m3ph Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Hello everyone, Here is my story, about 3 years ago i has a 06 Legacy 2.5i that i sold, because it wasn't quick enough. I looked for a GTI, i was advised to wait till the 09 GTI's came down in price to get the TSI engine. I needed a car and picked up a 08 Legacy. In 2010 I found the right GTI and and a buyer for my Legacy so I picked up a GTI. I love this car. In the winter 2011 i wanted an AWD vehicle to get around so i got myself a 98 LGT. Did some mods to it. But it was too slow ate too much gas so i sold it. In Nov 2011 I got a 2002 AUDI A4 Quattro 1.8t. 5mt Nice car. Slow. I put a K04 turbo and Stage 2+ on it. About 200 AWHP. Meh.. Still not fast enough. So now im selling the Audi and i will have about 8k - 10k to spend on a LGT. What i can get for that money is usually over 100k miles. What should i be looking out for? I know head gaskets go on these cars, bearings like no tomorrow.. what else. make sure the turbo doesn't make any funny noises. What do you guys think. I'm looking at either http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/ctd/3061595164.html or http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/3096666949.html I love the way the car looked. I wanted to drop a EJ205 with a Hydra EMS in it but I'm too much of a lazy-ass. Not that anyone cares The Audi & the GTI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No DRFT Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 If I were to choose between the two, it would be the first one. 161k is too much mileage. Check history on vehicles. Turbo replacement is a biggie. Make sure to get a compression test before buying either one. Have a trusted mechanic to look it over. I have no control over drippie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m3ph Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 I don't have a trusted mechanic How would one know if the turbo was replaced, if a dealer is selling this? The turbo on my Audi had 140k when i upgraded and it had no shaft play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 If you have the money for the first one, you could buy the second one, keep the extra cash for when it needs something. The down pipe comes off pretty easy, you could always have that checked. Spark plugs are do at 120,000 miles (every 60,000). 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slobaru Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 I would stray away from buying from a dealer. I would try to look for a single owner car. Check to make sure that the car has good maintenance records and has decent (usually less than 3-4k) oil change intervals. That's going to be a pretty good sign. If the car is over 100k make sure the timing belt has been changed and if it hasn't you can use that as a bargaining chip. You don't want to go to far over though. Head gaskets are generally not that big of a deal. The turbo/wheel bearings are big issues. Get the car inspected!! Can't tell you how important that is. Have them take it to a local Subaru dealership and spend the 100 bucks to get it looked at. Maybe the seller will even split it with you. Other than that, just listen for any funny noises, misses, anything like that. *edit* I wouldn't buy either of the cars listed. The first car is overpriced, and the second car has WAY too many miles on it. 9k for a car that will maybe go another 50-60k miles before needing a major repair? Naw. Subarus are great, but after that many miles you're usually looking at something like a transmission, clutch, shortblock, turbo or any number of other repairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m3ph Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 I'm not in a rush to buy one. Much less one of the 2. Those were some examples. I will keep looking. I'm just want to make a list of things i should look for when i go test driving and looking at cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slobaru Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 To put it into perspective, I bought my car for a little over half of what the first car is priced at with barely over 100k miles. Only thing that needed to be done was the timing belt and a new windshield. Check edmunds.com true market value. That'll give you a good idea of what a car is really worth. Their numbers are pretty low, but are said to be the most accurate. Don't let anyone throw blue book or even NADA at you. The deals are out there, you just gotta wait for 'em! Also, why are you getting rid of the Audi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated thefultonhow Posted June 26, 2012 I Donated Share Posted June 26, 2012 To put it into perspective, I bought my car for a little over half of what the first car is priced at with barely over 100k miles. Only thing that needed to be done was the timing belt and a new windshield. You got an LGT for $6000 in good working order???? I thought mine was cheap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slobaru Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Around there yeah - It needed some work in the long run though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m3ph Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 To put it into perspective, I bought my car for a little over half of what the first car is priced at with barely over 100k miles. Only thing that needed to be done was the timing belt and a new windshield. Check edmunds.com true market value. That'll give you a good idea of what a car is really worth. Their numbers are pretty low, but are said to be the most accurate. Don't let anyone throw blue book or even NADA at you. The deals are out there, you just gotta wait for 'em! Also, why are you getting rid of the Audi? The Audi does not have enough power. The next step would be a bore and stroke from a 1.8 to a 2.0l and a GT3071r to get me in the 300whp range. Frankly i don't want to go there nor do i want to invest in it that way. I would rather sell the car , save the money i would invest in it, and get a newer better car. I would settle for ~220whp that it supposedly puts out, but all the power is after 3500rpm. I like to have a little bit of low end. From what i remember the LGT had just enough low end to put a smile on my face. Much like my GTI. Also pardon my ignorance and laziness to use the search button but can some one sum up for me really quick or point me to more information about Cobb AccessPort or Open Source? What are the Power figures for stage 1 & 2 For VWs & Audis (VAGs) the have APR, REVO, Unitronic.... they all give some power figures and dyno's . I went to the Cobb website and all i saw was a 10% - 20% increase in power. Why no concrete numbers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Read in the Tuning Forum. If your good with a laptop go open source tune. If your old like me, both my cars are on Cobb AP v2. My Tuner makes a map, loads it into the Cobb and re-flashes the ECU with the Cobb. He sits in the passenger seat while I drive, he data log's makes adjustments and loads it into the Cobb AP. He did tune the wagon on the dyno when I installed the vf52. http://www.tuningalliance.com I was over to his house this past sunday. Good guy, knows his stuff. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated thefultonhow Posted June 26, 2012 I Donated Share Posted June 26, 2012 Open source uses a VAG-COM cable on 05s and 06s. I assume you already have one of those. You use a tuning laptop with RomRaider, Learning View, and ECUFlash loaded on. All of those are free. You can buy OTS maps, or an actual open-source tune with revisions after you log, or you can log and tune yourself for free (well, free until you blow something up... ). Stock is around 200whp; Stage 1 is usually around 230whp; Stage 2 is usually around 260whp. This assumes you have a manual transmission. The 5EAT sucks quite a bit of that power away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m3ph Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 I would never get an Autotragic transmission. Nope not even a DGS. How is the power band on these cars? What RPM is the turbo fully spooled? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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