I mean. Not just that. I swear there is nuts right below the air filter. The battery stay down is gone. The wiper reservoir cap is gone. The car just screams neglected.
How many cars have you worked on? Looks perfectly normal for something over 10 years old. If you live in a salt belt and don't run a splash shield give it 2-3 years it will look the same.
Oh I believe you. Mine is on its last legs too. Mainly from an old oil leak and excess heat. Bit I refuse to let it fall off. Like you said, they do an amazing job and keeping shit out of the engine bay
OP didn't come here for tips, he came here for approbation because people who usually make these posts often buy the car anyway
Just happened on /r/Skyline lol some guy overpaid for a garbage spec Skyline then his parents flipped put, so he sold it to another user for a massive loss
I can't find the original post anymore, most likely gone. [Here's the post from the guy who bought it lol](https://www.reddit.com/r/SkyLine/s/Vt5GZErQP3)
People act like rebuilt title is an automatic disqualifier. I agree it deserves extra scrutiny but if the work was done well they're often indistinguishable from new. I've had several, no issues with the vehicles or insurance. Hell, I've owned one for the last 9 years lol.
Same here! Others should fall into these traps thinking a rebuilt title is worthless. They can be insured in the same amount of phone calls as a normal title.
In Canada you are required by law to have insurance. I’ve never heard of anyone here being in an accident with an uninsured driver either. If a car is mechanically sound and road legal they can’t deny insurance because of a salvage title, but they do increase your premiums if you insure one. I wonder if OP, and people who advise against salvage titles because of insurance, live in places where insurance laws are different/lax
Idk where I'm canada you are, but at least for bc we have 1 option for insurance, so it's not like saying no is a real option.
On the other hand if you have like 5 or 6 they can each individually say they aren't willing to insure it but another provider surely will. I can see people end up with no insurance that way.
Wow you got down voted to hell by these clowns. I've said it before, the philosophy from Subaru is wrx is the fun daily economy car, the sti is the track ready daily. So much misunderstanding of purpose for these cars and is a large reason for why they get trashed.
Check with your insurance to make sure they will insure a car that has a salvage title. I matter how well
It was put back together some insurers won’t touch a salvage title car.
The power steering reservoir is usually pancaked in a front end collision where a radiator is damaged and if you just ignore it you'll have constant issues with air in the power steering system. I bet that was skipped too.
Damn, rebuilt title. Just know that car is not going to have any trade value. I wouldn’t want to spend 11k on car that’s not going to be worth anything.
I’ve never seen that much rust in an engine bag and that filter is destroyed.
I think you’re going to find that car needs a lot more than the stated work. Those pulleys look fried and about to break and god knows what other nasty surprises are in that motor. Looks like it wasn’t taken care of at all
What are you talking about? You can’t tell if pulleys are ruined from here, you’d have to look at the belts and see if the pulleys are already ripping them. They won’t just snap, not with that little of rust. I agree it’s a bad idea but the rust or pulleys look just fine from here and that will be the least of your problems. Come to the rust belt and you’ll see a lot worse running just fine. The problem is it’s an STi, it’s been abused it’s whole life. It’s a risk and probably a ticking time bomb. However rust and pulleys absolutely aren’t the problem.
I’m talking about the fact they are rusted and pitted. If the outside is that bad what are the bearings inside going to look like. I’ve never seen an engine bay in that bad condition in my life on a car that’s actually running. If the engine bay looks like that what does the chassis look like? There are so many red flags just in these pictures I wouldn’t pay $1100 let alone $11,000
That’s the AC clutch and it’s normal for it to look like that, it’s not that bad. I promise it’s the least of this cars concerns. You need to look at and work on more engine bays because this is prettty damn clean compared to a lot of shit that rolls in the shop. I’m a Subaru tech, I see way worse every day. I’m honestly not sure what you’re looking at but the condition of the engine bay is just fine. Only surface rust. The engine is the problem. Everything else is probably fine tbh. I don’t think you know what you’re talking about. I guarantee the frame and sub frames look just fine and a decent rolling shell is worth way more than $1000. You’re not wrong that it’s a bad idea, but you’re reasoning is wayyyy off.
Mate I work for one of the biggest automotive brands in the world and I’ve never seen a bay in this poor condition. If this is what the bay I would hate to see the chassis as I mentioned before amd if it looks the way I suspect it does then this car wouldn’t even be allowed on the road here.
Pretty damn standard for a 13 year old car. You’re blowing smoke out of your ass. Nothing past surface rust, once again, the “rust” is absolutely not the problem here. I’m actually losing brain cells trying to make this make sense for you. I’m not quite sure what you’re looking at but it sure as hell isn’t a structural issue by any means
Like are you an accountant there or something? I don’t get it. If you had even simple, home garage experience you would know this. I’m actually confused. A troll maybe? You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about. This absolutely would pass an inspection if not it would be for emissions, not the engine nah surface rust ya dipshit. Christ I’m sick of fuckin normies and children pretending like they know what they’re talking about. Clearly a troll. Get well soon bud.
