Is my WRX STi or not?

tambox · Post by **tambox** » Tue Jan 01, 2013 2:41 pm

As Toonga said, if the numbers match, technically it is correct.
Provided you state on your insurance it is a turbo 2.0l, you are correct.
(no matter what state you are in, lying on the insurnce form allows them to cancel it)
Its only if for some reason the car needs or is given a full inspection, where the VIN is used, it would show up then.
Then it depends on why the car was inspected, what effect the incorrect motor type will have.
Registration rules differ between the states, liability laws are basically the same.
There are many cars that are a lot less legal than yours on the road.

To close all the loopholes, its better to have everything correct.

niterida · Post by **niterida** » Tue Jan 01, 2013 4:08 pm

OK this is my 20c worth to try and clear up all the crap.

1. Registration : The car MUST be reegistered as a TURBO. Just because he has changed the engine number on the papers DOES NOT make it legally registered. It is now TURBO charged and this must be noted on the rego. It may be a simple matter of advising Transport since this motor combination was available in the Impreza range, but I am 99% sure it must be inspected to ensure it has had all the necessary supporting mods done to it - ie: brakes, suspension etc.

2. Regoistration 3rd party insurance : Registration in WA has a 3rd party insurance component that covers drivers for any medical costs if they have an at fault accident and injure or kill someone. The insurance company that covers this will look at the car if it is a serious injury and if it is not roadworthy or CORRECTLY registered then they WILL NOT cover you. In this case if the turbo is not on the rego then they COULD refuse to cover you.

3. Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware) : Yes the purchaser should have checked this car over more thoroughly. Although technically possible to get compensation it would not be financially possible. You have 2 choices :
1) Get it rego'd properly. Could be as simple as an inspection, could be a nightmare. Someone on here needs to go see the car and rego papers to get you started. I will be down in Perth sometime in the next few weeks if you can't get any one else.
2) Sell the car as is and make sure you tell people it is converted and let them make their own mind up about the rego. You should get pretty close to your money back.

And slightly off-topic, but yes he could take the seller to court and he would likely win but as stated above it would cost more than he would get back. There was a land-mark case recently in Queensland where a guy bought a "Genuine XY GT Falcon" for about $100k and then found out it wasn't genuine and successfully sued the seller. Although the seller had already spent the money by then and simply went bankrupt I believe, so he still didn't get his money back

Tomi · Post by **Tomi** » Tue Jan 01, 2013 9:55 pm

We are trying to avoid going over the pits, we could walk into a nightmare. But if we get a mechanic or someone here to check it out and if they think the car should pass it then we might try our luck.

Where on the registration papers should it say the size of the engine and the induction type? I am looking at the rego papers for the other cars we own and it doesn't say it anywhere. We have a Mitsubishi Delica which is a 2.8L turbo diesel. On the rego it only states the make, model, body, year, colour, tare, number of cylinders, fuel type, ins.cl, fee type, class, engine no. and VIN. Says nothing about the size of the engine and weather it has turbo or not. We also have a Hyundai i30 which is a N/A 2.0L. Still doesn't say anything about that on the rego. Same with a classic Holden and a Mitsubishi truck. So when we get the registration papers for the Impreza, it wont state the engine size or the induction. Does the government have this information on their system, but don't show it on the registration papers they send out?

We will contact the insurance company tomorrow plus the dept of transport and try to get some information from them without giving the rego number.

nncoolg · Post by **nncoolg** » Tue Jan 01, 2013 10:00 pm

Just to clear it up, it does have the correct engine number listed on the Rego, the 6 numbers from the back, left hand top of the engine block, near the bell housing?

Tomi · Post by **Tomi** » Tue Jan 01, 2013 10:07 pm

We haven't received the registration papers for the car from the government yet. They SHOULD come within the week. On the REVS sheet, the engine number stated on there is the engine number located below. It has the 10BB22112 as the engine number but does not mention EJ20 (weather it's meant to or not)

[ATTACH]3806[/ATTACH]

nncoolg · Post by **nncoolg** » Tue Jan 01, 2013 10:10 pm

Yeah, I thought you mentioned the etchings in an earlier post, sorry man but that's not the engine number aye, they're build specs for the block.

Tomi · Post by **Tomi** » Tue Jan 01, 2013 10:14 pm

Hmm, well that's the engine number associated with the car at the moment. That's the number that will most likely be on the rego as well.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Tue Jan 01, 2013 10:20 pm

and someone has allegedly successfully and incorrectly supply and record those numbers in the engine number space of an application and looks like it has continued on - I don't think any state has a checksum data checker to cross check supplied engine number with that supplied, although it might be up to the staff processing to check , as I know at least two states insist that Subaru engine numbers must be supplied in the format EAxx XXXXXX or EJxx XXXXXX or the human rejects application, raps inspectors knuckles.

