I swear I saw a thread like this one before but, for the life of me, I can't find it again. Regardless, I've been looking around for various Imprezas, but I'm not sure what I need to be on the look out for. Any tips on what to look for on used MTs and ATs Imprezas would be greatly appreciated.

For instance, I just took an Auto 2.2L Wagon for a test drive. I played with all the various controls and what not (lights, radio, a/c, heating, windows, mirrors, seats, etc), drove it around, went through all the gears manually as well as via peddle-pressure, took some hard corners, etc. For the most part, everything (that was obvious) seemed in order to me, but then again, this was the only Impreza L I've ever driven. I plan on finding a couple others to drive so that I can compare them.

One thing that I did find annoying and odd, was a somewhat buzzy sound coming from the rear of the car, while at speed. It seemed to be noticeable around 30-40mph and grew in volume (or tone) as the speed increased. At first I thought it was the exhaust, but it didn't seem to be throttle dependent, only speed dependent. I'll have to see if it appears in any other wagons that I drive.


P.S. If any (or all) of the above came out strange, I appologize. I'm mostly asleep right now, I just wanted to post this before I went fully comatose. :D

check first off for oil leaks - very common on the older imprezas

next check for bad axles (also a common issue)
you do this by turning in circles one direction, then the other... listen for tick tick tick a clacking type noise that would be an indication of bad axles...

wheel bearings is another issue. kind of a grinding noise that you'll hear when the car is moving... likely this could be what you're hearing on the one you drove. typically it's the rear wheel bearings that go bad.

other than those few things, all else should be fairly obvious...

hope this helps.
jamie
www.subiegalracing.com||www.allsubaru.com

Do you know about how much it would cost to fix the problems that you mentioned?

The car I looked at was a '97 Auto 2.2 L Wagon with 116,000 miles on it and was priced at $4995. I'm trying to figure out if that's a good price.

P.S. How difficult would it be to remove tinting?

That sounds like the fuel pump. (the whiney noise, my car makes it too but its not loud enough to hear unless you take out the rear seat)

Check for overspray (means the car has been in an accident), double check the VIN # on carfax and stuff.

$5k for a 97 2.2 auto is pretty good, my car cost more than that from the dealer. 116k is alot of miles, and check to see if the timing belt and other things required to be changed around 100k miles were changed (it says in the manual, if the car has one still)

iIf all else fails, call me up foo! :p

Originally posted by Kostamojen
That sounds like the fuel pump. (the whiney noise, my car makes it too but its not loud enough to hear unless you take out the rear seat)

I'm not sure that it would be the fuel pump. The whine/grind is fairly loud (louder than both the road noise, exhaust, and engine note - at times). It also seems to be dependent on speed, but not engine load (for instance, I drop the car into Neutral and the sound didn't quiet down).

Any fixes will either be done by you, which is cheaper and you can source the parts yourself. Or you pay for someone to do it, and labor will kick you in the arse!!

My car leaked oil when I got it, but that is all fixed now. I had a front cv boot tear, had a remanufactued half-shaft installed. I just had all the lifters replaced and some regular maintance done. I paid under $2k for my car, and it had high miles. I would wander what kind of miles your car has considering it is only a 97 with almost 120k miles which is very high, yet a good price. Check what kind of regular maintance has been done to it. Crank oil sel, timing belt etc will need to be replaced on the higher mileage Impreza's. Hope that helps a bit.
-Joe

hey i have an L u can buy!
1996 2.2 L 5spd 77000... AWD
have mods.... if interested send me a PM.

Kostamojen beat you to the punch, he pointed me to the thread where you mention your L. But, I was hoping to find ones in CA, so I could take a look at them.

Originally posted by AVATAR-X


I'm not sure that it would be the fuel pump. The whine/grind is fairly loud (louder than both the road noise, exhaust, and engine note - at times). It also seems to be dependent on speed, but not engine load (for instance, I drop the car into Neutral and the sound didn't quiet down).
Which is why I think its the fuel pump. I could tell instantly if I heard it in person...

BTB, the noise turned out to be the wheel bearing.

Originally posted by AVATAR-X
BTB, the noise turned out to be the wheel bearing.

cha ching ;)

:D hate it when that happens... ;)

Jamie

At least I now know what a failing wheel bearing sounds like.

"And knowing is half the battle."