be considered as well. Look up Tracker in the forum search engine.
Can't advise on technical mods as my car is totally standard, but came with a Thatcham Cat 1 alarm as standard with the car and built into the key fob. Can recommend the Subary service agent in Stockport tho'
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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The Irish Sea makes servicing in stockport a little impractical, but fair comment about the tracker I had to a certain extent overlooked the no claims discount aspect. The car will in the main be garaged, as its my second car used solely for driving pleasure, I couldn't afford to run that to work every day.
I recall your attempted carjacking - Sadly the deterrent to car thieves is so non-existant, if they want the car badly enough they will enter your property, drag you from your bed and beat you with a heavy object or threaten your at knife point just to get your keys - thatcham category 1 does nothing to protect you then! And God forbid you should summon up the courage to fight back - use of minimal reasonable force and all that nonsense.....
Will have a look at the post on tracking devices.
Thanks
Leon
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Trackers are almost always an insurance requirement these days on Scoobs.
Also premiums are on the up. A lot of discussion about this on Impreza forums.
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I have owned a '99V Impreza turbo (standard, unmodified UK car) for 2 years, and can recommend them unreservedly.
During that time the car has been literally fault free, I have only had to pay for routine srvicing.
In my view, the most important factor when looking at Imprezas is to buy the right car in the first place. You should buy one with a full, traceable history that has been fastidiously maintained by a mature, sensible, knowledgeable enthuisast owner. If you find the right car and continue to look after it properly, you will have no worries.
It is unfortunately the case that many 'classic shape' Imprezas are now falling into the clutches of the wrong type of owner, ie the Max Power brigade, with inevitably adverse consequences for image and values. Sad.
Incidentally, you refer to your old car as 'she'. Surely, if any car on the road is red-bloodedly male in character it is the Scooby?
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