Help Me Buy A Car Thread v.ScottyB: WITNESS ME BROTHERS

[ScottyB]

Scotty the cars are out there and they come up pretty frequently especially if you're willing to take an AWD car and ship it home. They just don't stay on the market for more than 3 days so it never looks like there's many out there.

i'm slowly learning this, it would help if i didn't suck at using search engines so much. if i get lucky with timing it might happen.

i sat around a lot and stared at the subaru today and i really want something that can rallyx competitively. i miss it. still trying to figure out what the answer is there

[.RJ]

Negotiate for a co drive for a while

[WRXtranceformed]

This was probably a getaway vehicle for Methshiners and is not a MT, but submitted for your consideration

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=459474178&zip=28277&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D28277%26startYear%3D1981%26maxMileage%3D60000%26vehicleStyleCodes%3DAWD4WD%26incremental%3Dall%26endYear%3D2018%26modelCodeList%3DLANCERMITS%252CLANCEREVO%26makeCodeList%3DMIT%26sortBy%3DderivedpriceDESC%26maxPrice%3D16000%26firstRecord%3D0%26searchRadius%3D0%26trimCodeList%3DLANCERMITS%257CRalliart%252CLANCERMITS%257COZ%2BRally&startYear=1981&numRecords=25&maxPrice=16000&vehicleStyleCodes=AWD4WD&firstRecord=0&endYear=2018&modelCodeList=LANCERMITS%2CLANCEREVO&makeCodeList=MIT&searchRadius=0&makeCode1=MIT&modelCode1=LANCERMITS">https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sal ... LANCERMITS</a><!-- m -->

I like this one better, also not a MT and there's probably something wrong with it...but I wouldn't fault you for rolling the dice on a lowish miles EVO from a seller who advertises in all caps

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=464812737&zip=28277&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D28277%26startYear%3D1981%26maxMileage%3D60000%26vehicleStyleCodes%3DAWD4WD%26incremental%3Dall%26endYear%3D2018%26modelCodeList%3DLANCERMITS%252CLANCEREVO%26makeCodeList%3DMIT%26sortBy%3DderivedpriceDESC%26maxPrice%3D16000%26firstRecord%3D0%26searchRadius%3D0%26trimCodeList%3DLANCERMITS%257CRalliart%252CLANCERMITS%257COZ%2BRally&startYear=1981&numRecords=25&maxPrice=16000&vehicleStyleCodes=AWD4WD&firstRecord=0&endYear=2018&modelCodeList=LANCERMITS%2CLANCEREVO&makeCodeList=MIT&searchRadius=0&makeCode1=MIT&modelCode1=LANCEREVO">https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sal ... =LANCEREVO</a><!-- m -->

[WRXtranceformed]

I like this one better

Lol until you get to this part:

"NOT ACTUAL MILEAGE DUE TO CLERICAL ERROR - NEEDS TUNING DUE TO AFTERMARKET MODIFICATIONS - NO CATALYTIC CONVERTERS"

[ScottyB]

:lol:

just gonna leave that one alone.....

[*insertusernamehere*]

Scotty the cars are out there and they come up pretty frequently especially if you're willing to take an AWD car and ship it home. They just don't stay on the market for more than 3 days so it never looks like there's many out there.

i'm slowly learning this, it would help if i didn't suck at using search engines so much. if i get lucky with timing it might happen.

i sat around a lot and stared at the subaru today and i really want something that can rallyx competitively. i miss it. still trying to figure out what the answer is there

Just buy El Encierro from us.

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[ispoonwithmugen]

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<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/d/2013-ford-focus-st/6240369255.html">https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/ ... 69255.html</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/d/2013-ford-focus-st/6254768712.html">https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/d/ ... 68712.html</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/d/2015-ford-focus-st/6247673352.html">https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/ ... 73352.html</a><!-- m -->

[JPolen01]

Here you go. the WRX from Baby Driver.

The eBay listing for the car spells out the modifications done by DBW Motorsport, including a rear-wheel drive conversion, red spray over the original grey color, rear-differential upgrade and the addition of a turbocharger from a 2004 STI.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://jalopnik.com/somebody-buy-the-subaru-wrx-from-baby-driver-so-i-dont-1798137532">http://jalopnik.com/somebody-buy-the-su ... 1798137532</a><!-- m -->

[Jake]

BMW people - talk to me about the N52. is it safe to say that you want to just get the fancy pants water pump out of the way as a safety measure upon purchase, if the car's over 50k miles old? or just drive it until it fails? i'm not super interested in having the yellow "overheat" light come on 250 miles into a 500mi road trip. would a PPI catch this or do they just go out in time intervals without warning?

I'd probably plan for it at like... 80k miles if the car hasn't had it replaced already. Before that, eh. They all seem to be lasting about that long at the minimum, and I seem to recall a few E82/E90 people pushing the original pump to like 140k in forum banter.

[ScottyB]

cool, thanks. these E90's seem to really drop off the depreciation cliff at like 6-7 years old. its a compelling choice, i just want to be sure the odd maintenance hassle that will inevitably happen doesn't become a specialty-tool and dealership diagnostics money bonfire

[.RJ]

BMW people - talk to me about the N52. is it safe to say that you want to just get the fancy pants water pump out of the way as a safety measure upon purchase, if the car's over 50k miles old? or just drive it until it fails? i'm not super interested in having the yellow "overheat" light come on 250 miles into a 500mi road trip. would a PPI catch this or do they just go out in time intervals without warning?

