Looking at possibly buying this STI - thoughts please
 

Just seen this on EBay and thought I might pop down to take a look. Do you guys think this is worth it or at 70,000 miles could I be looking at a rebuild sometime soon?

Sorry heres the link:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1997-SUBARU-IMPREZA-WRX-STI-VERSION-4-BLACK-MODIFIED_W0QQitemZ230317081605QQcmdZViewItemQQptZA utomobiles_UK?hash=item230317081605&_trksid=p3286. c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A7|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Thanks in advance.

cant see anything mate

td05 turbo? Shouldnt an STI v4 have a VF24 turbo?

I think it looks very nice, like the wheels.

looks ok, it needs a good polish and I would be looking at getting it at about £3200 with a full mot ;)

Yep, should be a VF24 turbo on it, not a TD05:Suspiciou

That looks to be a nice car from the photos.

i guess its another "STi spec" WRX then.

looks ok from the pics,and 1 owner so should have all the history about the car.may well be worth a look.

Probably asking a bit much here, but is there anyone who lives local that might be willing to take a look at the car with me?

I know that might sound a bit cheeky, just i'm new to Impreza's and don't want to be buying a shed.:)

this is a better buy m8 and low miles for the same money



Auto Trader UK - SUBARU Impreza P1 4WD

I'm 99% certain that's a genuine STi. I'm not the authority but i thought at the time of facelift, you could get either a TD05 or a VF24. I certainly wouldn't take that as compelling evidence that it's a fake. Everything else about it (and i have the exact same model) is spot on as far as i can see, for what it's worth.

ok fair enough.

You can tell from the plate on the passenger side front suspension strut.

A quick google will tell you what you need to know. If you dont find anything send me a pm and ill dig out the info i used when buying mine.

I suspected it might be a wrx as he mentions "sti suspension". Like its been added afterwards..?

I just used one of the free vehicle registration checks online and it came back as an STI.

I've checked a few other cars out with it and they all seem to come back as what I expected.

too much money.
Baz, you're obviously new and therefore keen, thats no bad thing but with that sort of haste you leave yourself open to getting your undercrackers pulled down.

Spend a week or so cutting out autotrader ads, printing off adverts from here and PH etc.
Then you will have a decent idea whats available for what money.

At the moment you seem to be giving it bull-in-a-china-shop to get a scooby and it might well cost you big in the future.

PS my old classic ran 380bhp on a standard engine and box for 165,000 have no fear about mileage it seems to have no bearing on rebuild time

coolio then. I would still check the plate on the strut if you go to see it.

Regards the rebuilds. ive only had mine a month so cant really comment. But the gist i take from reading endlessly is its hit or miss.

Lots of cars need a rebuild, but at the same time there are thousands of subaru's. It seems some scoobs have gone 70 80 100 120k without issue. Then others only make it to 5/10/20/30 and need a rebuild. SH didnt seem to make a difference on the reports i read either. I guess how its driven is the biggest factor.

P1s seem to suffer most, shameful really
Late imports suffer because the owners don't remap for our ****ty fuel

After that its a case of making sure you have good quality oil, good quality fuel and good clean air going into the engine

subaru
 

hi guys i bought a nur spec exhaust and a hks dumb valve for my classic ,he is a genuine guy he even got his mate at his local garage to swap and fit the parts and cost me nothing for fitting great guy and a true gentleman,i think it will be worth your trip to see it .cheers matthew

Cheers for all the responses guys! I'm gonna try and get him down to somewhere near £3300, providing it checks out ok. Do you think this sounds fair?

for that money you could get a UK99 and change, much better car imo and with a few mods more than a match for any sti

Cheers, I might look into this now. Your right about my Bull in a China shop approach i'm just a bit impatient and want one yesterday haha.

I'm just bored of the GT4 now, as excellent a car it has been, I've had it 2 year now and its just time for a change.

The unintentional ones (i'm presuming) are always the best :D

rush into this and you'll end up with a dog and a repair bill for thousands on a new engine.
Slow down, there will still be c.1,000,000 imprezas for sale tomorrow

But he'd be spending a load of money to get it to sti spec. Aren't the UK models 215bhp? Thats not a massive amount in a 4wd drive car.
I'm fairly confident that the 96-97 classic stis have forged pistons and rods and also stronger gearbox internals?

I may be wrong so don't take my word as gospel Baz.

UK classic engines are capable of running in the high 300bhp area and the gearbox's will take 320-340bhp so unless he's planning on going mental withthe engine mods, the forged pistons and stronger 'box shouldnt really make a difference. Just my 2p's worth.:)
Same 4 pot brakes too...

Personally, I'd rather buy one of these two and use them as a blank canvass to do want I wanted
Subaru : Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000
Subaru : Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 UK

Add Full Decat exhaust
Walbro
K&N filter
Fuel Lab FPR
and maybe a VF28

then remap will see a reliable 320bhp and will spin all 4 wheels in the wet coming off roundabouts:norty:

www.cvc-cardiff.co.uk

Have a look, used car stock, expensive but it's got a Full Subaru Proven Warranty

The thing is Baz everyone has their own opinion on what car is best for the money. If its an STI you want...which it sounds like you do...then thats what you should buy.:thumb:

car
 

PLEASE LOOK AT MY CARS EITHER ONE FOR SALE.[IMG]http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...950/typera.jpg[/IMG]

FYI the pistons are forged but the rods are standard, so not worth breaking the bank for.
Other than that there is nothing really to make the sti the more desirable car and certainly for a first scoob a standard UK would be a much better proposition as you will start with the poverty spec turbo and build up gradually to 300 and beyond.

With classics being so old and starting to degrade now the most important thing is to take your time, look around long and hard and buy the cleanest you can get
It's my opinion that the phase 2 car is however worth a small premium over the phase 1.

I bought an STi as I didn't want to go from a 240-250bhp GT4 to a 215bhp UK Turbo

STi's are 276 as standard (fuel allowing) that's a lot of extra bhp for a UK car to make up (you'll not get there with a filter & exhaust!) & if you do modify a UK car upto that point you're kind of negating the benefit of buying one ...i.e Insurance.

STi's are fully loaded & top spec ...the only real downside's being Insurance & service history