Hey I am new here, I have a 2001 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS. Now I am looking to trade my Subie a Galant VR-4. Is there anything that I should look out for in a GVR4? How is the maintenance in these cars? Thank you very much
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4thStroke
Well-known member
First off, welcome!
Second, learn the does and don'ts from this guy's mistakes click
These cars require a lot of maintenance and attention. Look out for rust. Try to find a mostly stock car. That way you'll have a mostly clean slate to work with. There are some very nicely built cars on the forum by long time members who I would not hesitate to buy a car from.
What are your plans for the GVR4? They make extremely nice daily drivers in stock trim and fly way under the radar even when modded.
Second, learn the does and don'ts from this guy's mistakes click
These cars require a lot of maintenance and attention. Look out for rust. Try to find a mostly stock car. That way you'll have a mostly clean slate to work with. There are some very nicely built cars on the forum by long time members who I would not hesitate to buy a car from.
What are your plans for the GVR4? They make extremely nice daily drivers in stock trim and fly way under the radar even when modded.
BrandonEchols
Well-known member
How did I know that thread would be linked as a "Don't do this" warning. Again, welcome.
Also echoing the questions that Spence had:
What are you planning on doing with the car?
Why are you looking to get into one and out of the 2.5RS?
Also echoing the questions that Spence had:
What are you planning on doing with the car?
Why are you looking to get into one and out of the 2.5RS?
4thStroke
Well-known member
Because that was the ultimate newb f*** up! Hahaha.
524of1000
Well-known member
1) Welcome!
2) Good job, trading Subie for Mitsu. It's a wise choice.
3) Do maintinance first. Oil, belts, ect. VERY IMPORTANT. Fix the issues THEN make it go fast. And it will. They like to go fast... when they're not JSB lol
2) Good job, trading Subie for Mitsu. It's a wise choice.
3) Do maintinance first. Oil, belts, ect. VERY IMPORTANT. Fix the issues THEN make it go fast. And it will. They like to go fast... when they're not JSB lol
NickDromez
Well-known member
iv learned that the trannys are crappy. also +1 to maitenence, being almost 20 years old all the rubber and stock parts start to fall apart.
mitsuturbo
Well-known member
Quoting silence911:
Hey I am new here, I have a 2001 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS. Now I am looking to trade my Subie a Galant VR-4. Is there anything that I should look out for in a GVR4? How is the maintenance in these cars? Thank you very much
Look for one with good paint, a nice pliable (clean) engine harness, no hacked wiring or anything else, a GREAT body and NO rust. Running or not is irrelevant so long as everything is there. Honestly, i prefer to buy them broken, since i don't want someone else's headaches or to have to catch up on someone else's poor maintenance schedule. I'd rather put an engine i built myself into them, and go through everything, modifying for easier maintenance and deleting all the unnecessary crap. It's easy to clean the engine bay with nothing in there as well. At least then you can make sure EVERY Fastener is tight and in good shape, everything is sealed, all the seals are new, no valves are bent, compression is good, balance shafts are gone, pancake oil cooler is gone... the list goes on and on.
That being said, don't trade a 2.5RS straight up for a GVR4. Find one for about a grand in good shape, and put another 2 into it. Then you have a 3000 dollar car. You could probably take out a loan vs your Subie and be able to afford all of this with a low payment like i did this year. So far it's working out well. While 555 is not on the road yet, it is coming along nicely.
Hey I am new here, I have a 2001 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS. Now I am looking to trade my Subie a Galant VR-4. Is there anything that I should look out for in a GVR4? How is the maintenance in these cars? Thank you very much
Look for one with good paint, a nice pliable (clean) engine harness, no hacked wiring or anything else, a GREAT body and NO rust. Running or not is irrelevant so long as everything is there. Honestly, i prefer to buy them broken, since i don't want someone else's headaches or to have to catch up on someone else's poor maintenance schedule. I'd rather put an engine i built myself into them, and go through everything, modifying for easier maintenance and deleting all the unnecessary crap. It's easy to clean the engine bay with nothing in there as well. At least then you can make sure EVERY Fastener is tight and in good shape, everything is sealed, all the seals are new, no valves are bent, compression is good, balance shafts are gone, pancake oil cooler is gone... the list goes on and on.
