Buying a Subaru are they as unrealiable as made out to be ?

[Danny4494]

I have been wanting a Subaru from before I can remember and now im seriously considering buying a classic ideally a late import.

Question is are they as bad for blowing up as people say not too fussed about fuel economy only do around 15 miles a day now work very close to home?

Anything I should look out for ideally I'm after something standard as possible.

[rog007]

Bought a WRX STI Type RA back in the day after falling in love playing GT; it was an 18 month old import.

Engine blew within first 6 months; despite using Super, I was told UK fuel wasn’t good enough and a couple of pistons had melted.

Thankfully it was under warranty. I was told the STI pistons were replaced for Cosworth ones during the rebuild to prevent a reoccurrence.

After that, it was faultless for the next 4 or 5 years before I sold it. Fantastic car.

[Danny4494]

Yes I have been doing lots of reading up and they are very sensitive to fuel and also they don't like aftermarket air filters it ruins the MAF ?

[rossub]

If it’s been remapped for UK fuel and sensible boost levels, then the engine should be fine.

However, the newest is now 18 years old. Expect perished hoses and worn ancillaries. Spares are plentiful though.

[texaxile]

I admit I've got a hankering for a classic at the moment.

However, like any other car, if it's been looked after properly and as mentioned, mapped to run on UK fuel then you should be fine. Regarding reliability, I can only speak from a Newage perspective. I'm doing about 240 miles a week in my 04 blob now, which is on 91.5k, it's getting an oil change this weekend for some Millers nanodrive CFS NT+ and an HKS filter. I've been doing this mileage since April and it has been fine. Subaru's are generally reliable if looked after, it's not unusual to see classics and newage vehicles with 130k+ on them, but with the classics just keep an eye on the bodywork.

[SAB888]

Had mine about 16 years and it's been very reliable and on about 94K miles now.

[vxr2010]

The general mechanical workings of the car are very good , on a 2004 car with 170k miles all i have had actually go wrong was a drivers door motor which was repaired for 5£ , engine wise it’s the 2.5 so not as good , it’s been rebuilt at 90000 miles or so but i’ve never looked at that as a bad thing more a case of one of those things , the 2 litre is stronger than the 2.5 the 2.5 has a lot more grunt which i prefer and is easier to drive , an already forged 2.5 with not too high a power is good buy say around 330 bhp or so , you get sensible ish fuel economy plus reliability , horses for courses with out getting into an engine debate, boring if we all had the same car , other options are a stroked 2 litre, but too much power and too many mods put me off a car , subarus to a large extent as they are capable cars any way , coilovers cat back system possible fuel pump and a remap make a big difference

[ericmcn]

Danny4494 said:

I have been wanting a Subaru from before I can remember and now im seriously considering buying a classic ideally a late import.

Question is are they as bad for blowing up as people say not too fussed about fuel economy only do around 15 miles a day now work very close to home?

Anything I should look out for ideally I'm after something standard as possible.

The 3 litre H6 lump is as reliable engine as you can get - privided it has the usual maintenance. No idea on turbos but they seem to need more tlc and have the recall issues etc to contend with for the newer STi models.

[aaron_2000]

I've had 3, not what you'd call immaculate, but they were cheap. They were reliable cars, as with any car, if they've been looked after, then they should do you well. Just keep on top of them, check for head gaskets being done, make sure if they've had any mods then they've had a map to go along with them. I wouldn't get a fresh import unless you go through a company like Newera, if I was buying an Impreza, they're who I'd go to. What's your budget if you don't mind me asking?

[TEKNOPUG]

rog007 said:

Bought a WRX STI Type RA back in the day after falling in love playing GT; it was an 18 month old import.

Engine blew within first 6 months; despite using Super, I was told UK fuel wasn’t good enough and a couple of pistons had melted.

Thankfully it was under warranty. I was told the STI pistons were replaced for Cosworth ones during the rebuild to prevent a reoccurrence.

After that, it was faultless for the next 4 or 5 years before I sold it. Fantastic car.

That's not a reliability issue though. JDM cars are mapped for Japanese fuel at 100RON. If you run it on UK 97/98 Super then you will suffer pre-detonation and the engine will fail. The same thing will happend with any other car. Fresh JDM imports (regardless of make) should always be mapped for UK fuel.

