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Buying my first Turbo Subaru (Sti)


Subru

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3 minutes ago, Batbaruman said:

160k from a careful owner is completely different to 100k from a owner who thrashes his car and doesn't change oils as often as they should so more proof you can get about work done to it over the years the better when you paying that much.. #YMMV xD

 

having said that, mine is almost at 170,000, bought it at 164000 - i was fine with it because i knew the previous owner since uni days and trusted that he maintained his car  baby properly throughout his ownership, and he knew previous owner and also said the same about that guy. when the car is unknown to you and you don't know the person you're buying it off, it's important to only trust that which you've seen evidence for and even then also budget 1-2k of maintenance over the next couple months (if not more depending on whats been done recently) for random things that'll come up as this is both a performance car and getting close to 20 yrs of age.

 

it's a good bonus that is has coilovers fitted and been certed already

 

if you like the car, contact the guy and negotiate on price first along lines of "i'm willing to pay for inspection and pay $XX for car on condition that inspection is all good" . also ask them some questions (example questions below) and see if you can get as much evidence sent back to you for your review as you can. more the merrier.

 

some of the basics to ask via email to seller

  • clutch was done 20k ago which is pretty good. what kind of clutch is it, was flywheel changed at same time, is there evidence of clutch change / what type it is? for example don't think you'll want to daily a 5puk clutch or whatever the really annoying one is.
  • general maintenance changes - mine recently started to have an oil leak from multiple places pretty suddenly, this i didn't expect but it comes with a car this old and driven for this many K's - one of my mates later told me it's common in subies this old / with this many k's. if you don't have proof of recent rocker cover / cam seal changes then maybe budget in to have those replaced when the problem inevitably starts, but do ask if that has already been done.
  • last service was at 160k, so next one is due soon - add price of oil / filter / maybe sparks / labour in to your pool of 'stuff to do soon and have money laying around for'
  • when they say major service every 10k, ask for proof and what exactly did it include. gearbox / sparks etc? brake rotors/pads? if not, when were those last done?
  • when and at how many k's was cambelt done (both mileage and age is important)
  • front tyres recently added, what condition are rear ones in? not 100% sure about subarus but heard other AWD cars can experience differential damage over time if mismatched tyres are run but a few MM of tread might not make that big a difference.. . anyway you might need to replace the rears some point in near future
  • when was wheel alignment last done (if ever). is there guard rub, test drive see how it handles on those big 19" wheels

Cheers, very in depth :) 

xD when buying my first corolla it wasnt this hard LMFAO.

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18 hours ago, Kiwi_Fozze said:

Everyones missed the chassis code.

 

That car could have had a frontal, but its definately an sti because chassis code (gga is wrx /20k, wheras the GGB chassis is sti)

You wouldn't last on on the Dirty South Facebook page :P everyone is swapping plates, tags and certs haha. I don't trust that sh*t unless I see everything match with my own eyes.

 

I did see the model code I just think it is good to maintain some skepticism untill you can check it all out in person.

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32 minutes ago, IZichard said:

You wouldn't last on on the Dirty South Facebook page :P everyone is swapping plates, tags and certs haha. I don't trust that sh*t unless I see everything match with my own eyes.

 

I did see the model code I just think it is good to maintain some skepticism untill you can check it all out in person.

lol people swap certs and stuff? lmfao

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5 minutes ago, Subru said:

lol people swap certs and stuff? lmfao

Yeah they'll swap all of the I'd plates over to another body if the first one gets written off or something. Or if the one they are swapping is stolen. Some people are really rough. You don't see it too often but I don't trust what people write in their listings anymore. Best to back it up by double checking in person.

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3 hours ago, Batbaruman said:

some of the basics to ask via email to seller

 

edit : hibiscus coast is a bit out of my way but i wonder if any other forum members closer to the area could go check it out? i'm sure someone will come out of the woodworks, it would save you a bit of time coming up from wellington in the event it was not as good in person as it is on the adverts (happens sometimes). maybe admins will have general idea of who is where

I emailed the guy and waiting for response.

If there is someone that knows a bunch about buying Subarus that could check it out that would be a good idea if I become more serous on buying it.

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17 minutes ago, Kiwi_Fozze said:

Have a chat to ajay, they certainly look after the clubsub crowd thats for sure!!!!

Sweet. Change of circumstances, probably gonna get a WRX now and a damn nice one too (low kms hawkeye or something). Still could get it checked out by them tho.

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For the same money as a low-km (edit: version 10) Hawkeye WRX I would buy a (edit: version 8/9) blob-eye STI.

