Thinking Bout Buying An Old Impreza

[virensti]

Guys,

Me old man and I are thinking of selling off the Vios (cause it's becoming quite a curse replacing soo many things ) and buying an old Impreza. Maybe a 95 to a 98 years model? Manual Transmisson 1.5l FF. Thinking of Targeting the car for about 1 mil or less, and doing it up completely (Engine Body etc) for about 300k.

Firstly I'd like to know whether this is possible (price wise), and whether it's worth it. Would appreciate some comments and also some general facts such as fuel economy spare part pricing and also from where I could look for these.

So please start posting your comments up Thanks. V.

Edited November 27, 2009 by virensti

[fuzzo]

my suggestion would be to keep the vios. if you have already replaced stuff.. it should be trouble free for sometime

[LaZyBoY]

Have to agree with Fuzzo.. if you've already done lots of running repairs/replacements etc. you may as well use the car and get some return on that money spent. Pretty sure you will not be able to recover any of that if you sell it, the second hand market being what it is. Also switching from a relatively new car to a much older one doesn't seem very practical to me, it wouldn't really be considered an "upgrade" - just my opinion of course.

I'm guessing you want to do one of these WRX/STi conversions that have become so popular of late. While it's a nice project to take on, if this is to be your day-to-day vehicle and trouble-free motoring is a priority, then, I wouldn't. Incidentally, there seem to be quite a few of them (converted Imprezas) for sale these days, so maybe consider picking up one of those but again, they are highly-strung cars and not terribly cheap to run.. not your typical Toyota by any stretch of the imagination

[MasterDon]

keep thinking!

i'm wondering how you convinced your old man to sell a toyota and buy an older subaru.it doesnt sound like what a sensible parent would do,unless your dad is is one of those super cool dads...or is completely nuts like mine

[Devinda_Z]

  virensti said:

Guys,

Me old man and I are thinking of selling off the Vios (cause it's becoming quite a curse replacing soo many things ) and buying an old Impreza. Maybe a 95 to a 98 years model? Manual Transmisson 1.5l FF. Thinking of Targeting the car for about 1 mil or less, and doing it up completely (Engine Body etc) for about 300k.

Firstly I'd like to know whether this is possible (price wise), and whether it's worth it. Would appreciate some comments and also some general facts such as fuel economy spare part pricing and also from where I could look for these.

So please start posting your comments up Thanks. V.

hmmm that WRX conversion is in your price range...

[Harshanas]

If you are all set for the conversion, go for it. But make sure you have the COMPLETE kit.

The impreza isnt a mind boggling experience, but once converted, its a different story.

[Supra_Natural]

IMO unless you're going to do the WRX conversion an old imprezza is a pretty pointless purchase, especially if your trading in a newer family car like the vios. Most of the cars on the road are hacked, they will be more thirsty than the vios, probably less comfortable and definitely less reliable (Age related issues mainly). Also It WILL cost more to fix when things go wrong, and they probably will go wrong more frequently too!

Overall you really ought to keep the vios. If you have your heart set on selling it and REALLY want to go subaru, a better option will be to find one of the non turbo Legacy B4s. Much newer, bigger and more comfy, and a reliable car if you can get hold of a good one.

Edit: Sub 1.5 mill might be tough finding a B4. You can also consider the previous generation legacy.

Edited November 27, 2009 by Supra_Natural

[miniace]

Its somewhat heartrending that Imprezzas not everyones favourite car and second hand market remains disappointing. Purchasers are forced to think more than twice when going for Imprezzas.Especially car buyers with bare minimum technical knowledge.Mind you my belief about imprezzas are special.

I recently inspected a locally converted WRX/STi…and the car is a case of misery.

I didn’t find anything good to talk positive. Not surprised that many converted ones are up for sale into few months of conversions. Similarly we have very satisfied ‘converted’ owners here at AL.

Situation is such that majority will arise the question when switching to late 90s Imprezza from a Vios , “are you nuts?” that miserably including me.

As Fuzzo pointed out,since you passed the bad period…it maybe the time to enjoy the Vios.

Last but not least, All Vios owners I know are morethan happy owners and im surprised about your case. Suggest you change the technician you see first.

Good luck mate!

MINIACE

[Az]

  fuzzo said:

my suggestion would be to keep the vios. if you have already replaced stuff.. it should be trouble free for sometime

I guess he was having trouble with the ECU and couldn't find a proper solution for that.

