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Almost a happy ending then John,. Keep us posted how it goes. Will be interesting if you need to use the legal services, To see if it's worth continuing to pay for that extra that nobody ever seems to use??

Same here, granddaughter was watching peppa pig on her tablet, and it popped up! Whoever is behind it is very organised and its highlighting vulnerability of modern mega- tech systems despite the motives being a mystery.

137880

Maybe that's the answer Floz? Another example of part of the world gone mad / getting ahead of itself:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47332805 bee emms possible future in driverless electric phone app controlled vehicles to compete with Uber for those poor folks that just want to get from A to B in a city? Suits some, but definitely not for me! P.S. Is it really all in the name of public safety, or is the hidden agenda about an artificially increased cost of new cars, a reduced lifecycle through built in tech obsolescence, and the resultant massive increase in tax revenue collected from the higher and more frequent new car taxes ? Just being an old cynic, and one that can drive ( and parallel park even!) using my eyes, limbs and a feel for the car and road conditions.

We need Brexit, and relaxed trade rules where there's a public backlash against so called premium German and dodgy French cars, but a nominal percentage of new Japanese cars (1, 2 or 3 percent max of new cars sold) can be exempted from the ridiculous and false EU emissions regs. That would give us back what we need and with proven reliability and first hand real life safety like our AWD and manual boxes instead of CVT! Sorry Swindon et al, but the public has been conned for years by all this new tech in cars being fundamentally safer and more environmentally conscious lark. Seriously, Why the ****** do they put touchscreen gizmos in the centre of the dashboard and try to sell more cars by having bigger screens more programmes and features on that little screen than the competition, that takes the drivers eyes off the road! (Answer: Maybe cos it's safer than looking at their phone screen!). Sorry the the rant but part of the world has gone mad. looking like an older jap Import might be my next car, if we are still allowed in a few years time.

My forester suffered a bit unexpected rust on one rear sill, under the covers but first spotted by the jacking point,. My own fault, sandy wellies etc repeatedly placed on that rear floor well, and realised over the years wiping round the lower door seal and the inside sill cover, it's probably washed a bit salt etc into the sill that eventually rotted through. Easily accessible so about a 300 pound bill for a good repair. Other side is sound, as are the Impreza sills. The front lower suspension arms can rust through, where the rear part from the rear bush is welded to the main section and the drain holes can block up, but only on the (originally painted )steel versions of the lower arms some WRX and all STis have alloy arms I believe. (Mine have been regularly waxoyled and the drains poked through with wire and are fine) many of the ancillary stuff like ARBs and rear hangers/ mounting points seem to develop surface rust but nothing structurally. Mild steel sumps can rust, but easily stopped if spotted early and treated. P.S. Check Rear wheel arches,. At the rear where the top of the bumper sits, and at the front of the arch, the bottom edge above the sill. Usually worse on older cars, can be treated or repaired but expensive if it's gone too far.

Welcome Kyle,. Good history and well looked after is more important than mileage I would say. Opinions suggest the 2 litre motor ( blob) is more reliable than the 2.5 in the hawk, but that's a big generalisation. Hawks are a touch newer so it's down to individual cars. Drive both before you decide what power characteristics suits you. Money spent well on good maintenance ( like tensioners along with / at Cambelt time) carries more weight for me than money spent on mods, unless you want those particular mods. Get the undertray off and check the crossbeam under the rad for rust,. Often the first place to start. Good luck with your search. take your time. Cheers

Never heard any true-er words!

Not enough for the car to play, but the Tonka truck in the garden was happy this morning. Been the same the last few days, up to a couple of inches through showers, melts then freezes overnight. All near the NE coast, less on the hills inland. someone must be in a snowy scoob somewhere with photos. LOL?

Snow isn't what it used to be ! Sounds a lot in the forecasts last few days in millimetres (25 to 70 mm and amber warnings in parts of the country and it just stops),. When I was a kid it was measured in feet (1= over 300mm) or was it maybe inches (1=over25 mm). Anything less didn't get a mention. But when I got older Michelin M+S tyres on a mini, Pirelli P6 on an 8 valve Astra SRI and Nokians on an Impreza ( and a few car/ tyre combos in between) keep us going. Common theme was a big rounded shoulder profile/ tread and open block centre tread,. And second hand / second set of winter wheels from scrapyards or eBay mak s it easy to change. Stuff the EU tyre logo for fuel efficiency which just promotes ribbed treads, low rolling resistance and better fuel economy ( hypothetically or which means : Not really,) and absolutely no grip in the reality of snow! LOL. Edit, P.S. Most folks couldn't afford hats to keep warm in those days (look at the rally pics) but could still get out to the rallies miles away from home, or get to work in the snow miles away from home! Root causes: Less (not always usefull) tech in the cars, better basics like good tyres, self dependence, and less traffic on the roads. But getting up the forest tracks with some folks in front in no grip BMs and then doing a 7 point turn to get home was a challenge. ( think it was a Daihatsu 4wd at the time but it had no centre diff so front wheels didn't always go where they were pointing no matter what tyres were on it) dont worry John, it'll be gone in a couple of days.

Quoting Tony above: get rid of big wide tyres. 4 space savers woulg be ideal " Like these knobbly space savers you mean? From the late 90s (97 or 98 I think) RAC in Wauchope, Kielder, back In the day, as they say. Photos to follow!

