WRX - a leggy new purchase
Discussion
I originally posted this in Readers Cars, but no-one seemed much interested, so I thought I would stick it in here...
With an impending move back to the magnificent roads of the Scottish highlands, I convinced the wife that we needed to trade in the wafting luxury of the CLK500 for something much more practical.
With every good intention, I visited various emporiums, looking at a variety of diesel golfs and their ilk - all were depressingly s
t on my 2k budget. Having not bought a used car at the lower end of the spectrum for a while, I was astonished by how bad a lot of cars are in this price range.
Whilst looking over an utterly knackered Audi A4, I spotted a bright blue thing crammed behind a mass of other cars and wandered over, to be greeted by the dull, crud covered paintwork of a 2001 Subaru WRX. It had four totally worn tyres, two of which were flat, and a bumper scrape from when it had last moved. No MOT. I did spot the word "Prodrive" on the exhaust. The proprietors of said establishment were of a certain demographic, and when I casually asked about it was told it was a trade in and "goes like a dream, innit bruv - got loads of paperwork too". There was a very large Pistonheads sticker on the tailgate.
Casually enquiring of the purveyor of blinged automotives if that paperwork extended to a V5 I was assured it was HPI cleared, never raced or rallied as they used to say and generally the deal of the century. Still sceptical I asked for the (only) key. Wouldn't start, battery flat. Waited 30 mins while they found the jump start pack (also flat), then they spend another 30 minutes finding a car close enough that the jump leads would reach to, that also didn't have a flat battery. To my surprise it started perfectly and sounded very nice. It was the first car I looked at that seemed to have the benefit of some actual oil in the sump, and enough fuel to make it run for more than 37 seconds.
It was enough for me to open negotiations, and bear in mind that I still hadn't actually driven it - although I had checked that the clutch wasn't slipping and that the handbrake worked, along with all the lights, windows, switches etc - but not the clock. Mileage was showing as an intergalactic 148,000 ! I left a £100 deposit "subject to test drive" and it getting a valid MOT. Arranged to return the next day for a test drive. Returned the next day - they had forgotten, and car was still constipated into the back of the yard by assorted grey german metal, so beloved of our ethnic cousins.
Returned the day after that and was surprised to see the Scooby (sort of) cleaned, and (suspiciously) with its engine already running and ready for me to "just take it for spin bruv - but be careful - she is fast!". The car drove perfectly. I passed "Ali" a further £1200 of your finest English pounds, and he promised to get it MOT'd "over the weekend" by his "mate".
It was when I picked up the car on the following Monday, complete with its fresh MOT and inevitable advisories about the tyres that he handed me the biggest history file I have ever seen on a car. It seemed to have been owned for several years by a VERY caring owner who had had everything done at the local main dealer - general servicing, brakes, suspension, new clutch at 100,000 miles, full cambelt and tensioner and water pump changes - the lot. Prodrive performance pack. Engine and interior totally original. The car honestly looks and drives like a 50,000 miler.
Buy on age and condition - not mileage - they say, and in this case it seems to be true. It goes like stink, with nay a rattle or a squeak.
I had my own spanner man re-do the MOT - and I openly confess to doing the sellers a dis-service - he tells me the MOT was completely legit and there is NOTHING on the car he would put down even as an advisory. I have put four new tyres on it, and done the full cambelt and water pump change as according to the previous paperwork it was due. Rear discs are not perfect, so a new set are on their way. I also invested in a new front number plate, as the original was pretty scabby. I also contacted the local main dealer, who gave me heart failure when he gave me the cost of a new key and 'zapper' - almost no change from £300 ! I am having it done on Thursday.
Have de-stickered it completely.
All in it stands me about £2200 - maybe these will go the way of Escorts and nice unmolested examples such as this might even increase in value over the coming years?
The exhaust isn't too loud, just a nice burble, and in its current home (leafy surrey) I haven't really driven it in anger - but next month when I move to the Highlands, well....
I haven't fixed the clock.
Should the side repeaters - the ones nearest the headlamps - work or are they just reflectors?
According to the plethora of paperwork it has also had some kind of headlamp conversion?
Your comments/advise/derision appreciated.
With an impending move back to the magnificent roads of the Scottish highlands, I convinced the wife that we needed to trade in the wafting luxury of the CLK500 for something much more practical.
