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a different subie

9K views 31 replies 13 participants last post by  LeohMit 
#1 ·
ive been recently thinking about getting a different car. I found an 04 sti with No mods for 16,900 and has 68k on it, its black on gold and has a small lip on the trunk instead of the usual wing, but im not to sure since my current 02wrx was a total impulse buy. if i trade mine in they will give me 10,500 for it and i wont have to put any cash down, they have a few to choose from. im torn, my car is finaly paid off but im bored with it and would like to upgrade, i was paying 394.90 a mo with a apr of 9.49% so a large monthly payment isnt that bad. insurance isnt an issue either because i get real good rate through teamsters/GMAC
my question is what would you do? should i get a differnt car and spend more cash or dump it in my current car which is stock except a custom 3" cb exhaust. ive always wanted a STi but cant justify spending so recklessly:confused:
 
#2 ·
stick with what you have and mod it, i mean with that kinda monthly payment you could murder a credit card and go completly crazy with the wrx. i borrowed 10k on a personal loan to buy my car to beat interest rates and i pay 250 a month.....with 10k into it your subie will rival almost anything on the road..youd beat em on the drags and in the twisties. even if you dont wanna borrow money to put into it, the money your not paying every month could be put into mods. buy another car and you have another payment = less money for mods.
 
#3 ·
No no, get the STi. It's a much better platform and finding one clean that age is extremely hard (I could not). The transmission alone is worth the price difference but you'll also get a 25% larger motor, brembo brakes, forged wheels, better suspension, bigger turbo, bigger intercooler, etc etc etc. It's the best rounded $6,400 upgrade you could ever do to your WRX.

You might try to sell the WRX privately though instead of trading it in. If it's clean, that would be a very easy sale. A lot of people want clean bugeyes, there aren't many of those either.
 
#4 ·
a buddy of mine said to keep my current car AND get the STi, but i dunno,I still have my first car i ever bought when i turned 16 which is a 89 chevy camero rs with a beefy junkyard 350 and other goodies that make me wish i had a mullet. so its kinda nostalgic with it being my 1st subaru. both of the replies above are 2 awsome things to consider. just wondering but what are some good firts mod for a STi? keep ya guys updated

i forgot to mention the STi has an after market moonroof
 
#6 ·
I dispute that 10K into your WRX would beat an STi with $3,600 in it (the exact cost difference we're talking about). 10K WRX is going to need a transmission. There goes half of it. 2.5L? $2-$3k gone. Are we still even talking about this?

A STi mods very similar to a more capable WRX. The downpipe sees huge gains as does a good tune. Stage 2 STi's see similar % gains to a WRX but start higher so a Stage 2 STi is more like a EJ205 with a big 16G turbo... except with a much beefier tranny and all the other wonderful upgrades.

You can tilt your headlights up and down. You can squirt water on your intecooler. CMON YOU KNOW YOU WANT IT!
 
#7 ·
ive seen it referd to as STi envy, and damn it ive always wanted one. i just wish i could take my mommo steering wheel with. would i have to use only brembo pads when replacing them and will there be a noticable differece in maintenance cost. 100 bucks for a Royal purple oil change in the driveway is a must though
 
#9 ·
You can tilt your headlights up and down. You can squirt water on your intecooler. CMON YOU KNOW YOU WANT IT!
ROFL.... and the STi has the adjustable power distribution Front/Rear.....

I say go for the STi..... Like mosc said, the STi tranny itself is worth the upgrade... Plus it comes with the awesome brembos, everything mosc listed.

How many miles does your WRX have on it? 10.5k doesn't seem too bad a quote from a dealer. They usually lowball your trade-ins really bad
 
#8 ·
That sounds like a great deal. Mosc is right about the tranny. It would be awesome to never have to worry about a broken tranny, wouldn't it? If I were you I would go asap and just trade in the WRX so they don't sell the STI before you get to it.

Moonroof too...
 
#11 ·
the only reason I would say to wait on this is because of the shit economy right now...banks are pretty picky about giving out loans for anything...and getting a good apr right now is very hard...but if you have awesome, flwless credit and the banks are willing to work with you for a good apr do it!! also since the economy is really bad you will probably be able to get the dealer to go even lower on the price of the car so I would check that stuff out FIRST if they are willing to work with you....get the sti!!!!
 
#12 ·
Wow, they are offering you 10.5k and it has 140k miles? That's a really good trade-in price than. Go check it out, test drive it, see how it feels... If you used to sell cars, you know their secrets to selling cars, don't be fooled by their lies and fine print contracts. If there is anything wrong with the car, get them to fix/replace the parts before you buy it. I've made the mistake of buying a car with parts broken. They never fixed the problem even when it was writin' on the contract/bill...
 
#29 ·
I highly doubt that his car with that many miles is gonna get 10.5K. And on the M1 conversation. Just look up spun bearing in the 2.0L section on nasioc and see how many threads have spun bearing and M1 in them. I am not saying that M1 is a bad oil. I just think it is not a good oil got a boxer H4 engine
 
#13 ·
As somebody who just bought an STi and sold his WRX, the price you're getting on both ends is frankly awesome.

Take the STi to a mechanic who knows Subarus. Make sure it's as stock as they say it is. Please do this. Please. I did not, I regret not doing this step. Please learn from my mistake. That said, even if it's not totally stock that's a great price.

You do like black though, right?
 