That being said, don't trade a 2.5RS straight up for a GVR4. Find one for about a grand in good shape, and put another 2 into it. Then you have a 3000 dollar car. You could probably take out a loan vs your Subie and be able to afford all of this with a low payment like i did this year. So far it's working out well. While 555 is not on the road yet, it is coming along nicely.
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4thStroke
Well-known member
Also, do not get impatient. What seems to be a good car can turn ugly if something is overlooked.
Knowing what I know now, I realize how lucky I was when I purchased my Galant. While not the cleanest, it was mostly mechanically sound. The previous owner teamhightower) drove it from Daytona to the PNW without a hiccup. When I purchased it, I did very little inspecting other than a test drive. I was too excited to care otherwise.
Knowing what I know now, I realize how lucky I was when I purchased my Galant. While not the cleanest, it was mostly mechanically sound. The previous owner teamhightower) drove it from Daytona to the PNW without a hiccup. When I purchased it, I did very little inspecting other than a test drive. I was too excited to care otherwise.
broxma
Well-known member
All good information except for the tranny comment, a point I would argue is a "Drivers are crap" problem for the most part.
The GVR4 is not a great 'cut your teeth' car so if you are stepping into this relatively green it can be a long difficult road. There are some seriously decent restoration post in the General VR4 section which might give you an idea of what several of us have put into these things. When I put my car on stands for the first time after she sat for a year in my driveway, I approached it with a singular mindset. I assumed everything on the car was at least 19 years old and probably needed to be replaced unless I could confirm personally that it was fine. If you dig and find my personal build post, you'll notice, I didn't keep very much, but my car needed a lot of TLC compared to many others.
The best thing you can do is find the right car to start with and always remember that any part you haven't inspected could go at any time. Trust nothing and be as thorough as possible.
GL
/brox
The GVR4 is not a great 'cut your teeth' car so if you are stepping into this relatively green it can be a long difficult road. There are some seriously decent restoration post in the General VR4 section which might give you an idea of what several of us have put into these things. When I put my car on stands for the first time after she sat for a year in my driveway, I approached it with a singular mindset. I assumed everything on the car was at least 19 years old and probably needed to be replaced unless I could confirm personally that it was fine. If you dig and find my personal build post, you'll notice, I didn't keep very much, but my car needed a lot of TLC compared to many others.
The best thing you can do is find the right car to start with and always remember that any part you haven't inspected could go at any time. Trust nothing and be as thorough as possible.
GL
/brox
Thank you for all the quick replies. I am just looking for an DD and I guess cheap VIP car. And since this car is pretty rare so that's why I am interest in it. And I guess I am bore of the Subie. Need more powaahhh. I'm actually looking around to see if anyone is interest in a subie that is willing to put cash on top to trade with me.
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welcome man. i love subies TbH. if you were clear across the states id trade you if you hrew cash on top. but since thatll never happen i do wish you luck in finding one. dsmers are a tight knit community and furthermore gvr4 owners are even closer. over time youll find yourself with a phonebook section in your phone of jsut people with these cars that you can call for help and vice versa.
alansupra94
Well-known member
Quoting mitsuturbo:
Quoting silence911:
Hey I am new here, I have a 2001 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS. Now I am looking to trade my Subie a Galant VR-4. Is there anything that I should look out for in a GVR4? How is the maintenance in these cars? Thank you very much
Look for one with good paint, a nice pliable (clean) engine harness, no hacked wiring or anything else, a GREAT body and NO rust. Running or not is irrelevant so long as everything is there. Honestly, i prefer to buy them broken, since i don't want someone else's headaches or to have to catch up on someone else's poor maintenance schedule. I'd rather put an engine i built myself into them, and go through everything, modifying for easier maintenance and deleting all the unnecessary crap. It's easy to clean the engine bay with nothing in there as well. At least then you can make sure EVERY Fastener is tight and in good shape, everything is sealed, all the seals are new, no valves are bent, compression is good, balance shafts are gone, pancake oil cooler is gone... the list goes on and on.
