CarBoyCam

I can't really help with figures etc. as I only got my WRX STI last year at the ripe old age of 28 haha. But, like you, owning a Subaru has been a dream of mine since I was a kid. I had plenty of people tell me I should wait etc. and that it was something to look forward to and work towards. Back in the day I used to find reg plates of cars I liked on Auto Trader and input them on every comparison site under the sun to see what people would charge me. In my early 20s I was still looking at four figure sums for comprehensive insurance with both my parents named on the policy. Since then, I've moved out, I'm renting a house and I moved in with my girlfriend a year and a half ago. Since the lockdown happened I realised life is too short, got some job security and took the plunge. As I'm now nearing 30 I'm paying almost £600 a year for my car. If I was you, I would wait. But that's just my opinion and you'll do what you want and feel is right. If you've got parents are willing to help you out, then that's awesome and more power to you. In terms of driving experience, miles under your belt really go help. No amount of training or intense courses will prep you for how people behave on the road. I've been driving since I was 19 (got my licence at 17) and I've owned two Vauxhall Corsas (1.3 CDTI and a 1.0T Limited Edition) before getting my STI. As long as you're sensible and understand the car is powerful, you should be ok. But other people will try and race you and sit glued to you rear bumper. To try and get the best prices I'd just say what's already been said. Try all the comparison sites, avoid the modified/performance specialists as you'll be too young for them and see how you get on. Don't forget to try with Direct Line etc. on their website as they're not on comparison sites. Also remember that at your age it's highly unlikely any insurers will allow you to modify your car. Probably until you're 24 or 25. Just something to keep in mind. Hope it all goes well and you get on the road!

Finally got the exhaust installed this week thanks to a local garage near me! Absolutely loving it so far! It's nowhere near as loud as the muffler delete I took off, but throttle response is improved and the car is much more refined but still sounds like a Subaru should. Very high end piece of kit this exhaust and it looks the part too! Apologies for the filthy state of the car...

Had a much anticipated delivery arrive earlier this week for the car! VIP Motorsport managed to get me a COBB Tuning SS 3" cat-back in around two weeks. It's getting fitted a week Tuesday and I can't wait to hear what it sounds like! 😄

I used to have some deflectors on both my Corsas I used to own. But they were Team Heko ones which sat in the gap where the glass for the window went. This meant they weren't as bulky and didn't get in the way. Just found the ones on my STI were a bit too big. Also didn't like the way they're stuck onto the doors on the outside. Looks a bit cheap in my opinion. Had PIAA wipers on my previous cars too. They certainly don't look as well designed as the Subaru ones, but silicone wipers are so but better than rubber ones!

You may have had your licence for a while but having only one year’s no claims, to an insurer, you don’t have a proven history. Therefore you wanting to be insured on a 300 BHP rocket is a risk for them. Especially when you couple that with mods of any kind which (in their eyes) mean you’re an enthusiast and will drive quicker therefore more risk. It sucks I know. That’s why I went through two Corsas before finally taking the brave pill and getting a WRX. Haha.

Yeah, I’m a year younger, but I live in a rural location. I’ve got around 10 years’ no claims protected and I’m paying £560 a year on an STI. So I think given your age, location and only one year of no claims, you likely won’t get much cheaper than your original post price. Best advice from me is use all the comparison sites, go direct with places too which aren’t on comparison sites and look for cash back offers on Quidco or TopCashback.

I think you’ll see MPG etc. improve as Subaru get used to hybrid power trains. This is their first foray into it so it was bound to be sub-par compared to the competition. Excited to see where they go with the e-Boxer.

Do you mind me asking how old you are? That quote for someone young in London doesn’t seem unreasonable on an STI to be honest.

