Budget of 7-8k

So I'm really really considering getting a Subaru. AWD is good for winter and these cars are pretty reliable (or so i hear).

Do you guys have any suggestions as to what I should get?

I'm looking at the Imprezas and from what I hear is that I should get 98-01 because some stuff was fixed and also check for headleakage.

I'm also looking at some Legacys. Do you guys have any suggestions as to what I should get and what I should look for as to common problems?

Here are a couple I've looked at.
http://www.carsoup.com/used/detail....icleTypeID=1&UVViewID=4&Page=1&DealerGroupID=
http://www.carsoup.com/used/detail....cleTypeID=1&UVViewID=4&Page=1&DealerGroupID=1
http://www.carsoup.com/used/detail....icleTypeID=1&UVViewID=4&Page=1&DealerGroupID=
I'm also looking at Tbone's car. (FS section)

Edit: Also, what's the difference between the L besides the motor and why does the RS and L look so drastically different? From the links, it seems that the L has different headlights??

 

The Rs has a diffferent tranny, motor, suspension and in cases between 99-01 a different rear diff.

It comes dressed up as a version 5 STi did only with a steel hood instead of an aluminum one and version 4 spoiler on the coupe and a different spoiler on the sedan. So the front bumper cover and hood are really the only exterior differences.

Inside the 01 RS had a full carbon fiber look for the last year of the car. 02+ RS's retained all the motor and tranny stuff, but just got heavier.

of any of the cars you can buy tbone's is BY FAR the sweetest if you as me. That's a pretty mint RS, probably the best subaru factory car sold in the usa besides the STi.

 

as zack stated above, the 2.5RS is a combonation of it's past STi model.

along with that, here's a little more break down on the RS.

98 RS didn't come with the v5/6 bumper, but instead, it comes with the front bumper that comes with the 97-01 impreza L. BUT! it comes with the STi gold wheels which every impreza owner adores so that makes up for the lack of the v5-6 front bumper. It has the MAF DOCH boxer motor that has had issues with the head gaskets, but today they have a replacement gasket to replace it with which is said to eliminated the problem. only comes in 2 dr.

for 99- they redesigned the motor(phase 2 motor) and instead of DOCH, they switched it to a MAF SOCH(although i've heard of the early 99's comming with DOCH before they changed over). comes with the same rims as the 98 but they are silver instead of gold. Now comes with ver. 5/6 front bumper. also only comes in 2dr. tranny case was also redesign and uses more bolts to hold it up to the engine compare to the 98. same gearings, different tranny case. also redesign interior.

00-01: 00 was the first year they introduced the 4dr 2.5RS. Along with that, it also comes with a slightly redesign SOCH motor that uses a MAP instead of a MAF and a few other things here and there. that year they also came with a rear viscous LSD compared to 98-99 which were open diff. Comes with 6spoke wheels from the jdm STi wagons instead of the 5spoke coupe/sedan STi wheels but in silver.

 

^^^^^^^
'tis DOHC!!! ...not DOCH.....lolz


Exterior.....

The L's...(93-01)
93-96 was when the headlights where rounder
96-98 was when the headlights shapened up a little
99-01 was when the headlights went with clear lens multi-reflector

The RS's (98-01)
98 was when the headlights shapened up a little
99-01 was when the headlights went with clear lens multi-reflector

Bumper covers
98 2.5RS had same bumper cover as with 97-01 Impreza L. '99 2.5RS had Version 5 bumper cover w/o mounting holes on the bottem for STi (non-RA) Version 6 lip. '00-01 2.5RS had version 6 bumper cover w/ mounting holes on the bottem for STi (non-RA) Version 6 lip.

The 2dr USDM 2.5RS had the wing found on the STi version 1-4.


For choice of car.... depends what you're going to do with it. If you're not really going to make it fast or swap motors, track race....all that fun stuff....a 2.5RS with little mods will be fine for you. If you plan on swapping the drivetrain, making it fast, then an Impreza L would be good. If just needing a car with AWD and room and comfortable ride...the Legacy.

I have a '99 Impreza L Sport Wagon w/ 5spd. I bought it because it can be modded 99% of what you can do with the 2.5RS 4dr. I also needed a little room for some hunting/fishing/outdoors kind of thing. AND it's still lighter than the 2.5RS. Wagon's are sleepers! lolz

but um...ya, as you read.....

 

don't forget about the SVX... 2dr, boxer 6, awd... only in auto tho. but out of the cars you listed, Tbone's or the first RS

 

The first RS there the blue one with carbon hood I allready checked it out turns out its rusted up and the clutch is going out i would not recomend that one its been beat up

 

I saw it drive by yesterday when I was at BP....it was so fast so furious!