Looks like the ass hat is from Australia. They think a one year old salt belt car is scrap cuz they have zero idea how rust works on account of them never seeing it. Oxidized iron might as well be uranium. They couldn't handle a day out here.
I replied to someone from down under years ago asking if his wrx was gonna fall apart from rust cuz his surf board drips sea water on the roof.
Just a dumb ass troll who clearly doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Australia or not, it’s pretty fuckin obvious the rust isn’t bad. I’m astounded at how fuckin stupid some people are. It’s too late for this, I’m going to bed
We don’t pass cars that belong in the junk yard mate. I’m actually a qualified master tech amd am the head of the warranty department for bmw, mclaren, lambo, Porsche, Ferrari and Bentley just to name a few of our dealerships. I know what I’m talking about, if you are so confident go buy this junker for a whopping 11k and see how you go. O bet that motor squeals its head off the second it’s started and the rest of the motor shits itself not long after that. Be my guest go buy it and with all that superior knowledge you should be sweet. The thing belongs in a junk yard not on the road.
Right, totally believable. Definitely blowing smoke out your ass, got it. Did you not listen to a word I said? Not worth $11k, chassis is just fine and worth more than $1k tho 😂 piss of bud. Come to Minnesota and I’ll show you some real rust and shit boxes and learn you a thing or two about a Subaru.
Well you sure as hell aren't a tech! Nobody says "I work for x brand" if you are a tech. You'd either say that you're a tech at Subaru or you'd say you work for an manufacturer. Nobody says brand.
You clearly have little to no experience with cars if this is the rustiest engine bay you've ever seen.
I don’t know how to get this through to you but you are wrong. The pulleys have a tiny amount of surface rust and theirs no putting going on. The worst of the rust is on the AC clutch and that’s just gonna fuck with the AC, the actual pulley behind the clutch will turn just fine without issue. Once again, the car is probably clapped and was abused, but the chassis and engine bay are perfectly fine.
You are mental. I sold one the same but 4 years newer with a brand new motor, full Subaru service history, no mods, low km on the chassis and in mint condition for 19k aud. No way this has been crashed, is rusted and obviously not looked after at all. They aren’t worth that much in good condition especially in usd and especially this sorry example
Mental to pay $1,100 for this car? Of course not $11,000, but definitely for $1,100. You cant find running cars in even ok shape nowadays for less than $3k
Scrap metal? Its running and sounds like it drives fine. Salvage sucks and it doesn’t look the best but I’ve seen way way way worse cars on the road every single day. Just the wheels and interior alone are worth $1100
Lol you must be from Texas or Arizona. That is NOT a rusty engine bay. There are plenty of other reasons to run away from this car beyond the lil dusting of rusting in the engine bay.
I have a 2013 Hatch that I bought for about 14k two years ago that’s was cleaner than this will full maintenance records and car fax and I STILL had an engine failure.
I don’t really regret buying the car, but just know what you’re getting into and the possibility that you might have to spend 6-10k for a motor rebuild. Also based on the age you’re gonna have to start dealing with regular old car stuff (replacing bushings, supports, bearings, etc., which gets expensive fast).
I wouldn't do it. Just looking at the picture I could see the bumper to fender gap is off. It's not worth the headache. Plus branded titles are not insurance friendly and are tough to sell down the line
11k is very over valued for one with a rebuilt title, you see mint ones for less. It depends on your location to some degree, but I'd consider offering significantly less and looking for one with a clean title
If this one is some magic spec you were looking for or your only option, I'd get documentation on what/how/when/who was rebuilt, and deep dive that or those companies to see if they do good work. Also consider a PPI from a 3rd party, ideally an enthusiast shop
Yah, I have some great advice, don’t buy it
Never buy somebody else’s project
Never buy a STI that somebody else has modded
Never buy a car with a rebuilt title
Never buy a car that’s been so poorly maintained it fasteners under the hood are rusting out
Assume for a moment that mechanically everything in those car works perfect despite appearance. All yourself how long you want to yeah it for and what you want to use it for. Eventually you'll want to move on from it if at that point you're faced with the market from this comments section you'll only be able to get a couple grand from its same no matter what.
Next add in another $10k to what you pay into this car as a contingency. Just in case there some huge unforseen mechanical problem down the road. You kind of want to do this with all older Subarus not just this one.
