Hi all,

My brother in law is looking for a cheap unmodified Impreza WRX (06-08) as his second car and we have a couple of questions about the general cost of maintenance and repair.

1. Does anyone have a recommendation for any garages in Essex that specialise in Impreza rebuild and repair
2. What parts are recommended to be replaced at what mileage?
3. How many miles between oil changes?
4. What should we be looking for when we go to visit the car, coloured exhaust smoke?

Thanks

 

1) Does anyone have a recommendation for any garages in Essex that specialise in Impreza rebuild and repair

Not London based but I’d highly recommend TDR Warwick; engine rebuilds, maintenance, remap ect my go to if ever I need anything.

https://www.tdracing.co.uk 

2) What parts are recommended to be replaced at what mileage?

Belts every 50-60k probably more but if you’re doing upgrades then everything

3) How many miles between oil changes?

I do 4,000 miles only use genuine Subaru oil filter and if over 100k I’d recommend running 10W40 (can maybe stretch to 6-10,000)

4) What should we be looking for when we go to visit the car, coloured exhaust smoke?

Rust on rear arches is a common issue,  Check oil is clean, not gritty when rubbing oil between fingers via dipstick, if lean and de-cat it will spit out carbon buildup (soot) on a cold start normal, white smoke on cold start and should evaporate fairly quickly. Sound of any knocking from engine bay piston slap or dreaded rod knock.