That being said, don't trade a 2.5RS straight up for a GVR4. Find one for about a grand in good shape, and put another 2 into it. Then you have a 3000 dollar car. You could probably take out a loan vs your Subie and be able to afford all of this with a low payment like i did this year. So far it's working out well. While 555 is not on the road yet, it is coming along nicely.
+1 to that. Seriously, I was better off buying mine not running. That way I could have tuned it, wired it and cleaned it all up myself. Instead, I blew the motor (literally) out of the engine bay.
Oh well, now its completely re-done with meticulous detail. Only thing I can think of that I have left to do is the suspension (bushings and aftermarket parts) but that might wait until after the winter and possibly in the summer.
Quoting silence911:
Hey I am new here, I have a 2001 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS. Now I am looking to trade my Subie a Galant VR-4. Is there anything that I should look out for in a GVR4? How is the maintenance in these cars? Thank you very much
Look for one with good paint, a nice pliable (clean) engine harness, no hacked wiring or anything else, a GREAT body and NO rust. Running or not is irrelevant so long as everything is there. Honestly, i prefer to buy them broken, since i don't want someone else's headaches or to have to catch up on someone else's poor maintenance schedule. I'd rather put an engine i built myself into them, and go through everything, modifying for easier maintenance and deleting all the unnecessary crap. It's easy to clean the engine bay with nothing in there as well. At least then you can make sure EVERY Fastener is tight and in good shape, everything is sealed, all the seals are new, no valves are bent, compression is good, balance shafts are gone, pancake oil cooler is gone... the list goes on and on.
That being said, don't trade a 2.5RS straight up for a GVR4. Find one for about a grand in good shape, and put another 2 into it. Then you have a 3000 dollar car. You could probably take out a loan vs your Subie and be able to afford all of this with a low payment like i did this year. So far it's working out well. While 555 is not on the road yet, it is coming along nicely.
+1 to that. Seriously, I was better off buying mine not running. That way I could have tuned it, wired it and cleaned it all up myself. Instead, I blew the motor (literally) out of the engine bay.
Oh well, now its completely re-done with meticulous detail. Only thing I can think of that I have left to do is the suspension (bushings and aftermarket parts) but that might wait until after the winter and possibly in the summer.
SouthCaliVR4
Well-known member
There are definitely two ways to go about these cars, one; as you drive(my current method)be prepared for frustration as most of the money you'd like to spend hopping her up will be dolled out keeping her running & driving right. I get to mod with about 25cents out of every dollar I throw at her & mine was a low mi example with no rust issues. Just in the last couple months she's required new tie rods, ball joints, strut rod caps & a couple tires the aforementioned parts consumed. Now I can finally get back to engine related stuff till the next thing breaks anyway.
Soon as I find a decent daily driver (only recently has the Gvr4 become my sole means of transpo) I'm joining the JSB crowd for a couple months so I can tackle the bigger projects with some degree of sanity, like sub-frames, 4ws removal & bodywork/paint.
This is the long way of saying don't expect dead nut reliable till you have gone through virtually the whole car.
Soon as I find a decent daily driver (only recently has the Gvr4 become my sole means of transpo) I'm joining the JSB crowd for a couple months so I can tackle the bigger projects with some degree of sanity, like sub-frames, 4ws removal & bodywork/paint.
This is the long way of saying don't expect dead nut reliable till you have gone through virtually the whole car.