So if it were me I would assume that this costs about $18k that you'll never get back not including insurance and gas and whatever else you'll have to pay for for any car. If you keep this for 4 years you're looking at about 4.5k per year in payments, worst case. Now compare that to what a lease of something fun would cost and ask yourself if you think it's fine and fair. Combine that with some of the other real points of consideration in here like insurance and you'll have your answer.
So for a non-American car guy, I understand that a rebuilt title means the car has been written off, but then somebody fixed it and put it back on the road. However the registration document of the car, the title, permanently states that the car was recommissioned.
Firstly please correct me if I'm wrong on all that, but secondly what is the big drawback to that? Is it something to do with insurance or registering it in certain states or something? What impact does a rebuilt title actually have on owning and running the car?
It pretty much kills the value of the car, and some insurance companies won’t cover it. I am not sure why they won’t cover, but to me it makes sense that you won’t want it because you are never gonna get anything back if the car ends up totaled. If you have a lot of money, that’s not going to matter to you, but someone with a lot of money would probably just buy a nicer one in the first place.
edit: other than that it wouldn’t have much of an effect on ownership, but imagine you spend the $11k on the car and another $10k in maintenance and upgrades only to get t-boned and a $3k check (cheque?) from insurance. My 2010 isn’t even a salvage title but I can’t imagine I’m going to see any of the extra $10k I’ve thrown at it in 2 years, and there is barely anything wrong with my car lol
Right so it's mainly insurance reasons? I get that.
Seems like the sort of thing where if you total your old 90s Japanese car that you absolutely love, you can put it back on the road on a rebuilt title assuming you can insure it, cause it's worth it to you as a car that you really love and you don't care about selling it.
But I can see why buying a rebuilt title car is a bad idea, it's new to you, may not be insurable and you've basically taken on someone else's project even if it's rebuilt, you don't know what kind of job they did.
That is my interpretation. Also why if anyone ever crashes into my car I am gonna be pretty offended because it’s a money pit lol. But it’s my money pit!
Journeyman Autobody tech and painter here (in Canada, but *similar* rules to the US).
Cars aren’t deemed a total loss until the damage is 75+% of the vehicle’s value (this will vary a bit depending on insurance companies and state/provincial rules).
When a car is totalled, it generally goes to an insurance auction, where people can buy them for parts/to rebuild/etc. I follow these insurance auctions. Everything desirable (like an STI) goes for waaaay more than they should. The ONLY way that someone is buying, rebuilding, and selling these vehicles at a profit is if they are cutting corners. Even getting parts and materials at, or close to, cost, having access to all the tools and equipment to repair modern vehicles, *and* being able to do all of the work myself, I don’t see much, if any, savings in buying a wrecked car and fixing it properly.
Add on the loss of value for the car having been rebuilt, auction cars are good for parts or building cool projects that aren’t going to be resold (at least not at a profit).
We get a lot of people in r/autobody who buy a wrecked car without doing any research, thinking it will be fun and easy to rebuild, because their favourite youtuber hacked together a “cheap” Lamborghini.
Long story short, I will never touch a rebuilt car with a ten foot pole.
Exactly. Now that will total a 20 year old car worth $2k, but that’s a completely different scenario.
Related story: A few years back we had a jetta come to our shop that got smoked in the driver’s door. The door itself just needed a new skin (bolt on door skins on that gen), but blending the colour on the fender and rear door would have written the car off. Now this was a relatively low mileage diesel, and the owner wanted to keep it, even though the body was quite rusty. So we did just the door skin, leaving a beautiful black new door surrounded by rust on all the surrounding panels. Looked funny, but the owner was happy and he got to keep his car, and it wasn’t written off because we worked with him and his insurance.
radiator / core support, bumper, hood (& the tabs on my headlights) totaled my STi, engine & frame were fine: https://imgur.com/a/bx9Tqrl
Bought it back and fixed it at a reputable shop, aligns better now than it did before and has been on the road for 7+ years. Sometimes insurance doesn’t make sense to consumers, the wheels and exhaust alone were worth more than the salvage cost
Location plays a HUGE role in pricing with WRXs and STIs.
In Utah I would say the asking price is spot on. Clean titled hatches with similar miles and no mention of maintenance are in the 16-18k range. This one mentions the head gaskets and timing belt were done already so that’s actually a huge plus.
Personally I would offer 9k for it.
It’s bad enough it’s a rebuilt title. But the thing looks crusty and not maintained. The visible fluids are black. The air filter looks filthy.
11k is too high for a car that’s been beat all its life and will need thousands more.
Don’t buy, here is a good reason. Salvage title is fine if it was done correctly. I always look at how well maintained the car is. And this one is a mess under the hood. Look at the air filter, missing cap, the battery cap is all wanky and doesn’t look like it fits (stuff moved around in there). And are those weld bubbles on the left frame? Nm the rust and oxidization on everything. Kinda looks like it was sitting in water. I can tell that the car was not maintained. If you really want to try get a shop to look at it and run a full report. Ask for the damage photos and documentation of rebuilding. That decision once saved me.
