Just picked up a new 2013 WRX 5 door and something about it just doesn't seem as solid as the 07 WRX wagon I traded in. First thing that caught my attention was a trip down a gravel road. Sounded like i was plinking tin cans whereas before it was way more muted. I was pretty diligent about cleaning out the wheel well on my 07, and would pay attention to the metal return lip at the fender and run my hand through there to get out any salt/sand etc that would lead to the ever common rusty back quarter panel. Bought the 07 new off the lot and didnt do any undercoating, but recall a bit more of a spray-on coating in the wheel wells. The '13 WRX only has a plastic sheet attached with tabs to the fender. Am I remembering this correctly? Anyone with a <'08 WRX confirm this? Aside from that, seems to be a bit more sway, hard to tell as I put winters on the 2nd day I had it. Doors seem a little less solid when closing. And factory stereo with the nav head,.. atrocious. Think ill be getting acquainted with a couple of the shops around here. the voice inside my head, has been saying.. 'ya big dummy, should have kept the 07 and sunk what you paid out into some mods and tuning'
I didn't have much buyer's remorse for trading in my '09 V8 Colorado, which was faultless even with the work I did to it, on the '10 WRX. Until the crap started happening to the car. Now its sitting in my garage with, most likely the famous ringland failure. So now the buyer's remorse is starting to show up.
No, you're right. Its less raw, questionable build quality in some areas, less solid, etc... but its also more practical (rear leg room), better handling (although it feels more disconnected), faster overall, etc... it all comes down to preference. For me, the gd was such a huge step up from the gc that the changes to the gr (some lateral, some up, some down) just didn't live up to my expectations. Especially considering the competition in the 25-35k range. But hey, you're in a brand new car. Can't really complain there man.
It's a tough call. It's hard to really love a new car when so much money has to be invested. It gets extremely easy to be remorseful over the smallest things. Subaru's design philosophy has evolved, and unfortunately it's gotten a lot more modern with more plastics and fragility in areas like bumpers that older Subarus would laugh at. Even something like the change from steel to aluminum back in 2003 was a big step. The chassis got a good deal better, but ruggedness was lost. The newer cars are just more so as everything blends into the modern format. The question then becomes was another choice any better? Frankly, that may be a no. You remember the old Subaru and compare certain tangible qualities to the new one. However, almost every new car is manufactured with similar ideals. They're all tin cans with a pile of plastic. Compare against other brands. You may still find yourself opting for the Subaru over a Honda Civic, Toyota Camery, Hyundai Genesis, Ford Mustang, or any other car you might be looking at. The best car is still just the best fit to you, whatever that is and based on whatever metrics you choose to measure the car against. You go test drive 50 different cars and pick the one that best suits you. That's all you can do. Is that best fit still a Subaru? That's up to you to decide. Since this is post purchase, I don't know what you should do. You already bought the thing. It likely is a good car. Is it the best fit for you? Beats me, beats any of us. That's all you man, and the best thing you could have done is spend a LOT of time test driving everything out there. Then when you did eventually buy the car, there would be no second guessing. You didn't really do this I assume since you're questioning yourself now. Are your concerns justified? Maybe not, but you'll never really know, so you'll always have that itch in the back of your head that you can never scratch until you fulfill your knowledge base. Basically go test drive everything within your price point. Understand the market. Then weigh your purchase against that and see if you still ended up with the Subaru as your best choice. It should have been done before hand, but nothing is stopping you from doing it now either. At least you'll stop wondering what if. Or...you could just stop caring and enjoy the car. Your choice.
I do think that the interior quality on the 08 and later models isn't the same as it was on the previous ones. I think part of this is due to the fact that while some of the materials used are better from a tactile/visual sense the increased number of panels and parts and a difference in how they're attached has led to an increase in interior noise. I think some car companies do a better job of interiors than others. My 2011 was noisier than my 2002 WRX Wagon with almost 190k on the odometer from a squeaks and rattles standpoint. However, the option is there with a new car to have the dealership fix those issues. There are a few threads on Nasioc that cover the interior squeaks and how to fix a lot of them. I had a chance to drive a 2011 Mustang GT rental last year in CA for a week, and it had 11k rental miles of it and the interior was rock solid. A rental Mustang GT in San Francisco has logged about as many takeoffs and landings as a 737 out of O'Hare and I was extremely impressed with how well it had held up. No squeaks, no rattles and it was solid over a variety of road conditions.
Before this purchase I did test drive a few other makes, was looking for a diesel wagon/hatchback. Had the misfortune of seeing no less than about a few hundred varied that fit the bill on a trip to the UK this fall but here stateside it was either A3 TDI, discontinued and the one they let me drive was kind of a dog, or wait for the bimmer 3 series diesel wagon, shipping this spring but now that the 3 series have changed to the larger 5 series size body they are getting into family truckster territory. Tried the Focus also, yeah. Couldnt bring myself to stray from the Subaru after the test drives, and the regret isnt from buying a Subaru, i guess its more of the ol' 'they dont make em like they used to' sentiment. But who's to say the first impressions of lighter metals, more plastic etc. equate to a lesser vehicle. I imagine there is a lot of talk about resources, equivalent strengths, decreased weight and efficiency when they make these decisions to change materials. The workmanship and interior assembly of the vehicle will become apparent, and Im going to agree that there is a few more creaks right out of the gate here. I guess as long as the major elements hold up and the thing doesn't rust out on me in 7 years, there isnt too much to gripe about. However, it does feed into my general rule of thumb these days, 'No such thing as an upgrade' A good portion of the drive to buy a 2013 WRX was the new Impreza body style, If I was going to be buying another WRX in a few years, I sure didnt want it looking like that.. only after pulling the trigger did I catch the news of the diversion of the WRX and Impreza lines.
