Looking at a 99 Subaru Impreza rs2.5

I'm pretty excited to purchase my first Subaru. I'm a little nervous about buying a coupe simply because I have a two year old so of course I want the best for her safety. If it were up to me, she would only leave the house in a military tank! Unfortunately, that is pretty impractical and not very economical... Also, since I am youngish yet, i would like to find a happy medium between sporty and safe. For some reason, I am having a heap of trouble trying to find safety specs online for anything the older than 2007 :ugh:

Can anybody help me out and tell me why I SHOULD buy this sexy beast? Safety links appreciated as well!

Thank you

 

I rolled mine end over end at 60 and walked away.

I had a few cracked ribs because I'm 6'1 and am too big for the seatbelt design, but they saved my life.

AWD is going to make driving in the snow MUCH safer if you take some time to feel the car out, and come to an ice race or something to learn the way it moves. There are also a bunch of people in the club with serious skills who can give you pointers.

Its got airbags. As much as you need to worry about your kid, you need to be concerned about your own safety, in relation to your child.

I would look at something newer, thats a four door. Having to pull the seat forward to get your kid into and out of the backseat is going to be a pain.

The newer LGTs are sporty, and have a lot more "mass" to them. They have side curtain airbags, large crush zones, and are a lot quieter, so your daughter can sleep. I'd say they are a lot less flashy too, so the cops wont be watching you, and the street race idiots wont bother you. They've got four doors, a bigger trunk, a great motor, and you can modify them quite a bit if you get the bug. They can be had for a pretty decent price.

There are members on here who have been looking for them, and can probably point you in the right direction. There are also guys that work at the dealerships, etc, who can let you know whats on the lot and what looks like a good deal.

 

I have a 01 Impreza RS coupe, I have taken my two girls in car seats in the Impreza many times before if I have to with no problems but I usually use my car for work and back. My wife has the Honda Odyssey so we usually use the van for more family trips. I love my Impreza coupe. I wouldn't trade it for anything else right now. Maybe you should consider the 02 WRX up if money isn't an issue. I hope this helps.

 

We had one, 2001 RS and it was a pain in the arse getting my son in and out of the back seat (he's 2). Sorry I couldnt help you with the saftey part :hsugh:

 

Well Pra4sno pretty much sums it all up right there. I'd put an emphasis on finding a 4door tho. I would get really pissed off with 2 doors and a baby seat

 

yeah i would shoot for as well, just for ease

 

2 doors suck with kids, wish I had a 4 dr

 

the pre 2002 chassis was pretty weak and was a 3 star crash test rating. The japanese designers referred to it as the "watermelon frame"

 

That's really freakin' awesome...
I already made an offer I just won't crash it... :eek3:

Anything would be better than my Plymouth Neon though.....right?

 

def ask for maint history. otherwise GC ftw! i love mine to death, she treats me right.

 

The engine was replaced and has about 60k on it and the seller just put a brand new compressor in, original headers but my understanding is that if anything goes wrong with them, they are covered under recall. The car itself has about 80k.

I'm sooo excited, I'm gonna poop!

 

I don't understand why all these cars for sale that I'm seeing in several active threads have new engines after so many miles. I had a friggin turbocharger in my 99 RS and it had over 100k miles on the ORIGINAL engine with at least 90k of those miles WITH THE TURBO ON IT! What are people doing to their cars that require them to replace their engines? Not change the oil?

 

some of them are born with terrible piston slap, others aren't., some are overheated because the headgaskets were leaking and they lost all the coolant.

 

The seller seemed like her knew what he was doing, so we shall see...
this is going to be my primary car, so hopefully it's durable. I will be babying it, so it should last!

 

What kind of fuel does the rs take?

 

regular

 

Oh wow, I could have gotten a ton of crap for that, I meant to say what type of gas..not "fuel".

Thanks for sparing me! I'm also looking at the Legacy, Drapes wants to steal my rs and I don't even have it in my posession yet! We could be looking at a serious potential vehicle swap, people.

 

Not sure about the impact ratings on the impreza, but for roll-over...I'd say it does car gymnastics like a champ :laugh:

Like I said, I was fine after my accident and recovered fairly quickly.

I'd still look into something newer. The WRX is a good example, but I still think a newer legacy is going to be the strongest, and the safest. I know the WRX sports a heavier/ stronger chassi, bulkier doors, side impact airbags for passenger and driver, and a spacious backseat. They only come in four doors, and you've got a very solid platform for modifications if you decide to do them.

Have you looked into WRX wagons? I love mine, and love the room. I still dont htink they look much like a "wagon", but thats me and my personal opinion. I like the fact that it has a roof rack, so that I can put snowboards or even a ladder or something on top if need be.

 

I liked the roof rack as well, my fiance drives a WRX and I love it, it's hott! Sporty but still versitile. I'm not a fan of the wagons but Drapes tells me it'll grow on me, we shall see...

I have been looking at some Legacies on carsoup and I like the 2007's! They have to have a hood scoop though.

 

They do. All the GTs have them. It kinda requires the turbo and its associated intake bits to make the hood scoop mean anything, otherwise it's just rice. There may still be a stray Spec B at the flagship Subaru dealership down here that they're still trying to offload for cheap.

 

I like the Legacy because it seems really low-pro and is really classy and SAFE!!! When I was looking on CarSoup, some would say "GT" and would not have a hoodscoop... wtf?

 

ONLY the gt has the scoopzilla

 

I hated the wagons when I first saw them! Now I love them!
We own a 99 2.5rs and a wrx. I drive the wrx so it's my fav. I like the power!! The rs rocks as well. It's more mature!!

 

These people don't know what their talking about then...

http://www.carsoup.com/used/detail....icleTypeID=1&UVViewID=4&Page=1&DealerGroupID=

http://www.carsoup.com/used/detail....icleTypeID=1&UVViewID=4&Page=1&DealerGroupID=

 

Those are GT trims from the "non-turbo Legacy" dark ages. Some of those (1995-2004) will have a hood scoop but it's non-functional like the GC RS. Some don't. With 2005 and later the GT trim is the turbo drivetrain and thus uses the TMIC that the hood scoop is feeding.

 

That makes perfect sense! Awesome
I just realized I'm going to have my car for the LaXCruise!!! I can't wait to pick it up this weekend, I'm going to keep my eyes open for a good deal on a Legacy though.

Thanks!