With every good intention, I visited various emporiums, looking at a variety of diesel golfs and their ilk - all were depressingly s
t on my 2k budget. Having not bought a used car at the lower end of the spectrum for a while, I was astonished by how bad a lot of cars are in this price range.Whilst looking over an utterly knackered Audi A4, I spotted a bright blue thing crammed behind a mass of other cars and wandered over, to be greeted by the dull, crud covered paintwork of a 2001 Subaru WRX. It had four totally worn tyres, two of which were flat, and a bumper scrape from when it had last moved. No MOT. I did spot the word "Prodrive" on the exhaust. The proprietors of said establishment were of a certain demographic, and when I casually asked about it was told it was a trade in and "goes like a dream, innit bruv - got loads of paperwork too". There was a very large Pistonheads sticker on the tailgate.
Casually enquiring of the purveyor of blinged automotives if that paperwork extended to a V5 I was assured it was HPI cleared, never raced or rallied as they used to say and generally the deal of the century. Still sceptical I asked for the (only) key. Wouldn't start, battery flat. Waited 30 mins while they found the jump start pack (also flat), then they spend another 30 minutes finding a car close enough that the jump leads would reach to, that also didn't have a flat battery. To my surprise it started perfectly and sounded very nice. It was the first car I looked at that seemed to have the benefit of some actual oil in the sump, and enough fuel to make it run for more than 37 seconds.
It was enough for me to open negotiations, and bear in mind that I still hadn't actually driven it - although I had checked that the clutch wasn't slipping and that the handbrake worked, along with all the lights, windows, switches etc - but not the clock. Mileage was showing as an intergalactic 148,000 ! I left a £100 deposit "subject to test drive" and it getting a valid MOT. Arranged to return the next day for a test drive. Returned the next day - they had forgotten, and car was still constipated into the back of the yard by assorted grey german metal, so beloved of our ethnic cousins.
Returned the day after that and was surprised to see the Scooby (sort of) cleaned, and (suspiciously) with its engine already running and ready for me to "just take it for spin bruv - but be careful - she is fast!". The car drove perfectly. I passed "Ali" a further £1200 of your finest English pounds, and he promised to get it MOT'd "over the weekend" by his "mate".
It was when I picked up the car on the following Monday, complete with its fresh MOT and inevitable advisories about the tyres that he handed me the biggest history file I have ever seen on a car. It seemed to have been owned for several years by a VERY caring owner who had had everything done at the local main dealer - general servicing, brakes, suspension, new clutch at 100,000 miles, full cambelt and tensioner and water pump changes - the lot. Prodrive performance pack. Engine and interior totally original. The car honestly looks and drives like a 50,000 miler.
Buy on age and condition - not mileage - they say, and in this case it seems to be true. It goes like stink, with nay a rattle or a squeak.
I had my own spanner man re-do the MOT - and I openly confess to doing the sellers a dis-service - he tells me the MOT was completely legit and there is NOTHING on the car he would put down even as an advisory. I have put four new tyres on it, and done the full cambelt and water pump change as according to the previous paperwork it was due. Rear discs are not perfect, so a new set are on their way. I also invested in a new front number plate, as the original was pretty scabby. I also contacted the local main dealer, who gave me heart failure when he gave me the cost of a new key and 'zapper' - almost no change from £300 ! I am having it done on Thursday.
Have de-stickered it completely.
All in it stands me about £2200 - maybe these will go the way of Escorts and nice unmolested examples such as this might even increase in value over the coming years?
The exhaust isn't too loud, just a nice burble, and in its current home (leafy surrey) I haven't really driven it in anger - but next month when I move to the Highlands, well....
I haven't fixed the clock.
Should the side repeaters - the ones nearest the headlamps - work or are they just reflectors?
According to the plethora of paperwork it has also had some kind of headlamp conversion?
Your comments/advise/derision appreciated.
Meh, my '02 has done 156k - your's isn't even run in yet!
Lose the bus steering wheel
Give it a full service - change ALL the fluids - oil, brake fluid, clutch, PAS, gearbox, rear diff and coolant along with all filters. It will be worth the investment.
Are you handy with spanners? They are very easy to work on - designed by engineers not accountants, so everything is made to go together properly and doesn't require any specialist tools. Get one apart and it's obvious where they spent all the money.
Definitely worth refreshing the suspension/bushes and getting an alignment done.
A few hundred quid will get you about 300 lbs/ft.
Headlamps look stock but need to see a better photo.
Brakes are marginal at best.
Stock stereo is woeful.
Lose the bus steering wheel
Give it a full service - change ALL the fluids - oil, brake fluid, clutch, PAS, gearbox, rear diff and coolant along with all filters. It will be worth the investment.