Enormous, fairly bulletproof 6-speed vs plain old 5-speed

Enormous Brembos vs 4-pots

300wkw-capable motor that will do 22wkw with nothing but exhaust and a reflash, vs maybe 220wkw-capable motor once you bolt on all the STI bits.

Twin scroll vs single

Blah blah all sorts.

 

Get an STI :)

 

Edit: can we stop with the americanisms yet? It's a v8/9/10 not a blob/blob-facelift/hawkeye

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3 minutes ago, boon said:

For the same money as a low-km (edit: version 10) Hawkeye WRX I would buy a (edit: version 8/9) blob-eye STI.

Enormous, fairly bulletproof 6-speed vs plain old 5-speed

Enormous Brembos vs 4-pots

300wkw-capable motor that will do 22wkw with nothing but exhaust and a reflash, vs maybe 220wkw-capable motor once you bolt on all the STI bits.

Twin scroll vs single

Blah blah all sorts.

 

Get an STI :)

 

Edit: can we stop with the americanisms yet? It's a v8/9/10 not a blob/blob-facelift/hawkeye

My bad xD Edit: v10

yea I will definitely look around. I would like a V7/V8 sti (<<non Americanisms :)) over a Wrx.

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strongly recommend an sti over a wrx if you have the money. mind you, you can easily spend the difference between the wrx and the sti in mods, tuning and handling to end up with just another modified wrx that puts out the same power and handling as a factory sti

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1 minute ago, Kiwi_Fozze said:

strongly recommend an sti over a wrx if you have the money. mind you, you can easily spend the difference between the wrx and the sti in mods, tuning and handling to end up with just another modified wrx that puts out the same power and handling as a factory sti

Yea then the gearbox breaks? xD 

I dont like the idea of adding power to a WRX. If I get one I prob wouldn't do much engine stuff, I wait till I get an Sti.

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I 2nd that on maintenance > kms

I own a 95 WRX and a 91 MR2, 

bought 95 WRX with unknown history to replace my MR2 while it was not going. The MR2 has been maintained way better than the WRX and cos both have done 210xxx kms you can tell. I think my WRX was owned by people who didn't really care about cars/cared about hooning but not about maintenance because I'm paying to keep it roadworthy, haha. Whereas when I bought the MR2 I was told it was owned by someone who had it for 14 yrs who had a Toyota mechanic son who maintained it. Most I ever paid for the 2 was some rust cutting and welding in a c-pillar as a result of a dodgy re-spray. Whereas the WRX is much more costly to keep going. 

 

Take in to account the insurance cost too. 

 

What I'm saying is that when properly maintained the car's condition will be in line with its kms, when it's not the odo may say 100,000 or 200,000 but you can add 50k or more to that to account for the lack of maintenance. 

 

Also if its a car that's mainly been a weekend toy and used on backroads/motorways etc and not sitting in traffic then thats a plus. There's more wear when it's a city car sitting in traffic/stopping-starting/and used on a lot of short trips. Flipside to that is hitting redlines out on country roads or worse (from a maintenance standpoint) seen track use. 

 

So if you do find a car that has been looked after, has receipts and paperwork etc including wof sheets, and been in someone's ownership for a while then chances are it'll be a relatively safe purchase. :) 

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4 hours ago, Batbaruman said:

everyone who gets a WRX ends up with STI envy, just wait a bit and go for the more capable car .

 

ps. #teambugeye is counting on you

xD I would love to join #teambugeye 

I still looking around but I would love one :D 

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I'm not trying to sound like a dick but I don't think you really know what you want?

 

Go drive some cars, make up your mind what you ebpven want to do with it. A v8 sti is far more capable than a v10 wrx.... but the v10 is a totally different looking car inside and out and you might be more keen on that aspect?

 

If you just want to go fast go buy the cheapest v7 you can find and go nuts, if you just want bragging rights of a newer model then go drive the different options of that shape... Do you have daydreams of a weekend track car, e-fame from something that gets all the #likes, do you want to make a show car, are you spending an hour in traffic a day, are you more keen on meremere every Friday? 

 

You can test drive a car, get it looked over by the by the best mechanic around, they still can't tell you if it has spent it's life getting daily 8k cold launches or if it's just been putting to the shops. 

 

No warranty = always a gamble, and if it's this sort of car you have to accept it is guaranteed to have had a much harder life than most on the road. It's a pretty massive $ investment for someone I'm guessing is pretty young so get what you really want, not the halfway there option 

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7 minutes ago, Marky said:

I'm not trying to sound like a dick but I don't think you really know what you want?

