Upset with overall experience

9906 Views 84 Replies 38 Participants Last post by heavyD, Sep 6, 2013

Gump

Discussion Starter · Aug 17, 2013

I remember standing inside the dealership staring out the window at the STi that would soon be mine as they finished up the paperwork. Boy, was I excited!

9 months later, I'm ready to drive this thing off a cliff.

The SPT boost gauge stopped working today, the needle limp at the 6 o'clock position. That was my last straw, so I took all my modifications off of it, and will tolerate it being stock until I can sell it or trade it off on something much better.

My problems thus far that are under my skin and make me lose sleep: Not trusting the engine will hold up under even slight abuse due to junk hypereutectic pistons. The paint on the front and doors is ruined from ONE winter of driving. The little plastic film on the rear doors didn't help much as it looks like someone took a sandblaster to it and the paint around it. Little creaks and rattles all over the damn place inside. The intercooler fins are bent over because it's beyond Subaru's engineering ability to put something protecting it in the scoop. The wheels coating is chipping off everywhere. I'm just not happy that a car that cost me $37000 is in such rough shape in less than a year of driving. It's not like I've been out sliding around dirt roads and abusing everything. Very disappointed.

Course maybe I'm asking too much. A lot of people who own STi's garage them in the winter, and put less than 10,000 miles a year on them.

I'm just frustrated at what I thought was going to be one hell of a ride in a sweet machine. Turns out it's more of a headache than an adrenaline rush.

Reactions: 1

1 - 20 of 85 Posts

r3v0

· #2 · Aug 17, 2013

it all depends on what car you are coming from.

to me the STI is a downgrade. i came from a 335i -> SLK55 -> STI.

SO i do not get that adrenaline rush as i did with those cars, but the reason i got the STI is its more practical. Door dings hurt less, and everything else cost less. As long as your motor down blow up ( mines still going strong).

and YES rattles and creaks everywhere. the car is made to be driven everyday.

yman

· #3 · Aug 17, 2013

Sucks to hear man, I definitely know the feeling of feeling like the motor could let go at any time. Honestly, the paint does suck but it really helps if people do a full clay/seal about once a year.

Edit: like the person above said, this car really starts to grow on you when you start caring less about the little things and start using it like a DD.

Reactions: 1

uncle_w

· #4 · Aug 17, 2013 (Edited)

Gump said:
Course maybe I'm asking too much.

You are.

It's a $20K Impreza with a bunch of performance parts bolted on it so it's never going to have the build quality of a $50K European car. While mine has been disappointing in other areas of failure I have 70K miles and don't worry one bit about the engine though I don't bounce it off the rev limiter either.

Besides the boost gauge it sounds like normal wear and tear to me.

Reactions: 1

valvefloat

· #5 · Aug 17, 2013

looks like someone went in blind without due research...

sorry, but no one to blame but yourself really...

wait...intercooler fins...?!?...that's a first i've hear someone ditch their STi because of bent fins...

oh my...what happens when you get a hangnail...? none of my business, but i'm curious, at which knuckle to you take the digit off at...?

Reactions: 3

Gump

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 17, 2013

The boost gauge is what really tops it all. It should be a warranty item.

uncle_w

· #7 · Aug 18, 2013

Why isn't it?

Gump

Discussion Starter · #8 · Aug 18, 2013

The dealer told me its not original equipment and it's not covered.

uncle_w

· #9 · Aug 18, 2013 (Edited)

Call SOA. I'm pretty sure parts have a one yr. warranty. Kinda remember seeing a thread about those gauges being defective.

Pretty old but.

http://www.iwsti.com/forums/2420348-post126.html

mheyman

· #10 · Aug 18, 2013

It's on the sticker or it isn't a. If it isn't, the dealer should cover what they installed. We don't know what kind if deal you made, so hard to comment.

I've owned two Subies with hundreds of thousand of miles on them. There's a third in the immediate family. None have intercooler problems.

Too late now but You could have discussed the matter here before you bought it. I bet i would have advised against it! There are plenty of owners here who tolerate their cars because of the the way it drives.

You don't need to remove the mods when you sell it unless your going to get another!

mheyman

· #11 · Aug 18, 2013 (Edited)

Only problem w writing the truth is that Subaru reads it tries to make em nicer - not that nicer is a bad thing in itself. It just always seems to come with trade offs.

heavyD

· #12 · Aug 18, 2013

There is a little love/hate you deal with owning one of these cars. The paint is the worst in the business and so are the interior fit/finish as interior surfaces all scratch very easily and there are rattles in every single corner of the interior.

