Educate me on what to look for/ look out for. What maintenance should have been done by 50k or so miles? Common problems and/or headaches? What bumps and rattles should I listen for while test driving? etc, etc. There are two cars in the area that I am looking into. One at St Cloud Subaru dealership, one down in the cities at I believe a Toyota dealership. Both found on carsoup, both silver, the one in StCloud is an 02 with 57k, the other an 03 with 67k. It's a long shot but anyone know the histories on either of these? Anyway i'll cut this short. Awesome site, glad I found something like this based in the area. thanks in advance -Nate
depending on the price difference I say go the 03... I believe and people will correct if I am wrong... the 03 has better valves.. the 02 most commonly burns valves with poor gas, I think they may have improved the trans a little.. not 100% on this one I believe in 04 they widened the gears... they are pretty much the same vehicle.. but typically 02 being the first any issues they find they tend to fix on the new release being 03... I owned an 03 silver sedan from 900m to 75Kish... no major issues ever other then the rear diff... there is a member on here that works at the St Cloud dealership... damn it his name and screen name eludes me... nickname I think is BOX or something.. pm 02blubru its his good buddy... look for missing heat shields if it is sold as stock, cause if the turbo heat shield is off then most likely it had been modded in the past... there arent too many bugeyes left around un-molested
or just buy mine, 02 WRx sedan, silver, 84k, stage 2. I'm not sure if I'm serious but I can take offers (b/c I want a RS).
Check here for maintenance schedule: http://www.subaru.com/owners/schedules/index.jsp Nothing major at 60k. Those model years are known to smell like raw fuel on cold days. Check out this recent thread: http://mnsubaru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29799 Other than that, there aren't any major "problems" with the bugeyes. You may hear some piston slap and may experience some clutch shudder when cold. Also, it'll very likely have a hard time going from 2nd to 1st. These are all normal occurrences and more or less "annoyances" than anything else. I'd suggest looking for modifications or signs of modifications (rounded bolts, missing brackets, etc...) but really, imo the 02 ecu definitions are forgiving enough that I wouldn't worry much about it... remember when an exhaust and mbc were the only way to mod a bugeye wrx? Really, there aren't any obvious "tells" or any catastrophic failures common to this MY. I'd suggest looking at it like any other car. If modifications bother you, bring someone knowledgeable about modifying wrx's with you :dunno: I suppose a compression check wouldn't hurt, but I suppose that's up to the seller. Would be a good chance to check the plugs at least (maintenance item at 60k).
fixed....and i love my 03 bugeye.....but pretty much everything nate said...if you want someone to come look with you im game :biggrin: shoot me a pm if interested
Idget and TSTRBOY pretty much summed it up... I'd probably just grab the car that has never been modded, just so your starting with a 'clean slate' so to speak.
tstrboy is talking about my friend Kyle or movin_metal937 you just missed out on some great deals. PM 1badburb he is trying to sell my old car I just sold to him in october!!
My advice: -Make sure it can shift into first while stopped without grinding or requiring a double clutch -Check for any CELs -Ask about the fuel hose repair IIRC, the MY03 WRX has a slightly stronger transmission, as well. I'm unsure as to what manufacture date they made the change to the tranny, but the first gen WRX's are rumored to have weaker transmissions.
Later production date 03s had the updated transmission (Code: TY754VN2BA). These had the RA width gears. Transmissions with the wider RA gears were slightly stronger than the first gen WRX ones. I hear, you can find the tranny code on the VIN plate under the hood. Some google search with the code above will help you here. Some interesting discussion here: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=986710&page=2 Check post #34 and #39.
Thanks for all the helpfull replies. You guys are a thousand times better then VW guys. (wall of text) I am currently driving a 98 VW GTi (VR6), and it is truly a love/hate relationship. Last night on the way to the in-laws the thermostat stuck open, so 65 miles on the freeway in negative 14 air temps I was not a happy santa. The thermostat it self is not a big deal but it's the crap that "should" be replaced with it that is the PITA. Constant sucking money pit is one way to sum up the VW way. Timing chains, clutch, power steering rack line all done at the stealership for a touch under 3 grand. all this 3 months after I bought it from said stealership after recieving asurances that it's in 100% amazing shape. if I don't get rid of it soon there is another several hundreds of dollars in crap that will need to be taken care of. Engine/tranny mount bushing, window actuators, shocks and struts and associtaed bushings. You know 10 year old car stuff. (/wall of text) a few more questions if I may, How many damned silver bug eyes did they make in comparison to blue/black/white/etc? How "hard" are these cars to work on? The bay looks really crowded. Now that I have a house and garage I am slowly rebuilding my tool collection back to where I can "putter" again. thanks again for being a great community -Nate
as far as most cars.. pretty darn easy to work on... a lot of stuff swaps across the model ranges pretty much... so getting parts isnt usually a huge issue... as far as colors... not sure what the percentage is but it is a mixed bag
I bought my 03 (4eat) nearly new (1500 miles) back in 03...its been a terrific trouble free car running stage 2 most of its life.
