If you want an STI, go find a cheap hooker

 

I listen to my fathers advice.... "dont be a fool, wrap your tool!"

 

What year STI? I currently have an 06 with 37k on it. Bought it for 23k When you say older what years are you looking for? And autotrader is the best way or go to the subaru forums and check the forsale thread. Being that i dont like posting forums on forums pm me and ill send u the info if you are interested.

 

PM'd!

 

Definitely take your time on researching before you buy. Most early model STI's have been subject to modding and then put back to stock to sell/trade-in. I would definitely have it given a once over by someone and have a compression/leak down test performed.

Check out I-club.com, nasioc and even legacygt.com (as the motors are very similar.)

Read through those forums to get an idea of what you'll be getting yourself into when buying a used WRX/STI.

 

Thanks man. Ive been looking around nasioc and iwsti asking around and searching for for sale cars, i guess i just need to wait a little while and find the perfect one near buy. Got any tips and what kinda things i should ask any potential owners about the car?

 

Ask what mods (if any) were done. Use your spidey skills if they say "none" as thats pretty rare.

Usual (read- not engine threatening) mods will include cat-backs, down-pipes and minor engine mgmnt and suspension. I would stay away if they swapped a turbo or engine internals.

You'll find folks a bit more forthcoming and trustworthy (in my experience) on i-club and legacygt as they're more close knit communities than the others.

 

Cool man thanks. I know most will be modded either a little or a lot, but i mainly want one slightly to not modded and if it is, id prefer exhaust and intake done if i had my choice. if i were to chip it or mess with the downpipes or headers or any internal stuff, id rather do that stuff on my own. But first i just need to find a good deal on one and see what i can do with my truck and what not

 

The ones with mods still on are the ones I wouldnt be as worried about as you know whats been done to it. Its the ones that were run modded then put back to stock I'd be afraid of.

 

How would i ever be able to catch that though? how could i tell if they did stuff and just put it back to stock lol. Also, what are some good coilover companies? i see a lot of people lowering and putting new coilovers on and some have them still on the car so ill research that, but word of mouth is better i think

 

Heres a link to a clean looking sti from san diego county.. owner seems to be honest by what he was saying in his craigslist post...Cars for Sale: 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI in SAN DIEGO, CA 92104: Sedan Details - 299284503 - AutoTrader.com
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/2393757496.html
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/ctd/2387192188.html

 

Looks pretty good, except for that blue dash surround...yuck.

Mods/tune doesnt sound that crazy, KW coilovers are good...sounds like a pretty well set up car.

I'd ask how many miles the mods have been on (unless I missed it in the description?)

 

I just emailed the guy through autotrader telling him to email me back so ill ask him that and other questions.

Alright, so i read all of the threads out "getting into subies" and the differences in them all from 04-07 and basically it sits like this: 04-05 are just the OG's as the guy put it, the lightest ones, most raw feeling and sounding, but also a rougher ride. The earlier 06's have an engine stablizing kit to make it rattle less and they seem to have some problems when driven hard, but the second half of the 06's have things to correct that is that true? the 07's are just a different car under the hood it seems like preparing for the next gens. But the 04'-05' are just a more raw car it seems, so with that in mind, are the drive on them rough? Is it really that bumpy when on the freeway and stuff like that? Do you think the aftermarket suspension will make it worse? better? Do you think they are too loud with a full exhaust system inside? even with the dyno mat i assume its pretty loud but to what point? My truck has an exhaust and intake now and the exhaust you hear at all times but at a nice level, so id like to have something similar to that even though i want the subie to sound sweet as fuuck.

Lots of questions, sorry

 

maybe:

ebay motors
autotrader
vehix.com
usedcars.com
auto.yahoo.com

 

I have an OG 04 STi. I just clicked 36k on the ODO and I'm the original owner. Never modded but always driven to its capabilities. It's flawless and the newer ones don't have the RAW feel to them. Subie also de-tuned them slightly for emissions and NHTSA. I equate my STi to the Viper ACR, just you, the car and the road. I beat every one in the mountains with it because I can actually drive my car, I don't need to mod it. I assume my car will last to infinity stock but I doubt I'll ever get past 100k. I've always had Subie work on my car, I burn ZERO oil and get perks all the time from Subie. The only thing I've changed is I went from Mobile1 to Motul oil.