As for the engine though as long as yours is running strong it's kind a waste of energy thinking it's going to fail because some others have. Yes the EJ25 isn't the most durable in the industry but lots of owners go far on the engine without failure.

I will say if you are anal about your paint holding up these are the wrong cars to buy as it will always be a constant sore point. Car is still a lot of fun though and makes for a good street car.

STi Addict

· #13 · Aug 18, 2013

You sound like you're butthurt over a modded car.

It's not sunshine and rainbows with mods, you're in a dark path where money is the foundation of your journey. Sorry to sound like an ass but it's a car that you daily drive; yes, it has shit paint. You shouldn't be loosing sleep over your engine, if it blows it blows.. crap hypercast pistons but they'll hold fine to daily driving and even occasional tracking/autox.

Reactions: 1

Dchee

· #14 · Aug 18, 2013

Not everyone can adapt to the performance car lifestyle. Should've bought that Benz or Lexus....

Reactions: 3

A1ainSTI

· #15 · Aug 18, 2013

Gump... wtf man?

Worrying about your good running engine? Pointless, and worrying does nothing positive to you or your car. Guess what, your engine will fail, sooner or later.

A puny gauge sets you off? what? Rip it the f*ck out and move on.

3M plastic can be changed. Consider it a wear'n'tear part so you can sleep at night.

I drive mine every week and every winter. Yeah, I got some wear on my BBS wheels. My front bumper is cracked because i'm lowered and roads here suck the big one. My 3M plastic is not new anymore... Hell I even have a little rust where the bumper meets the quarter panel.

So what do I do? I calmly render the thought that EVERYTHING DIES. So when I hit a deer or what not, new front end, new 3m tapes, no more rust, etc. If I don't hit anything, that's fine too, as the body will have to be refreshed 5-10 years down the road anyway.

So do something or stfu, because there's a word for ppl who complain and do nothing. It has to do with female dogs.

My fins are bent :scurred:

No wonder you have heart health issues. Now THAT really sucks. No? subaru paint vs healthy blood pump? I feel for you, but all that worrying adds to it.

See less See more

Reactions: 4

xatnys

· #16 · Aug 18, 2013

The paint issue is why I threw on mud flaps and extra clear bra right away when I bought mine. The SPT boost gauge is worthless anyway if you plan to run much boost over stock. The intercooler fins... if I see badly bent fins when I'm under the hood doing something else, I just unbend them, no big deal. It's better than what you would have from a FMIC.

Gump

Discussion Starter · #17 · Aug 18, 2013

I wasn't complaining about my mods, I knew the risks before I plugged the AP in. And if the engine blows now that it's back to stock and I get denied a free engine I won't complain.

It was a bad day all around, the car just set me off. I'm going to try again at a different dealer to see what they say about the boost gauge. The dealer added it before I bought the car. I like having nice cars and I've always owned fast stuff since I was 15. Just irks me when my new car that I'm very proud of has little paint pock marks all over the doors. Oh well, I had been considering plasti dip before this winter to try to save it.

Deuce Cam

· #18 · Aug 18, 2013

Gump said:
The paint on the front and doors is ruined from ONE winter of driving. The little plastic film on the rear doors didn't help much as it looks like someone took a sandblaster to it and the paint around it. Little creaks and rattles all over the damn place inside. The intercooler fins are bent over because it's beyond Subaru's engineering ability to put something protecting it in the scoop. The wheels coating is chipping off everywhere. I'm just not happy that a car that cost me $37000 is in such rough shape in less than a year of driving. It's not like I've been out sliding around dirt roads and abusing everything. Very disappointed.

Subaru's are fairly solid mechanically but the paint and trim are garbage (material and fit/finish). When you get down to it the car is a basic $18k impreza with $16k worth of performance upgrades and flashy crap. All that money went to non practical stuff.

I do agree that Subaru needs to do better. A decent paint finish would be a good start.

Reactions: 1

valvefloat

· #19 · Aug 18, 2013

whadda expect when you live/drive in the gravel pit that is MT ? (i know, i lived in Alberta for waay too long)

Reactions: 1

user1029

· #20 · Aug 18, 2013

Stop worrying about the engine and actually do something about it. Get rid of the deleteriousstillk tune and datalog stage 1. Personally I flashed to stage 1 at 300 miles and ran at 400whp for the next 60,000 miles on the stock motor with no problems.

Any of your other complaints boil down to the fact you bought a $17k econo box with $15k of drivetrain upgrades. The STi is a mechanically solid and rugged car that won't appease everyone.

1 - 20 of 85 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.