Dear Board,

I am in the market for a second hand STI V 4 door 1998/1999.

I have been doing loads of research on the net and even got some insurance quotes (cheapest is £1190 from Tescos of all places !)

I still have a few questions which I would be grateful if anyone out tehre could help with :

1) It appears these cars are specc'd to run on 100 RON fuel. What is the best UK fuel to use in these, given super unleaded is just 97 RON ??

2) What is the typical cost range for servicing the STIs ?

3) Are there specific things I need to look out for when purchasing one ?

4) How much better do you think an STI is over a standard Turbo or one with Prodrive upgrade ?

5) I believe these cars need to be serviced by a specialist - can anyone reccomend a Subaru specialist in the North London, Enfield, Watford, Barnet, Potters Bar areas ?

6) Any other advice you may have would be great !

Look forward to hearing from you all !

[This message has been edited by Scooby_Spy (edited 12 August 2001).]

 

Hi ScoobySpy,

Welcome to the bbs

Insurance - try Liverpool Victoria 0800 608608(good quotes at the moment, although £1200 ain't bad for an STi)

1. Most people tend to either run 97RON with octane booster, or normal 97RON, or get the car re-mapped. I don't coz I've got a UK model

2. Servicing costs are the same for an STI (I think), although bear in mind a UK dealer won't touch you with a 10ft battle lance (if you've got an import!!). Service intervals should be every 7500 - I've just had a 15K and it cost me £160 (that was with a UK dealer though) The big one is the 45K (Cam belt change) about £500.... again UK dealer costs.

3. Try and get a service history (difficult with an import). Check tyres for even wear - could indicate tracking's out or something more sinister.... Has it be de-restricted (speed wise)
Check for body damage - has it had an 'incident' - get it HPI'd.

4. A standard UK will put out about 214BHP. An STI has 280BHP as standard. Even with a PPP, you'll still only get about 240-250 out of a UK car.
The normal WRX (import version of the UK turbo) has 240BHP......

5. Can't help!!

6. Check out

 

Thanks Dan,

Some good advice there !

As regards service history, I am planning on getting a secondhand one from someone in the UK who has imported it from new, as opposed to importing one specifically from Japan.

At least this way I know it will only have one owner and be able to check out the service history.

With the insurance, I rang round a few places but they were all quoting around £2,000 or wouldn't touch an import.

Does anyone have any experiences with owning and running an STI ?

Regards,
Scooby Spy

 

Hi,

Try Keith Michaels for the Insurance. Haven't got a number to hand but if you do a search you'll find it. They gave me the best quote by miles for my import WRX.
By the way, the 'normal' WRX imports, from late 97 until the new model came out, have the same power as the STI - 276 bhp (280ps). They do have 20 less torque though at 240 lbft compared to 260 lbft.

 

Fuel
i run a Legacy B4 RSK this has a twin turbo 2 litre.
Its also an import and require 100 octane fuel.
I run super unleaded 97 octane and then add a tin of Pro-boost.Silkoline sell it and it is an octane inhancer

 

Hi Scooby Snacks,

I did try Keith Michaels, they quoted a whopping £2100 !!

Must have gone up or changed their underwriters !!

 

Right, i live in luton and when i had imports i got my car serviced at RGS motorsports in wellingborough near Northampton, they really know their stuff and are not expensive. Or you could try power engineering in uxbridge, ive had services there as well, they a bit dear though

 

I run a Sti IV (Type RA) and so far the running costs have been less than my Uk car (now sold), except for insurance - but I have now also found Tesco's to be way the cheapest.
You need to find friendly garage that knows the cars - I personally dont get official services every 7500 miles as if you run the car hard or do track days the oil should be changed more regularly. I tend to change oil every 2/3000 miles.
Ref fuel - I use super plus Millers Octane booster - there are other ones just as good (do a search) but the Silkolene one wasnt liked I seem to remember. The ver V was rumoured to have problems if run on lower octane fuel as it got too hot - so make sure you use the booster all the time.

Apart from that, as mentioned the power is far better than anything but a hugely modified Uk car. P1s are almost the same car, but modified to be better on Uk roads than the Stis, but I personally prefer the harder ride of the Imports - personal choice.

 

For servicing etc you can try Steve Lawson, might be a bit far round for him but its well worth a call.

 

Mine's a Black STi5 4door. Greenlight had the best insurance quote 2 years running.

1) I use 97 RON all the time (except when none is available).

2) last week, 30,000 was £380ish all-in. 7.5 and 15k were £95ish and 22.5k £130ish (ITG airfilter bumped it up.)

3) usual 2nd hand things

4) Had a 98 UK Turbo before and, good as it was, would not go back to one. STi About 20% more fun/gpm


5) All mine's been done while-I-waited at ScoobySport.

Good luck and Happy Motoring (more Grins Per Mile)

Martin

 

You could always contact Bushey tuning

A fictitious company I just created.

there are several of us around the areas you mentioned, depending on the time frame you are considering, I would attend the meet at the Battleaxes pub in letchmore heath, here is a

 

Thanks for all the replies.

Looking around, I suspect ScoobySport is my best bet, I used to work in Basildon so I know it's only about 35-40mins away - thanks for the suggestion Martin and Adam.

Service prices sound pretty reasonable too.

Adam, the meet sounds good, I'll try to make it, I may even have my Scooby by then !

Now all I need to is get myself a Scooby.

At the moment, I have my eye on a 1999 STI 5 with 7500 miles. What would be a good price to offer, I was thinking of around £15,500, which is £2,000 less than the asking price.
They don't seem to be selling too well at the oment, although I suspect this is a symptom of the secondhand market in general.

Alternatively, I could go for an imported WRX - standard, for about £16k from Keyring cars and maybe later when I have more money, add on the PPP.

One will be 3 years old but faster, the other will be new. Ignoring the PPP, they are about the same price !

Does anyone have any recommendations, advice or opinions ?


Thanks,
Scooby Spy