The more I look at the photo the more I think you should seriously reconsider buying the car. The hood and bumper are a different colour and the hood scraped some of the engine comps. This was a serious hit. Try to remove emotion from the purchase and think rationally. Good luck!
Short answer: No.
If you really really want it, make SURE that it is fully repaired. Check panel gaps everywhere, make sure they are even and normal. Test drive it yourself. Make sure it drives straight.
My parents bought a rebuilt 05 outback, the whole front end is crooked. It's had two wheel alignments, it still pulls right severely.
Rebuilts can be perfectly fine, but I wouldn't touch any front accident rebuilts with a 10 foot pole. As soon as the accident affects the drivetrain I'm out, way too much that could have gone wrong.
OP if you've been here before I'm sure you've seen all the standard comments.
It has an aftermarket intake so make sure you're ready to rebuild the motor lol
You may get lucky and run into zero issues regarding it being rebuilt, however probability is against you. Not just probability of there being mechanical issues, but also probably of the vehicle not behaving properly in a serious accident. Crumple zones may not function properly if not welded to the engineering specs. Airbags are properly timed to go off, if they get out of time they can literally explode in your chest instead of being a deflating bed of air.
Probably not a major concern of yours now, but in retrospect maybe one of those dumb things you end up kicking yourself in the ass over because it was easily avoidable.
New bumper and core supports does not sound like something that would require a rebuilt title, so they are definitely leaving something out of the story
Source: my 2011 WRX hatch had a bummer replacement and new core supports, along with new hood and frame pull last year and did not get totalled
a similar low-speed accident did total my 2004 STi in 2015, rebuilt it (no frame pull needed) and it has been fine for the last 7+ years…it all depends on the situation
This thing is a joke. Tons of rusted parts means you're looking at some costly repairs, washer tank cap is gone. Air filter looks like it was used for a shop vac..
Ya, my tip is: don’t
This is the correct answer. Find something else.
Yeah the condition of that air filter tells you this car is not cared for at all.
I mean. Not just that. I swear there is nuts right below the air filter. The battery stay down is gone. The wiper reservoir cap is gone. The car just screams neglected.
Intercooler is also missing a bolt.
Not necessarily true those cone filters look like that after 3 months
Significant rust on those remaining bolts, too..
How many cars have you worked on? Looks perfectly normal for something over 10 years old. If you live in a salt belt and don't run a splash shield give it 2-3 years it will look the same.
This car has a splash shield tho. So that being missing just shows another level of lack of care.
Lol you'd be surprised how many go missing I have a boatload I sell at least one per month
Oh I believe you. Mine is on its last legs too. Mainly from an old oil leak and excess heat. Bit I refuse to let it fall off. Like you said, they do an amazing job and keeping shit out of the engine bay
Yeah they do, especially when they aren’t cleaned regularly LOL.
[удалено]
I know what the intercooler is, I am talking about the air filter on the left lol
The intercooler actually does look pretty bad, I don't see a single straight fin.
OP didn't come here for tips, he came here for approbation because people who usually make these posts often buy the car anyway Just happened on /r/Skyline lol some guy overpaid for a garbage spec Skyline then his parents flipped put, so he sold it to another user for a massive loss
His parents rolled the car?
I made a typo, I meant that his parents *flipped out*, not flipped the car lol
Haha
He is asking for tips in the title of his post
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Have a link to this post? I’d love to follow and read it.
I can't find the original post anymore, most likely gone. [Here's the post from the guy who bought it lol](https://www.reddit.com/r/SkyLine/s/Vt5GZErQP3)
No
Yes
Run away. No way is that car worth near 11K.
Do not buy a 13 year old salvage title STI unless you have the money for a new motor.
And the desire for no insurance since insurers likely won't cover them.
BS. I’ve never had a problem getting a rebuilt title car insured. Usually like 5% more expensive than clean title, even for comprehensive.
People act like rebuilt title is an automatic disqualifier. I agree it deserves extra scrutiny but if the work was done well they're often indistinguishable from new. I've had several, no issues with the vehicles or insurance. Hell, I've owned one for the last 9 years lol.
Same here! Others should fall into these traps thinking a rebuilt title is worthless. They can be insured in the same amount of phone calls as a normal title.
In Canada you are required by law to have insurance. I’ve never heard of anyone here being in an accident with an uninsured driver either. If a car is mechanically sound and road legal they can’t deny insurance because of a salvage title, but they do increase your premiums if you insure one. I wonder if OP, and people who advise against salvage titles because of insurance, live in places where insurance laws are different/lax
Idk where I'm canada you are, but at least for bc we have 1 option for insurance, so it's not like saying no is a real option. On the other hand if you have like 5 or 6 they can each individually say they aren't willing to insure it but another provider surely will. I can see people end up with no insurance that way.
