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guys,
i'm selling my gas guzzling truck (97 Silverado 4x4 5.7L) and looking for something with all wheel drive, 4 doors, manual tranny, and fun to drive.
i love the looks of the WRX, and from what i hear, they are fun to drive.
i'm looking to get some information from those of you who know the car better than i do...
in that year range (2002-2004), is there a year that i should stay away from?
i'm looking at only stock cars, no mods, and don't want one over 50-60k miles...
how about high dollar service needs around that mileage?? (50-60k)
I had an '02 WRX, a 5-speed wagon. Bought it new, had it for 60K miles, ex-wife took it from there and racked up somewhere in the neighborhood of 175K miles if the maintenance notices I kept getting were any indication.
The 60K service includes a timing belt change. Be prepared to shell out around $500-$600 for the 60K service.
Gas mileage was OK, about 28mpg in steady highway cruising at sane speeds. Never did manage to coax it to 30mpg. Anything above 70mph and fuel economy started to go down fairly rapidly. As with any turbocharged car, getting decent city mileage depends on your level of discipline, namely whether you can resist the urge to lay into the turbo to squirt away from lights and flit around in traffic and the like. We were lucky to break into the 20s at all. With a good deal of restraint, you could probably swing about 22mpg.
Damn quick off the line, partially due to gearing and partially due to a smallish turbocharger. It runs out of steam at about 5700RPM all the way to its 7000RPM redline.
Though it may sound counter-intuitive, I considered it a major plus that it was just a slightly hopped-up everyday economy car. That way I didn't feel bad throwing it around and driving it in ways that I wouldn't drive, say, an Audi S6 2.7T of the same era. It's a semi-performance car that encourages you to drive it the way it's supposed to be driven rather than make you wonder, "should I really be driving it like this?" In a WRX, the answer is, "yes you should."
^^ Oh yeah, one more thing: it was unstoppable in snow as long as the snow wasn't high enough to high-center it. Even on all-seasons, Chicago side-street parking was a breeze. Spots that 2WD car owners would have to shovel for 20 minutes just to get their car in and out of, I could just pull right into and out of without a care in the world. Bear in mind though that I live in billiard-table-flat terrain so all-seasons were adequate for the task. If I recall correctly you recently moved to Pittsburgh, so winter tires would be highly recommended to get the most out of the AWD to help you through the hills and hollows.
^^ Oh yeah, one more thing: it was unstoppable in snow as long as the snow wasn't high enough to high-center it. Even on all-seasons, Chicago side-street parking was a breeze. Spots that 2WD car owners would have to shovel for 20 minutes just to get their car in and out of, I could just pull right into and out of without a care in the world. Bear in mind though that I live in billiard-table-flat terrain so all-seasons were adequate for the task. If I recall correctly you recently moved to Pittsburgh, so winter tires would be highly recommended to get the most out of the AWD to help you through the hills and hollows.
man, i appreciate all the info...and yes, i'm in pittsburgh.
the car sounds like something that fits the bill...it would be our non-traveling, get daddy/hubby to work and back safely year round type of vehicle...with a little bit of fun driving when conditions are appropriate
would it be safe to say that most all mechanic's would be willing to work on the WRX?? i know it's a "flat 4", rather than the typical I-4...
man, i appreciate all the info...and yes, i'm in pittsburgh.
the car sounds like something that fits the bill...it would be our non-traveling, get daddy/hubby to work and back safely year round type of vehicle...with a little bit of fun driving when conditions are appropriate
would it be safe to say that most all mechanic's would be willing to work on the WRX?? i know it's a "flat 4", rather than the typical I-4...
While Subarus aren't exactly rare, they're still a niche brand compared to high-volume brands like Ford, Toyota, various GMs, et cetera, so your average Joe Mechanic probably doesn't see a lot of 'em and doesn't know their ins and outs. I wouldn't worry too much about routine maintenance issues like brakes and oil changes and all that. But if you need to diagnose an unscheduled mechanical issue, I'd look around for someone who specializes in Subarus and knows the various quirks and eccentricities of them. I've learned this as a Subaru owner, a VW owner, and most of all a Saab owner: it's usually cheaper to pay someone who specializes in a niche marque to get it right the first time than to pay Joe Mechanic seemingly less money to grope his way around an unfamiliar car and then pay the specialist to correct Joe Mechanic's mistakes.
would it be safe to say that most all mechanic's would be willing to work on the WRX?? i know it's a "flat 4", rather than the typical I-4...
The "flat 4" vs a typical "I-4" simply isn't an issue for a mechanic when it comes to routine service work. Please note that VW built many millions of these, albeit air-cooled instead of water cooled ... and they just aren't considered a difficult motor to work on due to the flat 4 configuration.
