Need Subaru Guru's Advice

[Dodge]

Guys,

I am panning to buy my first vehicle. I am a bit of a racing lover and currently I have a option of buying a Subaru Impreza, 1999 model(1500cc) car for around 1.5M. I need advice from subaru experts out there before make up my mind. Specially I like to know about the maintenance, availability of spares and the second hand market of the vehicle. Though I am a racing lover, I want to use the car in day today life while enjoying the fun of driving a car of power.

/Doge

[Kim]

Good Luck! is it a manual?

Edited November 13, 2007 by Kim

[Mihirana]

Hi Dodge,

It's great to know that there are people who think outside the box cos nowadays most of us go for the boring corolla and sunny and live a quite silent life.(Unavoidable)

We have a 1998 model silver sports outback wagon but *****************

Recently we upgraded to a Honda civic 1.8S 2006.

I really must say although with old tech. the Subaru can challenge the high tech new HONDA(performance vice). It has great handling, simple structure, powerful engine, although suspension is not that great.

It does about 11-12 km/l

You'll never regret going for it.

Cheers Buddy!!!!!!!1

Edited November 13, 2007 by Pericles
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[unknown]

just curious to know how much will be a subaru impreza 1999 - 2000 wrx going these days. i heard from my friend these cars need to be maintain properly and when its come to 100k need to do major service. wonder what we have to do when its come to 100k is it the same like other jap cars or is it completely different. please let me know about it.

[Kim]

just make sure you ask someone who really knows about its fuel consumption and market value when its about selling it back? if you concerned about those facts. that is!

[drake]

just curious to know how much will be a subaru impreza 1999 - 2000 wrx going these days. i heard from my friend these cars need to be maintain properly and when its come to 100k need to do major service. wonder what we have to do when its come to 100k is it the same like other jap cars or is it completely different. please let me know about it.

the 100k service is the same as other cars, only it may a bit more expensive, but as sharkster know's certain parts can be locally sourced. The service includes the timing belt and pulleys associated with it, t belt tensioner and the water pump. Also if not previously done all fluids in the car should be changed (gear oil, diff oil etc...)

[Ripper]

sorry to if i'm throwing in a wet blanket

But the sad reality in SL is that you really cant harness and enjoy all that power and performance that a good car can give...

One example was that recently i was hitching a ride with my buddy in his skyline V35 250GT from wadduwa to colombo... And another buddy was trailing us in his N16... Sadly thought the skyline can scream ahead when the road is clear the N16 kept with us all the way to colombo....

that really sucked though we enjoyed the low end torque of the sky

So going for a normal car is not all bad if you do some performance mods to gain more power/handling

An excellent compromise would be Camino 2000cc IMHO

Now back onto topic...

Subaru's are bloody good cars... I've heard of reliability issues but it can't be too bad. But spares are lot expensive than your average sedan.

One of my buddies had to replace brake pads on his B4 and it had cost him a cool 70k from the agents

And that does only 4Km's per litre in colombo and worse outstation once the twin turbo kicks in

It really boils down to what you want out of it

[Ripper]

Hi Dodge,

It's great to know that there are people who think outside the box cos nowadays most of us go for the boring corolla and sunny and live a quite silent life.(Unavoidable)

We have a 1998 model silver sports outback wagon but still having difficulty in selling. We expect about 12.

Recently we upgraded to a Honda civic 1.8S 2006.

I really must say although with old tech. the Subaru can challenge the high tech new HONDA(performance vice). It has great handling, simple structure, powerful engine, although suspension is not that great.

It does about 11-12 km/l

You'll never regret going for it.

Cheers Buddy!!!!!!!1

Just out of curiosity do you think and old tech subaru like you say can take on a high tech new honda type R?

[Arc Angel]

if i may ask (cos i'm really clueless bout sub's), is the normal impreza considered a performance car or is it only the wrx's?

Edited November 13, 2007 by Arc Angel

[Dodge]

Good Luck! is it a manual?

It's auto.

[Dodge]

sorry to if i'm throwing in a wet blanket

But the sad reality in SL is that you really cant harness and enjoy all that power and performance that a good car can give...

One example was that recently i was hitching a ride with my buddy in his skyline V35 250GT from wadduwa to colombo... And another buddy was trailing us in his N16... Sadly thought the skyline can scream ahead when the road is clear the N16 kept with us all the way to colombo....

that really sucked though we enjoyed the low end torque of the sky

So going for a normal car is not all bad if you do some performance mods to gain more power/handling

An excellent compromise would be Camino 2000cc IMHO

Now back onto topic...

