PauLLLM

Hey everyone

My name's Paul and I'm from Durham.

Thought I'd finally sign up and introduce myself. I've finally finished Uni and will be graduating in July. This means I can actually get a car I want and not something that will only be used for commutes. For the last three years I've had a Vectra diesel (ugh), albeit remapped to approximately 190. Previous to this I had a BMW 130i which made the most glorious sound (still short of a scooby though) and before that, a stable of hot hatches that were quick for the time but pretty slow overall.

I've been constantly browsing this site and have tries NESF but that seems to be dead nowadays. I've looked at both scoobys and evo's for the past year and will be in a position to afford either, but am leaning much more in favour of a Subaru. This is partly due to the sound, the fact that for an evo 260, you can get a clean example of an STi, as well as the fact that the insurance is a lot more on evo's (subaru drivers are better?)

So, once I get back from Thailand at the end of June I'll be seriously looking at buying an STi. I'll be looking for a blobeye, preferably blue although I've seen some nice examples of crystal grey ones. I'll be looking to spend up to around £8-9k but could stretch if it came down to it. I just wanted to clarify a few things.

There's nothing to look for specifically in relation to the engine on a blobeye? (Such as with the 2.5 the pistons are made of chocolate.)

The main problems appear to be either the clutch (this should be replaced around 60k?), rust and knocking of balljoints?

Also, would it be worth it to have an RAC inspection done on any car whilst I'm there to look for these specific issues and any others, or would it be better to ask someone who knows these cars very well to tag along?

TLR - New, from Durham, looking for blobeye STi (preferably DCCD) at end of June onwards. Few questions above.

Thanks for reading and hope to join the club soon but will be in no hurry to purchase one unless it's a good, clean example.

thorny88

Hi Paul, I have sent you a PM. Thanks

gazney101

iTrader: (5)

Hi Paul, I'm from Durham also.
I've got an 05 blob sti in blue, I rebuilt it from a bare shell so I know a fair bit about them, any questions give me a shout il be happy to answer.
As for 2.5 pistons, only the Hawkeye onwards came with 2.5 engine as standard so not a problem for the blob unless it's been fitted with one by a previous owner, in which case would be fine to around 450bhp if it was forged.
Rear shocks are a common problem on them and that's about it.
Cheers
Gary

PauLLLM

That's great, cheers for the offer.

Ah, that's what I meant, not ball-joints . I may have seen you about as I think I've only seen one or two blue blobeyes in the past couple of years. Yeah, I'd be looking for a 2.0 engine in the blob as I've read on here and other places when I've been looking that it's the better of the two, even though it has less torque for pulling away.

PauLLLM

Thought I'd update this topic rather than post a new one. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I won't be going to Thailand until Oct / Nov and can therefore start looking for a car now. I've seen many of these types of thread so thought I'd give it a go.

I'd be wanting to spend no more than 8-8.5k and would be looking to get a blobeye STi. What condition should I be looking for? The ones that I've seen now have quite a lot of miles on them for what I was expecting (95k etc). Does mileage really matter that much if it is FSH and checks out okay? I would think that it does due to the amount of these cars that must get abused. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

DAN@ADRIAN FLUX

Hi and welcome.
When you're ready if you need any help with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line. I'd be only too pleased to try and help out.
Regards,
Dan.