Going to look at a used sti soon, what should i look out for?

[sburck]

Im going to look at a used 05 sti with 25k miles sometime this weekend. Its at a toyota dealer. When I look at it and test drive it are there any things that I should keep my eye out for, things that would be an obvious red flag?

[mosc]

Mods, specifically CAIs, BOVs, and MBC/EBCs. If you don't know what those are or what they look like on an 05 STi, you might want to take it to somebody who does (or take them with you to look at it). You could always snap a few pictures under the hood as well and effectively take all of us with ya

The clutch should still have plenty of life as well.

[man show]

red flag items: aftermarket blow off valve, manual boost controller, cold air intake, significant rust, grinding transmission

[sburck]

I definitely get why somebody toying with the boost might be a red flag, whats wrong with a cold air intake?

Also as for a grinding transmission, is this an obvious grinding we're talking about or a subtle one? This is basically when you hear significant "purr" in the drivetrain that is totally dependent on speed and not associated with engine rpm changes right?

[man show]

I gotta quote Cosmo on this one:

"The subject of a cold air intake on a WRX is a very hotly debated topic as of recent. I feel it's time I explained to you what the REAL problem is. A cold air intake is not bad. Cold air is always better than hot air. Even on a WRX.

Having said that, however, I must explain why everyone (including myself) advises against them for the WRX:

The DESIGN of the cold air intakes is the problem. If you look at the cold air intake, the filter is located inside the fender. For the filter to connect to the inlet of the turbo, the air has to travel through a pipe running through the inner fender and then to the turbo inlet hose. The problem is the way the pipe has to curve just after coming out of the fender to meet up with the stock turbo inlet hose. It makes a rather severe turn, then goes past the MAF sensor, then makes another sever turn. The turn right before the MAF sensor is the problem. It makes the air flow past the MAF sensor at a different angle then the MAF is used to seeing. That is what causes the lean conditions."

** IMPORTANT ** This cold air intake information applies to 02-07 WRXs and STis... not sure about 08+

And about the grinding tranny... yeah, I meant just watch out for unusually loud grinding noises coming from it since they're usually pretty expensive to fix. I guess that one was obvious, sorry bout that.

[shamrock]

Originally Posted by sburck

Im going to look at a used 05 sti with 25k miles sometime this weekend. Its at a toyota dealer. When I look at it and test drive it are there any things that I should keep my eye out for, things that would be an obvious red flag?

Some of these cars make me wonder. Not yours in general. But you see a lot of 02-03 for sale with 20-40K. And I wonder if some people just replace the gauge cluster with lower miles, to get more money I know this is wrong to do, but people can make an extra$3-4 grand. But drive the car and see how it runs and what mosc said. Good luck

[mosc]

If you are concerned about the dash being changed, compare the VIN number on the dash to the one on the frame.

[turmic]

Man, that's low miles. My STI is over 34k miles. Haha...having said that. If the car has been sitting for a while and condensation has formed on the rotors and left it looking rusty/streaked. If it has this look, after you drive it. Check to see if all the glare/streak/rusty surface has vanished from the pads coming into contact with the rotor. If not, the rotors are probably warped. You shouldn't have that problem. Just bringing up another helpful idea. Other than that...general car stuff. Good luck

Only keep bringing the rotor thing up. Because a friend at work bought a used Audi A4 and didn't notice that his rotors were spotty from the pad not making full contact the whole way around; until after he bought the car.