Subaru's are bloody good cars... I've heard of reliability issues but it can't be too bad. But spares are lot expensive than your average sedan.

One of my buddies had to replace brake pads on his B4 and it had cost him a cool 70k from the agents

And that does only 4Km's per litre in colombo and worse outstation once the twin turbo kicks in

It really boils down to what you want out of it

Good comment about sri lanka and performance cars. As per the owner on average this Impreza does about 8-10 km/l. Availability and cost of spares is the bothering question I have.

[drake]

if i may ask (cos i'm really clueless but sub's), is the normal impreza considered a performance car or is it only the wrx's?

usually only the subaru's with forced induction are considered as performance car's.... in most cases the n/a engines are little bit down on power to really complement the AWD (although the 2.5ltr is nice)

Good comment about sri lanka and performance cars. As per the owner on average this Impreza does about 8-10 km/l. Availability and cost of spares is the bothering question I have.

parts are costly but to some extent you can find replacements locally, not too sure about fuel consumption for n/a enigines but i have heard that the n/a B4 is only a bit better than the twin turbo's.

[drake]

if i may ask (cos i'm really clueless but sub's), is the normal impreza considered a performance car or is it only the wrx's?

usually only the subaru's with forced induction are considered as performance car's.... in most cases the n/a engines are little bit down on power to really complement the AWD (although the 2.5ltr is nice)

Good comment about sri lanka and performance cars. As per the owner on average this Impreza does about 8-10 km/l. Availability and cost of spares is the bothering question I have.

parts are costly but to some extent you can find replacements locally, not too sure about fuel consumption for n/a enigines but i have heard that the n/a B4 is only a bit better than the twin turbo's.

[GearHead]

Hi dodge,

99 subaru is a cool ride..however there are couple of thing that i need to point out.one of my friends has a 99 impreza (manual) and i have had the chance to drive the car several times. Im terms of fuel efficiency i was not very satisfied since it only did around 9-10Km within city limits with the A/C on.The feel of the car was not bad at all and also liked the smoothness of the engine.

However i dont think that this particular model would be as fast as a equivalent honda civc.Once we raced this against a manual EK3 non VTEC civic and the civic won by one car's length.Since you love speed my suggestion is drive a civic in the same range before taking a decision.the civic does 11Kmpl in city with A/C..anyway this is my experience, other members may have different views.

Edited November 13, 2007 by GearHead

[Arc Angel]

Hi dodge,

99 subaru is a cool ride..however there are couple of thing that i need to point out.one of my friends has a 99 impreza (manual) and i have had the chance to drive the car several times. Im terms of fuel efficiency i was not very satisfied since it only did around 9-10Km within city limits with the A/C on.The feel of the car was not bad at all and also liked the smoothness of the engine.

However i dont think that this particular model would be as fast as a equivalent honda civc.Once we raced this against a manual EK3 non VTEC civic and the civic won by one car's length.Since you love speed my suggestion is drive a civic in the same range before taking a decision.the civic does 11Kmpl in city with A/C..anyway this is my experience, other members may have different views.

thats why i asked as well, cos i've also had a freindly sprint or two in my civic vs. a non wrx impreza. it really didn't keep up (the impreza).

but i've been slaughtered by wrx's...

I was (and still am) under the impression that the non wrx impreza 1.5lt is nothing really special (no offence to anybody)

please correct me if i'm wrong..

also, does the non wrx come with awd?

Edited November 13, 2007 by Arc Angel

[Ripper]

but i've been slaughtered by wrx's...

He he... OT

There was this discovery channel program about rally cars and they feature the Subaru team... They showed most of the technical stuff etc and the rally car as something called "launch control" if my memory serves me correct...

They showed 2 subarus side by side both driven by pro rally drivers...the only difference was that one ca had this launch control thing and the other didn't.... And man the difference was phenomenal...or astronomical

The car with LC just jumped way in front of the other and kept on accelerating like it was shot from a canon

[Arc Angel]

He he... OT

There was this discovery channel program about rally cars and they feature the Subaru team... They showed most of the technical stuff etc and the rally car as something called "launch control" if my memory serves me correct...

They showed 2 subarus side by side both driven by pro rally drivers...the only difference was that one ca had this launch control thing and the other didn't.... And man the difference was phenomenal...or astronomical

The car with LC just jumped way in front of the other and kept on accelerating like it was shot from a canon

i'm sure the launch control is similar to the mods done with limited slip differentials... it does make a HUGE difference..