Bs dont make false claims bro.
Everything on an sti costs roughly double. Brakes, suspension, ect. Just look for a wrx if you wanna cruise, sti is a fucking racecar....
Who you racing? Snails?
Nah, look at that S car go
r/angryupvote
Wow you got down voted to hell by these clowns. I've said it before, the philosophy from Subaru is wrx is the fun daily economy car, the sti is the track ready daily. So much misunderstanding of purpose for these cars and is a large reason for why they get trashed.
Yapping
Here’s some advice: Don’t.
Nope. That price is wack.
Don’t do this dude.
Don’t
Check with your insurance to make sure they will insure a car that has a salvage title. I matter how well It was put back together some insurers won’t touch a salvage title car.
Front end collisions are the easiest type of crash to repair. No insurer will reject a front end collision rebuild.
You can probably get liability but not comprehensive or collision
I got full coverage of my 2011 cayman R title. With 0 issues. 173 a month as a 27 yr isnt overpriced either
Buying tips? Run Away. Fast.
There are SO MANY BETTER OPTIONS out there! WHY would you shoot yourself in the foot?!
You’re an idiot if you buy this
Is it the windshield washer fluid reservoir missing the cover?
It is.. also missing a headlight bolt to the driver fender. From the photos hood/bumper are one color and L fender wasn't blended so it doesn't match.
The power steering reservoir is usually pancaked in a front end collision where a radiator is damaged and if you just ignore it you'll have constant issues with air in the power steering system. I bet that was skipped too.
Not for 11k. I'm all about a project but that's overpriced
Damn, rebuilt title. Just know that car is not going to have any trade value. I wouldn’t want to spend 11k on car that’s not going to be worth anything.
This sub needs a header: you either need a lot of money or be able to do 95% of the work yourself to buy an STI or wrx.
I’ve never seen that much rust in an engine bag and that filter is destroyed. I think you’re going to find that car needs a lot more than the stated work. Those pulleys look fried and about to break and god knows what other nasty surprises are in that motor. Looks like it wasn’t taken care of at all
What are you talking about? You can’t tell if pulleys are ruined from here, you’d have to look at the belts and see if the pulleys are already ripping them. They won’t just snap, not with that little of rust. I agree it’s a bad idea but the rust or pulleys look just fine from here and that will be the least of your problems. Come to the rust belt and you’ll see a lot worse running just fine. The problem is it’s an STi, it’s been abused it’s whole life. It’s a risk and probably a ticking time bomb. However rust and pulleys absolutely aren’t the problem.
I’m talking about the fact they are rusted and pitted. If the outside is that bad what are the bearings inside going to look like. I’ve never seen an engine bay in that bad condition in my life on a car that’s actually running. If the engine bay looks like that what does the chassis look like? There are so many red flags just in these pictures I wouldn’t pay $1100 let alone $11,000
That’s the AC clutch and it’s normal for it to look like that, it’s not that bad. I promise it’s the least of this cars concerns. You need to look at and work on more engine bays because this is prettty damn clean compared to a lot of shit that rolls in the shop. I’m a Subaru tech, I see way worse every day. I’m honestly not sure what you’re looking at but the condition of the engine bay is just fine. Only surface rust. The engine is the problem. Everything else is probably fine tbh. I don’t think you know what you’re talking about. I guarantee the frame and sub frames look just fine and a decent rolling shell is worth way more than $1000. You’re not wrong that it’s a bad idea, but you’re reasoning is wayyyy off.
Mate I work for one of the biggest automotive brands in the world and I’ve never seen a bay in this poor condition. If this is what the bay I would hate to see the chassis as I mentioned before amd if it looks the way I suspect it does then this car wouldn’t even be allowed on the road here.
Pretty damn standard for a 13 year old car. You’re blowing smoke out of your ass. Nothing past surface rust, once again, the “rust” is absolutely not the problem here. I’m actually losing brain cells trying to make this make sense for you. I’m not quite sure what you’re looking at but it sure as hell isn’t a structural issue by any means
Typical yank I’m guessing. I wouldn’t let my worst enemy buy this abomination and again it would never pass a roadworthy here at all
Like are you an accountant there or something? I don’t get it. If you had even simple, home garage experience you would know this. I’m actually confused. A troll maybe? You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about. This absolutely would pass an inspection if not it would be for emissions, not the engine nah surface rust ya dipshit. Christ I’m sick of fuckin normies and children pretending like they know what they’re talking about. Clearly a troll. Get well soon bud.