Hi all, Thought I'd document the minor upgrades and additions I add to my 2017 WRX STI as I go. I've never had a Subaru before this one as some of you will have seen. Only had two cars before, both of which were Vauxhall Corsas. It's always been a dream of mine to own a Subaru since the days of watching McRae/Burns/Solberg in the WRC with the Impreza when I was younger. I bought this car in October of this year (2020) just before the national lockdown took hold. I'd been waiting for a 2017+ WRX STI to pop up in WR Blue for a while. Mainly because they're bearable to tax compared to the older cars. Also wanted the blue as I knew I wouldn't be happy had I bought a grey one. The car when I took ownership only had a couple of non-standard parts. Wind/rain deflectors all round. Axle-back muffler delete (unsure of make but I think it's one from Nameless in the US). Subaru silver exhaust trim pieces. Here's a pic as she was on her first outing to Caffeine & Machine. Found some Japanese friends whilst we were there. 😄 Ever since buying the car I knew one thing had to go right away - the wind/rain deflectors. They obscured your view slightly and also on damp mornings caused water to drip into the car when the windows were down. Not ideal! With a bit of help from the girlfriend, a heat gun and some minty Morrison's dental floss, they were gone! WD40 also helped clean up any remaining goo. Much better looking without them in my opinion. Private plate also went on the car as well. Next up was installing something to help prevent the intercooler from being abused any further by stones which Roxy inhales through her bonnet scoop! For this I bought an Intertek intercooler guard from VIP Motorsport complete with red STI logo. Love the look of it and I don't mind if it gets beaten up. Would rather that then bent intercooler fins! Next minor change was the wiper blades. They were starting to smear and had likely been on the car for a while. Decided to not buy Subaru ones and instead bought some silicone ones from PIAA for that proper rally car look. 😂 Now, the last thing which was on my immediate list was to get the factory head unit out and replaced. Reason for this is that I missed Apple CarPlay more than I thought, that and the fact the factory one seemed to constantly hang, freeze or altogether forget what I was playing through my phone at the time. Decided to splash out on a Pioneer AVIC-Z930DAB unit as it has a nice flush bezel on the screen, has customisable lighting and can do wireless CarPlay on top! Bought all the required adapters etc. to retain factory steering controls and also keep the factory USB ports functioning. Installation was a bit of a pain (especially tapping the handbrake wire) but we got there in the end! It's so much better than before and I'm really happy with the way the centre console looks now. Next up on the list is replacing the muffler delete as it's a bit too loud and 'asbo' for my liking. Decided to get COBB Tuning's stainless cat-back system to replace it. Read lots of good reviews and it seems to be a bit less rowdy but also still allow the boxer rumble. Also looks the part too. Not sure when it'll be delivered but it'll be worth the wait! Will be sure to update you all when I have more progress, but so far, I'm absolutely loving the car and it's everything I've ever wanted. Proper old-school performance with a massive wing!

I've only had my STI a few months but I've got it insured with Admiral for around £560 with protected no claims and the exhaust mod declared. I'm 28 and I've never made a claim though. I've had cars insured with Admiral, Direct Line and Quote Me Happy before with minor modifications declared on them.

As promised, have some annotated pictures of the back of my Pioneer head unit in my 2017 STI. Not sure it'll help at all but that's how mine's wired up. Steering controls all working, only thing which isn't is DAB as I want to use the factory antenna but can't find an adapter for it. Don't fancy having a third party antenna stuck to the windscreen when the car came with DAB as standard!

I think they wanted the saloon WRX STI to appear more mature and appealing to your average Joe. Ditching the WR Blue over here make it stand out less. I think they also only offered the big wing as an option too. Think they got a lip spoiler on the boot lid as standard. Like @CRG77 said, WR Blue was only an option in the US and Japan on these. But we got the hatch of the late 00s in WR Blue at least!

Ah ok. So with the Pioneer Connects2 harness adapter on my STI, the AUX input is a separate cable altogether. If you head to the Connects2 website they do offer wiring diagrams of their adapters and it may match up to what you have so you can work out what’s what. Will try and get a picture of the back of my Pioneer unit tomorrow for you.

From your pictures of the back of the old unit in your car, you should have a 3.5mm cable to go in the wired remote socket of your unit. Aux cable will be for wired remote and the other is for the mic.

For those of you who have Pioneer head units in their cars I thought I'd share a few custom splash screens I've made for my own STI. Incase you didn't know, just save any 800x480 JPG image to a FAT32-formatted USB stick and you can apply this as the splash screen instead of the default Pioneer ones. Once the logo has been applied on your car's head unit, you can remove the USB as it's no longer needed unless you want to upload a new custom one. The one with the WRX STI in the text was based off a wallpaper I found on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/subaru/comments/69wyzp/had_this_sti_logo_wallpaper_idea_any_requests/ Feel free to share your own creations or use these! 👍