Looking to get a MS3 in the next few weeks..got a couple questions.

Z

zohhamaze

Member
:
2006 Wrx
Hey guys,

I've been looking around for the past month for the "perfect" MS3 for me and what I've been looking for is a True Red 08.5-09 GT. I've test drove roughly around 4 stock MS3's already and they are truly amazing machines.

I come from the Subaru world and my previous car was a 07 Impreza 2.5i as my first car. The reason why I am set on getting a MS3 is because there is pretty much no other car that is: Fast, turbo-charged, superb out of the box handling, interior, HID's, good gas milage and the practicality of a hatchback with under 25k miles for less than 20 grand. Agree?

I got a couple questions..
-What should I look/watch out for when getting a used MS3?
-Should I stay away from "modded" MS3's?

I live in the NOVA area and this cars.com listing came up.

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detai...kId=20073&rpp=50&feedSegId=28705&aff=national


It's a decent price, but its obviously been modded. Should I still come test drive it and check it out?

Thanks guys
 
Ms3

Car is definitely worth checking out, the only mods i see is the spoiler and the bumper pads in rear. The car is a GT not a sport ,it has the leather interior. Drive the car, the miles are good, make them an offer of 17,500. goodluck, i have the 2008.5 like this one and i love it.
 
happy hunting

there's no question it's a good buy for that price range. the only question is...how well the previous owner took care of this particular speed3.

i'm not sold on buying a used vehicle (specially if i do not know the seller personally) and being the speed3 is a turbo-charged car...people who bought them brand new knows exactly what they're buying ('cause otherwise, they'll just settle for a much cheaper N/A 3). i am not saying that all speed3 owners beat the s*** out of their speed3s. all i'm saying is, they know what it's capable off, and some will push it to it's limit. i just hope (for your sake) the ones you are about to get, is not one of them.

what should you look for? well, it's more of a "where" instead of what.

if you can take out the boost tube (hot side)...look @ the turbo spline and check to make sure that it is not chipped. also check to see if it's dry.

Chipped turbo spline with a little oil around the neck = no good.

as far as staying away from a modded speed3? i say yes...if you can spot 'em (been modded). you have to understand that some of the past owners who modded their speed3 will return it back to stock before selling 'em. so it doesn't necessarily mean that if the speed3 on the lot looks like stock...used to be stock. just a thought you might consider.

gl on your speed huntin'.
 
Watch for the "smoking turbo" issue. I haven't had the problem, but from what I understand, if you leave the car idling for 5-10 minutes and it starts puffing smoke from the tail pipe then you know you have a problem.

I'd recommend getting it checked by a mechanic first too, just to make sure there isn't anything wrong (at least that they can see).

If it has carfax showing a bunch of dealer visits for oil changes and tire rotations and such then it's probably a good indication that it wasn't modded because who wants to put on/take off their mods several times a year to take it to the dealer?

Personally, when I was looking around for a used MS3, I was looking for one that hadn't been modded. I figured a modder probably tends to drive the car harder. People disagree with that, and I see their point now. Many modders are "car people" who really care about their cars and keep them in great shape, and know HOW to properly maintain them. You can't really say 100% either way though. It's a case by case basis. So I guess you really just need to look at the car as a whole, assess it's overall cleanliness and condition, and go from there. I guess what I'm saying is that I wouldn't rule out a modded car, but definitely pay close attention to how it has been maintained.
 
I wouldn't be too afraid to buy an MS3 used. You need to pay close attention, that's for sure, but you can save a lot of money and there ARE good cars out there. I got mine used for $15,000 and couldn't be happier with it.
 
Yeah, check it out.... realllllllyy check it out...

I bought an '08 MS3 back in March from a dealer up in Tyson's Corner. Essentially the exact same details as the car listed above. I got a little bit better price on it because of a ding in the driver door. Anyway, so I have been thoroughly happy with the car, and have enjoyed it.... until.....

Last weekend when I was putting on a PG TIP, and saw this
Y29udGVudDovL21lZGlhL2V4dGVybmFsL2l.jpg


Dude, just make sure they go over that thing with a fine-toothed comb. No surprises!
 