[leonardo]

sorry to if i'm throwing in a wet blanket

But the sad reality in SL is that you really cant harness and enjoy all that power and performance that a good car can give...

One example was that recently i was hitching a ride with my buddy in his skyline V35 250GT from wadduwa to colombo... And another buddy was trailing us in his N16... Sadly thought the skyline can scream ahead when the road is clear the N16 kept with us all the way to colombo....

that really sucked though we enjoyed the low end torque of the sky

So going for a normal car is not all bad if you do some performance mods to gain more power/handling

An excellent compromise would be Camino 2000cc IMHO

Now back onto topic...

Subaru's are bloody good cars... I've heard of reliability issues but it can't be too bad. But spares are lot expensive than your average sedan.

One of my buddies had to replace brake pads on his B4 and it had cost him a cool 70k from the agents

And that does only 4Km's per litre in colombo and worse outstation once the twin turbo kicks in

It really boils down to what you want out of it

there must have been quite a bit of traffic cos I dont' see how an N16 could keep up with a V35 otherwise! but i agree, that's the sad situ of the roads here. where are those great highways we have been hearing about for donkey's years? oops, getting into politics again!

anyway in SL you would buy a fast car just for the sake of knowing you have one. as far as driving it relatively fast in colombo is concerned, there's small joy in doing 80-100 on late weeknight evenings when there are no cops around!

[leonardo]

sorry to if i'm throwing in a wet blanket

But the sad reality in SL is that you really cant harness and enjoy all that power and performance that a good car can give...

One example was that recently i was hitching a ride with my buddy in his skyline V35 250GT from wadduwa to colombo... And another buddy was trailing us in his N16... Sadly thought the skyline can scream ahead when the road is clear the N16 kept with us all the way to colombo....

that really sucked though we enjoyed the low end torque of the sky

So going for a normal car is not all bad if you do some performance mods to gain more power/handling

An excellent compromise would be Camino 2000cc IMHO

Now back onto topic...

Subaru's are bloody good cars... I've heard of reliability issues but it can't be too bad. But spares are lot expensive than your average sedan.

One of my buddies had to replace brake pads on his B4 and it had cost him a cool 70k from the agents

And that does only 4Km's per litre in colombo and worse outstation once the twin turbo kicks in

It really boils down to what you want out of it

there must have been quite a bit of traffic cos I dont' see how an N16 could keep up with a V35 otherwise! but i agree, that's the sad situ of the roads here. where are those great highways we have been hearing about for donkey's years? oops, getting into politics again!

anyway in SL you would buy a fast car just for the sake of knowing you have one. as far as driving it relatively fast in colombo is concerned, there's small joy in doing 80-100 on late weeknight evenings when there are no cops around!

[Ripper]

there must have been quite a bit of traffic cos I dont' see how an N16 could keep up with a V35 otherwise! but i agree, that's the sad situ of the roads here. where are those great highways we have been hearing about for donkey's years? oops, getting into politics again!

anyway in SL you would buy a fast car just for the sake of knowing you have one. as far as driving it relatively fast in colombo is concerned, there's small joy in doing 80-100 on late weeknight evenings when there are no cops around!

it was a sunday afternoon and it's a shame that you can't put your foot down a bit

Ma friend loves the car for it's low end torque and handling abilities etc.

And doing 80-100 is nothing much on that to be honest cos the car gets there pretty fast...

Besides i drive my sprinter over 100 in galle road near galle face almost every work day since i tend to travel to work a bit early in the morning You really don't need an expensive machine to reach those speeds IMHO Just that a car like mine takes a while to get there when a powerful car would do that in a few seconds And yes the sprinter is crap on turns etc at speeds where the sky just zips through them

[GTAm]

What an interesting thread. So I'm going to butt in with my two cents worth. ....

I don't think you should worry too much about straight line speed. I would give more priority to how the car feels when you drive it eventhough its nice to have lots of power.

Also any fool can go fast in a straight line. It takes some skill and a good car to go around corners fast though.

I must confess that I have not driven a front wheel drive Subaru except for some very very old ones long ago. However I have driven a few 4wd non turbo cars. And I must say I have always been quite impressed with the cars. They seem a notch above the usual Japanese fwd suspects. Such as the EK3 Honda Civic mentioned.

IMHO if the EK3 does not have a VTEC engine there would be zero attraction for that car. The ES is a lot better but again without a VTEC its very ordinary.

