Simon C

I'm waiting for the other V7 Spec C owners to pipe up and say that sponsor-sticker-friendly white is the best.... because that was the only option available!

DPI, why on earth did he text you? I'm surprised he hasn't texted me, since he has my number and all.

The best bit about an antilift kit is that it's a bolt on perfomance enhancing fix if the relevant bushings are worn and need replacing.

It's a V8 with V7 seats. Rear lights are V8/9. I've asked him for the chassis code. This appears to be a true STi though.

Here is my txt conversation with him the evening after we looked at the car: SSSTi: Hey mate. Just wondering what your thoughts were on my car? Me: To be fair mate, it's a pretty rough example compared to most we've seen. Me: The amount of money required to address all the issues we saw on it would amount to a lot of time and money. SSSTi: Fair enough. It is alot cheaper tho. Me: It would be cheaper to buy a mint V7 STi and facelift it to V8. Me: Hopefully you got it for a bargain. I think that you should be happy with what the auction is already going for, any extra is a bonus. SSSTi: Ha. I wnt b leting it go for any les than 17k. Gd luck. Finding 1 at that price. Cherz anyway

Waiting for hate mail from the seller to come through on my cell phone....

Fair call Funky.

At the end of the day, these are the facts: 1) We have indisputable proof that the car in question is being grossly misrepresented, and is a GDA not GDB. 2) The seller is aware that he is misrepresenting the car and consciously continues to do so 3) The seller, claiming ignorance of all things mechanical, attempts to legitimise the inaccuracies of his advertising by citing his sources as the mechanics who have worked on the car (Gary Capper, Sublab, Sooper Subaru). 4) The seller knows this thread exists, and he has full right of reply to all criticisms. Most of the aims of starting this thread have also been achieved: 1) As above, we have indisputable proof that the car isn't as advertised. 2) The purchase bid of $18500 at the time of the thread being started did not result in the sale of the car. 3) The true nature of the car is now well publicised. 4) Therefore, potential buyers can make an informed decision regarding purchase and price. 5) The seller will have a very difficult time selling the car if he continues to misrepresent it. The aim of the thread was not to demonise the mechanics who worked on the car, only to uncover the truth. The only other guilty party in all of this is TradeMe for not acting to protect the interests of TradeMe users when made aware of the seller and his auctions. So I agree, the issue is pretty much concluded?

Hi Sooper, thanks for clearing all that up. That makes a lot of sense given what we saw. The seller is quite certain that you told him it's a Singapore Spec STi, and that's really the root of the problem. If he wasn't parading the car around as an STi on TradeMe, this thread wouldn't exist. He claims complete ignorance of all mechanical aspects of the car. Apparently, the fact that you, Sublab and Gary Capper have checked it over means that (in his mind) it's as mint as he says it is. You should feel free to contact the guy and tell him to stop bringing your name into disrepute.

The person who told him it was Singapore Spec was his "mechanic" from "Sooper Subaru". I can't find Sooper Subaru anywhere on the internet or on the White Pages. Is it a fictional mechanic?

Also spoke with a very (VERY) reliable source who does not wish to be named (so please don't ask). The car came to NZ running very poorly off an STi ECU, the Link G3 was installed as a solution to sort out all the CELs that the car was throwing. He did not want to discuss the rest of the condition of the car on the grounds of customer privacy (which I think is fair enough and quite professional on his part). He also says that he has seen several Singapore import STis, and they are for all intents and purposes the same as JDM.

Not dirty or dusty enough for Singapore Spec. Singapore Spec also requires you to have mismatched blue door cards. ;D

We never mentioned my name. Jason was the "buyer". Also, because Jason's car is ClubSub stickered, we parked it a few streets away. The guy actually drove by it when showing off his car (full boost next to a children's playground, loser) and commented on that nice Subie up the road. "Is that a Version 7?" So unless he's reading these forums, I don't think he knows that he's been punked.

Hey, I'm not defending him, I'm pitying him. And yes, we pointed out to him quite clearly all the bits that made it WRX and not STi.