Topical,. You will already know all this, but a nice little summary article anyway: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47023003

If left for holidays etc it's also easy to discreetly pull out a critical fuse ( such as fuel pump), or two, and hence disable the car until you return.

Very neat.

Good to hear your nearly sorted. Read up the chain following from John's post though,. Seems there's quite a drain anyway when these models are standing idle. Trickle charger may be the long term prevention.

1. Fashion, and an air of " premium" that Subaru don't need. Or at one time they didn't need, maybe they think they do now? 2. American market influence rather than the original pure Japanese engineering design values I suspect. 3. And maybe influenced by the glossy car mags, you know the type ( I don't buy them anymore), whose sole purpose on earth is to sell more car mags to the public out there and sell more cars ( sponsored by and hospitality provided by SMMT ) based on the petty values in their car reviews that the majority of the public sheep these days seem to believe to be important, like premium interior feel and keyless entry - rather than real life driving ability on real A and B roads and good old solid engineering and reliability. i am sure you will agree, the younger generations are being fleeced. nevertheless, hope JSOCK gets it sorted soon and without much expense.

Strange for the rack to go before the much more likely droplinks, track rod ends or even rack bushes? Think I read somewhere that the early electric driven racks on some models ( recentish legacy or forester??) suffered from a water leak that led to deterioration but I have no idea if that's the type of rack in your STi or whether that would cause the knocking ( sure Don would know). But if the knocking is sourced from the steering rack, I would describe the cause as a faulty rack rather than a worn rack, after so few miles and its age, and if I were in your shoes I would be looking for a second opinion. As well as assurances that the droplinks and all steering ancillary parts, bushes etc are fine, before considering replacing the rack.

Import car parts for timing belt kits, aux belts etc. You might find the bearing in the alt. belt tensioner is the noisy one, and can be replaced. Take the belts off and see what's noisy when you spin them. Try spark plugs.co.uk for O2 sensors if you end up needing one but make sure you get the correct OE plug. ( but try Decent petrol like V power for a couple of tanks to see if it cleans things out first?) boot floor handle must be easily fixable with a bit of rope or a cable tie as substitute, lol perseverance will get you sorted. oh, welcome and best wishes. P.S. Haynes USA do a forester/ legacy manual that may be useful, check Amazon uk for availability p.S.2,. Check the slider pins on the front brake calipers, may be sticking on one side? Or sticking Pistons ( slider pins available off e bay or elsewhere, use decent brake pin grease to avoid the rubbers swelling up and letting in water) and stainless caliper pistons form scooby worx or standard rebuilt caliper various sources. Look at those before bushes.

Buy his book, or look up old clips ( Colin McRae classic quote " no problem Tony". Or the well aimed Monte Carlo rally snowball on tv.). Now, with modern TV production techniques, he would get even more laughs if he was back on top gear.

Would watch it again if they brought back Tony Mason!

Well, just 130 miles short of 100,000 the little GX Impreza has had to have its first ever electrical type repair ( apart from the odd bulb)! OBD Fault P0032, faulty front lamda sensor. Car was still running ok except a little rich since the ECU defaulted to zero % fuel trim. Replaced easily today, less than 80 quid for an original ( correct plug etc) Denso sensor from sparkplugs.co.uk (beating £105 at ICP) so with well over a quarter of a million miles we've done between the 15 yr old forester and 13 yr old Impreza with the EJ201 motor, that's only a fuel injector, an O2 sensor and a flasher relay in terms of " electrical" failures. Fantastic.

Valve stem oil seals tend to leak oil (into the cylinders) when the car is left standing overnight (or longer), and the real tell- tale for valve stem seals is a puff or small cloud of blue smoke just on starting up in the morning. Not always to the same degree or maybe not every time, but smoke on start up that soon clears is the usual sign of valve stem seals. If you haven't seen this then you can rule your valve stem seals out. Sorry I am no expert on turbo' seal diagnosis.

Rota GRA' s are good ( but mine are steel grey). Paint finish has lasted well, both inside ( no corrosion or leaking on the tyre bead) and out. Try revolution Motorsport (revolution247 website), mail order or Gateshead workshop?

Welcome to the club and forum. Great little cars ( I have a blob- eye GX). You should keep it as well as buying a WRX as a second car!

Prompted by info and a good link from Don earlier this year, https://www.carsaddiction.com/articles/2018/02/abandoned-subaru-ghost-car-showroom#&gid=1&pid=1 , I happen to be staying just up the road from this abandoned Subaru dealership with a few 1990's era classics and a rare XT coupe ( pre- Impreza era). It's an amazing sight. The place was still there this morning, as it was when it was last in use ages ago. Sorry for the poor quality photos but I thought worth sharing. If you ever go to Malta it's worth looking up, it must be unique. The old unregistered rust free (apparently 2 wd) classic wagon would still make a great little motor for taking the dog out! Wierd that among the crappy newish peugots and toyotas etc ( not just the hire car) the neighbours both sides of where we are staying still have a beaten up little Subaru van and a very old Justy. p.s. Malta might be described as a " poor country" but this has some benefits. After a tyre on the hire car going flat within a couple of hours ( suspicious?) it was repaired very quickly at one of the tyre specialists attached to many of the local fuel stations, for a total of 5 euros!