Advice needed.....Sti Type R

N

nolan

Sunday Drivers
Well lads......havent been on this in a while. Sold my Legacy about a year ago and went off and bought a gt coupe. Sold that the other day and I NEED to get back in a scooby. I'm after seeing 1 or 2 nice STi type r's on donedeal but a lot of people have told me their engines are prown to shitting themselves. That its not a matter of if they'll need a rebuild at somestage but when??How tru is this can anybody tell me.

It will be used as an everyday car ( I dont do much mileage) and i do look after my cars (Serviced regularly, warmed up/cool down etc).

Can anybody tell me common faults or what to look out for??

Any help much appreciated :)
 
All need rebuild, oil pump problems from factory.
Look out for rear quarter panel damage in booth.
Look for history and proof of remap.
 
I've never heard of oil pump problem from the factory!


Sure a uk spec wrx would have the same oil pump as type r and that didn't give trouble. All made in the same factory.

IMO 15 years ago only two cars had nearly 300bhp from a 2000cc turbo engine,the impreza and evo, impreza gave bottom end problems after roughly 120000 Kms and the evo gave gearbox problems about the same time.

Anything with this sort of power and a short ratio gearbox(high reving) is going to have reliabilty issues.

The only other common fault on a type r is the air flow sensor, and you can pick them up new for about 120-150.
 
As above. They will all have issues eventually.

In my opinion and was same 5yrs ago.

Is to look for one that has engine failure.

And if you are happy with exterior and interior condition then if price is right. Buy it.

Rebuild it.

Map it.

Then reliable
 
Not all are bad and some are on original engines and doing absolutely fine. As with all cars, it is about how it was minded both from a driving and servicing point of view. Anyone that says their engines are soft by definition is going by examples of cars that have not been properly mapped, or not serviced correctly, or just plain abused. Keep in mind these cars are now 19-13 years old and gone through a stage where they were cheap as chips and yielded great performance - so plenty out there bought them cheap, never spent a penny and ragged them to death. :carexhaust:

There are mint examples out there, with lots of service history and plenty which already had a rebuild done -- just be prepared to face the (asking) price.

Dave's point above makes complete sense, unless you run into one which already had work done (with receipts to prove) and at reasonable money. Getting a clean shell, which hasn't been crashed, or seriously attacked by tin-worm is the most important... an engine is easily sourced or fixed... and then you would have peace of mind knowing for sure what you have. :thumbsup:

A rebuild, if not done yourself, will set you back in the region of €3000-5000 and that is at a level of a reliable road-car and not "race-engine" levels. Factor this in when looking at both minters, or else good rolling shell with shot engine that needs the work.

Also keep in mind that Type R are always an import. As such they never got much in the way of underseal or rust proofing in Japan. So expect rust unless a recent import, or else look for a dedicated owner who under-sealed and Waxoiled the car if you intend to hold on to your purchase for a while. Do mind about heavy underseal that could hide all kinds of nasties, like bad rust, bad (crash) repairs and what not.

Don't be put off I would say... just take your time and find something that suits you... and be prepared that this could take a while and cost a few wasted trips to look at bad examples advertised as "one careful owner and mint". Good luck with the hunt - they're brilliant cars!

:scoobyblue_1:
 
What Dave said but I doubt you'll find a clean one for sale. Many have tried and many have failed in the last couple of years :icon_hang:
 
Thanks lad......some good info there.....being honest though its put me off 1 !!!Another legacy might suit me better.......going to have to have a good think about it!!!
 
Re: Re: Advice needed.....Sti Type R

nolan said:
Thanks lad......some good info there.....being honest though its put me off 1 !!!Another legacy might suit me better.......going to have to have a good think about it!!!
Click to expand...

Imo if a person is head set on a type r as in thats their love car no matter what that they want in their garage

You would want 10k budget. Buy at 2-3k with engine gone.

Rebuild, Map, Bodywork. With money kitty for brakes, suspension, tyres, clutchetc etc.


A daily driver at above should be no hassle or nasty expensive surprises. Gearbox worst case.


Anyone looking to buy a Type R for 4k or a B4 for 1k and say they need it for a daily driver. Dont have back up car and if it breaks would cause untold hassle and greif within family or daily life should not buy one imo.


A newage STi is certainly without doubt a more reliable car. So yes can defo be a daily car.
But buy cheap and you will have headaches.


Dave
 
As what Dave just said budget 10k
I'm up on 11k before mapping.
You will not get a top type r for less than this with good spec and no money to be spent on it.
No matter what anyone says!
 
Seanie and Dave are right on the money.

I was looking for a Type R v5 or v6 for months. Couldn't find a clean one and started looking for a good one with blown engine... did up budget and yes, €10-12k is realistic though could easily spend a few grand on top if for example going for a bigger engine build etc.

In the end I bought an '07 Hawkeye Sti as only a few thousand more and 8 years newer and more suited to be my daily driver, especially as do about 25-30k Kms a year and have kids. 4 door from 2007 was easier to get past the missus too, compared to 18 year old 2 door. :dance:
 
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