denners

Hi guys I've got a bit of rust creeping in on a wheel arch on my Turbo 2000, and am looking for recommendations for a decent body shop in the Glasgow / Ayrshire area to kill the rust, do a good bit of waxing, and possibly underseal the chassis ready for winter. Any recommendations? Also, what do people think about undersealing generally - does anybody do it regularly? I've never done it before, but there is a lot of grit/salt/debris on the roads around us.... Cheers, Matt

The (less reputable, ie non Subaru) warranty companies always seem to drag out the wear and tear clause on a car with a few miles on it.... thieving reprobates. If you can find an independent garage or turbo specialists that will testify to it being a failure rather than wear and tear then you might be able to get somewhere. Or maybe threaten the warranty company with a small claims court? At the very least you should name and shame the reprobates so that we all know who to avoid in the future! Welcome to the club by the way and I hope you get the scoob back on the road soon!

So your drums get a bit hot as well then? The brakes weren't binding when cool even when they destroyed the calliper, but I will definitely try and find a gentle hill with warmer brakes.... Thanks for the tip. Matt

I get 33MPG average with the wife's (MY00 sport, standard apart from stainless exhaust), which is a damn sight better than my turbo! Performance wise it's not a patch on the turbo, but also not slow. Lots of low end torque but you don't get much power at the top end (it always feels like it's waiting for a turbo to spool up...). Much more responsive throttle than a turbo at low revs too, so much easier to drive in town in my opinion. Max power is 125BHP as standard for the facelift models I think. Usual things to look out for as people have said - clutch, even tyre wear, etc. Also the front window seals can be less than handy if the rubber is perished (gives you wind noise right in your ear), and they often get through wheel bearings frighteningly quickly so make sure there isn't any droning coming from the back at speed (if you can hear it over the exhaust). Good luck! Matt

Slightly long story here, but basically I have been having continual problems with a handbrake adjustment since some numpty (who has since been fired) over-tightened it at MOT time. I first realised the problem when I noticed a nasty smell from the back left and a discolouration to the silver handbrake drum. Unfortunately, it had already destroyed the (disc brake) calliper with excess heat and ruined a perfectly good brake pad, both of which had to be replaced.... So the handbrake has since been re-adjusted by a more competent mechanic, but I'm still paranoid about it still producing excess heat. But I'm not sure how hot is too hot since I never tested it before! How hot do other peoples handbrake drums (not the discs) get after normal use of the brakes (and no handbrake turns or anything silly)? Mine are hot enough that it is uncomfortable to touch but not impossible - is that normal? I've tested the drums on a Sport (no discs at the back) which are stone cold after normal use, but I'm not sure if you'd expect some of the heat from the disc brakes to heat up the drums on a turbo. The back brakes are also a bit squealy at low speeds when they've heated up, but they've always been like that So, do you think I still have a problem or not? I don't want to find out by destroying another set of callipers! Cheers, Matt

I was half expecting them to write it off to be fair, but glad they didn't nevertheless! Repairs are coming along nicely; just waiting for the front wing to arrive from Subaru. Sorry to hear that mate Is it repairable with the write off cash do you think? Hope you manage to get it sorted. Matt

Hi guys Just had some good news - the estimate has been approved by the insurers and the garage is cracking on with it now. It needs a new drivers door and new front wing but the rest is just cosmetic, no structural damage at all. The estimate is £2400, not that I really care too much as long as it comes back looking good as new! Cheers, Matt

It brought tears to my eyes, but I managed to get out and take some pictures of the damage this afternoon. It's mostly cosmetic damage, hopefully nothing major. Front arch and drivers door look totalled, some major scrapes on rear door (it won't open either) and scrapes on the side of the front bumper and rear arch panel. And she ruined my mud flaps and vapourised my wing mirror.... No sign of intrusions into the engine compartment or footwell thank god; also no sign of collision to the alloys so hopefully no damage to the drivetrain either. Into the garage tomorrow so they might find stuff I've missed. Just out of curiosity, any ideas how much will this cost to put right? Cheers, Matt

