Right I should hopefully be going to pick up my scooby I won on eBay, it's a 96, don't know if its a wrx or sti or wrx sti, sorry, new to these cars

Basically I want to know of any specific things I should be looking for when I go to pick it up? I'm not new to the buying and selling game, and I've had my fair few of turbo cars so ill obviously looking to see if it has any noticeable turbo issues, I also know these models are quite common to rust on the rear arches, but I'm not up at all on the engines and running mechanics lol

Also how can I tell if its a UK or import? What are the tell tell signs assuming the number plates ain't square lol

Also so I know have to keep sounding like a right noob what gen/mark/phase/etc is a 96 model?

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, still learning the site

Thanks in advance

 

It's ebay, the auction site right.

You already bought it, and now your asking questions, YOU BID, YOU BUY, what part of that don't you understand.

Just go and pay the man his money.

 

I don't mean to sound harsh mate but the question answering should of been to the seller before you bid and won the car if you get my drift.it seems like you rushed into the purchase head first.I hope this grey cloud has a silver lining for you mate.SJ.

 

I asked him loads of questions, was told everything was fine, he's told me things he didn't put in the advert which was nice of him but at the same time does make me wonder as there is only so much truth a seller will tell you, and eBay rules state if they don't tell me something the sale is void, I'm not expecting to go and find issues, I'd just like to know what to look for really as I don't want to buy a car that for example told the engine is perfect and I get there and it's not.

I'm not after stuff to go haggle him on price because I think for what I'm buying is a steal on a price, it's more cos I actually don't really know a lot about scoobys and it would be nice to get some knowledge of them, ideally what a 96 is know as and how I can tell if its a UK or import.

 

Put some pictures up

 

There is only so much that you can pick up on a thread my advice to you is if you know anyone who knows these cars to go with you or,maybe start a thread to see if anyone is in your area that could pop done and have a good look at the car for you.which personally I would of done prior to bidding on the car.SJ.

 

Only pics I have ATM






SJ while I appreciate your help I think you're looking to far into what I'm asking, I don't need a mechanic etc to come with me I just want some knowledge on them ideally, think I should have worded my OP better as I'm not looking for ways to get out of buying or haggling, just looking for helpful advice on them more in general

 

Hi mate listen for rattles from around the bottom of the engine(main/big end bearings ready), check for smoke, smooth tick over when warm, check the oil see if it's maintained, Check for oil leaks around the sump, rocker seals either side. Check the water in the expansion tank look for mao. Check water isn't spewing out of the overflow tank after it's been driven on boost(head gasket trouble). Check for oil leaking around the cross member where the gearbox mates(rear crank seal gone).
Turbos cost next to nothing if its standard ones. infact just about everything can be source at reasonable prices. The engine is very easy to remove and strip. I've not had any problems with working on mine at all and every thing has been removed and strippped/rebuilt now. Anything you need to DIY all the main stuff is on youtube. Check the other usuals like each corner play in the wheels, check the brakes look good, work well, car does pull to the side under braking. Check it doesn't wander when driving normally/accelerating(bushes/shocks or bad geometry) Hope you have a lot of fun with it mate. Looks like once in it's life it was shown some love but it looks like it's now needing a little more.

 

Assuming you have already bought it as stated above then I would suggest you're best posting the link so everyone can see the details.

Can't believe you've bought something without knowing the fundamentals. At least it seems to be a turbo although by the looks of the headlight washers it's a UK car which, to the best of my knowledge, means it isn't any of your options above as I don't think WRXs or STIs were available as UK cars!

 

its got a oil pressure gauge. from cold it should go upto about 7 bar and come down to 3 bar ish when warmed up, any lower than 2 bar on idle could be a problem.

 

i think it is an import cos how old it is, when did we get uk cars btw. engine is a bit of a mismatch though, its got a newer ic and reservoir which arent bad things tbh

 

its been facelifted mate, its a 96

 

It's got ABS. Didn't the UK cars only get abs and not on imports?

 

No. I had a MY99 WRX which was a JDM and that definitely had ABS but no headlight wash.

As I said above, I don't believe there were any "normal" UK WRX or STI Classics.

 

The bumper isn't original, apparently it's a genuine P1 kit. That's why I was asking if there are any signs to tell its a uk or import.

The owner said he had a replacement engine put in as well around £5k ago which he said he has a digital receipt for as the engine was bought on eBay.

