Subaru Impreza sedan

fdsasdasdf · 05-13-2010, 09:03 PM

My family is looking for a used sedan for $17,000 and under, decently low mileage (20,000 and under), and has stability control, side/head curtain airbags, 4-wheel disc brakes, and a dark interior. This car is mostly for my sister because our only other car is starting to die and she needs a car to drive for school, though I will be borrowing it for a year until I buy my own car (or until the other car totally dies).

We've come across some Impreza sedans that meet the criteria, and we especially like the added security of AWD. What do you all think of the Impreza vs, say, the Honda Civic? What's the reliability like of Subarus?

07BSM328 · 05-13-2010, 10:50 PM

i've just gotten back into teh STi from an E90 sedan. the bimmer was nice in the summer but in the winter, even with snows it was scary as heck.
My family has had bimmers and subys for year. no probs with either, but the AWD car is by far the best for snow, crap weather. even the STi with summer tires is better in a little snow (6") than my bimmer was.
reliability has been great and working on the suby is like playing with lego; anyone can do it

Nikolas · 05-13-2010, 11:06 PM

You can't go wrong with the subies! I've owned many and they are awesome cars.

1978 GL
1980 GL
1997 OBS
2003 WRX
2005 STI

They were all incredibly reliable and fun!

Muffnbluff · 05-14-2010, 08:47 AM

The Impreza is a very safe car for how little it is. Subarus may get made fun of a lot, but there is a reason people love them so much. They're tough ass cars that will go forever.

ragingclue · 05-14-2010, 09:17 AM

You definitely can't go wrong with a Subie, given the criteria above.

Everyone I've ever known who has owned a Subie loved the hell out of it. The only one with a lot of issues was a guy I knew with an SVX back in the day, but he loved it anyway.

mmm def · 05-14-2010, 10:00 AM

I'd look at a used Legacy.

kapoo · 05-14-2010, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 07BSM328

i've just gotten back into teh STi from an E90 sedan. the bimmer was nice in the summer but in the winter, even with snows it was scary as heck.
My family has had bimmers and subys for year. no probs with either, but the AWD car is by far the best for snow, crap weather. even the STi with summer tires is better in a little snow (6") than my bimmer was.
reliability has been great and working on the suby is like playing with lego; anyone can do it

Hey do you mind uploading some pics of your Subie WRX STi?

Sorry if this seems like im jacking the thread

JayKay335i · 05-15-2010, 04:42 AM

It wont break. Even when you want it to.

fdsasdasdf · 05-22-2010, 08:48 PM

Well, we ended up getting an Impreza!

2008, 35,000 miles, dark gray exterior, spoiler, black(ish) cloth interior, Premium package, navigation system, auto-dimming mirror: $16,000 all-in (parents had to get it shipped from another place, so it added a good amount to the price, unfortunately), original price when it was new was $23,000.

I got to drive it for a bit today.

Thoughts: I'm really impressed! It's pretty quiet, mostly smooth, deceptively large amount of headroom, and the engine gets great MPG. The navigation system is a little hard to get used to because there're lotsa buttons to go through. It's no Garmin, but it's not bad at all. When you put in a CD/DVD, the whole screen flips to reveal the CD/DVD player. Oh, them crazy Japanese

The AWD is great. Combined with VDC, it feels like it has an incredible amount of traction. Steering feel is very good; it's weighted nicely (not anything like a BMW, though) and I can really feel the road. It's pretty great! The leather steering wheel is also really nice. I can only imagine what a WRX/STi is like...

It's like this car is designed to give you a taste of what Subaru offers and then makes you wanna get the best model they've got.

Issues with it:

Totally plastic interior. And I mean everything. I thought the dash was going to be soft-touch, but it's hard plastic too. A little disappointing, but I mean this isn't a luxury vehicle. I'm a little worried about it cracking in the sun.

The rear window seems tiny and it is harder to see out of than the Civic. Good news is, they included some blind-spot mirrors that really help a lot with that.

Lights aren't HID. I might get a simple HID kit to make them brighter; when it's night time, wet, and rainy, HID lights make a big difference.

The seats are really low. I've gotta have it on the highest seat setting, and I'm average-height.