IMO, the Subie's have nothing strange, difficult, or unusual about them re servicing the rest of the car. They're so typical throughout their construction and design of common AWD cars that there's just nothing that's a challenge to a shop that sees a lot of foreign branded (Asian) cars. Diagnostics are straightforward and simple, certainly no more challenging than any other mass market car in today's electronics automotive world.
Information about the systems, diagnostics, and assembly/disassembly, or service procedures is readily available on the internet, from professional to the trade information sources (mitchell, alldata, chilton's, etc), or even from ... gasp! the dealership network. Even my local county library has internet access for free to the automotive information sources, and I bought DVD copies of the factory service manuls for only $20 per model (+ postage). These cars are as easy ... if not easier ... to service/repair, and work on as any Ford, GM, Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, Nissan ... and much easier than the products from M-B or BMW or Audi.
The only area that would require special knowledge and working familiarity to do major work on this car would be going into the motor beyond a valve job/head gasket replacement (which is simple enough that many DIY'ers have posted on You Tube the entire head gasket replacement job, using fairly common hand tools) or routine service work like the timing belt and water pump. The transmission/diff is a specialty area, too ... but these are all pretty tough, durable components.
With a low mileage car, it's unlikely you'll be into any of those major components for several hundred thousand miles. At that, you'd be money ahead to get a serviceable used item from a boneyard rather than rebuilding your motor or transmission should the need arise in the near term.
FWIW, even a clutch job on these cars is simple to the point of a backyard mechanic's easy project. That's how simple and service oriented these cars are designed and built.
Anyway, if you are not into DIY service work, check around with your local independent aftermarket shops that work on Asian marques .... you should be able to find somebody who will welcome your business who knows what they are doing as a professional mechanic. While Subie's have strong area sales in the PNW, New England, and the Rocky Mountain states, they are not unknown in the rest of the country ....
Just so you are aware, 2000-2004 non-turbo Impreza's were known for headgasket failure when pushing over 100k miles. This is a very common problem that is widely reported on the Subaru sites. It wouldn't preclude me from buying one, but it is something to look out for. Cars that have already had the headgaskets replaced with the updated versions tend to not suffer a repeat failure.
As others said, you will also be looking at needing a timing belt replacement at 60k. If the car you are buying needs that done, I would personally go for the gusto and have the headgaskets proactively replaced at that time if they haven't already been done. Plan on maybe dumping up to $2k into a car that needs timing belts and headgaskets, but doing so takes care of the only trouble areas on the car for a long time.
Just so you are aware, 2000-2004 non-turbo Impreza's were known for headgasket failure when pushing over 100k miles. This is a very common problem that is widely reported on the Subaru sites. It wouldn't preclude me from buying one, but it is something to look out for. Cars that have already had the headgaskets replaced with the updated versions tend to not suffer a repeat failure.
As others said, you will also be looking at needing a timing belt replacement at 60k. If the car you are buying needs that done, I would personally go for the gusto and have the headgaskets proactively replaced at that time if they haven't already been done. Plan on maybe dumping up to $2k into a car that needs timing belts and headgaskets, but doing so takes care of the only trouble areas on the car for a long time.
Ah, the head gasket syndrome strikes again.
Am I correct that the WRX's of the time frame the OP is looking to buy all have the turbo'ed motor?
The turbo'ed 2.5's didn't have the head gasket failures that the NON-Turbo Impreza motors did in that time frame.
Am I correct that the WRX's of the time frame the OP is looking to buy all have the turbo'ed motor?
The turbo'ed 2.5's didn't have the head gasket failures that the NON-Turbo Impreza motors did in that time frame.
It's a little more than a "syndrome", the failures are quite common.
You are correct that all the WRX's from that time are turbo'ed and hence don't have the issue. I figured I'd throw it out there as a lot of people treat WRX and Impreza as synonymous names.
Also, just noticed he wants a manual. That was the one major weakpoint on the WRX's from that time. I'd watch out for any cars that look like they were modded or raced.
Overall, it's a great car and a good choice, but it does require a little more homework and checking to find a good one than the average used car buy.
In an issue of either Hot Rod or a similar magazine several years ago they did a test of 10% Ethanol vs Premium gasoline on several models of cars. Two of the models did have better performance with Ethanol and fuel efficiency was equal to Premium. A WRX Turbo model was one and the other a Ford Mustang(?) with a Turbo. Do any of you that own a WRX use Ethanol? Your opinion?
GL2
Last edited by Gunluvver2; 07-18-2011 at 12:39 PM..
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