Some details supplied to the authorities are kept off the paperwork yet remain on record.

I am wondering if the seller is watching this, or even tried to get it registered himself and gave up. The RTA may know the vehicle in its current performance level

Tomi · Post by **Tomi** » Tue Jan 01, 2013 10:23 pm

steptoe wrote:and someone has allegedly successfully and incorrectly supply and record those numbers in the engine number space of an application and looks like it has continued on - I don't think any state has a checksum data checker to cross check supplied engine number with that supplied, although it might be up to the staff processing to check , as I know at least two states insist that Subaru engine numbers must be supplied in the format EAxx XXXXXX or EJxx XXXXXX or the human rejects application, raps inspectors knuckles.

Some details supplied to the authorities are kept off the paperwork yet remain on record.

I am wondering if the seller is watching this, or even tried to get it registered himself and gave up. The RTA may know the vehicle in its current performance level

Yeah, I thought the engine number should have started with EJ. The EJ20 part is the most important.

Tomi · Post by **Tomi** » Tue Jan 01, 2013 11:06 pm

Even if the engine number jotted down is the wrong number, would they still have the engine specifications on their system like the size and induction?

Brumby Kid · Post by **Brumby Kid** » Wed Jan 02, 2013 8:10 am

Only one way to find out. And it's not asking us unfortunately.

RSR 555 · Post by **RSR 555** » Wed Jan 02, 2013 8:22 am

Tomi

I have read over your thread and feel very sad for you but I'm sure you'd like to get this sorted, rather than sell this onto someone else like the last owner did to you.

I have a workshop in Rockingham that builds and repairs Subies. I have converted and licenced many Subies with Turboed engines (even from 1.6ltr) even my first converted Liberty is still running around today. All ones that I convert are taken over the pits and changed with the DPI.

Cheers,
Paul

p.s. I'm away in Kalbarri at the moment but due home on the 5th.

purp · Post by **purp** » Wed Jan 02, 2013 11:39 am

Question for you WA'ers.

When does a vehicle over there need to have an inspection?

In the ACT and NSW any vehicle over 5 years old *has* to have one in order to change the registered owner. It is pretty common over here, when buying a older car, for the seller to take it over the pits first, so when you buy it you either know it can be registered - or have a list of outstanding things that need fixing....

Good luck with it Tomi, hope it can all be sorted out without too much pain.

nncoolg · Post by **nncoolg** » Wed Jan 02, 2013 1:15 pm

That's only if its unregistered or registered in another state. Unless act is different than nsw. We do need a pink slip every year, but that's just a safety cert, not a full vegicle check. To transfer nsw Rego you just fill in a form and pay a fee...

niterida · Post by **niterida** » Wed Jan 02, 2013 1:30 pm

WA only need an inspection if the police slap a yellow or red sticker on it. These are issued when they notice something that makes it unroadworthy. (yellow - can be driven for x number of days but after that it must be towed/trailered. Red - cannot be driven at all).

Or when major modifications are done. Such as putting a 2.0l Turbo motor in a 1.8NA car.

Tomi · Post by **Tomi** » Wed Jan 02, 2013 1:32 pm

purp wrote:Question for you WA'ers.

When does a vehicle over there need to have an inspection?

In the ACT and NSW any vehicle over 5 years old *has* to have one in order to change the registered owner. It is pretty common over here, when buying a older car, for the seller to take it over the pits first, so when you buy it you either know it can be registered - or have a list of outstanding things that need fixing....

Good luck with it Tomi, hope it can all be sorted out without too much pain.

If your car has been registered previously, you never need to get it inspected as long as you keep renewing the registration. You must get it inspected if you have imported a car from another state/country or if the car is not registered. In my case, I may need to get it inspected if there is an error on the registration.

Tomi · Post by **Tomi** » Wed Jan 02, 2013 1:36 pm

When we get the rego papers, we will contact the dept of transport and they should have the engine specifications on their system yeah? If they say the car has a 2.0L turbo engine, then everything is okay? If they say it's a N/A 1.6L then we will need to take the car over the pits to change it to a 2.0L turbo? Is this all correct?

niterida · Post by **niterida** » Wed Jan 02, 2013 3:32 pm

Yep - summed it up in a nutshell.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Wed Jan 02, 2013 3:35 pm

Tomi wrote:Yeah, I thought the engine number should have started with EJ. The EJ20 part is the most important.

That all depends on what your state rego authority requires. Here in Vic the engine number does not include the EJxx - just the number that's stamped on the block, up the back, near the bell housing on the left hand side (to you) or in front of the driver. This will not have EJ20 on it, just a 6 digit number from memory.

Realistically you need to be getting the info from your RTA - even then it'll be conflicting at times but at least it's from them and not popular belief etc.

Cheers

Bennie

niterida · Post by **niterida** » Wed Jan 02, 2013 3:55 pm

Engine number does not start with EJ20 !!