[firefighterjosh]

I looked over the sticky on buying a STI but I have a few more questions.

Is there a way to tell if it had a aftermarket exhaulst on the car? Like is there ussually a spot where it melts some plastic or hangers that are missing?

Is there parts that wear out faster when the car is beat on? What to look for? how to tell?

I am going to look at a 05 STI this weekend. Just want to be 1 step ahead. Its been at the dealer for a couple months now.

[Ikon]

you cant really tell beside lookin if the bolts are scraped.

tires, see how clean engine is, shocks, body dents and dings, just eye everythign even ask to raise it on a jack

[boondocksaint]

A competent mechanic should be able to tell you if there's something going on with the exhaust, including if it's been returned to stock. There are times when they won't know either, but there should be some signs as mentioned above.

The part that wears out fastest when the car is beaten on would be tires. I dunno how many miles are on the specimen you're going to see, so I don't know what kind of tires you should expect. One thing my grandfather always said to look for on a used car was tires. If they're super cheap (Sumitomos, for instance), then you might worry about whether the rest of the car's maintenance has been handled the cheapest way possible. Look for good tires.

Check the oil. Make sure it's full. You'd be surprised how often that goes overlooked. Check the exhaust tip. If the residue on it is white instead of black, something's up.

At least you read the sticky. That thing took me forever.

[Tortfeasor STi]

I bought my 04 used a couple of years ago and I took a magnifying glass to all of it. I saw the few places where touch up paint had been used to get rid of paint chips. I saw the scuffing in the rear seat area on the underside of the armrest and took it all into consideration with the clean engine, unscuffed bolts, and unbent clamps and decided, though the car had some minor wear, it had never been modified and no real abuse was present. So give the car the once over a few times and see what you think. If anything bothers you it can be a bargaining chip to lower the price. By and large though, unmolested STis are hardy beasts and should treat you well during ownership.

[firefighterjosh]

Thanks for the tips. I looked it over without a salesman around (btw its at the subbie dealer) They where not open yet. It had tinted windows, stock exhaulst, rims seemed in great shape, tires where very good too.All the stickers where on it. INterior seemed in great shape but I couldnt see very well.

I do not mind buying a car that has been to the drag strip a few times or someone has raced around town with a little. Main thing is how bad has it been beat on. I am trying to stay away from cars where kids bought them and just thrashed on it. 7k repeated lauches, offroad, jumped, stuff like that.

I will look over the tires really well. I know on my truck when I went looking I always look for dirt in the frame, and the tie rod ends. The tie rod ends seem to wear out fast on rangers when offroaded a lot.

Since it is at teh subbie dealer I will have to take it to another subbie dealer to have it checked out. If I do think about buying it I will deffently take some pics and post them for everyone to see, for a last min check

[STIVendetta]

Most people that buy STI"s I would think buy them for all aspects of their performance ...take this one out for a nice "long" test drive....feel...listen....hit the interstate.....listen..look..feel..........and do what everyone said above^^^^

[firefighterjosh]

Ya I am sure most ppl buy them to use them to there performace.

But there is a diffrence between beating on a vehicle and driving it hard.

[STIVendetta]

Either way....driven hard or beaten on.....I would take it for a long test drive... and "find out" then decide....

[firefighterjosh]

Originally Posted by STIVendetta

Either way....driven hard or beaten on.....I would take it for a long test drive... and "find out" then decide....

Some car dealers let you test drive it for 24 hours. Hoping they will let me. But at my age of 22 its hard for them to even let me look in the door of it

[STIVendetta]

Originally Posted by firefighterjosh

Some car dealers let you test drive it for 24 hours. Hoping they will let me. But at my age of 22 its hard for them to even let me look in the door of it

Once "they realize" You have the money and credit to buy it you should have NO problem taking it out for a couple hours "Plus" which would be a Must.

[CraigSTi4]

Originally Posted by firefighterjosh

Some car dealers let you test drive it for 24 hours. Hoping they will let me. But at my age of 22 its hard for them to even let me look in the door of it

2 years ago when I was only 18 the dodge dealership let me take home a SRT-4, which obviously doesn't have the same kind of power, but I thought was still pretty bold of them to do. A 24 hour test drive would be nice if they allow you to do so.

[firefighterjosh]

Originally Posted by CraigSTi4

2 years ago when I was only 18 the dodge dealership let me take home a SRT-4, which obviously doesn't have the same kind of power, but I thought was still pretty bold of them to do. A 24 hour test drive would be nice if they allow you to do so.

it would be very nice. The barts dealership lets you take cars for 24 hour test drive. But I would never buy from them. But then again if they do let me do a 24 hour that means they might have let other ppl, which can be scary

[CraigSTi4]

Originally Posted by firefighterjosh

it would be very nice. The barts dealership lets you take cars for 24 hour test drive. But I would never buy from them. But then again if they do let me do a 24 hour that means they might have let other ppl, which can be scary

good thinking on that one haha. if it was your first time driving an sti though, it would be a good idea to do a 24 hour and see if you really want the car then either go to a different dealer to buy the car, or order a new one.

[firefighterjosh]

Ordering a new one is prally out of the question. Main reason I want a 05 is the looks. I really do not like the new ones. They look too much like regular cars to me. I like the race look