 

yeah, i was looking at a couple of svx's, but from what i've heard, the parts are pretty expensive to replace. they look hott tho!

 

SVXs have alot of tq with that 3.3l boxer 6.

depending on year some of the RSs might be above 8k. i have seen cars going for up to 11k. thats a low miles (50-60ish) mint condition 01. but for 13-14 you could het a used bugeye.

 

Any common problems to look at?

I'm considering Tbone's but the car has a lot of miles. 120k if i remember right.

Edit: And SVX is too impractical for me and if I was looking at those, I'd get an Mr2.

 

how is the SVX impractical? AWD, backseat... just has a bigger motor and more power than a 2.5rs. on a side note, yes parts are VERY spending for the SVX, but its well worth it.

 

Last i took a look @ tbones car there really weren't any mechanical or maintenance issues to get frightened about. Plus the body etc are in immaculate condition which is almost more of a priority than the motor especially with a 2 door RS chassis which is among the most rare and sought after subaru chassis.

As far as ling term reliaility goes the EJ25 in an RS should be good for 250K miles with good maintenance. There aren't any obvious gremlins in that particular car, and at least it has a new clutch, which tends to be a weak point on the car. One nice thing about getting that RS is if you want to swap engines in the next 4 years or so, you will have a badass car to put it in, looks wise the #1 subaru ever made. That 2 door RS coupe + turbo motor + upgraded tranny + upgraded brakes = pure sexy

the only thing you reaelly need to be aware of is a 98-early99 DOHC 2.5RS that hasnt had its head gaskets replaced. Those will eventually blow on you and you're going to need to do that ASAP.

The SVX is nice but looks run hot and cold with some people, they're massively heavy, it has the only engine subaru has ever made that nobody really bothers to put in anything else due to a higher overall repair cost, weight and general efficiency for its size compared to modern motors (esp the 6 cyl EZ30R they make now for the Outback 3.0R and Tribeca) but you do get a realy unique car that you wont see very many others.

If you want a manual, avoid the SVX. it never came with one and converting it is a PITA.

 

^Svx isn't relaly my style either. From the pic I saw, it looks like a 2 seater, but I guess I'm wrong.

How much is it to do the headgaskets?

 

DOCH= Dual Oval Compartment Headrest...Isn't that what it means?

 

whoa....thanks a lot guys...didn't notice that I was hijacked....j/k hehe..thanks for the good words zack...

 

rofl!!!!!!!!!!

*thud*

 

http://www.cars.com/go/search/previ...onal&paId=205314472&recnum=35&leadExists=true

 

^NICE FIND. Imma check it out.

Edit: I'm looking at the JD power rating and why does this car seem to suck?

 

i would say buyer beware, as per their website, they buy new and used cars and rebuild them, that would say to me totalled.
http://www.worldmotorcars.net/?page=index

 

^And Carfax doesn't always catch everything....

 

as zak said i wouldnt be sor worried about the miles. the motor will last a decent amount of time if you are being uber mean to it (read: add oil, drive kinda nice, and be ok). and in a couple years if the motor kicks, or you want something with more power. a swap is ideal for that car. last i checked you could get a usdm sti swap done for 9k-ish. that 300 hp/tq with factory reliability. a wrx swap is even cheaper.

 

instead of finding my typos because i was typing in the middle of the night, why not use that time to get that wagon to work...

actually, a 2dr 2.5RS is among one of the easiest to find, coupes were made in 98-01 while the sedan was only made from 00-01. let alone, 2/3 of the coupes were manual while 1/3 of the sedans were manual. a 4dr manual would be a hard one to find. but then again, it's the midwest, basically any impreza of any kind is rare. no one wants to sell them.


but anyways, back on topic, tbone's car would be a good choice. Besides, 124k isnt' that much....my previous RS had almost 180K before i crashed it...still drives as strong as any RS with lower miles.

 

btw, svx's have seating for four or five, depending on the size of the rear passengers. the only thing that i didn't like about them is the faux wood on the dash, but i'm sure a diy mod could take care of that.

 

Why do the JD power rankings all seem to suck?

 

or you buy dayle's real carbon fiber or aluminum inserts

 

Dont get an auto you will be sad

 

well, one thing with the older subies that i've read a lot about, is i think the cylinder head gaskets are weak and need to be replaced, someone said that it was about a every 50k cycle, and i know that the 02 wrx (used to have one) has a weak second gear, mine used to be hard to get into second if i was driving "spiritedly" about half the time. all in all, subie engines are built like mini tanks, and you just can't go wrong with the nice voice that the flat engine puts out.

 

What do you think about this?
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/car/189663716.html

 

Is the Legacy 2.5GT a good choice/