What's your opinion on the Subaru 2000 Turbo?

[Wolfy]

New to the scene! I'm 21 and after my first Subaru. Just really after everybody's opinion on the car in 2016. Been a fan of subarus in general since i was a kid. Currently at uni part time and working too. I have between 2.5K-3.5K to spend, but ideally wanting to spend as less as possible, within reason, so i have extra cash to play with if the car needs repaired etc. Given the option, I'd much rather buy a STI Hawkeye, but i don't have the funds.. Unfortunately in life you sometimes have to work your way up from the bottom. 

Anyways, i really do like the classic look of the 2000 model. Round where i live i see maybe 3 a month and almost all the time fully chaved out, thinking they're king of the road (Not saying everyone is like this, just in my experience with the older ones). I'm more of a sleeper kind of guy with subtle mods. Currently driving an Audi S4 wide body B5, putting out 282BHP. Granted subaru's are hardly sleeper cars. I just love the noise!

Here are two photos of what i mean. Obviously each to their own, but the second photo with the ricer kit on really isn't my cup of tea and is almost always how i see these classics. Now the first one.. i just love it! 

To conclude, like i said at the start, what's everyone's opinion on the 2000 model? Currently, due to uni and that, i don't have the funds for a newer one. Are they a worth while buy? Not sure if this is off topic, but I've never seen a Subaru saloon with a sunroof.. How many had them? I'd like one on the one i purchase if they're not too rare. My last question.. and might sound stupid but is there anything wrong with me wanting a Subaru at 21 as family and friends (None of them are massive car fans) think it's pathetic, that i'm just some boy racer. Yeah, i love driving fast, but i know there's a time and a place. I don't know... I'll leave it there. I'm rambling. 

[Sandals]

Plenty of folk on here who have classics and love them! 

Have you looked at how much it would be to insure? Could be pricey for a 21 year old...

[Scoobyghost]

I own a turbo 2000 on an X reg(2000). They're not the most comfortable in the range of impreza but can be used as a daily. UK spec Impreza start at 211-218hp depending on where you get your info. On the UK spec td04 turbo with all supporting mods it will run out of puff at maximum 280hp if you're lucky. I managed to get 276hp. If you can find a well looked after model then bang for buck it's the best value performance car available. I paid £1350 for mine 2 years ago when it was on 158k miles. Now on 173k and biggest repair was a gearbox input shaft seal. Work did cost me £510 but I had a lot of work out parts replaced while the box was out and apart. I've taken it round silverstone and a couple of runs at Santa pod. I agree with what you say, the older cars being cheaper are easy to snap up, throw a horrible body kit on it before blowing it up and selling it on.

You may have trouble with insurance so check it.out first before you buy with your heart. Especially if you consider modifying it. As far as mods go, there's plenty around and always spares available. I paid £100 for a turbo back decat 3" zorst.

Quick post really so is a bit sporadic. Any questions don't hesitate to ask 😁

[JamesJDMwagon]

Oh dear I feel like a ricer now 😂 Black bonnet 

 

[quit]

I had a impreza turbo at 21, few friends did too! i had a 97 V4 WRX tho this was 10 years ago and insurance was considered expensive then at £1200! 

 

Since then ive had 4 other classics and i love them, i got a new age at the moment which is slowly growing on me but the uk2000 is a great base car as long as its not rotten

[Wolfy]

2 hours ago, Sandals said:

Plenty of folk on here who have classics and love them! 

Have you looked at how much it would be to insure? Could be pricey for a 21 year old...

Did a few quotes not long back and came back at 1560 for the year. Currently paying just under 1K on the Audi. Happy paying that as most of my friends have had quotes for 3-10K. Not sure how mines that low, but have no claims since I passed at 17 so that probably helps. 

[quit]

audis generally driven by older gentlemen who play golf on a thursday..... Scoobs driven by hooligans in burberry baseball caps 

 

Power might seem low at 220ish bhp but they chuck the power down extremely well ! will outrun most higher power newer cars and in the wet / slippery conditions well they are just insane! 