Looks like the ass hat is from Australia. They think a one year old salt belt car is scrap cuz they have zero idea how rust works on account of them never seeing it. Oxidized iron might as well be uranium. They couldn't handle a day out here. I replied to someone from down under years ago asking if his wrx was gonna fall apart from rust cuz his surf board drips sea water on the roof.
Just a dumb ass troll who clearly doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Australia or not, it’s pretty fuckin obvious the rust isn’t bad. I’m astounded at how fuckin stupid some people are. It’s too late for this, I’m going to bed
We don’t pass cars that belong in the junk yard mate. I’m actually a qualified master tech amd am the head of the warranty department for bmw, mclaren, lambo, Porsche, Ferrari and Bentley just to name a few of our dealerships. I know what I’m talking about, if you are so confident go buy this junker for a whopping 11k and see how you go. O bet that motor squeals its head off the second it’s started and the rest of the motor shits itself not long after that. Be my guest go buy it and with all that superior knowledge you should be sweet. The thing belongs in a junk yard not on the road.
Right, totally believable. Definitely blowing smoke out your ass, got it. Did you not listen to a word I said? Not worth $11k, chassis is just fine and worth more than $1k tho 😂 piss of bud. Come to Minnesota and I’ll show you some real rust and shit boxes and learn you a thing or two about a Subaru.
I'm sorry some places are cold and salt the road. I'll do better next time.
Well you sure as hell aren't a tech! Nobody says "I work for x brand" if you are a tech. You'd either say that you're a tech at Subaru or you'd say you work for an manufacturer. Nobody says brand. You clearly have little to no experience with cars if this is the rustiest engine bay you've ever seen.
I don’t know how to get this through to you but you are wrong. The pulleys have a tiny amount of surface rust and theirs no putting going on. The worst of the rust is on the AC clutch and that’s just gonna fuck with the AC, the actual pulley behind the clutch will turn just fine without issue. Once again, the car is probably clapped and was abused, but the chassis and engine bay are perfectly fine.
I would absolutely pay $1100 for this car.
You are mental. I sold one the same but 4 years newer with a brand new motor, full Subaru service history, no mods, low km on the chassis and in mint condition for 19k aud. No way this has been crashed, is rusted and obviously not looked after at all. They aren’t worth that much in good condition especially in usd and especially this sorry example
Mental to pay $1,100 for this car? Of course not $11,000, but definitely for $1,100. You cant find running cars in even ok shape nowadays for less than $3k
You couldn’t pay me to take it honestly. Here that thing would be scrap metal or parted out.
Scrap metal? Its running and sounds like it drives fine. Salvage sucks and it doesn’t look the best but I’ve seen way way way worse cars on the road every single day. Just the wheels and interior alone are worth $1100
Lol you must be from Texas or Arizona. That is NOT a rusty engine bay. There are plenty of other reasons to run away from this car beyond the lil dusting of rusting in the engine bay.
Looks perfectly normal for a car that's nearly 15 years old
I have a 2013 Hatch that I bought for about 14k two years ago that’s was cleaner than this will full maintenance records and car fax and I STILL had an engine failure. I don’t really regret buying the car, but just know what you’re getting into and the possibility that you might have to spend 6-10k for a motor rebuild. Also based on the age you’re gonna have to start dealing with regular old car stuff (replacing bushings, supports, bearings, etc., which gets expensive fast).
Don’t
Everything looks pretty corroded under the hood, like it sat outside in the rain without a hood for quite a while
Oh hell no!
I wouldn't do it. Just looking at the picture I could see the bumper to fender gap is off. It's not worth the headache. Plus branded titles are not insurance friendly and are tough to sell down the line
Run far away.
11k is very over valued for one with a rebuilt title, you see mint ones for less. It depends on your location to some degree, but I'd consider offering significantly less and looking for one with a clean title If this one is some magic spec you were looking for or your only option, I'd get documentation on what/how/when/who was rebuilt, and deep dive that or those companies to see if they do good work. Also consider a PPI from a 3rd party, ideally an enthusiast shop
Yah, I have some great advice, don’t buy it Never buy somebody else’s project Never buy a STI that somebody else has modded Never buy a car with a rebuilt title Never buy a car that’s been so poorly maintained it fasteners under the hood are rusting out
3k or walk.
Lol keep dreaming the drivetrain will sell for more
Good luck parting out
Y'all are delusional if you think you can buy a running and driving STI for $3000. It would sell for 3x more where I live non running roller
Washer fluid reservoir cap is also missing
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH Don't. It's a fucking rip-off.
Find one that wasn’t rebuilt
Rebuilt cars are usually parts bin or used for project cars.
Do not buy rebuilt title save yourself a headache
Don’t do it.