Overall, it's really nice! It's too bad I'm gonna be borrowing it for only a year or so

But I'll be buying my own car by then

05-13-2010, 09:03 PM	#1
fdsasdasdf Captain 125 Rep 778 Posts Drives: 330Ci ZHP 6sp Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC iTrader: (0)	Subaru Impreza sedan My family is looking for a used sedan for $17,000 and under, decently low mileage (20,000 and under), and has stability control, side/head curtain airbags, 4-wheel disc brakes, and a dark interior. This car is mostly for my sister because our only other car is starting to die and she needs a car to drive for school, though I will be borrowing it for a year until I buy my own car (or until the other car totally dies). We've come across some Impreza sedans that meet the criteria, and we especially like the added security of AWD. What do you all think of the Impreza vs, say, the Honda Civic? What's the reliability like of Subarus?
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05-13-2010, 10:50 PM	#2
07BSM328 Private First Class 18 Rep 168 Posts Drives: '12 M3 Fire Orange Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Calgary, Alberta iTrader: (0)	i've just gotten back into teh STi from an E90 sedan. the bimmer was nice in the summer but in the winter, even with snows it was scary as heck. My family has had bimmers and subys for year. no probs with either, but the AWD car is by far the best for snow, crap weather. even the STi with summer tires is better in a little snow (6") than my bimmer was. reliability has been great and working on the suby is like playing with lego; anyone can do it
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05-13-2010, 11:06 PM	#3
Nikolas Colonel 313 Rep 2,576 Posts Drives: 996 TT Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Sierra Mountains iTrader: (0)	You can't go wrong with the subies! I've owned many and they are awesome cars. 1978 GL 1980 GL 1997 OBS 2003 WRX 2005 STI They were all incredibly reliable and fun!
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05-14-2010, 08:47 AM	#4
Muffnbluff Redline Addict 21 Rep 783 Posts Drives: '14 BMW 335 xdrive Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: STL iTrader: (0)	The Impreza is a very safe car for how little it is. Subarus may get made fun of a lot, but there is a reason people love them so much. They're tough ass cars that will go forever.
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05-14-2010, 09:17 AM	#5
ragingclue One cam is enough 130 Rep 6,801 Posts Drives: VF Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: mulletville iTrader: (1)	You definitely can't go wrong with a Subie, given the criteria above. Everyone I've ever known who has owned a Subie loved the hell out of it. The only one with a lot of issues was a guy I knew with an SVX back in the day, but he loved it anyway.
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05-14-2010, 10:00 AM	#6
mmm def Colonel 144 Rep 2,610 Posts Drives: 21 330, 19 ND2 RF, 11 RX350 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	I'd look at a used Legacy.
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05-15-2010, 04:42 AM	#8
JayKay335i Banned 189 Rep 5,046 Posts Drives: ///M323 DCT Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: North Dakota; its best DUHHHHHH iTrader: (1)	It wont break. Even when you want it to.
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05-22-2010, 08:48 PM	#9
fdsasdasdf Captain 125 Rep 778 Posts Drives: 330Ci ZHP 6sp Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC iTrader: (0)	Well, we ended up getting an Impreza! 2008, 35,000 miles, dark gray exterior, spoiler, black(ish) cloth interior, Premium package, navigation system, auto-dimming mirror: $16,000 all-in (parents had to get it shipped from another place, so it added a good amount to the price, unfortunately), original price when it was new was $23,000. I got to drive it for a bit today. Thoughts: I'm really impressed! It's pretty quiet, mostly smooth, deceptively large amount of headroom, and the engine gets great MPG. The navigation system is a little hard to get used to because there're lotsa buttons to go through. It's no Garmin, but it's not bad at all. When you put in a CD/DVD, the whole screen flips to reveal the CD/DVD player. Oh, them crazy Japanese The AWD is great. Combined with VDC, it feels like it has an incredible amount of traction. Steering feel is very good; it's weighted nicely (not anything like a BMW, though) and I can really feel the road. It's pretty great! The leather steering wheel is also really nice. I can only imagine what a WRX/STi is like... It's like this car is designed to give you a taste of what Subaru offers and then makes you wanna get the best model they've got. Issues with it: Totally plastic interior. And I mean everything. I thought the dash was going to be soft-touch, but it's hard plastic too. A little disappointing, but I mean this isn't a luxury vehicle. I'm a little worried about it cracking in the sun. The rear window seems tiny and it is harder to see out of than the Civic. Good news is, they included some blind-spot mirrors that really help a lot with that. Lights aren't HID. I might get a simple HID kit to make them brighter; when it's night time, wet, and rainy, HID lights make a big difference. The seats are really low. I've gotta have it on the highest seat setting, and I'm average-height. Overall, it's really nice! It's too bad I'm gonna be borrowing it for only a year or so But I'll be buying my own car by then
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