 

Go drive some cars, make up your mind what you ebpven want to do with it. A v8 sti is far more capable than a v10 wrx.... but the v10 is a totally different looking car inside and out and you might be more keen on that aspect?

 

If you just want to go fast go buy the cheapest v7 you can find and go nuts, if you just want bragging rights of a newer model then go drive the different options of that shape... Do you have daydreams of a weekend track car, e-fame from something that gets all the #likes, do you want to make a show car, are you spending an hour in traffic a day, are you more keen on meremere every Friday? 

 

You can test drive a car, get it looked over by the by the best mechanic around, they still can't tell you if it has spent it's life getting daily 8k cold launches or if it's just been putting to the shops. 

 

No warranty = always a gamble, and if it's this sort of car you have to accept it is guaranteed to have had a much harder life than most on the road. It's a pretty massive $ investment for someone I'm guessing is pretty young so get what you really want, not the halfway there option 

I agree, I will take some out sometime. I know the Sti is way better but It might not be an option right now (way to complicated to explain here) but I will end up with a project Sti in the future (1 year I hope). 

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What is it exactly that you want, and what's your budget 

 

Thats a long way from a v9 sedan 

 

If it were me I'd pay half that for a stocker or earlier model and work from there, that car looks a bit of a mishmash of big spending combined with half arsed stuff 

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12 minutes ago, Marky said:

What is it exactly that you want, and what's your budget 

 

Thats a long way from a v9 sedan 

 

If it were me I'd pay half that for a stocker or earlier model and work from there, that car looks a bit of a mishmash of big spending combined with half arsed stuff 

would this sti be pushing more power than stock or was it just a rebuild?

What things do you see wrong with this car in terms of half arsed stuff? (im still a newb xD)

 

Edit: I see it has aftermarket turbo and other stuff, im assuming its tuned somewhat.

Edit 2: its 300hp "easily" with 16psi but "could be tuned to 350hp". I wanna buy a 'stocker' and not start with something with 300whp xD  Nice car tho

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50 minutes ago, Subru said:

with a rebuild and all those mods, has it been tuned? is there proof? if not, then it's been running for atleast the past 10,000 ks since rebuild without any proper tune and you could be buying something that will need a rebuild (just a risk, might actually be in really good condition too). ask for evidence of tuning & such, how old is that 'new' clutch, then bargain down. fact that 'boost tap' is mentioned tells me it probably hasn't got a proper tune though so personally would be likely to avoid unless was 10k or so.

 

 

41 minutes ago, Subru said:

would this sti be pushing more power than stock or was it just a rebuild?

What things do you see wrong with this car in terms of half arsed stuff? (im still a newb xD)

 

Edit: I see it has aftermarket turbo and other stuff, im assuming its tuned somewhat.

Edit 2: its 300hp "easily" with 16psi but "could be tuned to 350hp". I wanna buy a 'stocker' and not start with something with 300whp xD  Nice car tho

 

there's nothing wrong with buying a done up car long as it seems to have been done up right. honestly all of us who have modified our cars can testify it's a bunch of fun but you can save literally thousands if you get one that has already had some of the basics done... doing those things yourself won't increase value of the car significantly either. heck just look at some of the garage build threads on here and see how much we spend then compare to how much the cars would be compared to on trademe. some people spent in excess of 30k on a car that'll sell at most for 14k.

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Just now, Batbaruman said:

with a rebuild and all those mods, has it been tuned? is there proof? if not, then it's been running for atleast the past 10,000 ks since rebuild without any proper tune and you could be buying something that will need a rebuild (just a risk, might actually be in really good condition too). ask for evidence of tuning & such, how old is that 'new' clutch, then bargain down. fact that 'boost tap' is mentioned tells me it probably hasn't got a proper tune though so personally would be likely to avoid unless was 10k or so.

Dunno if its been tuned properly but he says 16psi and "easily 300hp" which tells me it probably hasn't been on a Dino. Im not even bothering with that one xD 

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34 minutes ago, Subru said:

Dunno if its been tuned properly but he says 16psi and "easily 300hp" which tells me it probably hasn't been on a Dino. Im not even bothering with that one xD 

Trust me when you get a proper ecu and professional tune - that's the first thing you'd put on the "modz" list .

So if it isn't there it's probably running factory ecu

boost taps are a bad bet imo, everyone with a boost tap who likes broom broom is turning the boost up to the max at least once 

 

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