February 20, 20169 yr Hi all, just been to look at my first Scoobie and needless to say I'm in love. However being a motorcycle technician I'm thinking with my head and not with my heart. The scoob I've looked at is a 1997 UK 4 door saloon. 148k on the clock with lots and lots of subaru service history. At quick glance the cambelt he's definitely been done at 75k by Subaru but not sure if it has been done since. The body work isn't too bad. Needs abit of work to drivers side rear wing. Engine sounds OK and doesn't seem to be rattly. I'm told that earlier scoobs suffer with the spark plugs welding into the heads or something and people tend to replace them with 04 heads??? Also has a 260bhp remap by Regal with paperwork to support. MOT until November too. What's the thoughts guys. I know that Scoobie can be hit and miss especially if they are unloved. What can I expect from a tank of fuel not driving like a tit?? Cheer in advance.
February 20, 20169 yr Hello &welcome, @savagebulldogs is your man re the plugs etc, The cambelt should have been done at least twice more by my reckoning the official service schedual was 3 years 45k but it gradually got a bit longer as the years progressed, ie 5 years 45k 300 miles isn't too un realistic out of a tank driven sensibly, they are only small on classics though, 45l I think
February 20, 20169 yr Author Cheers dude. I need to look at it in more detail, service history etc and see how molested it is, but to be honest at first glance it seems OK.
February 20, 20169 yr As long as it's had regular services (oil mainly ) & don't smoke etc should be fine loads of classic owners on loads more milage than the one you viewed and still going strong, the 97/98 cars do suffer from more piston slap than other years but it's not anything to worry about
February 20, 20169 yr Author Excellent I'll look through service history more first and see what is in it. Hopefully my mx5 will seek fairly quickly :)
February 20, 20169 yr I would buy it, whenever I drive my scooby it always puts a smile on my face 😬 I get about 24 mpg from mine.
February 20, 20169 yr Never heard anything about plugs welding themselves into the heads . Hear it start from cold to rule out knocking or piston slap . At 148k I'd be asking for the cambelt to be done (if it's bought from a garage) as this will set you back £400 ish . Subaru main dealer service history is a bonus as it will have probably wanted for nothing and been well looked after . Rusty arches normally start from the inside out so expect a £300 + bill to sort each one . If it's not broke .....upgrade it 😊
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