 

Both my UK cars had the PPP upgrade which boosts them to around 255bhp.... One didnt last long i then ran a ECULABS ecu, vf28, exhaust and 330bhp and it !Removed! went like hell!! needed a bit more comfort so gone newage and its different yet still a fun drive

[Mark D]

You can always tell your family and friends you were thinking more about the safety side of it, with handling and the all wheel drive :) Also children can hear you coming and so get out of the way faster!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[quit]

oh and you rarely find them with sun roofs, one my mates had a uk v5 with a sun roof tho

[quit]

My top tips for buying a classic , ive had a few and purchased a few for friends or to sell on but this is what i normally use as a mental check list:

1. ROT 

first up outside check the underside, subframe, arches for bad repairs and rot. then go in the boot, pull the carpets back and have a good look about, get right in the arch liner panel with a torch - any water or rust walk away

 

2. Poor parts 

Worked on by specialists such as " rotherham scoobies / Tony hough " or "midland scooby services - hammond "  / Bart Rocko / Facebook tuners walk away 

 

3. Check for more rot

4. Unmapped cars - only needs a map tweek is bull sh2t , decat / changed turbos etc walk away 

5. Cars with manual boost controllers - walk away 

6. eBay chinese turbos walk away 

7. STi parts --- no real such thing 

8. Prodrive pack - No certifcate then it dont exist 

9. Rot

10. Con merchants like rotherham scoobies trying sell you a car 

11. Avoid buying via facebook traders - cant be arsed with proper advertising such as pistonheads/ebay dont bother

[savage bulldogs]

Matt's covered most of it but I'd add ... hear it start from cold ,so you can listen for engine knocking and crunchy or whining gearboxes /diff .

Regular oil changes with good quality fluids and make sure it doesn't overheat of chuck water out .

Oh And check for rust [emoji5]

[Wolfy]

4 hours ago, matt said:

My top tips for buying a classic , ive had a few and purchased a few for friends or to sell on but this is what i normally use as a mental check list:

1. ROT 

first up outside check the underside, subframe, arches for bad repairs and rot. then go in the boot, pull the carpets back and have a good look about, get right in the arch liner panel with a torch - any water or rust walk away

 

2. Poor parts 

Worked on by specialists such as " rotherham scoobies / Tony hough " or "midland scooby services - hammond "  / Bart Rocko / Facebook tuners walk away 

 

3. Check for more rot

4. Unmapped cars - only needs a map tweek is bull sh2t , decat / changed turbos etc walk away 

5. Cars with manual boost controllers - walk away 

6. Ebay chinese turbos walk away 

7. STi parts --- no real such thing 

8. Prodrive pack - No certifcate then it dont exist 

9. Rot

10. Con merchants like rotherham scoobies trying sell you a car 

11. Avoid buying via facebook traders - cant be arsed with proper advertising such as pistonheads/ebay dont bother

I knew they rot, but i'm thinking i underestimated how much.. Can't be any worse than an MX5? Remember looking at them 2 years back and found it quite difficult to find a decent one without the price being stupid. Tend to stick to eBay, but recently not been that many for sale. Ideally i'm after either a blue or green one pushing about 260 and has the bigger spoiler rather than the smaller, stock one. None of those are a must, but would just save me doing it all. 

Did find one on eBay say this:  It has a slight occasional shudder when you put your foot down rarely happens and didn't bother me. 

What's up with it? No end of times i see 'It's never bothered me' Fair enough saying that about the speakers not working or something

[Scoobyghost]

Could be numerous things. Simple spark plug replacements, MAF sensor, boost pipes, solenoid and escalating in severity from there.

"never bothered me" "cheap, easy fix" "probably something simple" some of the most overused blags I've ever known on car trading pages. Chances are they know what it is hence the cheap and quick sale needed 😂

[Wolfy]

Appreciate all the tips by the way! Probably the only forum I've joined that hasn't came out with irrelevant comments. I'm probably looking at January that i buy one as don't really want to rush into it. Would everybody say 2.5-3.5K will buy me a pretty decent one? As in one that's cosmetically and mechanically sound. Well looked after basically, but not show car. 

[quit]

Was a mint wagon on a 51 plate with loads too spec bits including prodrive everything !! Think that was 2995 but not seen it in ages and it only had about 70k on clock 

[Jon812]

I had a classic for the last 9 years, was completely standard, and the best car i ever had, however, rot was terrible, it started as a little rear arch bubbling, but underneath the panels and hard to see areas were really bad. Id say its gonna be very hard to find a good standard classic now. Id be tempted to save some more money up and go for a blob wrx.