PetrolHeadKid

All,
I have been hunting for the last month for a Blob Eye WRX PPP that DOES DEFINITELY, WITHOUT A SHADOW OF DOUBT have FSH.

I have looked at cars on Ebay, Autotrader and Pistonheads and out of over ten cars (that 'claimed' to have FSH) that I inquired further about, only one actually did and even with that one, the last two services had been done by the owner (a former Subaru technician) himself!

Through the course of contacting these sellers, at least 3 of them have relisted/are still showing them as having FSH when they clearly don't!

I contact one guy this morning (again who had a WRX PPP with 'FSH') only to find that after its service in October 2007, the next one was in October 2009, sorry, but 24 months is NOT FSH! (he said that the guy he bought it from said that it did have FSH - More fool him for not checking!).

As you can guess, I am browned off and am thinking about looking at other makes / models (Audi A3 3.2 Quattro, Golf 4motion etc).

If anyone knows of a nice standard WRX PPP ('03-'05 plate) WITH FULL SERVICE HISTORY (so a service every 10,000 miles/12 months - Whichever is sooner), please drop me a line.

Thanks loads,

PHK.

-shane-

iTrader: (40)

I have a 2003 WRX PPP (which was removed and remapped correctly as the PPP is very poor) Also has a FSH and since 60k gets its oil changed every 6 months

scubbay

iTrader: (61)

Why are you putting so much emphasis on it? Particularly with the guy who done the servicing himself? I am sure there are plenty of very good cars on here that the owner works on, some because they want to and some because in this day and age who really wants to pay Subaru labour charges if you can do it yourself? Judge a car by its condition, not the number of stamps in the book

PetrolHeadKid

Shane,
I nice looking car :-)
Because of insurance, it needs to be standard in the body as well as the engine department (so no changes to panels or alloys)

PHK.

PetrolHeadKid

Scubbay,
The guy I mentioned clearly was competent (since he used to work for Subaru). Indeed, I serviced my last car myself according the the Manufacturers Service History and simply kept all of the receipts for the parts - The difference here was that the car (when I sold it) was worth less than £1,000 so the buyer wasn't quite so worried about FSH (especially with all the receipts I had) :-)
The one I mentioned in the first thread, I missed getting because I went after another one that also 'claimed' to have FSH (and is still being advertised as such), but didn't & when I found out, the other one had sold

However, I am used to buying cars with FSH (ideally either franchised or independent specialist so that (most of the time) one can be more confident that the work has been done (though I know that this isn't always the case).

PHK.

djandyg

iTrader: (2)

Im a technician myself, and service my own car....however the only way the garage at work at will let me have a legitimate service stamp in my book is if I book the car in for an hour so it goes through there books, which is what I do, and my book gets stamped. However it would still get the same service whether I did in my lunch hour and not get it stamped. And I bet im more thorough than a lot of garages, as its my own car.
Im starting to wonder whether its worth me paying an hours labour, even tho i'll still be the one having to do the service...just for the sake of a bit of ink.

PetrolHeadKid

That's a bit of a nerve on their part! I have had a few ppl on here who have said that often, independent specialists do a 'better' job because it is more than just a job for them, so I am not in any way saying that a franchised dealer is always better...

PHK.

RS TURBO

couldnt say it any better!!! some people dont trust dealers

Dirk Diggler 75

Nice..........

andythejock01wrx

Worth phoning around for insurance cos some insurers charge more for engine mods but not for bodywork mods (but then others do!). Work in insurance btw.

daz1968

iTrader: (13)

car serviced by the owner with all receipts kept would not put me off you are looking at an 8 year old car and a good enthusiast will look after his car. Just inspect the car and check receipts. FSH does not mean all stamped by a dealer.

PetrolHeadKid

Thanks for all the comments guys :-)

The search continues...

PHK.

B4D HK

iTrader: (15)

Hey bud, do not get hung up about dealer FSH, there are plenty of competent specialists or people who work on their own cars.........

I have heard some right horror stories about dealers (Subaru and non-Subaru)

The Rig

iTrader: (13)

A car that has FSH and has been done by the owner etc is still FSH, you seem to be looking for FSSH which is a different ball game

when i sell mine, i will advertise it with FSH as it does,done by me for the last 5 yrs (when it was imported) and it has japan service history with all receipts,i dont trust a car that only has dealer stamps,ive seen what they miss !! yet still stamp away (not just subaru)

stevie333

iTrader: (2)

I,d actually rather buy a car without a FSSH,because from experience the oil etc doesnt always get changed when they say it does,hence the reason i always do all oil/gearbox oil changes myself,at least i know its been done,and worked on by somebody who cares about the car.If i was buying a car now i,d just be very careful and probably scrutinise the owner as much as the car,its fairly easy to tell if someone cherishes their car or not,if not walk away,its not like theres a shortage of imprezas for sale

PetrolHeadKid

Don't worry, I'm not hung up on FSSH, just want FSH. For the life of me though, I can't understand why someone would skip an engine oil change! Especially when doing it yourself will cost around £50 - Surely it is money well spent!!!

