Spirit

Still looking for an STi, went to look at one at the weekend and it appeared good, butI have a couple of doubts about it. It's on a 1996N and the trader is willing to let it go for £4500. It's a fresh import but the trader bought it at a UK auction.

Firstly, it's a V3 (confirmed by the model #) but I was under the impression the V3 was on a P plate only, where as this is on an N. The only thing I can think of is that it's been registered early to avoid the SVA test... Anyone got any better ideas?

Secondly, I'm not convinced by the mileage. It's already been converted to miles and reads 45k, but there's no paperwork to back up the original KMs. The interior is generally very good, hardly any wear on the seats at all, however the steering wheel and gear stick are badly worn, and the red paint in the engine has come off a lot more than I'd expect for a 45k car (in comparison to others I've looked at anyway).

Am I being paranoid (I'm a fussy git when it comes to buying a car!) or does this sound like it should be avoided? I've got no pics unfortunately. Thanks for any help offered

bob r

iTrader: (46)

personally if i had any doubts as you have i would steer well clear.
what you want is that average mile mota, clean alround, with a bit of knowledge on its histoty ie. owners, servicing, etc, is this the one? probably not. sounds like you have waited awhile, may as well wait till the right one comes along.

hoskib

iTrader: (1)

45k for a 10 year old car? don't doubt there's a few kicking around with such low mileage but i'm very dubious of any imports' mileage to be honest.

unless the car is mint (or at least 45k mint) which it doesn't sound like it is, bear that in mind regarding your budget. independant check on the car might be usefull and give an idea to true mileage.

if the car check out ok and you like it, go for it. bearing in mind there are a hell of alot of scoobies out there for you to choose from

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Your right to worry about the miles genuinity - especially if there is no service history to back it up. If in doubt walk away.

I have walked away from many imported classic shaped scoobs, because they had no confirmation of mileage. Especially with knowledge that the speedo has been tampered to convert it to miles. It's not to say they are not genuine, but without proof, the risk is there.

The gear ***** do wear to the extent that the numbers are no longer visble quite quickly and the linkage does tend to go sloppy. This is mainly depending on how brutal and sympathetic the driver was. Pedal rubbers wear down smooth and go right through on the edges too.

For example, my car is now 40k and 8 years old and had a relatively easy life. Seats have zero wear, Gear **** is worn, but still has numbers visble in the leather, Gear linkage is still tight and prcise, steering wheel has slight wear, and pedal rubbers are almost smooth, and are on the metal on the edges (due to heel and toeing ). Carpet mats are worn but not thread bare.

Engine bay is clean, zinc coated (goldish coloured) parts are starting to rust a little, as is Radiator at the bottom edge. Manifold isn't painted though as it's not an Sti, but they do peal off - and can be worsened if pressure washed.

However I have driven an identical year car (was a mates car) with about 55K, and it was a large contast to mine - the steering wheel was badly worn, as was the gear ****, the gear linkage was sloppy, pedals rubbers were totally smooth, driver matt was thread bare. But the seats were still perfect. Engine bay was a **** tip. So you could say that this car may have had a harder life.

GC8

Dont buy ****e docks-auction cars.....