On the verge

[Mr_Banana]

I'm looking to buy a WRX Wagon but know nothing about Imprezas so was looking for a buyers guide or similar. I have about 10K to spend which looks to be a 2006/2007 model.

I'm pretty handy as a mechanic so would be looking to do all the fixing myself, are they easy cars to work on? Is there any point paying garage prices for servicing that I can easily do myself?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[2002pete]

Originally Posted by Mr_Banana

I'm looking to buy a WRX Wagon but know nothing about Imprezas so was looking for a buyers guide or similar..

Link: Subaru Impreza - Buying Checklist

[robbo]

There is deffo more room to work on and most bits are easy to get at

[Bpm]

10 K in the present market will allow you to buy a top example, defo worth having a look at a Subaru Approved Car - they offer a very comprehensive warranty. If your new to Subaru then regular maintenance is done by alot of owners, Oil, Plugs etc - I guess its how confident you are with more involved work but their are alot of specialists in the UK who make garage fees alot more reasonable.

[Mr_Banana]

Originally Posted by Bpm

10 K in the present market will allow you to buy a top example, defo worth having a look at a Subaru Approved Car - they offer a very comprehensive warranty.

I'm located in Surrey and there are a couple of likely candidates at Bell & Colvill and Proven in Haslemere. Although I'm struggling to see why Bell & Colvill are asking £1,600 more for a very similar car that has done an extra 13K miles?

If your new to Subaru then regular maintenance is done by alot of owners, Oil, Plugs etc - I guess its how confident you are with more involved work but their are alot of specialists in the UK who make garage fees alot more reasonable.

I'm quite comfortable doing pretty much anything mechanical but mostly on pre-93 cars where there isn't so much dependence on ECUs. But the Impreza looks comfortably simple - inside at least.

The buyers checklist looks very comprehensive, I guess my biggest concerns are cam belt and clutch - what's the life expectancy of these items and how easy are they to change?

[2002pete]

I guess my biggest concerns are cam belt and how easy are they to change?

Link: (Info) 02 Timing Belt Assembly

[robbo]

Cambelt changes are by far easier on subarus then most makes recommended change every 50k or 5 yrs as for clutch I've got no idea how long they last really depends on how hard it's driven my last Scooby did 97k before clutch started slipping