Hello! Hope everyone is doing well. I'm posting here in hopes that some of you may be able to give me some WRX advice.

First off, I'll explain what I'm up to. A buyer is coming to pick up my beloved 96 Nissan 300zx in the next couple of days, and after alot of thought and deliberation, I've decided that my next car will be a WRX wagon. (I still have thoughts about a E36 M3, but I think I'm over it.) I've been searching, and am pretty sure that I will go with at least an 03 model (due to changes in the transmission compared to the 02s), and will prefererably go with an 04 (because I like the Gordon Murray designed front end better). I've found a nice 04 wagon with 73,000 miles for about 14 grand, but I'm worried about a couple of things. The issues are as follows:

-The up and down pipes were replaced with units said to be from an"Sti."
-The car has a Prodrive axle-back exhaust.
-Until recently, the car was running with a Cobb tuning chip that was removed.

On one hand, I like the modifications that are on the car, as they were items that I would have done anyway- especially the axle-back exhaust. I would have done the up and down pipes too, but I'm not so sure about using units off of an Sti. The car also has some very nice Prodrive looking wheels and a "Subie Gal" boost gauge pod.

On the other hand, the owner says these mods were put on the car right after he purchased it (new), and I am wondering if they have taken a significant amount of time away from the ovarall lifespan of the engine and turbo. On the bright side, there are signs the owner did know what he was doing- the intake was left stock.

Of course, there's always the issue of the trans, but I can find out if it has been abused after a thorough test drive, right?

Anyway, I apologize for the potential info. overload. I just wondered if any of you long term Subie guys would have any worries about such a car.

Thanks so much for any advice you might have.

Ahhh... I might add a couple more details. The owner claims to have run synthetic oil since the second oil change, and has just had a four-wheel alignment done by the dealer.

BTW, when do these cars need their timing belts changed?


Thanks again for any potential help!

74k miles on an 04? that seems a bit high, especially w/ the mods previously mentioned. I'd be concerned about trans. issues (clutch, tranny, cv's). I dunno if a quick test drive would be determinant enough of possible rag outage, unless it was ready to break any second. And synthetic vs non doesnt mean anything if the engine has been beat to shit.

I've not really heard of many wrx owners using STi pipes (only just about every other part ;) ), but I dunno, maybe they were bought cheap and are prob. slightly better flowing.

I'd personally think twice about that specific car, unless it was from a dealer that would sell it w/ some sort of warranty.
It wouldn't be much fun if it was nothing but problems for you, and Subaru's can be lots of fun. That just sucks b/c 04's look a whole lot nicer than previous WRXs and this one seems like a bucket of trouble waiting to happen.

About the timing belt, off the top of my head, for the RS (imagine it's not much diff from the WRX) at like 75k it should get an inspection. I inspected mine at ~100k and it's absolutely fine, but there could be exceptions.

Hope this helps.

If everything's in pretty good shape, I wouldn't have any compunction about buying this one. STi pipes that have been on the car for, say, 70,000 miles obviously aren't causing any trouble. Are they USDM or JDM STi pipes? Anyway, I'd have the belt checked as part of the mechanical checkup before purcahsing anyway. My '04 wagon has treated me quite well over the past two and a half years. A Cobb tuning chip tells me that the guy probably autocrossed or street raced it occasionally, but as long as it still shifts well and does everything correctly it shouldn't be an issue. And also, Prodrive is awesome.

Many thanks to both of you for your input. I, too, wasn't sure why he would have used an Sti up pipe, as I thought the whole point in replacing the pipe was to eliminate the cat before the turbo, right? Maybe I heard him incorrectly, as what I know about the car so far is based solely on Auto Trader photos and a phone call. As to whether the pipe is off of a 2.0 JDM Sti or a USDM Sti I'm not sure. I plan to try and see the car on Monday, so maybe I can find out then.

The miles on the car are definitely a source of worry for me, but then again, that is much of the reason that the 04 is available for less that 15k in the first place. The guy says he has a very long commute to work each morning, and is getting rid of the car because he just purchased a Prius and does not want two payments. Hmmmmm..... sounds logical..... I hope.

The scariest part for me is the trans. You're right when you write that a test drive may not be enough to bring many possible problems to light. But then again, if I can drive the car while the transmission is still cold, I should at least be able to reveal any worn syncro issues, shouldn't I?

At this point I can only hope that the car has been well maintained. I won't try to talk myself into believing that it was never driven hard. After all, isn't that the reason that people buy WRXs in the first place? I suppose there are a few exceptions, but those are damn near impossible to find...

I don't think there are really any exceptions. If you didn't want to go fast, you'd have bought a TS or an RS (heck, you might have bought those to go fast, too). A WRX's only purpose in life is to get from point A to point B faster with better traction. If you bought it for any other primary reason, I'd question your sanity. Yes it's safe, yes it can haul a lot of junk in the wagon, yes it has better traction in the snow, but a lot of other cars (even Subies) can say those things. What the WRX can say above all others is, "I can do all those things and also go fast."

Yes, but it really boils down to 'was it beat on gracefully'. Subarus can take alot of abuse, that is if it's done in a graceful 'suby-friendly' way (kinda hard to explain).

Actually, that makes perfect sense. A Subaru probably won't have any problem with being taken to the redline on a regular basis if it is well maintained, but one 6000 RPM clutch drop could do more damage than a decade's worth of normal use. In other words, there's nothing wrong with driving a car quickly and getting the most of it, but you have to be careful about how you extract that potential.

Back to the car I was looking at, though. I talked to the guy again, and he said that he has a check engine light that he can't get to go off. He claims to have spent a substantial amount of money trying to take care of the issue, but the problem isn't solved yet. I have to give him alot of credit for being so honest, but Georgia requires emissions checks, and I really don't feel like spending a fortune on a car just so I can get it registered. I took this as a signal to move on, and am now looking at a completely stock 2004 wagon in the WR pearl blue color. Base on pictures, it looks great. I'll get to see it in person this weekend. Who knows... maybe I'll go ahead and put a deposit on it.

Bought it!:grinyes:

Post the pics on the appropriate thread (and here), please!