Opinions Needed On This Car Asap Please

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

Folks,

Any thoughts on this ??

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/657418.htm

I am at a conference down in Stratford upon Avon and this car is nearby.

Does it seem legit ? I already called the guy and he seems genuine enough.

It seems very clean from the pictures ( engine bay especially)

I intend to view tomorrow but would appreciate the advice of Squiggle and other knowledgeable classic owners tonight if possible !

Thanks

Cal

Edited September 23, 2008 by ~ ~ Cal ~~

[colin_ross]

looks tidy to me, nice options too on an RA with leccy windows and aircon. Looks nice and standard too, always a good sign.

Buy on condition, not history as it probably won't have any. And vet the owner as well as the car, ask what sort of fuel he runs it on and has it been remapped for uk fuel or to remove the limiter.

It's a buyer market so deal hard of you do make him an offer.

[the squiggle]

Not an RA

Looks quite clean from the pics

Red paint on the manifoild is one of the best condition i have seen, if it was not for the flaking about the idle valve i would have reckoned it had been repainted

Worth a closer look for the money

[the squiggle]

Strut brace is missing

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

Thanks folks - he was advertising his name as Adam with nor surname which I thought was a bit strange..........I asked his surname (Khan) and then did some Googleling

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q...yUK%7CcountryGB

http://www.petrolheads.co.uk/sales/609965.htm

He said he was selling it on behlaf of his brother but judging from the above he may be some sort of breaker etc etc

Claimed he had an Evo and sent it to Owen Developments for tweaking recently and the RA was along on the journey so SEEMS genuine

Just don;'t wabt to go along with cash if these guys are potentially shady ! I am meeting him at his address ( if I decided to view and confirm with him)

He says the car had no DCCD when I quizzed him - I thought all RA's had this ?

Thanks again guys

Cal

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

He also stated it was only imported 3 months ago which explains the zero rust and is standard right down to the original OEM exhaust

Anything else I can look at to see if its genuine ? He also said he pulled the yellow 555 sticker off the back as he reckoned it was potentially attracting unwanted attention

CGS

[micra_wrc]

Cal,

its not a STi RA, its a STi 555 Ltd

tell tale signs that its not a RA are:

- the aerial is on rear panel (it will be on the roof if its a RA)

- colour coded wing mirrors and side skirts ('standard' STi RAs didnt have these)

edit - duh I mean RAs dont have colour coded mirrors, not that they dont have mirrors lol

- its got a rear wash wipe ('standard' STi RAs didnt have these)

- its got electric mirrors ('standard' STi RAs didnt have these)

it could be that the current owner is confused and/or has been told that he's got a RA.

other than that, the interior pics look like its hardly been used (red stitching on the steering wheel and the gear knob seems intact) and the mileage is v. low for a car of that age

Its even got the standard alloys and twin pea shooter exhaust

i'd suggest to go and view it, have a nosy at it, listen to it idling and perhaps take it for test drive?

ideal car for your track-toy and you can probably haggle the guy down for mis-advertising it as a RA

price is good too, if its undamaged/not been ragged

also, have a lookie at this thread on the Type RA forum for exactly the same thing

Edited September 23, 2008 by micra_wrc

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

Thanks Imy - the knowledge in here is invaluable........I was not even looking "down sarf" but dialled in a post code search on Pistonheads on an opportunist basis

Am I right in thinking that the gear ratios will be short but not AS short as those of an RA's ?

Edited September 24, 2008 by ~ ~ Cal ~~

[the squiggle]

Thanks Imy - the knowledge in here is invaluable........I was even looking "down sarf" but dialled in a post code search on Pistonheads on an opportunist basis

Am I right in thinking that the gear ratios will be short but not AS short as those of an RA's ?

Balls to the wall in fifth it will do 149mph.

Gearing is longer than same year RA but shorter than WRX and UK

[micra_wrc]

...

He says the car had no DCCD when I quizzed him - I thought all RA's had this ?

Only STi RAs (and Type Rs) have DCCD [talking about classics here]

He also stated it was only imported 3 months ago

hmm does that mean that it will be newly registered in the UK and therefore falls into the higher band for road tax?