 

Higher Mileage STi to-knows:

Timing Belt & Tensioner @ 100k (do water pump at this time)
Fuel Filter (in tank) @ 60k miles
Spark Plugs every 30k
You don't want a car that uses Mobil1; the main bearings have been getting fvcked hard, and we're not left cab fare. (Run Rotella oil)
Do compression test
Do leak down test
For '04, go WOT from 3rd to 4th. That syncro is prone to failure and WOT test will let you know if it is.
Paint likes to chip.
Windshield likes to crack.
Radiator end tanks like to leak.
Rubber hoses like to crack.
Hot side of VF39 (stock turbo) likes to crack around wastegate.

What are your goals for the car? A lightly modded car, done correctly isn't a bad thing, if you want to lightly modify it. If you want a heavily modified car, talk to someone who knows about it.

BTW, my old STi is back on the market. It's above $20k, but is at 400awhp currently, and about $1k worth of fuel mods away from 550awhp on 93. It has about $40k in modifications.

Nick

 

I do change every fluid once a year except the last 2. I only put 1500 miles on it since summer of 09. It is MY FAVORITE CAR no matter what I've had. It does exactly what it's supposed to do everytime no if and or buts.

 

Thanks everyone for all of your input. Im still in school until june 10th so unless youre in columbus i wont be driving one until them Thats why im trying to figure everything out before i get home so that i knwo what to look for and all that jazz before i drive them. My buddy used to have an 04 wrx and i drove that a couple times and the clutch was pretty stiff, probably just his, but the ride wasnt that bad. I assume the STI is somewhat the same all around except for speed and maybe the shifters. Are the 05's with the short throw shifter any better than the stock shifter or anything? I know it will be loud, which i like, but how loud is it INSIDE the car at all rpms. I assume it will rumble and drone a little low rpms and then settle more at like 2-3+rpms but is it liveable? haha. i just want to drive one and have endless amounts of options in my area, which is SD im lucky to get a good amount, but there are some nice ones i will miss out on in far out aprts of the country

 

Exhaust noise depends on your setup, there is an almost infinite number of combos out there. Some will be deeper, some won't be, some will be cop-attractingly loud, others not.... Definitely do your research.

 

Yea, sorry bout that you are correct, for me i have wide downpipe to racepipe to turbo back. You do not need all of that and the catholic converters will muffle the sound and you can also purchase a silencer to screw into the exhaust tip. SPE which is subaru performance brand has a nice sounding exhaust for a decent price.

 

My contact locally here is Gene Mavis at Irvine Subaru. (714)458-5494.

Tan

 

Different brands will produce different sounds with different DP's as well....Just to give you an idea- it took me about a year and a half to find a combo I am happy with.

 

No i totally understand that, its if the car i find has an exhaust on it i most likely wont know much about it unless i get help from you fools ive youtubed a lot of different exhausts and set ups, I still really like stock, the HKS, NUR, Cobb, are all nice. Just cant tell which i like better!:bitenails:

 

If it comes on the car and you don't like it, someone else will

 

If they have a stock one should i ask them to include that and ill just swap it out and get a different one? haha kinda an easy question:lol:

 

If they do have the stock parts and you have room to store them, ask for 'em. The downside is if the car is tuned to the aftermarket parts and you put the stock stuff back on, it'll be detrimental to the motor. Unless they give you an Accessport or other means to tune.

 

other things that may be of interest. the 04 STI's were 5x100, as all other (05+) STI models were 5x114.3 which is a much more common wheel pattern.
WHen looking at parts on the vehicle, that would have been stripped. Look at the Downpipe bolts, Heatshields, Top mount IC bolts, etc. If they look to have been taken off/on before (rounded/scratched), most likely its been modified and probably thrashed, then put back to stock. Some bolts will have a white grease mark, if that is mismatched/scarred up, then you know its been tampered with.

Everyone else covered it!

 

Just found out that my old STi is for sale, in San Diego, for under $20k. Shoot me a PM if you want more info. The engine alone, in that car was over $10k.

Nick

 

Look at NASIOC.com and IWSTI.com

 

already an active member 08ChocoTaco is the name! haha

 

Buy an EVO!!!!

 

I would rather have one but for the sake of being comfortable and having nicer interior Ill get a STI. But for modding and tracking, id rather have an evo:\

 

Yeah but their sound system and dash are shittier i think.. But undoubtably an amazing car!

 

I have a friend selling an 06! PM me for details!