Info on buying a used STi

[sledgehammer]

Hey guys! I am about to purchase my first STi and I was looking for a little guidance. Its an '05 with 112,812 miles on it. Anything from that year that I should worry about or look for? I'm a VW guy making the switch to Subie so I am starting from square one all over again. Any advice or input would be appreciated By the way, its wicked sweet that you guys have a Military area on your site. Thats awesome

 

[IGOTASTi]

Welcome to the team.

First question is what mods are on the car?

 

[Grinder34]

Get a list of mods and the service history. See if/when things like the timing belt was changed, the transmission and diff fluid was changed, etc... Then the combination of mods can tell us if he may have done something silly or seems to have done the whole thing right.

It's a good idea to get a subaru-specific shop near you to give it a once-over since they'll be able to spot a problem more easily.

Barring that, getting a compression test and/or leakdown test is a good idea. The #4 cyl on these cars is the weak link, so if he DID do something stupid, that cylinder is likely to show some loss of compression.

 

[Spamby]

Welcome.

More details please!

As with any performance car, look for signs if abuse. Try to get as much history about the car as possible. Find out if any mods are done to it. Try to get it to a competent shop for a good look see. Perform a compression and leak down test.
In the end, trust your gut and try not get glazed over by the cool factor and leave it for another if the car has issues. These cars can be problematic and temperamental in the wrong hands.

 

[Alin]

Like the other guys said. Get that checklist completed and also dont rush into buying a car. I know its exciting and all but if you rush into something without knowing everything about the cars history, you might regret the purchase in the future.

 

[DierwulfBL]

Close to the same buying process as a VW, except the following you do NOT have to do:

-Check all electrical circuits front to back
-Make sure interior doesnt smell like a crayon
-Make sure it's not bagged
-Make sure it's not herrafrush (this can still happen to subies but not nearly as often)
-Ignore SRS/CEL (these actually provide useful information on our cars...)

Everyone seems to have covered what I woulda said, so I decided to poke fun at your former brand