#14 ·
i guess im just a jdm purist..us americans are the only ones that get the BIG BLOCK 2.5 as they call it across the pond. the better suspension, bigger turbo, bigger intercooler, etc etc etc. you will be changing out anyway when you start modding 6,300 for rims and breaks??...you cant even touch a sti with out a tune due to boost creep when you add a dp. i dont think any one will dissagree that a wrx with a 18 or 20g with supporting mods is under 4k and will beat a STI.

(when i say supporting mods i mean injectors,fmic.fuel pump and tune)
 
#17 ·
so i just returned from the dealership and the Ahole lied. i specificly asked him if it was a STI and not just a wrx and dude said yes. and guess what? just a plain WRX... GRRRRRRR
im pissed i took the day off work(that takes 220 out of my pocket) and then he wanted to show me other cars. i had a feeling it was too good to be true.
on a better note, i made up my mind
STi here i come, now what to do about my screen name?(02wrxnfx)
thank for all the input guys,
 
#19 ·
Well, normally STi's are around $20k-$25, so that's why we were saying it's a good deal for only 16-17k.... You should have messed with him. Gone for a test drive and then asked him if it was an STi. "So if it's an STi, they are 6spd transmissions, so when I put this shifter down into where the 6th spd is supposed to be, is it going to go into a 6th gear? Or is it going to shoot into reverse? and blow up the transmission?" :D

Yea thats the problem sometimes, they dont exactly know what they want. I live in Ky and import cars are alot more expensive here than major cities/bigger states. It took many 7 months to find a good deal on mine. I got an 04 WRX with 45,000 miles for $13,000, not very cheap compared to some around the country but the best deal i could find within 300 miles.
13k for an 04 with only 45k miles? That's a spanking deal bro! 02-03's with 70k miles go for like 14-15k in california.....
 
#18 ·
Yea thats the problem sometimes, they dont exactly know what they want. I live in Ky and import cars are alot more expensive here than major cities/bigger states. It took many 7 months to find a good deal on mine. I got an 04 WRX with 45,000 miles for $13,000, not very cheap compared to some around the country but the best deal i could find within 300 miles.
 
#25 ·
My experience with oil consumption (Mobil 1, Castrol Syntec, Redline)

There are many more threads like this, I am just too lazy to look them up. Not sure how much substance is behind the complaints about mobil 1, but it's enough to convince me not to use it.

Mosc, I know you say that oil is no big deal and I don't disagree, but a lot of people put mobil 1 in their cars thinking it's the best thing for it. Even if it's not proven to be BAD, I think there is enough evidence to suggest that it's not really any better than "inferior" partially synthetic or dino oil, especially since other people have had better experiences with cheaper oil. I just don't want people to think they're doing their car a favor by putting in mobil 1 vs. castrol or something.
 
#26 ·
I think mobil 1 is one of the most commonly used oils on the face of the earth, especially in high performance cars. Any kind of problem gets attributed to oil because it's so critical. It's like the scapegoat for everything wrong with the car. The more widely used an oil is, the more complaints there are. I find them directly proportional.

I use castrol GTX. It's not a synthetic. It works great, I have no problems. My tuner uses it exclusively in a variety of cars some in excess of 500whp. He's never had a problem with it. It's a hell of a lot cheaper than full synthetic.
 
#28 ·
I don't get it MOSC... One of the things I always hear on here is how aftermarket brakes are pointless/worthless... Yet, The Brembos on the STi are a selling point you are pushing here.. My question,I guess, is this. If/When someone puts STi Brembos on a WRX, is there no improvement, & if there is, why all the knock'n of people who are thinking of a brake upgrade??? I know the Brembos are "factory" for the STi, but they are far from factory brakes.. There must be a reason they instal them. I.e. they ARE better, & aftermarket brakes DO make an improvement.....Rite?? I just don't get you guys sometimes... :(

Basicly your tell'n this guy "it has brembos", & that is better.Yet I have seen many, many posts where it was clearly stated that someone wanting to upgrade to Brembos, or any other brakes, on a WRX was wasting their money.

& come to think of it, the whole lowering springs don't do s#!t thing, I don't get either. Again, the STi has lower springs than a WRX.. these don't improve the vehicles performance?.. Why are they on it then?.. & if I put a set of pinks on my WRX, it would not improve it? I smell something funny in the air.
 
#30 ·
02wrxnfx, sucks to hear about the STi not being an STi. Like we said though, that price was absurdly low. I've seen 60k mile clean STi's with 25k on the sticker.

LeohMit...
Brakes: I mostly mention them because they are ascetically pleasing. People like brembo brakes, regardless of their stopping distance. Also, I've always said big brake kits were useless on STREET cars. If you intend to track it, the brembos are a great improvement over the WRX. Not many of us do that, it's true. Mine are definitely more for show. Is it a huge difference between the two? No. The big differences are the 6-speed tranny and the EJ257 motor along with a plethora of little things.
Springs: Why are lowering springs bad? You seem to have skipped that part. They're bad because the springs don't work well with the stock strut (shock). The STi does not have a stock WRX strut. It has different springs AND struts, both designed to work together unlike just sticking bouncier springs on a WRX strut.
Attitude: I'm not trying to deceive you. The only thing that smells fishy here is the smell of you stinking up the place with your unprovoked flame war.
 
#32 ·
Not try'n to start anything whith what was stated MOSC.. NO FLAMEWARS HERE! I was seriously just confused:confused:. & when going to lower springs, I asumed people were intelegent enough to look into struts @ the same time:eek:. SORRY for any Flamewar confusion!! BTW, your Brembos do look very nice!Thumbs Up.
 
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