Bought a Thing. (Again)

"AkursedX" (akursedx) 03/06/2018 at 10:22 • Filed to: None

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They say “Insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting different results” . Well the people who know me well would certainly equate my obsession with cars with ‘Insanity’.

So I guess buying another 2016 Subaru WRX STI after I sold my last one after only 8k miles of ownership seems totally like something that I would do.

My new 2016 STI. Will this one last longer than my first one?? Only time will tell.

A mere 2.5 years ago, I bought a brand new 2016 Lapis Blue Pearl STI. And after only 16 months of ownership, I traded it in on a 2014 Ford Police Interceptor Utility. That STI was a really nice car and I enjoyed driving it for the most part. It ran quite well and was able to carry my family of four around with no issues. And with the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! I had on it, it was one of the more competent vehicles I have ever owned for navigating !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

So what was the problem? Why would I sell a car that ‘checked all the boxes’ after such a short period of ownership? Quite simply, the answer was ‘Me’.

My first 2016 STI. It did look good in that color (until it got dirty after 5 minutes)

The biggest issue I had with my first STI was that I treated it like it was some kind of rare, collectible car. I would try to go out of my way not to drive it because I didn’t want to put miles on it. I didn’t want it to get scratched or dinged. I spent countless hours washing, polishing, sealing, and waxing it because the dark-blue color constantly looked dirty.

As an avid preacher of the ‘Cars Are Meant to Be Driven’ mantra, I had become giant hypocrite.

The funny thing, it took me a long time to realize that I was actually the problem. When I actually traded that car in, I had all kinds of excuses: my wife couldn’t drive stick, it was too small for family trips, I liked the driving dynamics of my RX-8 better, etc... Thankfully I have some very good friends who are as car-obsessed as I am who opened my eyes to the issue and I am now in a much better state of mind with my car-ownership.

My old 2014 Ford Police Interceptor Utility on the left, and on the right, my new 2016 STI

While my 2014 Police Interceptor had been a nice car to own, I really wanted something sporty again and something I could autocross in case my RX-8 couldn’t go. I had almost bought a 3k mile CPO’d 2018 Ford Focus RS but couldn’t justify spending that kind of cash. I considered EVO’s and Golf-R’s as AWD and 4-doors were a must, but I couldn’t help but feel like I needed to give the STI another shot.

The dealership that I almost bought the RS from is a place I’ve done business with before and they are the largest dealership group in the area. I found this 2016 STI in their inventory but it was over an hour away in Rochester. It was listed with 18xxx miles and looked really nice. Plus it was silver, which it much easier to keep looking somewhat clean. I wasn’t interested enough in it to drive out there, but I came to find that they do free dealership transfers for used vehicles. I called up the salesguy and he worked on getting it over for me. We had worked out a deal before I even saw the car, which kind of worked out well for me.

In what can only be considered an extremely rare occurrence, this car didn’t have 18xxx miles, it only had 8xxx miles on it! Someone dropped the ball when they got the car in and nobody caught the error. The carfax kind of confirmed this to me as there was an entry month before the car was up for sale with 7500 miles. Putting on 11000 miles in a month on an STI sounded pretty insane. This was a pleasant surprise for sure.

Other added bonuses I came to find were a full COBB Tuning 3" Turboback exhaust ($1845 new), a short-shifter with upgraded shift bushings and the Kicker Speaker-upgrade Subaru offers. Also, I was lazy and never sold off any of the stuff I bought for my old STI so I already have floorliners, an AEM dryflow filter, the 18x9 wheels that are pictured above, foglamp bulbs, and a few other things ready to reinstall.

I was really happy to see this. I was even happier when I saw the it was the full turboback!

I’ve only owned for a few days. but I am happy to be back in an STI. And I feel I’m in the right mental state to own and enjoy it this time around. It will be driven plenty. I even plan on doing a few autocrosses in it and it will be nice to have a backup for when my STX-prepped RX-8 inevitably breaks.

Nibby > AkursedX 03/06/2018 at 10:26

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congrats now just don’t drive like a dick

Nibby > AkursedX 03/06/2018 at 10:26

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congrats now just don’t drive like a dick

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > AkursedX 03/06/2018 at 10:30

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Congrats! Lapis Blue is my all time favorite WRX/STi color even more than WRB.

Obligatory did you get the “Monster energy Flat brim hat, shocker sticker and Deluxe Vape package”?  