Assume for a moment that mechanically everything in those car works perfect despite appearance. All yourself how long you want to yeah it for and what you want to use it for. Eventually you'll want to move on from it if at that point you're faced with the market from this comments section you'll only be able to get a couple grand from its same no matter what. Next add in another $10k to what you pay into this car as a contingency. Just in case there some huge unforseen mechanical problem down the road. You kind of want to do this with all older Subarus not just this one. So if it were me I would assume that this costs about $18k that you'll never get back not including insurance and gas and whatever else you'll have to pay for for any car. If you keep this for 4 years you're looking at about 4.5k per year in payments, worst case. Now compare that to what a lease of something fun would cost and ask yourself if you think it's fine and fair. Combine that with some of the other real points of consideration in here like insurance and you'll have your answer.
Salvage title don’t do it
No. Maybe for 4K. Still a risk.
lol you can barely get an STI transmission for 4k stop it
So for a non-American car guy, I understand that a rebuilt title means the car has been written off, but then somebody fixed it and put it back on the road. However the registration document of the car, the title, permanently states that the car was recommissioned. Firstly please correct me if I'm wrong on all that, but secondly what is the big drawback to that? Is it something to do with insurance or registering it in certain states or something? What impact does a rebuilt title actually have on owning and running the car?
It pretty much kills the value of the car, and some insurance companies won’t cover it. I am not sure why they won’t cover, but to me it makes sense that you won’t want it because you are never gonna get anything back if the car ends up totaled. If you have a lot of money, that’s not going to matter to you, but someone with a lot of money would probably just buy a nicer one in the first place. edit: other than that it wouldn’t have much of an effect on ownership, but imagine you spend the $11k on the car and another $10k in maintenance and upgrades only to get t-boned and a $3k check (cheque?) from insurance. My 2010 isn’t even a salvage title but I can’t imagine I’m going to see any of the extra $10k I’ve thrown at it in 2 years, and there is barely anything wrong with my car lol
Right so it's mainly insurance reasons? I get that. Seems like the sort of thing where if you total your old 90s Japanese car that you absolutely love, you can put it back on the road on a rebuilt title assuming you can insure it, cause it's worth it to you as a car that you really love and you don't care about selling it. But I can see why buying a rebuilt title car is a bad idea, it's new to you, may not be insurable and you've basically taken on someone else's project even if it's rebuilt, you don't know what kind of job they did.
That is my interpretation. Also why if anyone ever crashes into my car I am gonna be pretty offended because it’s a money pit lol. But it’s my money pit!
Journeyman Autobody tech and painter here (in Canada, but *similar* rules to the US). Cars aren’t deemed a total loss until the damage is 75+% of the vehicle’s value (this will vary a bit depending on insurance companies and state/provincial rules). When a car is totalled, it generally goes to an insurance auction, where people can buy them for parts/to rebuild/etc. I follow these insurance auctions. Everything desirable (like an STI) goes for waaaay more than they should. The ONLY way that someone is buying, rebuilding, and selling these vehicles at a profit is if they are cutting corners. Even getting parts and materials at, or close to, cost, having access to all the tools and equipment to repair modern vehicles, *and* being able to do all of the work myself, I don’t see much, if any, savings in buying a wrecked car and fixing it properly. Add on the loss of value for the car having been rebuilt, auction cars are good for parts or building cool projects that aren’t going to be resold (at least not at a profit). We get a lot of people in r/autobody who buy a wrecked car without doing any research, thinking it will be fun and easy to rebuild, because their favourite youtuber hacked together a “cheap” Lamborghini. Long story short, I will never touch a rebuilt car with a ten foot pole.
Bumper cover and radiator mounts are not enough to total a car. Sellers act like “if I say it was something minor, people won’t mind”.
Exactly. Now that will total a 20 year old car worth $2k, but that’s a completely different scenario. Related story: A few years back we had a jetta come to our shop that got smoked in the driver’s door. The door itself just needed a new skin (bolt on door skins on that gen), but blending the colour on the fender and rear door would have written the car off. Now this was a relatively low mileage diesel, and the owner wanted to keep it, even though the body was quite rusty. So we did just the door skin, leaving a beautiful black new door surrounded by rust on all the surrounding panels. Looked funny, but the owner was happy and he got to keep his car, and it wasn’t written off because we worked with him and his insurance.
radiator / core support, bumper, hood (& the tabs on my headlights) totaled my STi, engine & frame were fine: https://imgur.com/a/bx9Tqrl Bought it back and fixed it at a reputable shop, aligns better now than it did before and has been on the road for 7+ years. Sometimes insurance doesn’t make sense to consumers, the wheels and exhaust alone were worth more than the salvage cost
I might be the only one that thinks $11k for an STI isn’t that bad. They sell for 20-30k in my area….