[fuzzo]

like the others said, if a wrx is what you are finally going to end up with, keep the vios and save up for a bit longer for a conversion or you should be able to buy an already converted car for a decent price

if you want the car to your taste, make sure you do the conversion yourself and not buy a done conversion.

[virensti]

wow didn't expect soo many replies. Thanks everyone.

well firstly no I do NOT wanna do a wrx conversion (though I'd love to) it's not an option at all. And the reason I though of this was IF we sell the Vios for a certain price, and buy an older car and do it up completely (replacing every possible thing with brand new parts) maybe we could at least have a reliable car and have about 4 to 5 lack profit?

I fully agree the Vios is a decent family car and it more than serves the purpose in terms of reliabilty and fuel etc etc. The thing is it keeps popping up all sorts of trouble at the worst times. Recently we got the calipers serviced and then the brakes weren't working, so we replaced the master pump and now the ABS module is not working. So things just go from bad to worse.. Before I changed the oil pump because the previous oil pump had a big crack in it and had to replace the vvt valve.. And that's just a bit of the problems we've had with it.

True going for a very old car seems like a terrible idea to do. But it's just an option we're tryin to keep open, specially since new car prices are off the hook!

But thanks for the advice. We'll see how things go with the Vios.. Thanks again everyone.

[virensti]

  MasterDon said:

keep thinking!

i'm wondering how you convinced your old man to sell a toyota and buy an older subaru.it doesnt sound like what a sensible parent would do,unless your dad is is one of those super cool dads...or is completely nuts like mine

The only reason my dad won't mind an impreza is cause he had one when he worked at senok and loved it to bits no other reason trust me he's the furthest thing from "super cool"

[virensti]

  Supra_Natural said:

IMO unless you're going to do the WRX conversion an old imprezza is a pretty pointless purchase, especially if your trading in a newer family car like the vios. Most of the cars on the road are hacked, they will be more thirsty than the vios, probably less comfortable and definitely less reliable (Age related issues mainly). Also It WILL cost more to fix when things go wrong, and they probably will go wrong more frequently too!

Overall you really ought to keep the vios. If you have your heart set on selling it and REALLY want to go subaru, a better option will be to find one of the non turbo Legacy B4s. Much newer, bigger and more comfy, and a reliable car if you can get hold of a good one.

Edit: Sub 1.5 mill might be tough finding a B4. You can also consider the previous generation legacy.

True.. Haven't got our heart set on selling it mate, dad and I really like the car, it's just that the maintainence is getting abit too pricey and bank account's are getting quite low as a result.. But thanks for the advice.

[virensti]

  miniace said:

Its somewhat heartrending that Imprezzas not everyones favourite car and second hand market remains disappointing. Purchasers are forced to think more than twice when going for Imprezzas.Especially car buyers with bare minimum technical knowledge.Mind you my belief about imprezzas are special.

I recently inspected a locally converted WRX/STi…and the car is a case of misery.

I didn’t find anything good to talk positive. Not surprised that many converted ones are up for sale into few months of conversions. Similarly we have very satisfied ‘converted’ owners here at AL.

Situation is such that majority will arise the question when switching to late 90s Imprezza from a Vios , “are you nuts?” that miserably including me.

As Fuzzo pointed out,since you passed the bad period…it maybe the time to enjoy the Vios.

Last but not least, All Vios owners I know are morethan happy owners and im surprised about your case. Suggest you change the technician you see first.

Good luck mate!

MINIACE

Sigh. Sad scene eh.. But it was a good car when it came out though. Guess aged cars aren't the best option.. I know mate soo many Vios owners have no problems with their cars. Nearly everyone says that we've been cursed with a bad Vios.

[virensti]

  fuzzo said:

like the others said, if a wrx is what you are finally going to end up with, keep the vios and save up for a bit longer for a conversion or you should be able to buy an already converted car for a decent price

if you want the car to your taste, make sure you do the conversion yourself and not buy a done conversion.

It's not about the conversion mate. It's just that we want a normal day to day car like the vios. Only thing is the vios is just fleecing us out. Whereas I was hoping an old car could be done to be like new, and still give abit of a profit.. But thanks though. Need to look into this way more and think about it for sometime..

[Watchman]

There's also the option of a relatively older diesel Corolla. A sensibles car with reliability and economy. There were quite a lot that came in during the 1998-2000 permit period so the vehicle should be more or less as old as the Subaru you would have gotten.

[Az]

  virensti said:

wow didn't expect soo many replies. Thanks everyone.

well firstly no I do NOT wanna do a wrx conversion (though I'd love to) it's not an option at all. And the reason I though of this was IF we sell the Vios for a certain price, and buy an older car and do it up completely (replacing every possible thing with brand new parts) maybe we could at least have a reliable car and have about 4 to 5 lack profit?

