Facebook Marketplace Hunting In Thailand - 3 Subarus That Caught Our Attention

In a previous post we revealed cars that can scratch our 3 car garage itch. There were some glaring omissions from a drivetrain perspective - what about EVs made in China, largely exempted from taxes? Or would we want one equipped with a larger engine given the impending electric revolution? How about “utes” like the fresh-from-oven V6, 400bhp / 500Nm Ford Ranger Raptor, or the Isuzu D Max with a seemingly bulletproof 3-litre turbo diesel? These are seriously tempting options, but if we had to tinker further with 1 of the 3 options for our ideal 3 car garage, it would understandably be under the “selfish” dream category, where we placed the 1st-gen Subaru BRZ and 6 generations worth of Evos under the limelight. We are sure car enthusiasts will agree that the list wavers every now and then, which leads us to another episode of Facebook Marketplace window shopping when we perform a “Subaru” keyword search and let algorithms do its magic - what do we have now?

Subaru Forester Turbo (SG5)

We’d admit that the massive air scoop led us to check this listing out more than anything else. Sure, most Subarus in the early-mid 2000s had bonnet cut-outs to feed air into the top-mounted intercooler, but there is something about fast, square-ish SUVs manufactured 2 decades ago that exudes serious nostalgia. This 2003 example might not be STI-spec, but truth be told for its age we’d rather place emphasis on service records over everything else. That's not to say it has been through a thoughtless aftermarket parts bin exercise - a HKS gauge, 18-inch Works rims, Tein suspension and a couple of handling upgrades from STI assure us that previous owners are likely responsible dads with pockets deep enough for dedicated performance upgrades.

Subaru Legacy Wagon (BP5)

This might be the least engaging to drive of the lot, but take nothing away from how it still manages to be this desirable given its generous apportion to family requirements. We chanced upon a facelifted Spec B BP5 - full JDM-spec which makes it very rare (and costly) in Thailand, powered by an EJ20 that has somewhat been elevated to cult-status by diehard JDM fans. 18-inch STI rims, a slew of Cusco braces and suspension from Bilstein suggest that the current owner has spared no expense. A set of HKS tailipies rounds off a delicious Q-car spec estate. Its asking price of THB990,000 (S$40k) for a 80,000km example places it in line with other JDM-derived fast saloons like the Rex and Evos. But if you are after an automatic, this should still not give away much in terms of authentic JDM fulfillment.

“Blobeye” Subaru Impreza WRX STI

Our final pick did not come from Facebook Marketplace, but given how eerily smart algorithms work in Facebook it led us to a Subaru dealership located in Bang Na, where there’s a fully restored blobeye STI for sale. Yes, a dealership that offers warranty for its fleet of used cars does not sound illogical, but for a JDM-spec car tuned/restored by the dealership topped off with warranty? Sounds pretty cool to me. The ad describes this as 1 of only 5 brought in by Motor Image, listed for THB3,950,000 (S$160k). Interestingly the ad states that this is a GDB hawkeye, but pictures suggest a blobeye! It has covered just under 70,000km, and is up for sale at an eye-popping THB3,200,000 (S$125k thereabouts), which when placed in Thailand’s context allows you to purchase a new, freehold one bedroom condo near a BTS. But cars are never bought with 100% logic - it could be off the shelves not before long!