Ok so going to look at my third WRX this weekend. Anything in particular that I need to look for to find a good car. I am coming from a 60's musclecar background and do not know the new turbo cars like i do the old guys. I have rebuilt 4 72- vehices and know basic mechanics, etc, but not sure what to look for/what not to look for in one of these vehicles. My buddy Ken (s2000 driver) recommended you guys and said he knew one of the guys that started this up. Hopefully you can give me a couple pointers. Thanks!!
I'd be most wary about how the transmission feels. The engines are pretty solid but the transmissions are very easily abused.
^what he said. Just make sure when you test drive it goes up through the gears smoothly. Downshifting is a different story. 2 to 1 is quite impossible unless you are going really slow, so try out 3 to 2. Listen for rattling. Normal things I guess.
I agree, there is not much that is specific to the WRX as far as things to look for. Remember to look for signs of modification as it could indicate a car that is a little more used than mileage and appearance might suggest (though it could also save you money if you plan on adding some of those mods anyways).
hey man, im the friend ken was talkin bout... what year WRX are you looking at? transmission is in my opinion the most fragile component of a WRX... they have made improvements over the years so the newer the model, the lesser are the chances of problems
^^ yeah, knowing what model year you're looking at would help us help you. we all know the peanut-eyes (04-05) are the best body style with the strongest components :hsnono: :rofl:
Yeah I heard that the late year 03 and later are better due to the fact that they put STi spec gears in them that were a bit larger and less fragile. Anything specific to the turbo that I should look for? The two models I drove had a TOTALLY different feel to them. One seemed like you had to rev it to over 5 before it really started kicking in and the other started right at 3 and pulled hard till redline. The main thing we are considering is low miles and price. We have to keep it right around 70k miles or less and arounnd 14k for price. We got one guy that is in Nashville with one that is 14k with 61k miles and another near Alabama that is 80k miles but only 12.5k Both are 02's but the price is right and the miledge is low. The other thing we have to look for is something that has no salvage or rebuilt title or anything like that...no frame damage all those things...basically a clean carfax or mostly clean.
The car should definitely spool and hit from 3k to 6k easily. The fact that it wasn't, there could be issues with fuel delivery, exhaust, needs a new air cleaner, new plugs. If you buy it from a person, make sure you know what they used it for, what kind of driving they did, and if they have any maintanence records. Stay away from young kids as previous owners, they think its cool to launch from redline. I know its a stereotype, but its mostly true. You wouldn't have wanted a WRX from me when I was 6 years younger.
if one had the AP stage 1, it would be noticably faster than the other one running stock EM... i'd say between 20-30whp difference
Good ideas...first turbo car, so this is all new stuff to me. Actually first non-NA car. Previously into old muscle cars and played around with a del sol before I got bored and bought an 89 lx 5.0 vert. I am familiar to some of this stuff but seems there is an added twist to everything when you throw a factory turbo into the mix. Thanks for all the suggestions and advice. Most of the stuff seems to translate over from regular mechanics on a vehicle, but again some of the stuff I have read about is all new concerns specific to turbo vehicles.
Try Classic Subaru, just sold my 03' to them... Its modded with everything listed below. Only 26,000 miles and not driven 2 hard. Oil changed every 4000 with mobil 1 syntec.... Its a sweet car, just wanted to upgrade to the STI!
They wanted 21k for your trade in...just a bit more than I wanted to spend, but got an 2003 that I really like!