Are you handy with spanners? They are very easy to work on - designed by engineers not accountants, so everything is made to go together properly and doesn't require any specialist tools. Get one apart and it's obvious where they spent all the money.
Definitely worth refreshing the suspension/bushes and getting an alignment done.
A few hundred quid will get you about 300 lbs/ft.
Headlamps look stock but need to see a better photo.
Brakes are marginal at best.
Stock stereo is woeful.
Edited by TEKNOPUG on Monday 4th April 13:38
Great story!
I too joined the Subaru clan having searched for a late Mk1 (Sure there's a better model term amongst those that know!) turbo wagon as a daily hack about to save my Jag from getting trashed in the lanes.
Bought it for not dissimilar money to you from a PH classified ad, came with 4 new tyres, a decent MoT, 85,000 miles and plenty of history from a really nice chap who used it for dog transport. Was running a bit off but a genuine MAF sensor from Subaru cured that in a matter of minutes. Whipped out the original radio, slotted in a DAB unit and gave it a good clean. Job done.
Since then (December), I've done about 20 miles in the Jag because this thing is so much fun.
I too joined the Subaru clan having searched for a late Mk1 (Sure there's a better model term amongst those that know!) turbo wagon as a daily hack about to save my Jag from getting trashed in the lanes.
Bought it for not dissimilar money to you from a PH classified ad, came with 4 new tyres, a decent MoT, 85,000 miles and plenty of history from a really nice chap who used it for dog transport. Was running a bit off but a genuine MAF sensor from Subaru cured that in a matter of minutes. Whipped out the original radio, slotted in a DAB unit and gave it a good clean. Job done.
Since then (December), I've done about 20 miles in the Jag because this thing is so much fun.
mackay45 said:
Slightly racist undertone in the story behind the purchase, but otherwise a good read and a nice car OP. Sounds like "Ali" (why are we putting his name in apostrophes?) sold you a good'n.
Absolutely not the case at all - I was trying to paint a picture (with humour) and actually trying to convey the fact that you shouldn't make too many judgements - they sold me a great car at a great price, and despite a bit of messing me about stayed true to their word and did all they promised to do.I would buy from them again in a heartbeat.
I will gladly edit the OP if I have inadvertently offended anyone?
h8tax said:
Absolutely not the case at all - I was trying to paint a picture (with humour) and actually trying to convey the fact that you shouldn't make too many judgements - they sold me a great car at a great price, and despite a bit of messing me about stayed true to their word and did all they promised to do.
I would buy from them again in a heartbeat.
I will gladly edit the OP if I have inadvertently offended anyone?
Sorry, maybe I just misread it/am having a bad day! Enjoy the car I would buy from them again in a heartbeat.
I will gladly edit the OP if I have inadvertently offended anyone?
74merc said:
^Why? I've not heard that said before.
My Outback was converted to LPG at 100K miles and is still going strong at 152K.
Because it runs a lot cleaner than petrol (or rather it acts like a cleaner internally). So where you have high mileage engines that are well run-in, it can throw out the tolerances and lead to increased wear and premature failure. It's not guaranteed of course, any more than all 2.5s failing but it is something to consider. I spoke to a couple of experienced LPG fitters when I first got my 120k WRX and they both advised against it for this reason. Can't really prove though without running the same engine without LPG. Your experience puts it in context. But then I know someone with 160k on a 2.5 STi that runs perfectly.My Outback was converted to LPG at 100K miles and is still going strong at 152K.
Barkychoc said:
Tell your insurance company you have an LPG conversion and half the gains evaporate into increased insurance premiums - by a lot when I was looking into it.
I think insurance companies look at any change in your policy as an opportunity to fleece you.There will be very little, to no difference when taking out a new policy.
Barkychoc said:
Tell your insurance company you have an LPG conversion and half the gains evaporate into increased insurance premiums - by a lot when I was looking into it.
My insurer at the time wanted a copy of the Certificate from the converter and charged a £25 admin fee to amend the policy details but did not change the premium. The vehicle is listed as LPG/Bi-fuel on the DVLA database and shows up as such on any search that accesses the database. I don't believe it has affected my premium in any way.Barkychoc said:
Tell your insurance company you have an LPG conversion and half the gains evaporate into increased insurance premiums - by a lot when I was looking into it.
Go via an insurance broker and you speak to people rather than ratings engines which is always a bonus when making mods.Dont forget the added cost of putting the car back on the road with an lpg conversion which is a genuine cost to the insurer
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