escott

iTrader: (1)

Agreed - which means if you know what you are looking for, and can find one with the right mods, looked after and done by the right people, you can pick up a bargain.

I bought a standard car, it was my first scoob, if I knew then what I know now then I would probably have gone for a subtly modified one and saved myself some future expense!

trails

iTrader: (41)

probably because you wouldn't notice if it was modded...

you will find that once you have modded your car properly, not just a 'zorst, filter, remap and different brake pads you will drive it differently because its a different car. Much less likely to get redlined because its quicker, much less likely to cook the brake because they work etc etc.

PM me, I live in Chelmsford and I'll take you out in my wagon, it will give you a bit of an insight into the differences between driving a standard car a one that has been modded sympathetically.

Shark Man

Well, most the ones I've seen aren't up to my standard.

Main reason being most of these car I've seen run stock engine internals and stock transmission but push out considerably more power than stock: The owners, when questioned seemed to the attitude of "it hasn't blown up, so it must be fine". I beg to differ. How many scoobs do you see with uprated turbos and intercoolers and larger injectors - then what proportion of them are running with specific built engine internals? And of those built engines, (especially the 350bhp+ ones) how many see regular pre-emptive rebuilds? How many actually have a spare built engine for such purposes (and gearbox if its running really high BHP) ?

It doesn't matter how much money is spent on it or how often the oil is changed, if its stock internals; it catches up sooner or later. So many unknowns that its just a time bomb...albeit a slow ticking one- depending on use and output. It may last two years, maybe five...ten years? Infinitely? well probably if its kept off boost and below 3000rpm 100% of the time.

Not to forget the poor quality of certain after market parts, and questionable suitability for road use - if one wants a well set up reliable road car. Not to mention the quality and durability of such components. Like the "uprated" fuel pumps with the pick-up higher than the OE one, brake pads unsuitable for road use, coil-over units without enough adjustability - optimised for silky smooth tack, not road use. Aftermarket calipers that blow seals/need regular reconditioning. Braided brake hoses that fatigue and fracture internally. Manifolds with leaky welds or that crack/fracture after mild use. Leaky intercoolers due to poor quality welds. Thats just some examples of issues I've had with aftermarket parts that wouldn't be issues on better quality/ more wisely selected parts - or even the OE parts they replaced.

With a car that is totally stock - at least you know what your getting, have an good idea what to looks at/for, and where to start. Done a few cars to realise this. Most notable ball-ach was a Saphire Cosworth 4x4 (which is a ball-ache anyway ) Can't find stock ones as a good base car, plus wouldn't dream of tearing up a orginal concours car as they are so rare. This one was impeccably maintained; 3month oil changes, a lever-arch file full of invoices, money spent on it left right and centre.

But what a shed: It had a "Built" Graham Goode engine with had invoices for its recent build. Which appeared fine - But found to be on its last legs when stripped down for inspection (lucky we did as we nearly didn't). "Uprated" Transmission...since when was using XR4x4 parts "uprating"...again lucky we stripped it. Hybrid Turbo....must have Hybrid seals as well - boy was it leaky. The world's stiffest coil-overs - made the car a right dog to handle. Braided hoses that weren't correctly crimped - death trap. Highly questionable fueling map - I'm sure it ran 100% duty cycle on a hot day. Intercooler undersized for the ouput (probably why it ran so rich when it was hot). Consequentally pretty much everything that was modded on this car had to be redone again.

Another more recent epsiose is my friend who bought modestly modded Impreza late last year (Supposed MY03 320bhp - FMIC, Turbo - felt like 280 to me but hey-ho ) against my advice (after seeing that particular car), he loved it - but the honeymoon's over as its starting to cost him now - First it failed the MOT on leaking calipers (6pots - 2 years old according to invoices), now the engine has gone (stock internals - 5yr old UK WRX - FSH, fancy oil, 3month changes, blah, blah), and the last time I drove it, the transmission seemed highly suspect. Typical story IMO, moreso with the older and more regularly used cars.

satancom

I noticed how cheap 1995 wagons are going for on ebay... So doub't I'll bother selling mine till I can afford something nicer/faster.. Which at the moment I don't really need.. soo I am just going to run around in my car until I get bored or its not worth anything just parts!

GazTheHat

I've previously bought standard and modified. And it's cost me a fortune. Now i would definitely consider a well planned and modded car from a car club/forum.

You make a saving when someone else has done the mods. Just because it's modified, doesn't mean it's had a harder life.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Mine was £1k+ Bargain for the future owner ...

TX.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

There is a middle ground too - my car has the Webmasters Stage 1 upgrade. Tried & tested & gets results for not too much £'s. Neither a "BB" or owned by a Garage

TX.

luckham

Do you make a habit of repeating stuff that has already been said in the same thread?

andythejock01wrx

Or to put it another way, "The end of the world is nigh". Sorry Sharkie.