I have an EVO VII FQ300 (with 370-380 BHP on tap) up until 4 years ago & I had an oil change every 2,500 miles on that (since to keep it FSH, it had to be every 6 months or 4,500 miles (whichever is sooner) and I only did 2,500 every six months!)

So, when I have been looking around at cars and seen that some of them have missed a service (so have gone 24 months without any new oil) I really don't want to know - Even taking it to a garage would see change out of £150!

PHK.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

https://www.scoobynet.com/scoobynet-...-failures.html

Most if not all had FSSH. Made no fecking difference. FSH is only as good as all the parts together.

Similarly, if the last owner ran it on rats **** petrol and put chip oil in you would be fecked anyway.

Rob Day

iTrader: (78)

I sold my last car (UK300) as FSH, which entailed 11 stamps in its 9 years, however when you look through the book, one of the services missed its service by 9mths & 5'000 miles. This didnt bother me in the sightest, as the next service 'on paper' was a full blown service inc cam belt and pulleys. The next service after this was within 6mths at only 4'000. So as said I wouldnt get to hung up on FSH, and as for the nice example WRX above, then surely a std set of WRX wheels would only set you back £400 with tyres max!!!

Rob

PetrolHeadKid

Just had another 'FSH failure' this morning.

A guy on Piston Heads selling a nice '05 with PPP and 'FSH'

I asked my usual first question (details of dates, mileages and places to confirm the said FSH) only to find out that there was close to 15000 miles and 17 months between the 30 & 40,000 mile service. On top of this, the cam belt wasn't changed @ 50k and so the 60k service (due April next year) will cost comforatbly over £500 (all oils/filters + cam belt)!

I don't mind a 1,000 miles out here & there or a month or so out, but close to 5,000 miles late and 5 months is just not close to FSH!

At this rate, I may well end up buying one that clearly does not have FSH (as all of those that I have looked into also don't) and save some cash!

PHK.

SRSport

FSSH in itself wouldn't persuade me to buy a car but the fact that the owner is prepared to through more money at it by taking it to a main dealer reassures me that he would be less likely to scrimp when it comes to fuel, repairs etc.

fawor

iTrader: (3)

sorry but You are an idiot.
I could make You subaru stamps (any stamp by the way). and what- are You take service book and will phone subaru to confirm it?
never meet anybody who will do it

andythejock01wrx

PetrolHeadKid

Firstly, yes, that is what I do. And do you know what? One of the cars that I was looking at had a 60k service in the book. I phoned the garage and they had no record on their system of that car ever having a service at their garage - and you say that that MAKES me an idiot? What not getting ripped off?

Secondly, everyone has expressed what they think to me and replied in good humour and kept things appropriate (seeing as no one knows me) and I am encouraged and thank them for that. And now you - A regulator no less - Lower the tone of this thread! I am not impressed.

I work hard for my money and I simply want to get a car that is what it is being sold as from a genuine owner who has nothing to hide - If other people want to get 'taken for a ride' that is up to them, but I for one (and also the others that have posted replies to me) would rather let some other 'idiot' get ripped off!

Nuf said I think...

PHK.

SRSport

Dont worry about him, its not the first time he's shown an absence of basic social skills. Not taking it personally and ignoring it is the best thing I've found.

donny andi

iTrader: (3)

Oh they do ring to confirm
The lad who bought my m3csl rang the BMW hotline in front of me to confirm all services .......to say I was sh1tting it hoping they wasn't bent stamps was a understatement , I've even had tranks turn up put overalls on and proceed to get trolly jacks out .......some people need to get out a bit more

RetroMk1

iTrader: (1)

If the car is mint and the engine sounds sweet then go for it!! as long as there's some sort of history, a wrx engine isnt gonna blow because it misses a service as long as theres some oil in it. I made the mistake of getting caught up on the history of a car and worrying about things like old m.o.t's and every receipt and was blinded by this, the car turned out to be a dog after a few months of owner ship, probably cost me about 4k to put everything right, all good though becuse its a cossie which is probably worth more now

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

The irony in this post is astounding.

PetrolHeadKid

All,
In the end, I bought a Bora 4motion. '03 plate with under 47,000 miles on the clock. Nice condition and lots of extras (sat nav, leather, rain sensing wipers etc.)

Not in the same 'ball park' as a Scoobie with regard to performance I know, but I needed to get a car this week and I simply couldn't find a WRX PPP that had FSH (or close to)!

Thanks for all your help and advice :-)

PHK.

Rob Day

iTrader: (78)

The bora is in 'nice' condition? I take this will have full service history with no gaps!

PetrolHeadKid

Rob,
Yes, It was on variable for the first three years (so had its first service @ 15,000!) and annual since then (about every 5,000). I plan to do about 3,000 a year, so the yearly average mileage will go down even further!

Thanks loads,

PHK.