I'd probably plan for it at like... 80k miles if the car hasn't had it replaced already. Before that, eh. They all seem to be lasting about that long at the minimum, and I seem to recall a few E82/E90 people pushing the original pump to like 140k in forum banter.

And with some miles on it, it may have been replaced already.

oil filter housing gasket, valve cover gasket, coils and cooling system will all come due with some age.

[*insertusernamehere*]

Updaaaaatttteeee I'm dying to know.

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[ScottyB]

Updaaaaatttteeee I'm dying to know.

insurance dragging its feet getting me the settlement on the car, can't buy anything yet without it.

the RS goes off to a Copart somewhere in SC this week. might try to do a farewell AWD launch on camera before it goes on the truck. tomorrow and wednesday i'm ripping off a bunch of parts so there'll be a pretty fat For Sale thread soon.

i don't have the balls to buy a mkVI GTI outside of warranty and my budget won't let me get one that has anything left. too much BS with tensioners, intake flaps, coil packs, water pumps, etc. especially when the mkVII is considered so much better and just out of reach, so maybe a GTI next time. out of the running.

Focus ST is in its place as the new hot hatch choice. trying to figure out if they're reliable or if typical internet hyperbole is skewing the real picture. they are right inside my budget with low miles and supposedly a blast to drive. if they aren't garbage outside of warranty years i'm going to look hard for a 2014 in blue/red/yellow.

watching a couple odd E92 328i's. not sure if its actually what i need/want anyway. too fancy. so much silver holy crap.

found a pretty mint 2011 Si, gonna drop by the dealership to see it wednesday if it doesn't sell out from under me like everything else so far. i loved the test drive in the ragged out one last week, car felt so alive. hard to find a good one.

unplanned car buying as an enthusiast is a crappy cat and mouse game, would not recommend

[SlimKlim]

Focus ST is in its place as the new hot hatch choice. trying to figure out if they're reliable or if typical internet hyperbole is skewing the real picture. they are right inside my budget with low miles and supposedly a blast to drive. if they aren't garbage outside of warranty years i'm going to look hard for a 2014 in blue/red/yellow.

[ScottyB]

aw really? i thought Jake thought his was pretty cool but just wasn't a "hot-hatch guy?"

they're not a car i even considered at first until G mentioned them. probably because its not really my thing either, but people seem to talk about how much fun they are.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Out of the 3 people I knew who had them bought new and still complained about crap. 2 of them constantly visited the dealer too...


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[ScottyB]

that seems to back up some of the general consensus. shame.

[SlimKlim]

I'll let Jake chime in on the details of the ownership experience and how it actually behaved on the track, but I was personally very unimpressed with how it drove, especially because auto journalists in 2011-2012 were calling them the "$25,000 M3".

Also worth noting that my only experience is in a stock, first model year 2013, so I don't know how much of my experience was due to teething issues that might've been addressed later on.

In short, it's a very good car for making you *feel* like you're driving fast, but it's not a great car either for comfortable long distance cruising or for actually driving fast. The torque steer is comically violent, the ride is pretty jarring, and the electric steering comes out of the box set to "sooper-dooper-twitchy". The styling is... a lot, inside and out, although they've personally grown on me in more muted colors like silver or black.

I will say they are pretty fun to romp up and down the highway, giggling like a moron when the overboost feature kicks on.

[Jake]

Ooh, this is my favorite topic behind "why I can't stand GM" *cracks knuckles*

So yeah, it was a cool car with a ton of hype. I was like 23 and bought into it. I ordered the car that I sat in at the DC Auto Show. ST2 with cloth Recaros, no sunroof and no nav.

The ride quality sucked - low-profile tires mixed with firm shocks and too-stiff springs made it bouncy on the highway. I think it had 18s? Seating position was good but rear visibility was not so hot. The seats became less amazing once they broke in, and annoyed my back on longer trips. Fuel economy was good (30ish highway) but the tank was small so range was not great. The Sony sound system blows dicks. It will torque steer like a motherfucker until you reach 100 mph in 4th gear. The ST wheels are wider than the non-ST, and allegedly Ford had to implement some limiter on the steering rack so they wouldn't rub at full lock. Ergo, you cannot make a u-turn.

On track, the "e-diff" and various stability controls cannot be entirely disabled and that results in hot, melty brakes very quickly. I think I could do 5 laps of VIR at my then-HPDE-3 pace (read: fewer now that I'm a faster driver) before they were totally spent. I had a Steeda rear sway bar on mine and it enhanced the wonderful lift-off oversteer abilities (but they'll do it stock, too).

I could see it being a good car to own if you only had one car to do it all. But a Mk6 or Mk7 GTI would be a great car to own for the same purposes.

I put something like 15k miles on mine in less than a year and it never saw unscheduled maintenance, so there's that. Friends who also bought them were not so lucky though.

Solid "meh" and I would heartily recommend the GTI over a FoST.

[JPolen01]

If the GTI is out and the focus isn't the best I really think the 2011 Si is a great option. Those are great cars for reliability and fun. If you can find a good one do it!