Shark Man

To shorten it somewhat:

If you want the job done right - do it yourself

luckham

Or to put it another way, he constructed a wall of text and completely failed to address the point I was making…

Which [in it's abridged version] is that you can quite happily go out and safely buy a modified vehicle provided that the modifications that are fitted are quality ones that do not exceed the capabilities of the standard components in the engine and provided that the guy or girl you are buying it from appears to be mechanically sympathetic.

Shark Man

The point being: The needle in a heystack.

luckham

If good quality sensibly modified cars are so difficult to find, how come it took me all of 20 minutes surfing on autotrader to find my current MY98 Sti that is an absolute minter? Also my BNR32 skyline which has well over 20 grands worth of sensible(!) modifications took no more than an hour of surfing to discover..

If you know what your doing, [which I presume you do..] you will sort out the wheat from the chaff within minutes of viewing your new potential vehicle.

I would say that within about 30 seconds I had sufficient evidence in front of me to know for a fact that the car that I was about to buy was a good one, despite the fact that it had a reasonable amount of modifications fitted [abet sensible ones].

BTW it’s haystack not heystack..

mgcvk

I like 911's and a turbo must be amazing, but I would feel a complete t!t driving one. If I had shed loads of cash I would rather a T25 or to have my own car rebuilt exactly how I wanted it.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Thanks for the post. Have your other 54 been so rivetting?

TX.

Shark Man

I can see it now..."before I buy it: Can I strip the engine down to inspect it to ensure the bearing shells have plenty of life, and make sure it actually has the forged pistons that the invoices say were fitted?"

wrx450

Would I buy a modded car - yes and I did recently and I have sold various modified cars over the years.

I was thinking of buying a standard classic as I have lots of spare parts from the upgrades I have done transforming ny WRX from a very fast road car to a track car. Everything from STI interior to brakes to Whiteline supsension, two different exhaust systems, wheels, ecu etc. keep it still fairly standard lets say 260-270bhp as a nice daily driver. Could not find anything that appeared to have had a decent life. Most were being sold by young lads that always drove them hard and when questioned about oil changes, warming up/down or even standard Subaru knowledge they had no clue.

Instead I bought a highly modded 500bhp 2.5l that was advertised on SN and flew from Cyprus to UK to buy it. Before hand did as much homework as possible - spoke to the owner on several ocassions, the engine builder, the mapper and a few other people that knew the car and owner. Was their opinion biased - possibly yes, but it gave me an insight into what to expect when I saw it, but also showed me how enthusiastic they were about the car.

The owner drove it how I expected him to drive it - hard. Why else would you build a 500bhp car??

Will things go wrong - probably yes. My current track car has cost me a fair bit with things going wrong over these past 9 years of ownership, as had a totally bog standard Nissan Pulsar diesel. Being modified will parts be more expensive than standard parts - in my experience, not really.

Would I buy modded again - yes and knowing myself the totally standard WRX that I wanted to buy would have ended up being 500bhp in a years time and been off the road for most of that time.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

TBH Having got a st car and modified it, I think its fair to say that financially speaking, if you think you might want more power than std the ONLY sensible thing to do is buy a really well modified example and let someone else pay!!

Unfortunately, the best way of finding out what constitutes 'really well modified' is experience, so its a bit catch 22

Ns04

luckham

More rivetting than the 2934 that you've posted to date I would suggest..

andythejock01wrx

Or use Andy F and his fave mechanic to tune your car.

andythejock01wrx

Ok, you have the T25, I'll have the 911 turbo.

GazTheHat

I know which one i'd have.

One makes-up for the trouser department and the other requires certain spherical dimensions in that department.

NorthDownsScooby

I refer you to the "PPP" mod as the ultimate example of why so many people are disagreeing with you.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Glad to hear that you've read them all

TX.

reano

iTrader: (2)

Being a newage sti owner for nearly 3 years and now knowing what I know (and only I will know what Ive spent) I would definately buy a modified scooby if I had to do it all again. In fact the next time I buy (if I am able) I will actually put a request up in the wanted section.

Luckily when I brought my car I wanted the pf7 wheels, ppp and prodrive springs and under 12000 miles and got all for the price I wanted (I then went on to mod some more). Having been to a lot of scooby specialist and had various things done (see my car). I now know exactly what I would request in the wanted section.

1) Remapped
2) Upgraded exhaust/air
3) Upgraded handling/suspension
4) Upgraded brakes
5) Upgraded ICE
6) Upgraded aero dynamics (splitters, etc)
7) Upgraded security
8) permaguard or similar (no need to wax)
9) soundproofing

I think the top 4) would be my main wants and the others bonuses but I reckon I could get most of them. I would not now by a standard car (even though I didn't completely first time round) I would at least buy one that has been TSL'd, Powerstationed, etc. I would not go through this expense again.