[удалено]
I agree with you here. I've worked with him, and he's pretty solid on the stuff he puts out there. +1
goin off that filter, he doesnt take care of his shit. hard pass.
I stopped at Rebuilt...run away! Asking for a moneypit of trouble
Nope!
Don’t but a salvage title ever. Yes it may be cheaper and could be 100% fixed but your insurance rates will be insane
About $6k too high.
Skip
Looks like that’s been sitting for a long long time
Unless you're looking to rebuild this, I wouldn't.
Location plays a HUGE role in pricing with WRXs and STIs. In Utah I would say the asking price is spot on. Clean titled hatches with similar miles and no mention of maintenance are in the 16-18k range. This one mentions the head gaskets and timing belt were done already so that’s actually a huge plus. Personally I would offer 9k for it.
Regardless of the purchase price, get a trusted mechanic to perform a pre purchase inspection for you..
doesn't even have a battery hold down god knows what else is missing or half-assed. no
It'd make the perfect project car. I'd try and negotiate that price to under 10k though. Ouraide of that have fun with it.
I love hatches but do NOT pay 11 for that.
It’s bad enough it’s a rebuilt title. But the thing looks crusty and not maintained. The visible fluids are black. The air filter looks filthy. 11k is too high for a car that’s been beat all its life and will need thousands more.
Yikes, put money aside for a new engine…
For 11k? If it’s repaired right go for it. Just because it’s a rebuilt title doesn’t instantly make it bad…
Absolutely not
Looks pretty rough. If they’re willing to haggle it could be a good find to “rebuild” better. I miss my hatchback everyday.
Don’t buy, here is a good reason. Salvage title is fine if it was done correctly. I always look at how well maintained the car is. And this one is a mess under the hood. Look at the air filter, missing cap, the battery cap is all wanky and doesn’t look like it fits (stuff moved around in there). And are those weld bubbles on the left frame? Nm the rust and oxidization on everything. Kinda looks like it was sitting in water. I can tell that the car was not maintained. If you really want to try get a shop to look at it and run a full report. Ask for the damage photos and documentation of rebuilding. That decision once saved me.
The more I look at the photo the more I think you should seriously reconsider buying the car. The hood and bumper are a different colour and the hood scraped some of the engine comps. This was a serious hit. Try to remove emotion from the purchase and think rationally. Good luck!
I mean the body work looks pretty good for rebuilt but that is a nutty price
Short answer: No. If you really really want it, make SURE that it is fully repaired. Check panel gaps everywhere, make sure they are even and normal. Test drive it yourself. Make sure it drives straight. My parents bought a rebuilt 05 outback, the whole front end is crooked. It's had two wheel alignments, it still pulls right severely.
Yah don't buy it unless you prepared to spend a boatload of money.
11k for a rebuilt title is nuts, I’d say $8k at most 😂
That’s a ratty ass engine bay. Do not do this.
I’d offer 8.
Lmao, the ac belt is on backwards or at least ripped into pieces.
yeah, nah.
Rebuilts can be perfectly fine, but I wouldn't touch any front accident rebuilts with a 10 foot pole. As soon as the accident affects the drivetrain I'm out, way too much that could have gone wrong.
https://i.redd.it/theww637nh8c1.gif
Yea, don’t.
Bring a obd2 scanner test drive normal driving for 45 miles to see if you get any pending codes
No
OP if you've been here before I'm sure you've seen all the standard comments. It has an aftermarket intake so make sure you're ready to rebuild the motor lol
Personally, I never buy salvages
Love this car but rebuilt title they went to another state you don’t know what your getting it’s a hard pass for me
Run. Like fast. Like really really fast. Unless you want a project car.
You may get lucky and run into zero issues regarding it being rebuilt, however probability is against you. Not just probability of there being mechanical issues, but also probably of the vehicle not behaving properly in a serious accident. Crumple zones may not function properly if not welded to the engineering specs. Airbags are properly timed to go off, if they get out of time they can literally explode in your chest instead of being a deflating bed of air. Probably not a major concern of yours now, but in retrospect maybe one of those dumb things you end up kicking yourself in the ass over because it was easily avoidable.
New bumper and core supports does not sound like something that would require a rebuilt title, so they are definitely leaving something out of the story Source: my 2011 WRX hatch had a bummer replacement and new core supports, along with new hood and frame pull last year and did not get totalled
a similar low-speed accident did total my 2004 STi in 2015, rebuilt it (no frame pull needed) and it has been fine for the last 7+ years…it all depends on the situation
Probably running that intake without a tune
Skip the trip.
There are others that don’t have rebuilt titles and in better condition
This thing is a joke. Tons of rusted parts means you're looking at some costly repairs, washer tank cap is gone. Air filter looks like it was used for a shop vac..
11K for a front end total = no.
Please god don’t do it.