Advice on buying WRX STI saloon 2011 onwards

[Kelsy]

After much consideration I feel a WRX STI 2011 saloon is the car for me. It will be mainly for track days, Nurburgring and fun days out. Have a company car for everyday use.
Any advice on what to look out for, problems etc? Budget up to £18k. Thanks in advance.. Advice on Pro R spec also appreciated.

Edited by Kelsy on Tuesday 29th December 09:50

[Ved]

Engine is questionable when pushed due to the well known issues of the pistons and it'll depreciate like a stone.

If I had 18k to spend on a Subaru purely for fun I'd get a Hawkeye Spec-C like this one http://torque-gt.co.uk/auction/subaru-impreza-sti-...

[Kelsy]

Mmm.. I had heard that the engines might be weak. Is the updated 2014 model any better do you know? If so might try to get to £22k starting point. Want a newer car rather than older. I will only change tyres, suspension and uprate brakes. That's enough for me for track use. I prefer to steer clear of heavy modified cars (brave words here I understand :-))

[Kedlestone]

I've not heard any horror stories yet from the latest STI, that being said it is still the same 2.5 lump that was in the hatch I understand.

With a budget between 18-22k you could probably get yourself a JDM Saloon with the stronger 2.0, higher rev limit, plus the other goodies as standard.

[Garynogrip]

Only ever heard of horror stories on tuned or ones not looked after, selling my 2015 shape one in a week or so but would be closer to 23k I'm afraid

[drumsterphil]

I'd agreed with Ved, look at a newage. Spec C is lovely and perfectly suited for track work. Also don't discount the 05 Uk Sti, wide track,dccd and an engine that will cope with 450bhp on standard internals - buy one for £12k then plenty left over for suspension, brakes and whatever else you can think of.ll

[Legacywr]

Kedlestone said:

With a budget between 18-22k you could probably get yourself a JDM Saloon with the stronger 2.0, higher rev limit, plus the other goodies as standard.

I believe that I have the only JDM 2.0 in the UK! It's also the only WR Blue 4 door in the country too, as Subaru didn't sell this colour in Europe on the 2010-2014 cars for some reason?

And, it's for sale, but not advertised yet!

[fatmansv8]

Flipping hell guys I brought a 2012 Subaru Wrx Sti type UK saloon last December. I didn't realise that the 2.5 engine is fragile. Mine has no modifications that i know off the previous owner had serviced the car every 10,000 miles on the dot by Subaru. I had it serviced also by Subaru. I'm a tad anxious worried it may go pop at anytime. Damn wish I'd reasearched it a bit before I brought it. Are the engine's really that bad even if left unmodified. I was considering a muffler delete a new air filter probably a Cosworth one and a remap to suit the changes. Would this simple modification kill my engine. Thanks in advance

[Legacywr]

You should have bought mine

I think you'll be ok if you leave it in standard tune!

[fatmansv8]

Damn it I'm going to have to sell it .I can't live with the uncertainty. I did want to modify it a little as in my earlier post but if i can't even do that simple modification then what's the point. Shame it's a beautiful car people stare at it point at it talk to me about it at the petrol station. May go for a Honda Type R 2015 hmmm

[Falsey]

I hear that if you are changing any hardware you want to get it mapped to suit it. Any of the scooby specialists should be knowledgable in regards to this and will help you out.

As for day to day fragility the biggest piece of advice Ive heard is to drive around it. Ie, if you are going to go WOT, do it in the right gear, rather than booting it from 2k RPM. Also make sure you use good fuel.

I wouldnt sell the car out of random worry, just enjoy it and treat it with a bit of mechanical sympathy.

[fatmansv8]

Hello Falsey thanks for the advice. What on earth is WOT lol ? You know I don't think I ever owned a car that I had to be careful of how i use it and it's meant to be rally derived .E39 M5 I had no such problems. Lancia Delta Intergrale Evo 1 no such issues drive and go .I really wished I had reasearched the car before i brought it ,my bad . I am going to sell it definitely ,bloody he'll I just spent over a grand on a big rear spoiler, vortex generator for the roof and rear under bumper diffuser .Shame it looks amazing.

[Falsey]

WOT - Wide Open Throttle, ie, foot to the floor.

I dont know if they ever used the 2.5 in competition, but it runs quite happily at high RPMs which would suit the way you would be rallying a car. I think the likelihood of caning it from 2k is pretty low on a rally stage.

[jonesof63]

I wouldn't worry at all ! My son had a 2011 from new until he swapped it for a new 2015 model last year, he put 62k on the old car doing regular journeys from home in Harrogate to Aberdeen, he's not the most gentle of drivers and the car never had a single hiccough. Mobil 1 and genuine oil filters every 5k miles, it didn't use a drop of oil between changes. Personally I really like the older style although the later car is more refined.

[RB5Bird]

Don't sell it just because you've heard a little horror story. Enjoy the car, it didn't put me off getting a 2015 WRX STi.

I'd heard about the so called "chocolate engine", but if you read into nearly all of the cases, they have been modified badly i.e not remapped after mods etc.

Just look in General Gassing, there is a massive thread on there about 1L focus engines stting themselves, is everyone going to stop buying the focus? no, don't think so. I know this is a different beast altogether, but seriously, don't overthink it.

Enjoy what you have.

• Alternatively, sell it to me for a grand, as that's obviously all you'll get for it now because everyone knows how crap they are, I'll look after it.

[fatmansv8]

Maybe that's a kick up the arse I need RB5. Get my st together and enjoy it. It's has 58,000 on the clock with 6 Subaru stamps in the book I guess if it was going to go it would of done it by now.

[fatmansv8]

Hello guys just wondering if I did a muffler delete a Cosworth air filter and a remap to suit by a reputable remapper would this be a bad thing for this car is remind you I have a 2012 STI saloon type UK.

[Mark Smith]

I'm just about to buy a 14 plate WRX STi from Mangoletsi. It's only done 3,200 miles from new. Put a deposit on it last week. Blue with gold wheels. It looks stunning and feels amazing on the road. I've never owned a Subaru before but I've been in plenty of Legacy GTB's and they're a real rocket ship. I'm really looking forward to getting the car and hopefully have plenty of fun with it.