Ok, this is all the stuff that we could pick up (that we remember, there were a LOT of issues with the car). Jason can probably think of more: 1) The car is obviously a WRX, not an STi. - GDA chassis numbers on the FHI factory plates inside the engine bay - 5 speed gearbox - GDA TMIC - TDO4 turbo - Boxer rumble (V8 STi should have twin scroll equal length headers) - Stock GDA exhaust + twin exit muffler - Stock GDA front and rear seats - Stock GDA Momo airbag steering wheel - No Brembos 2) There are lots of STi bits, all of which can be bolted on without too many hassles. - V7 STi speedo cluster - Not V8 STi as you would expect, which has extra silver trim around the dials. - We forgot to see what colour it lights up, but the needles don't sweep on startup like a V8 STi. - V7/8 STi blue trim door cards - V8 STi shift boot trim - "STi Subaru Tecnica International" sticker on front door (passenger side only! Driver's side is bare) - STi rear badge (silver-on-red like V11 STi rather than silver-on-pink like V7/8/9 STi) - STi key - This ONLY opens the door locks. It will NOT turn the ignition, and doesn't have the transponder chip for the ignition - The actual ignition keys are just big old plain WRX keys with big (and not-working) buttons for remote central locking - There is a third set of big old plain WRX keys which will operated the remote central locking, but will not turn over the ignition. - So much for STi keys proving that it's an STi! You should have seen his face when I pulled my STi key out and told him I bought it on eBay. 3) The car was obviously modified previously - Lots of aftermarket hoses with blocked of T-junctions etc. for various aftermarket sensors. - Front bumper and right engine bay has been hacked up to fit FMIC and piping - Inside of bonnet has had bits cut out to allow clearance for high-sitting aftermarket piping (which has dented the bonnet from inside) - Mounting bracket for the factory boost control solenoid is missing, probably removed for aftermarket EBC. - Also, the hoses to the BCS have been cut at some stage, and have now been mated to mismatched hosing. - Turbo heat shield has been cut away, and the notch for the wastegate actuator arm doesn't line up with the arm itself 4) The car has lead a hard life - Dried residue around the radiator coolant reservoir where it has overheated - Missing plastic front underguard with big dents in the sump - Horrible intermittent grinding noise coming from somewhere in the drivetrain when gears shifted 5) The car may have been accident repaired - Left and right headlight clusters are different and don't match up, one has amber trim missing over indicator. - Also, WOF got failed on having different colour bulbs on either side - Paint on the bolts holding the right front guard on are different from the panel paint, so this has probably been off at some stage - Front bumper is hanging really loose, and on the right is tied on with string. Yes, it really is. 6) Signs of abuse aside, the car is older than 24xxx kms - Alternator and aircon belts look old and worn - As above, speedo is V7 STi and therefore cannot possibly be the original. 7) The bodykit has been done by a bunch of blind monkeys - Grill work at the front is completely amateur and untidy, held on by cable ties - Foglamp cover holes (where grille is) have been cut with some kind of saw and left with unpainted rough edges - Sideskirts don't line up and were not cleaned before being painted (seriously rough gritty paint finish, like painting over 50 grit sandpaper) - At some point different skirts were fitted and drilled straight into the bodywork. There is a big 1cm hole in the body just forward of the rear wheel. - "Prodrive" exhaust surround is a piece of carbon lookalike thick plastic sheet that is folded around the rear bumper - ie. it's not actually carbon, and it isn't even properly stuck to the bumper 8) More general dodginess - Front passenger wheelarch liner is missing with lots of muddy exposed wires, including airbag sensor wires - Car has problems returning to idle when the throttle is blipped - Inconsistently drops to 500-600RPM, car feels like it's going to stall, then comes back up to 9000 RPM after a couple of seconds - Cambelt cover and various engine bay bits have been painted WR blue. Mmmm.... rice..... - Wheel nuts are rusted to hell and back. - Champiro tires. Not sure which ones but seem to be directional. Not what I'd put on my car anyway. - Car was mildly quick, but my car (which has an almost factory engine) could smoke it easily. Certainly not as quick as what he claims. However, we can at least confirm that it does have a Link G3 in it.

Sadly, all the points you've raised can actually be explained away by gross, sub-Homer-Simpson, Cletus-The-Slack-Jawed-Yokel stupidity. spark_38 got pictures, some of the stuff is pretty dodgy. Like the missing passenger front wheel arch liner, with the wires for the airbag sensors hanging loose and potentially able to touch the tire :'(

And in the seller's defense, he's not malicious, he's really just very very clueless.

Well, Jason (spark_38) and I had a look at Singapore Spec today in person. Full report to follow, but frankly it's even worse than we thought.

Best boost controller would probably be Blitz SBC i-D Spec R. A lot of people like the Apexi AVC-R though.

We could all flag the food, everyone chips in $10, and we hire a stripper? ;D

Samwilly, you're a legend. Pity it cost you $180. I'm thinking of contacting the guy for a test drive when I'm next up in Auckland.

Set up BBQ outside?

The coffee machine will be making an appearance

As Uncle Colin said, "add lightness"

Get the plate. Run it through www.carjam.co.nz. Get the chassis number from there. GDA = WRX, GDB = STi. That's the most surefire way to tell. And if the plate is FCA216, it's the not-STi from the other thread and your mate has been ripped off.