Blobeye WRX STI… Persuade me!
Discussion
So I can’t quite believe I’m writing this but my girlfriend is after a new car and for some reason has her heart set on an Impreza?! I’m very excited about this but also finding it quite hard to comprehend 
A good friend of mine who is a performance car dealer has one for sale currently, his own personal car - a 2004 Blobeye WRX STI - UK car not an import. 91k miles, last owner since 2008 and has really thorough & extensive history. Pretty much standard bar an Indigo GT map and some aftermarket wheels. We went to look at it today and she’s fully fallen in love with it.
I know the biggest achilles heel of them is rust… It’s had a good amount of welding work done (new arches, sills and fair bit of work underneath) in the last 12 months and to me it looks a really decent job (I work in fabrication myself so hopefully I’m right!).
It’s £13k. To me, without spending £20k+ on a fresh import which you know will be perfect underneath, this seems to be a really good example. It’s also had a clutch and cambelt in the last 10k mikes / last 3yrs.
My question is… do we do it? What are the weak points of these? I’m in the Evo camp having had a VI GSR for a few years, so don’t really know much about them / what to look out for.
A good friend of mine who is a performance car dealer has one for sale currently, his own personal car - a 2004 Blobeye WRX STI - UK car not an import. 91k miles, last owner since 2008 and has really thorough & extensive history. Pretty much standard bar an Indigo GT map and some aftermarket wheels. We went to look at it today and she’s fully fallen in love with it.
I know the biggest achilles heel of them is rust… It’s had a good amount of welding work done (new arches, sills and fair bit of work underneath) in the last 12 months and to me it looks a really decent job (I work in fabrication myself so hopefully I’m right!).
It’s £13k. To me, without spending £20k+ on a fresh import which you know will be perfect underneath, this seems to be a really good example. It’s also had a clutch and cambelt in the last 10k mikes / last 3yrs.
My question is… do we do it? What are the weak points of these? I’m in the Evo camp having had a VI GSR for a few years, so don’t really know much about them / what to look out for.
Do it.
Rust is the main issue but seems thats sorted for now.
Everything else is pretty robust.
Poor fuel can cause detonation which these really don’t like. Also head gasket issues but not as big an issue on the ej20 as the ej25.
It will drink super like a v8. Expect low 20s round town and touching 30 on a run.
They can be pretty expensive to fix as subaru never really adopted the german way of using the same component wholesale.
Rust is the main issue but seems thats sorted for now.
Everything else is pretty robust.
Poor fuel can cause detonation which these really don’t like. Also head gasket issues but not as big an issue on the ej20 as the ej25.
It will drink super like a v8. Expect low 20s round town and touching 30 on a run.
They can be pretty expensive to fix as subaru never really adopted the german way of using the same component wholesale.
Extensive, or any really, welding would be a no no from me, unless someone has taken great care to get good quality rusproofing inside the cavities in the vicinity of the welding the heat of which will have burned off any remaining original paint and you've no way of telling.
Someone out there will have one for sale which has been properly rustproofed from early days and won't need welding.
Can't believe the cost of these.
Would she consider instead a Forester XT, pretty well the same vehicle underneath and can be bought much cheaper unless badged STi..
Head gasket issues don't really plague the turbocharged 2.5 engines, its the NA ones that suffer, pre stupid VED 2.5XT Foresters can be found but are few and far between, sadly mine isn't.
Someone out there will have one for sale which has been properly rustproofed from early days and won't need welding.
Can't believe the cost of these.
Would she consider instead a Forester XT, pretty well the same vehicle underneath and can be bought much cheaper unless badged STi..
Head gasket issues don't really plague the turbocharged 2.5 engines, its the NA ones that suffer, pre stupid VED 2.5XT Foresters can be found but are few and far between, sadly mine isn't.
Imprezas (blobeyes) are at the age where rust will present itself , whether it's on or around the subframe, creeping in under the turrets at the rear under the pinch welds or along the back of the sills. Unless the car has been treated from new, I'd be very very wary, because unless it's been properly welded, such as cleaned right back, prepped and repaired, then the chances of the rust coming back are high. Things like the front radiator support bar which is hidden will have probably rusted itself to oblivion as well, and that's a costly repair (have a google for images).
I'd personally go for a JDM anyway, better engine with the twin scroll (but no Subaru burble due to equal length headers) , better lights, and all round a better car plus a rear wiper if I'm not mistaken- also a chassis that you can have treated with Bilt Hamber or whatever product you choose, so a blank canvas so to speak. JDM resale values also remain strong.
I've seen a couple of Blob's that have almost dissolved completely around the rear ends, so bad that they remind me of 80's Alfas.
I'd personally go for a JDM anyway, better engine with the twin scroll (but no Subaru burble due to equal length headers) , better lights, and all round a better car plus a rear wiper if I'm not mistaken- also a chassis that you can have treated with Bilt Hamber or whatever product you choose, so a blank canvas so to speak. JDM resale values also remain strong.
I've seen a couple of Blob's that have almost dissolved completely around the rear ends, so bad that they remind me of 80's Alfas.
vxr2010 said:
Balise , what mpg do you normally get and which car ?
Well it was a while ago, I had a 2001 WRX from new for 70000 miles and have lots of happy memories of it. I think the best I ever got from a tank full was 30mpg, and an average would have been about 25mpg. I well remember a fast motorway run from Manchester to Essex where it only just beat 20mpg.For reference my latest 135i is averaging 35mpg. They’re not economical, but there are many other positives about owning a Scoob.
The 2.5 and after a re map seem to be more economical , the guy who mapped mine leaned it off slightly so on a motorway drive at normal cruise speed on a 6 speed box it's doing around 36 mpg , not that I drive it like that all the time , long non economical driving is around 28 mpg , so a map is well worth doing , going the other way after a map and booting it then the mpg can be worse , for what the cars are I don't think they are that bad
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