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > AkursedX 03/06/2018 at 10:36

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I’ve always wondered what the ExPIs are like to drive. Do you have a write-up/review of it?

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > AkursedX 03/06/2018 at 11:14

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Congrats! Welcome back to the STi club. How’s the turboback/tune? I’ve been scared to go that route because of warranty and resale, but apparently it won’t hurt resale much.

random001 > AkursedX 03/06/2018 at 11:59

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I was waffling between an STi and a Stingray. I’ve pretty much settle on the stingray, but I have a soft spot for an STi...

gawdzillla > AkursedX 03/06/2018 at 12:03

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that dark blue is lovely

AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC > AkursedX 03/06/2018 at 12:06

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Now this is good Oppo. I like the personal retrospective. It helps us all realize that we should really just go for the car we want instead of trying to logic our way out of what we’ll eventually want.

AkursedX > AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC 03/06/2018 at 12:59

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Thanks! I’ve never really been afraid to say ‘I was wrong’ or ‘I made a mistake’. The quicker you can realize and accept you errors, the quicker you move on. And the more you can share your stories of mistakes with others, hopefully the chances of them making that same mistake will drop.

AkursedX > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 03/06/2018 at 13:05

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The lapis blue was great as long as you don’t own it. It was a very frustrating color to own if you like having a clean-looking car all the time. And the scratches and swirlmarks that I had to wheel-out after winter was annoying.

The Silver certainly isnt as nice, but I don’t feel like I need to wash it everyday either.

And as far as the stereotype, yeah, its annoying as I’m a 37-year old father of two that has never had a speeding ticket in his life and has only been pulled over once in the past 12 years.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > AkursedX 03/06/2018 at 13:07

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Never knew it was a problem with that color. Silver hides everything so well. BTW black car owner here and I win a losing battles against dirt and scratches.

AkursedX > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 03/06/2018 at 13:09

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I have a half-written article for it. But in short, it’s nothing like the civilian explorer. My father had an XLT Explorer the same time I had mine so I could drive them back to back. The PI is much more composed with far better throttle and transmission mapping. For a 4500lb vehicle, it was actually quite a hoot to drive.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > AkursedX 03/06/2018 at 13:39

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So basically, if an ExPI comes up for a reasonable price, snipe it? I know there’s some cost involved in making it a little closer to the civilian variant.

DasWauto > AkursedX 03/10/2018 at 21:10

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Congrats on the purchase and welcome back to the turbo Subaru club.

What model and offset are those wheels/tires you’ve got for the car? They look fantastic.

I just picked up a set of 18 x 8.5 +45 Rays 57F for the summer set and am still a bit worried they’ll sit too far in the wheelwell, despite being wider with a lower offset than stock (8”, +55 respectively). I’ll have to wait till I get some tires mounted and winter buggers off to find out for sure.

Also, embrace the dirt:

:)

AkursedX > DasWauto 03/10/2018 at 21:22

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Thanks! The wheels are Drag DR31's 18x9et40 I think? They are on my RX8 right now as they are interchangable but will go back on the Subaru when autocross season starts. When I get them back on, I’m going to do some inspecting to see if I can fit 265/35/18's on it.

DasWauto > AkursedX 03/10/2018 at 21:33

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I’m considering that size as well as it’s the exact same rolling diameter as the stock 235/45R17. What size is on there now?

I wanted to go 255 section width but 255/40R18 is 3% oversized and 255/35R18 is undersized. The other option is 245/40R18 which is 1.5% oversized but close enough.

I love the fat tire look but 265 might be excessive on a 8.5” wheel so I’m just pondering my options.

AkursedX > DasWauto 03/10/2018 at 21:43

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Sti’s come stock with 245/40/18. Total diameter would be less than .5" smaller.

Another option I’m considering is 255/40/18 as it would be a touch taller (.3") which would help a bit with the short gearing on the autox track.

But I’m short on funds right now as I bought an Accessport to make sure my tune is safe with the 3" down pipe. I read too much about potential boost creep issues and decided it would be a safe investment.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > AkursedX 03/26/2018 at 15:56

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I know that I am happy with my STi purchase since I do actually have to think about whether I will drive the Subaru or my Miata for when I want to drive someplace. Usually practicality reasons will force me into taking the STi but I do still choose it for purely fun drives as well. I do still find it funny that the previous owner sold the car for the exact same reason I was buying it - to get something newer, more comfortable, and practical.