Couldn't you have picked up a brand new one for around the price you paid for earlier in the year?

The horns do not look like OEM, and those rear lights should've been like that from factory. I don't know what Subaru was thinking with the clear thingy.

 

Paint your poor garage, please. Your babies need a nicer bedroom!

Nice pickup on the STi. If you don't need to tow, wagon / hatch > SUV.

 

Looks like the fenders have already been rolled for your low-offset-fitting-convenience.

 

The horns are Hella Supertones, a very popular upgrade in the Subaru community. There is also red vinyl overlays on the lights which make they much better looking. Only flaw I can see is what looks to be a decent sized ass-dent in that driver's seat, but otherwise it appears to be a pretty clean second-hand STI.

It's always a little iffy buying one of these cars used, so consider yourself ahead of the game if you find a good one. I love to tell this story...

A few years back on NASIOC someone made a gallery thread showing off his new-to-him 05 STI and even boasted how the dealer told him it was a doctor's car and was babied. In the pics the car had some very identifiable racing stripes and by page two of the thread it was identified and even linked to posts by the previous owner. Suffice it to say he was not a doctor and while "babied" depends on your definition, few consider a GT35R turbo and meth injection in that category. Then thread turned epic filled with a lot of defiant justifying by the new owner, "screw you guys" etc, lulz...

 

im an evo fan but... car looks hot in white!

 

More pics of the 996... I'm in love with the interior. Whats up with the exhaust tip (or lack thereof).

 

Im pretty sure it followed into the hatchback style STI's as well.

 

A friend this, a relative that. He has been owning it and not had nightmares.

 

Glad you like your car. I have an '08 and love the damn thing.

Mod list (I've researched like a mad man):

GT Spec Headers with Up Pipe

Full Turbo back Exhaust (I like the MadDad Whisper) or get a catback of your choosing and a catted down pipe.

Tune it (Via open source or Cobb AP)

22mm sways front and rear

/Done

When you get time, turn off the VDC/Traction control altogether. (Steps are in the manual), put the diff in auto - then make sure it's raining and head to some familiar roads/turns and try to break the tires loose. With no computer nannies and the diff rearward based, I'm very surprised at how well the car grips in the rain. When I first got mine, I would take traction control completely off but leave the diff in full auto then round some familiar turns with no traffic. I couldn't get the thing to break loose to save my life. I was taking these particular 2 turns very, very quickly. The symmetrical AWD system in this car is phenom. Once I played with the diff I was able to get it sideways. I just wanted to see what I was dealing with and learn the car and drivetrain. Man I'm still impressed to this day. Give me a few hundred k for cars and I'd still DD the STi for the reasons you mentioned in the OP.

 

Ever owned one?

Nice FD.