[TEKNOPUG]

Danny4494 said:

I have been wanting a Subaru from before I can remember and now im seriously considering buying a classic ideally a late import.

Question is are they as bad for blowing up as people say not too fussed about fuel economy only do around 15 miles a day now work very close to home?

Anything I should look out for ideally I'm after something standard as possible.

2.0l engines are very strong and reliable if maintained properly. Many well documented upgrade paths but every component has it's power limit and they will only be as reliable as their weakest link. It's very much an engineer's car - you can see where all the money was spent when you compare the mechanicals to the body and interior! Well designed, well built with strong components, a mechanical failure is rare within normal operating conditions. Easy to work on too. Rust is the biggest issue. Provinding you keep on top of preventative maintenance, don't skimp on services parts and employ some mechanical sympathy, you shouldn't experience anything unexpected.

I have a 2002 WRX which I have taken from 120k to now 178k and the only issues outside of service items were cam cover gaskets & one exhaust gasket (although you could argue that they are service items anyway). Never not started or failed to complete a journey. No unexpected large bill. Tough as old boots. Succumbing to rust now though.

I also have a 2005 WRX which is on 101k and that suffered a failed (rusted) front wishbone. But that's a VOSA recall so both wishbones were replaced gratis by Subaru. After 4 years of ownership, I don't expect any other failures.

Definitely rust on the Classics is the biggest issue. The obvious stuff like accident damage, poorly modified examples etc. Have some money set aside for a full service, new tyres, full geo setup and pssibly a brake upgrade on a classic.

[vxr2010]

On the above comment about jdm 100 ron , it may even be higher ron than that , yes always get it mapped to get the best out of the car , the last three jdm imports i have had were all running fine on tesco or shell 99 fuel before they were all mapped , but much better after being mapped on a sul uk fuel

[rossub]

All of the above is why I've got a low mileage 2006 Forester 2.0T on the way over from Japan. All of the benefits and none of the rust. First place it's going is a professional Dinitrol underseal.

Same engine/gearbox/turbo/running gear as the Impreza.

[Ahbefive]

I had my RB5 for 7 years. It was perfectly reliable.

It's the rust that kills them.

[vxr2010]

The rust is not just a scooby thing , so yes lots of undersealing helps , especially when freshly imported from the jdm , i had a 2001 sti jdm wagon it was 16 plus years old when bought into the uk and was spotless and rust free

[aaron_2000]

I paid £900 for a 2000 Turbo Wagon that I intended on breaking, it ran perfect, had some rust, but nothing near as bad as most, 145k on the clock. Was priced at £1150 due to being a Cat C in 2013. Paid £1400 for another 2000 Turbo Wagon, pretty much rust free, had a gearbox that was fine when cold, but once warm would clunk into gear at high revs, so could only keep it under 3k. Had a clocked bug STI that I broke for parts, that was absolutely rust free (got an amazing £1200 for the shell), it absolutely depends on the car, not the price, not to say that a £25k P1 from a Subaru dealer will be a bag of bolts obviously, but make sure you take a thorough test drive.

[Tidgy]

Define reliable (not a daft thing to say), stock, well looked after they are typically very reliable.

Exception being the 2.5 that suffer ring lands and heagaskets, that is pure pot luck if it goes or not. Additionally the diesels have habbit of spitting the crank out.

Get one of the non turbo's and your set for years (assuming well looked after.

[RowntreesCabana]

I've had a 2001 Forester S/tb STi edition for 2 years now as a fresh import.

Touch wood, its been decent enough so far, just a wheel bearing (about £80) and a middle exhaust/cat section (about £90). Its not been mapped, but I put 99 Ron in it 99% of the time. Not sure a map is really required unless you're after an STi specifically. I've read of people running non STi's on 98/99 Ron for years with no issues.

Great motors for the price.

[vxr2010]

my last two 2.5 litre jdm sti imports were all running fine on sul , plus i had a 2 litre jdm sti again it was fine , until i did get them mapped , the map made a lot of difference plus better mpg when driven sensibly

[TEKNOPUG]

vxr2010 said:

my last two 2.5 litre jdm sti imports were all running fine on sul , plus i had a 2 litre jdm sti again it was fine , until i did get them mapped , the map made a lot of difference plus better mpg when driven sensibly

Would these be the two 2.5 JDM STi imports that needed full engine rebuilds?