I recently test drove a 2004 Sti with 29k miles and a few mods nothing major (exhaust, maybe a BOV, short intake, sti radiator cap). I love this vehicle, I've nevr driven anything like it. I have to have this car. Now this car was at a small local dealership purchased from an auction. The carfax report checks out clean, I can't figure out for the life of me why would someone sell this car? Especially with mods! Was the car beat to hell and then got rid of before problems started? The check engine light was on, it backfired during WOT, at idle the car sounded like it was going to stall, but still drove well, and there was wierd noise coming from the rear end like a 6 disc changer changing. Now the dealer is taking the vehicle to subaru on Monday to get looked over, I'm taking it to a diffrent subaru mechanic on tuesday. It still has some warranty left, trying to avoid long term problems, but I also save on having to buy mods if I buy this car.

I'm extremely new to the STI scene and turbos!

Some feed back please!

 

the seeming like it was going to stall and backfiring can be taken care of with tuning. I've seen (and I'm sure a lot of other members on here will agree) a lot of STi's being sold due to financial reasons. It is a desirable car and people probably buy them often thinking they have just enough money, but then realize later that they dont or something else comes up.

I'd find out what kind of auction it was bought from, if it was police auction it was probably being street raced or the guy got a dui or something and didnt ever get it from impound. If it was a bank auction or something he might have not been able to make the payments and it got repo'd

Back to the mods though. I dont know if the intake will set off the CEL. However, if it has an aftermarket downpipe with either a high-flow catalytic converter or no cat at all, that'll definitely set off the CEL but can easily be fixed. If you do get that car, I'd definitely suggest getting it tuned

 

Well one thing you have to know is that, when you buy a car pre-modded that usually means it's been taken to the limits and driven hard. You mod a car to make it faster .....so you wanna see how fast it is don't you? Having a modded car is not always a bad thing, and vice versa.

The symptom 's you described seem like it could be fixed by removing the BOV and getting a tune or reflash. Also has it been sitting for some time? That could lead to "rough" driving. The backfire could be from two of things: Catless exhaust or BOV running rich. Which could also be to blame for the CEL ( check engine light).

As for why someone would sell it, insurance, wife, no job, etc.
As for the warranty, good luck with that. Some Dealerships might say no no because of the aftermarket parts.

Hope this helps-

 

Damn you MBasile! Beat me to it!

 

I'm just that cool.....I forgot to mention the warranty/moddified thing though

 

That's where I come into play.
*Hold's head high and puffs out chest*

 

Thanks guys for the info, and sorry for the delayed response. I passed on the deal, due to everyones advice from various wrx forums. Don't want any trouble. God happened to bless me with an 05 sti with only 22k miles on it. It only has one mod, a HKS BOV. The car runs great though, I will take it off so I can still get warrantied service. Just waiting for check to arrive from the bank and insurance quotes, pick up on Wednesday. I'll keep you posted, pretty soon you'll have a new additon to the family.

BBKG79

 

Yes, finally I'm in, picked the car up yesterday. I had a blast driving home from NY to CT. Damn I love that BOV, it sounds so crazy. It sucks to have to take it off. On my way home saw a blue 06 sti and a 04-05 wrx both of them flashed and waved. I love that, a real community, just like when i had my 03 g35 coupe 6mt.

I can't wait for autocross this weekend!

BBKG79