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

thanks again - I'll go along and see what the crack is !

I am still eyeing up cars north of the border as a fall back option ( Pedals & Strappers chariots on my short list).......also waiting to here from someone else on SN about another car

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

Did some background checks ......see below but yet to do a VIN check. Only imported recently which ties in which his claims and explains why is has a long MOT

I even checked that the surroundings in the pictures tied in with the surrounding environment via Google Satellite imagery !!

Make & Model Subaru VIN Check Click here to perform a free VIN check Engine Size 2000cc

Engine Number NK

First Registered 4 Aug 2008

Year Manufactured 1995

Former Keepers 0 (Current keeper has held the vehicle from first registration)

Body Saloon

Colour Blue

Finance Protection To enable finance protection please complete the purchaser receipt that has been emailed to you.

Vehicle Checks

Colour changes There is no record of this registration being subject to a colour change.

Plate Transfer There is no record of this registration being involved in a plate transfer.

Scrapped There is no record of this registration being scrapped.

Exported There is no record of this registration being exported.

Stolen There is no record of this registration being stolen. Stolen & Recovered There is no record of this registration being stolen & recovered. Insurance Write-off There is no record of this registration being written-off. Vehicle I.D. Check There is no record of this registration being subject to a Vehicle Identification Check.

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

Update -

...convinced the guy to drive 20 miles to the conference hotel today and meet me at lunch time. No harm in viewing especially at a neutral safe venue.

I was rather surprised when he turned up with some other guys. Straight away I felt slightly uneasy dealing with 3 young Asian sub 25 year olds who had all manner of leisure wear on right down to the cliched (sp?) baseball caps n' leather jackets. ( I know this sounds stereotyped - would have made zero difference if they were Caucasian - just scene setting). Two people I can understand but 3 is overkill. He pointed out that he was concerned that I might pitch up with other guys too so brought them along ( you can see where this is going !)

Car was tidy enough but bodywork was rough. The guy claimed a "mate" imported it and he never had an auction sheet. He did not bring the V5 with him either......He took

me round the block whilst his mates waited at the hotel. Car went like a rocket and was indeed a decent buy if the circumstances had not seemed so "shady". We talked about evo's

and skylines during the 3 minute spin and he did know his stuff....

I pointed out it was not an RA and then one of the mates started getting hot under the collar and started saying that I should pay petrol money etc etc etc ....

I then basically convinced them that I was totally genuine ( to subdue shirty mate !!) and that the car was simply not what was advertised. At this point the guy I was really dealing

with started to chill his mate out having seen for himself that I was legit. I took a piccy of the VIN plate and said I'd call back later after doing some more homework to further passify them.

At this point I made my excuses and left faster than I startled gazelle. Morale of the story - trust gut instinct and use the SIDC as a knowlegde base !! I always had my suspicions when the guy did

not use his real name but it's understandable.

So this hunt is still on and the cash is back in the bank for now. The transaction may have occured if the circumstances were more favourable but too many things did not add up.

Thanks for all the help and Grant in particular who I spoke to after the event .......

Cal

[Guest]

sorry to hear you were dissapointed about the car mate Better holding out for a good one it will pay off in the end rather than buying something your not sure about and regretting it 6 months down the line.

U thought about a fresh import?

[Boyakasha]

Playing a dangerous game Cal, next time make sure you're not on your own.

[micra_wrc]

Playing a dangerous game Cal, next time make sure you're not on your own.

sounded shady.

Just as well you were more informed about the car than the seller,

imagine bringing 2 'mates' along,

mibbe thats how its done in the W Mids

[~ ~ Cal ~~]

Playing a dangerous game Cal, next time make sure you're not on your own.

I would normally go with someone else which is why I decided to have them visit me on neutral ground ( hotel car park 20 yds from entrance)

You don't expect 3 guys to turn up though so I slipped into streetwise mode. The guy himself was okay but his mate seemed overly edgy...

Shall take pepper spray next time I view a car as a precaution !

Thank again Imy

Cal

[jim dbm]

i am selling my v3 sti which i had imported this year by sc imports if u are looking for a classic. car is mint with 42000mls, grade 4 car. pm if interested. thanks. oh its white btw.