There are a lot of miserable b******* around, no doubt about that Fortunately for me, the girl that hit me was merely a useless driver and not a dishonest, useless driver. Either that or she thought I had more proof of her liability than I actually did.... I had to tell the insurance company that my witness didn't actually see anything, but I saw no reason to give her that information In retrospect though, I wish I had (1) got the ID of the officer that she admitted liability to and/or (2) taped the conversation on my mobile phone (secretly, if needs be). Makes you feel like an a***hole to do it, but I'd rather be the shafter than the shaftee.... Incidentally, does anyone know what happens in the event that nobody owns up to it being their fault? I know the insurance companies usually split the costs 50/50, but do both drivers loose their no claims and excess and have an accident at fault to their name? Seems to me like there is not much difference if you are at fault between owning up to it and not, unless you think the other guy might own up to being at fault! Matt ps. Car is booked in with Greersport tomorrow (being an innocent party I got to choose the garage ). Fingers crossed the repairs go smoothly....

Cheers guys, I did try to get her to write and sign a note to admit liability at the scene but she wasn't keen. I did call the police for safety and she admitted liability to them, which made me feel a bit better. Anyway, just heard from her insurance and she's done the decent thing and told them it was her fault It's all being covered on her insurance, and I asked for the work to be done at a specific garage I know won't mess things up. So all in all, could have been a lot worse. By the way, if anyone is ever in the same position think VERY QUICKLY and flag down a passing car that would have seen it. I was too slow and all witnesses had driven off by the time I'd thought about it Also, make sure you call the police, and get them to admit liability to the officer and take the officer's name (my insurance company asked me for it but I didn't think to get it ). Fortunately for me I didn't need any of this, but there are a lot of ****holes out there. Also, in case anyone is interested I'm insured through Bell (a sister company for Admiral), and the 3rd party was with Diamond (also a sister company of Admiral!). Both people I talked to were incredibly helpful, and it's all sorted out already (including hire car etc). I suppose you never find out how good an insurance company is until you need them, and in this case I was pleasntly surprised! Matt

I've just been out for a quick drive on a nice crisp afternoon and got hit by a car going too fast round a corner It veered into the middle of the road and left me nowhere to go. Totally gutted as the car was in pristine condition and I've only had it for 11 months.... Fortunately I don't think the damage is very severe - the drivers door is totalled and rear passengers door and right front arch are damaged but I can't see anything else. Managed to drive it home and it felt fine, so touch wood nothing mechanical. I never found my wing mirror.... The girl admitted liability at the roadside (admitted she went too fast round the corner and was in the middle of the road) so hopefully it will get sorted out quickly. I've called the insurance company (Bell) and given them the full report, they were very nice on the phone to be fair. I'm just hoping that the girl that hit me doesn't have a failure of conscience before reporting her side of the story! Anyone been in a similar position before? Any advice? I'll post pics tomorrow if I can bear to look at it Matt

The high ratio (lever down) is the normal driving range - ie. what you will use for 99.9999% of the time you have the car

The wife's MY '00 sport has one of these. Pull the lever up when stationary, the light comes on and 1st gear is magically geared slower. It turns itself off when you go too fast or change gear. Never had to use it, so can't say how effective it is! Might get us out of the snow or mud one day though As far as I know it is more of an 'under-drive' (similar to over-drive in top gear on some classic cars) gear than true low-ratio gearbox, but I might be wrong.... The Impreza sports have a few things that the Turbos don't have - a hill holder clutch for example. Very handy bit of kit for uphill traffic jams

Maybe goes without saying but also do a HPI check - even if the seller claims they have already done it. When I did mine I got 10 days of free insurance which was worth the £20 itself.... As far as warranties go I would make sure that if you are given one its a proper Subaru warranty. I got a car with a mickey mouse warranty (Scotsure or something) from a Subaru dealer once, and it turned out not to be worth the toilet paper it was written on

Scottish winters on the other hand are wet and cold I take your point though - I run Goodyear eagle F1 tyres which are fantastic on (warm) wet roads. Apparently they are not as good as others in the dry, but since I leave on the west coast of Scotland I've never been able to verify that.....