I fully agree the Vios is a decent family car and it more than serves the purpose in terms of reliabilty and fuel etc etc. The thing is it keeps popping up all sorts of trouble at the worst times. Recently we got the calipers serviced and then the brakes weren't working, so we replaced the master pump and now the ABS module is not working. So things just go from bad to worse.. Before I changed the oil pump because the previous oil pump had a big crack in it and had to replace the vvt valve.. And that's just a bit of the problems we've had with it.

True going for a very old car seems like a terrible idea to do. But it's just an option we're tryin to keep open, specially since new car prices are off the hook!

But thanks for the advice. We'll see how things go with the Vios.. Thanks again everyone.

I think you are extremely unlucky to get such a Vios. My Vios has been trouble free since I bought it 2 years ago. Just required some tuning up & a few minor running repairs. Perhaps, instead of buying an older car and fixing it up from scratch, you should opt to fix up the Vios completely so that you have a reliable & newer car?

[LaZyBoY]

  virensti said:

It's not about the conversion mate. It's just that we want a normal day to day car like the vios. Only thing is the vios is just fleecing us out. Whereas I was hoping an old car could be done to be like new, and still give abit of a profit.. But thanks though. Need to look into this way more and think about it for sometime..

Definitely wouldn't bank on that..

As for the Vios, it seems like you've been unlucky and ended up with a lemon, shame but it happens sometimes. I'd say shift it and look at something like a Carina Si, those seem to hold their value fairly well.

[MasterDon]

like miniace said...have you tried changing your mechanic or atleast getting a second opinion on the vios and it's faults...

[STi B4]

Not to sound smart or anything bro but have you thought of selling your Vios and buying ANOTHER one? Personally, I would not sell your car and buy an OLDER Impreza unless a conversion was in mind. Maybe a B4 and a TT at that. The NA car just guzzles fuel.

[virensti]

  MasterDon said:

like miniace said...have you tried changing your mechanic or atleast getting a second opinion on the vios and it's faults...

got 3 from 3 different garages and a guy from Toyota as well. All diagnosed more or less as the same probs..

[virensti]

  LaZyBoY said:

Definitely wouldn't bank on that..

As for the Vios, it seems like you've been unlucky and ended up with a lemon, shame but it happens sometimes. I'd say shift it and look at something like a Carina Si, those seem to hold their value fairly well.

True.. A real bitter sweet lemon. (pardon the pun) lol. Hmm Carina does seem an option.. Though we're most likely gonna hang on for sometime. Specially after what you guys have said..

[virensti]

  STi B4 said:

Not to sound smart or anything bro but have you thought of selling your Vios and buying ANOTHER one? Personally, I would not sell your car and buy an OLDER Impreza unless a conversion was in mind. Maybe a B4 and a TT at that. The NA car just guzzles fuel.

Thought of it bro, but the prob is some Vios's now are going for over 3 mil!!! That's just completely outta range.. And I've seen soo many Vios's that came in the same time as ours did, and the milages on them are between 40,000 and 50,000 km's. which means they've most likely been changed.. Ours had done 68 thou when we got it. So can't trust the ODO meter's either..

It's a shame the old Impreza doesn't do well on fuel. Provided it's a 1.5 l front wheel as well. My dad had one some time ago and he still says its one of the best 1.5l car's he's driven. But I also remember him also sayin it gets only bout 7-8 km/l in col.. ah well...

[NPP]

sad to hear all these...

our is running rather well...

prob is the 'thud' sound in the rear when the wheel falls into a ditch...

no one could diagnose the prob...

service guy said the shock absorber dustcover is broken and that may be the case...

garage mechanic said yes, but that cant be the reason...

so .. i dunno...

yes man... keep it and try to get it done..

(we dont want your buyer to come to AL and post the same things you have been posting)

[Az]

  NPP said:

sad to hear all these...

our is running rather well...

prob is the 'thud' sound in the rear when the wheel falls into a ditch...

no one could diagnose the prob...

service guy said the shock absorber dustcover is broken and that may be the case...

garage mechanic said yes, but that cant be the reason...

so .. i dunno...

yes man... keep it and try to get it done..

(we dont want your buyer to come to AL and post the same things you have been posting)

My Vios too has an occasional thud when the rear wheels fall into a somewhat deep pothole. Replaced a couple of bushes but no luck. I have learned to live with it but will be checking it out in a couple of weeks