For things to look at:
-Rear motor mount, they can tear
-Shocks (stock ones can be leaky if driven hard) if the shocks are overly-clean then they might be trying to hide a leaky shock


I wouldn't be too scared of mods as long as they're light-duty. I would buy one with a cold air intake, turbo inlet, cat-back exhaust and probably any suspension mod (assuming I liked it). I would steer clear of ones with turbo-back exhausts, possible ECU mods, fuel mods, FMICs, boost controllers, "slammed" suspension, things that would indicate that the previous owner was trying to get a lot of power out of it.
 
So I don't mean to appear stupid here, but wondering what makes the turbo spline chip? I picked up a '08 MS3 GT with 8800 miles on it about a two months ago and haven't had any issues yet, but like to be informed. It has very completed maintenance records and the guy has the dealer change the oil like every 1500 miles.
 
MS3inDC said:
Yeah, check it out.... realllllllyy check it out...

I bought an '08 MS3 back in March from a dealer up in Tyson's Corner. Essentially the exact same details as the car listed above. I got a little bit better price on it because of a ding in the driver door. Anyway, so I have been thoroughly happy with the car, and have enjoyed it.... until.....

Last weekend when I was putting on a PG TIP, and saw this
Y29udGVudDovL21lZGlhL2V4dGVybmFsL2l.jpg


Dude, just make sure they go over that thing with a fine-toothed comb. No surprises!
Click to expand...

That had to be from debris getting past the filter some how...even if you drive it pretty hard I can't see that happening unless the turbo was defective from the start or has extremely high miles on it.
 
Thanks for the great information guys!
Yeah, I just really want to make sure I buy the right MS3 so I don't run into problems down the road.

I looked at the carfax and it looks like the previous owner took care of his car pretty regularly. I wish they has a engine bay shot so I can see if theres a intake/TIP.

If all is well, what should I offer them? ras suggested $17,500
 
If you look at the pictures carefully. On the dash of the passenger seat, theres a COBB sticker...

So I'm guessing he got a SF Intake, or a TIP.
 
In addition to the above, I would add this little tidbit...

I don't get too retentive about every used car I look at, but with a turbocharged car, I like to see receipts for oil changes at intervals <5k miles, preferably in the 3-4k mile range. If someone is changing the oil on short intervals on a regular basis, it's a decent sign that they're probably keeping up with most of the general maintenance issues you'd want to see.

I personally save all of my maintenance & repair/warranty receipts for my own satisfaction, but also for the next guy.
 
Ms3

I agree with Z-INDY on guys who mod their cars, I have done the Magnflow CBE and the MSCAI on my car. I am 50 years old, probably 20 to 25 years older than alot of you. I drive my car and enjoy it, but i do not abuse it. I find that most people that are really into the car, take care of it. Go drive the car and bring someone with you and if it runs good, try the 17,500. Good luck, my wife hates the car and thinks i am in my second chilhood. I did not want to buy a boring sedan.
 
Remspeed3 said:
That had to be from debris getting past the filter some how...even if you drive it pretty hard I can't see that happening unless the turbo was defective from the start or has extremely high miles on it.
Click to expand...

When I bought the car it was VTA, and I think that they put some sketchy plug in the recirc inlet and the turbo just sucked right in. Outside of that, I can't think of how anything could have gotten in there.
 
Thanks for the responses and help guys. I will test drive it sometime this up coming week when I'm not getting overloaded with work.
 
I've seen similar damage from the turbo shaft nut coming loose. It happened in my buddies RX-7 and it was not pretty...
 
That looks to me like cavitation on the blades, doesn't look like it's from debris but who knows for sure..
 
OK, so I test drove the MS3 this afternoon. I looked at the exhaust and the tip was covered in exhaust fumes so it was black, then I turned it on and the exhaust definitely stock. I popped the hood and it had a COBB SF Intake, which to me was not a surprise. The rear lip was faded and the rally armour looked great. Interior was flawless as well. I let the car run on idle for a couple minutes and took it for a ride.

My first impression was damn...the SRI sounded AMAZING. Drove for about 10 minutes and when the road was clear, I floored it in 3rd gear at around 3.5k rpm. This thing pulled like a demon. I think the owner installed shifter bushings and a short shifter because it shifted smother and shorter.

Overall the MS3 was in phenomenal condition, handled great, power was smooth and the interior/exterior was great.

I can't buy the car until August, but the dealership will hold it for me once I make a deposit. So I hope everything goes through!
 
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