He also says he has spent close to £30k in total on the car. But his ad wasn't the best so for two days before I bid I was asking questions about the car, and overal what he told me I was quite happy with, hence bidding and winning, I'd never intentionally buy a car blind, and like this if I just couldn't get the time to view it first I wanted to know as much as I could about the car. He tells me he has stacks of receipts for the car showing all work done to the car. It's had a replacement aftermarket clutch to take the"extra" power, also apparently has an after market ecu that doesn't let you rev it to hard till its warm or something think he said, it's also apparently got a turbo timer so it's cooled down after a run, allthingswhich made me believe its been looked after.

Here is the link, but its not very descriptive, hence my 2 days of chatting

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1409178529...84.m1497.l2649

 

You were drunk or on the wacky backy that night then.

Can't wait till tommy see's this.

 

Sorry to tell you but engines got off Ebay are normally known as being a poorly built engine, with a rattle can spray job and will fail within a very short space of time. You should of really popped along and gave it a good going over before buying.

 

Why? Because its not the usual blue/silver/green, very mature it hasn't got a tacky kit on it or stupid shopping lists down the door or chrome'd everything. It stuck out for me because how often do you see an orange scooby, guess I'm just gonna have to put up with the sites local trolls ay

There is a famous saying "if you ain't got nothing nice to say don't say nothing" and before you give me the I asked for advise, I didn't ask for your taste advice

 

The only point i take exception to is being called a troll.

But come on you have to admit it's very "special".

As for the spending £30k on it.

 

I'd class it more of a marmit car, I don't expect everyone to love it, but I do like the colour.

I don't think it's had £30k spent on it either but I'm hoping its been looked after and it's solid and gives me something to work on

 

I lov the colour. my concern is how long has it been driving on one wheel of a different size. Will this not screw the transfer box?

 

Fair play.

 

Apparently both rear wheels have been changed, I shall find out when I eventually get to pick it up

The side on pic with all black wheels was old, I wanted an up to date shot, which is the front view, engine view and side on with different wheel, wich as I say he said both have been changed due to the cracked wheel, think he just wanted a pic that showed it off with matching wheels

 

Ebay ad says rear wheel drive?

 

Yeah apparently it's been converted to rwd, I did ask in my newbie thread that someone told me they have a habit of killing the shafts in just rwd but can anyone confirm that?

The seller has told me the shaft is in the boot to turn it back to 4wd

 

looks like a uk car to me. the ariel is on the drivers pillar which usually indicates a uk car. the engine is a my 96 by the looks of it as it has individual coil packs and 90 degree turbo elbow intake and probably a td05 or td04 turbo if its origional. its been modded with a later sti intercooler and had the clutch resevoir shortened and the silicone joiner has been shorted to make it fit and the dv port has been blanked off. if the ecu has features like rev limiting until engine is up to temp it could be a simtek ecu or gems. theres no mention of mapping tho? the info seems very vague for someone whos supposedly spent 30 k? i hope your getting it dirt cheap fella!

 

Id be hoping hundreds rather than thousands, a rwd impreza is like a 1 legged prossie, fun once but you know there are certain things you just cannot do with it anymore.
I like the colour, if the black was colour coded it wouldnt be anywhere near as bad, the rwd bit would annoy me though and would have to be put back together properly.

 

I would consider it cheap at £1750 but then again I know you can get these for less.

I am going on a wim with it as I can see potential in the car.

Oh and it is a uk, HPI showing as a uk car, first date of registration 01/08/96 so I'm taking that as its not an import.

And the seller wasn't to clear on his advert, that's why I was talking to him for 2 days before hand. Most annoying part is having to wait for the bloody Dvla to send the log book and new registration docs as he is keeping plate

Also is it hard to put it back to 4wd? The rwd does interest me from back when I had my drifting cars

 

Your right, it's a marmite car and it's something different
Ask the fella what the model code is on the plate on the n/s/f inner wing. Should be able to tell what car it is then. Shame the engine bay isn't painted as it would look more interesting.
Personally I woldn't have a rwd scoob unless your planning on drifting it

Hope you get a good deal from it but I would go and look carefully at it. I would also go along the lines of, if the car is a right dog and full of problems I would walk away and say that the car wasn't as described in the listing.

Good luck I know what it's like to be bitten

 

Dan it's not a marmite car to you.you must of liked it or you would not of bid on it.i just think that the questions and research that your doing now would of been more productive before you started to bid on it. I wish you all the best with your purchase mate keep us lnformed on how you get on with it.SJ.