The Subarus on the other hand feel a bit special with their flat four engine and decent ride. On our roads ride comfort is very important even from a performance point of view. I mean you hardly get a smooth road anywhere. And a car with a better resolved suspension set up will be quicker and more pleasurable than one with "Sporty" or plain poor suspension.

So drive both and try to identify the differences and decide what you prefer before buying.

[GihanFX]

Guys,

I am panning to buy my first vehicle. I am a bit of a racing lover and currently I have a option of buying a Subaru Impreza, 1999 model(1500cc) car for around 1.5M. I need advice from subaru experts out there before make up my mind. Specially I like to know about the maintenance, availability of spares and the second hand market of the vehicle. Though I am a racing lover, I want to use the car in day today life while enjoying the fun of driving a car of power.

/Doge

Ok My New Ride is also the 1999 Subaru Impreza, and its a damn fun car to drive, but there are some advantages and disadvantages too

My car did gud on fuel, and very confy too but the man factor is spare parts are not avilable at all, trsut me thesedays im looking for Subaru front crystal Lights and cant find it anywhere, even body parts like the Fenders, etc

[GihanFX]

What an interesting thread. So I'm going to butt in with my two cents worth. ....

I don't think you should worry too much about straight line speed. I would give more priority to how the car feels when you drive it eventhough its nice to have lots of power.

Also any fool can go fast in a straight line. It takes some skill and a good car to go around corners fast though.

I must confess that I have not driven a front wheel drive Subaru except for some very very old ones long ago. However I have driven a few 4wd non turbo cars. And I must say I have always been quite impressed with the cars. They seem a notch above the usual Japanese fwd suspects. Such as the EK3 Honda Civic mentioned.

IMHO if the EK3 does not have a VTEC engine there would be zero attraction for that car. The ES is a lot better but again without a VTEC its very ordinary.

The Subarus on the other hand feel a bit special with their flat four engine and decent ride. On our roads ride comfort is very important even from a performance point of view. I mean you hardly get a smooth road anywhere. And a car with a better resolved suspension set up will be quicker and more pleasurable than one with "Sporty" or plain poor suspension.

So drive both and try to identify the differences and decide what you prefer before buying.

some gud info, but machan comfort and fun tu drive wise subaru is on top but when it comes to performance and handling i prefere EK3

[Ripper]

What an interesting thread. So I'm going to butt in with my two cents worth. ....

I don't think you should worry too much about straight line speed. I would give more priority to how the car feels when you drive it eventhough its nice to have lots of power.

Also any fool can go fast in a straight line. It takes some skill and a good car to go around corners fast though.

I must confess that I have not driven a front wheel drive Subaru except for some very very old ones long ago. However I have driven a few 4wd non turbo cars. And I must say I have always been quite impressed with the cars. They seem a notch above the usual Japanese fwd suspects. Such as the EK3 Honda Civic mentioned.

IMHO if the EK3 does not have a VTEC engine there would be zero attraction for that car. The ES is a lot better but again without a VTEC its very ordinary.

The Subarus on the other hand feel a bit special with their flat four engine and decent ride. On our roads ride comfort is very important even from a performance point of view. I mean you hardly get a smooth road anywhere. And a car with a better resolved suspension set up will be quicker and more pleasurable than one with "Sporty" or plain poor suspension.

So drive both and try to identify the differences and decide what you prefer before buying.

very true... But don't you think that the usual jap car "suspects" also keeps up with these "better handling cars" upto a point with a good driver behind the wheel...and maybe even with some minor mods?

Also any fool can go fast in a straight line. It takes some skill and a good car to go around corners fast though.

This might not be the ideal example but i've seen on FormulaD races on TV a tricked up old AE86 beat the snot out of a spruced up viper in corners but the viper always beat the AE86 the moment a straight run appears...

I don't think you can simply diss the usual jap car just like that

just my 2 cents worth

[Elvis_Pil]

sorry to if i'm throwing in a wet blanket

But the sad reality in SL is that you really cant harness and enjoy all that power and performance that a good car can give...

One example was that recently i was hitching a ride with my buddy in his skyline V35 250GT from wadduwa to colombo... And another buddy was trailing us in his N16... Sadly thought the skyline can scream ahead when the road is clear the N16 kept with us all the way to colombo....

that really sucked though we enjoyed the low end torque of the sky

Well We both know that Skyline owner is still learning the ropes on the car, I'm sure he wont take risks with it just yet Give him a bit of time lol.. at the same time auto/tip on a powerful car sucks.. the N16 would have been nippy through the tight stuff and would have kept up -specially if it was manual And the sky is after all a heavy (almost 1 and a half tons) cruiser