[Zaakro]

Hello everyone,

I have an opportunity to buy an 06 STi for $10,000 that has a blown head gasket. Question is should I jump on it?

As stated the car is a 2006. He is the original owner and it has about 102k on the car and motor. The head gasket blew because he was having radiator issues for 20k miles and instead of fixing it he just kept adding coolant to the car.

The reason why he is letting it go for so cheap is he thinks it is going to cost $6,000 to rebuild the motor and is reducing the price for the added cost. I have experience in building motor and replacing head gaskets.

Best case would be I buy the car, the head isn't warped and the block has no damage. I would just replace small parts like o-rings, valve stem seals, and change the head gaskets.

Worst case is I would have to rebuild, buy a short block, or buy a used motor.

Thanks for your input

 

[NH_]

You're probably looking for someone to say yes, but I personally wouldn't do it. That being said, it sounds like you have a lot more experience than I do with the technical​ bit, so if you're looking for a project that's a different story. If that is the case, though, the price sounds high to me for a car that isn't really road ready. Just my $0.02 Good luck in whatever you do. Let us know.

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[zax]

Is this a project car? Do you have experience disassembling motors? Are you in a position to spend $8-10k out of pocket?


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[Zaakro]

I'm just wondering if it is even worth it. I've always like the MY06/07 sti but where I live people still want upwards of $24k for them even though they blue book closer to $17k.

I've rebuilt Honda and Nissan motors before but I've never done a Subaru motor. I've had many project cars before and I would look at this as one as well. Even when I would fix the car it still wouldn't be my DD.

I was going to originally buy this car when it was in working order but the owner backed out of the deal and I'm kind of glad he did because he blew the head gasket a few months later. Besides the motor the car is in excellent condition.

 

[Firefighterjake]

I wouldn't buy it . . . and here's why.

If the guy knew he was having a problem at 20,000 miles and used a Band-aid type of fix for another 80,000 miles there's no telling what other maintenance items he neglected to do . . . or what half-a$#@! fix he came up with instead of fixing it right. This could become an expensive car.

 

[zax]

The value of purchasing this car is ultimately up to you. If this is a project car, it may be very well worth it to you. At the least, it will need a new engine that will set you back $4k or so (used OEM engine). It may become quite expensive but if you are willing to spend the time and money there will be a certain sense of satisfaction and pride when you finally get it roadworthy.

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[Blk17WRX]

I wouldn't pay more than $6-7k for that car.

 

[NH_]

I wouldn't buy it . . . and here's why.

If the guy knew he was having a problem at 20,000 miles and used a Band-aid type of fix for another 80,000 miles there's no telling what other maintenance items he neglected to do . . . or what half-a$#@! fix he came up with instead of fixing it right. This could become an expensive car.

That's a good point. He may have taken care of the car's appearance, but if he was driving around leaking coolant for 20k miles, what else has been neglected?

I wouldn't pay more than $6-7k for that car.

That's what I was thinking. If this is the project you want to take on, offer $6k and be prepared to walk away, because you know this project will require money. If it were me, though, I wouldn't.

 

[$poolnWRX]

I bought a 2012 wrx with a blown head gasket and had it fixed. I pain 9,500$ for the car. It had a great mod list and he took great care of it. He kept a folder with everything from day one and wrote down every service date with miles and every MOD that was done wrote down the date and miles. He kept the car in amazing shape and no rust. For being on the east coast that's amazing. If I were you I would look at the car and see how much it was taken care of. This will tell you a lot. Also is it stock or does it have a lot of nice high end modifications? That is one reason I bought mine it had everything done already which saved me $$$. So for me it was worth it but it did cost me more than I expected to fix a couple things but I have a great car now. Just look over the car you sound mechanically inclined and if it looks like he took great care and serviced the vehicle and kept receipts etc. then maybe it's a good idea I'd offer less money though, that was one thing I wish I would have done because the unexpected cost but if the car looks beat down and. It taken care of and rusted then ehhhh. Another bad thing is you can not drive it so like I said if it looks best move on there are a lot of other verry nice WEX/STI out there that u may love more.

 

[nsibanez]

The fact that all he did was add coolant rather than fixing the radiator for 20k miles says it all

If he was that cheap for something major, what else was skipped out on?
And my opinion, he's just guessing that that was the cause of the head gasket issue

Like said, if you want it that bad, I wouldn't pay more than 5 or 6 grand. It's going to need a lot of work more than likely...willing to gamble?

If it's going to be nothing more than a project, then sure why not. Just wouldn't expect to drive it for a while reliably

 

[WRB-T-Rex]

If it's going to be nothing more than a project, then sure why not. Just wouldn't expect to drive it for a while reliably

I would agree with this statement. I'm not seeing the value in the car, it's not a screaming deal at 10K especially if it needs that much work. Check this out, good deal if accurate

 

[nsibanez]

I would agree with this statement. I'm not seeing the value in the car, it's not a screaming deal at 10K especially if it needs that much work. Check this out, good deal if accurate

If that is accurate, that would be a good deal.... if you don't care about having a clean title (I personally wouldn't) this will/should save you a lot of money. I question the reliability at 1000 miles on a fresh built motor and mods, but if it was done right, again, shouldn't be a problem.
It's hard to find these cars stock their whole lives, just hope the previous owner(s) did take good care of them

 

[XJman]

It's worth as much as someone is willing to pay. Personally, head gaskets are not common issues that I've encountered so I would expect something else to be wrong as well.

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[nsibanez]

It's worth as much as someone is willing to pay. Personally, head gaskets are not common issues that I've encountered so I would expect something else to be wrong as well.

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And who knows just how long it has been bad...whole engine could be shot, not just a bad gasket

 

[$poolnWRX]

True buying a car that does NOT run is a huge risk which is worth a big price cut. I'd just take it as you need to put a new engine in the car. Like dude above said 6k. He has to understand that he is a stranger selling a vehicle that does not run and the problems are unknown to the buyer. You can not trust anyone any more. If he wants the value of the car or close he needs to fix it and then sell it otherwise he is mostly S.O.L

 

[XJman]

And who knows just how long it has been bad...whole engine could be shot, not just a bad gasket

Leaking coolant into the cylinder and or oil can cause serious issues. Same with oil into the cooling system. So, yeah I would guess there are hidden problems. Likely bearing wear, and possible low compression on the cylinder near the leak where coolant likely fouls the plug.

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