Well...I just got the final details taken care of over the phone...and soon I'll be on my way to Fargo to finalize a purchase on a black 2005 WRX wagon with ~55k miles! :biggrin: Gah, I haven't slept in over 24 hours because of this, and I still have an 8 hour shift coming up tonight at 10pm...but it's soooo worth it. I'll have pics up as soon as possible!
Haven't slept in 24 hours? Dang man, I know I was excited to get mine too but phew. Well congrats, and can't wait to see the pictures.
gratz on new car. I can't wait until I get my wrx Get some sleep because you'll need it when driving to and back from duluth.
Thanks guys! All I have to say is...WOW. Just got her home, and I can honestly say after familiarizing myself with the car today and driving her back from Fargo...there's not a single vehicle out there I'd rather have. I am 1,000% satisfied with it, now I know firsthand why there are legions of people around the world that love the WRX. The camera I was going to use conveniently decided to not work today, so I'm going to borrow a friend of mine's and take some pictures tomorrow since I have the day off. But since I don't think I described the car yet, here goes... She's a black 2005 WRX wagon, 5-speed manual, factory boost gauge, a hair over 55k miles, with just a couple mods (ones that I would have done anyway). Mods include: HID conversion (unless that was factory? I didn't think it was though) Cobb downpipe and exhaust :yumyum: I'm guessing it's been reflashed Turbo timer That's all I've seen so far. It's incredibly clean, only some typical tiny scratches on the front bumper that can be taken care of easily with touch-up paint. Everything works great, mechanically and otherwise, and I was pleasantly surprised with how nice the stock stereo sounded, though I opted to listen to the exhaust most of the way home. :biggrin: Couple questions for you guys, maybe they're dumb questions, but since I've never owned a turbo car before I figure now is the time to ask. First of all, I noticed it smells like it's running a little rich, obviously better than lean, but I'm wondering if it's supposed to. I also smelled a little gas on the inside after getting on the throttle a little harder, though only a little bit and it went away shortly after. Second, when the cruise is set, I noticed the boost gauge wavers around just under 0, is that normal? If anything, I plan on taking it to the Subaru dealership in Grand Forks to have everything checked over, and I plan on asking about the fuel lines and whether or not they're the ones that tend to leak in the winter. I would have done this before I bought it, but there were several parties wanting to buy this car and one had already had it checked, so I figured I'd be safe. Tell me what you think! Edit: Just gonna throw this out there for the added bonus, but before me, it's only had one owner!
As far as the smell goes, is it catless? If so you'll notice a fuel smell, especially with the windows down and stopped. The boost gauge is normal, the engine won't always be boosting while cruising, it depends on the engine load and speed.
If you're smelling fuel on the inside when you're on the throttle, it's probably something under the hood. I don't smell my catless fumes unless I'm stopped with the windows down (as referenced above). Your smell issue sounds like the same one a lot of people have in the winter, but those same fuel lines wouldn't be leaking at all in May (I ONLY noticed the leak when the outside temp was below zero). It could be something worse. On the other hand, it's easy to over-analyze a new vehicle, particularly if it's yours. It could be nothing. So there you have it.
I just went to Boulder, CO. I recall what really sold me on that turbo RS was the test drive up into the mountains on switchbacks. So shouldn't Subarus in El Forko Grande be fitted with snorkels? I was going to school up there in 97 and had my first Subaru, my 96 Impreza L, and almost choked it out in some standing water. If there is a good excuse for having a snorkel on a street car it would be there.
Not sure, haven't looked myself. It's got a Cobb downpipe though, don't those have a catalytic converter that comes with it? Is there any way for me to check out any of this myself? Or should I just plan on taking it to the Subaru dealership and have them do a full inspection?
Just crawled around a bit under the car, noticed the exhaust IS catless. Also, a lot of the time I've been driving I've had the windows down at lower speeds (40-45mph), would this account for the gassy smell? It gets somewhat strong sometimes. Thanks guys!
I don't think the catless exhaust would account for gassy smells at 45 mph. I literally don't smell mine at all unless I'm stopped, or moving at about 5 mph in rush hour traffic... in both cases, the windows need to be down for the smell to enter the inside. In terms of checking it out yourself, other people would be more knowledgeable about that than I would. But if I had to, I'd say get under the car, take off the splash guard, and look for wetness where there probably shouldn't be any. Dunno if that helps.
Gas SHOULD evaporate really fast. Doubt you would see wetness, unless it is leaking bad. You might be able to smell raw fuel though...
Hmm...the more I search and read about the fuel line leaks, the more I think my car might have this problem, albeit obviously not because of the cold. Gonna take her in to the dealership in the morning to have a full inspection done.
Nice lookin car... and legs. lol Now get some proper summer wheels/tires on there and stop wearing out those nice snows!
Thanks :laugh: And yeah, that's my first plan of action...Not sure if I'm gonna actually get another set of wheels right away or if I'm just gonna buy a set of Kumho ASX's for the time being. Depending on my possible fuel leak situation, I might need to put money into that first, and if I'm short on cash I'll probably just buy tires.
sweet car! wagons are looking better and better every time i see one. I must resist and still look for my sedan. roar!
Get a wagon...you know you want one... lol just kidding, they're both equally awesome. Good luck in the search!
I went and looked at that car last weekend. Looked pretty clean! IIRC... Doesn't it still have snow tires on it?
Yeeees it does :hsugh: Gonna try and get some Kumho ASX's on it soon since I don't really have the extra cash to buy wheels (ones that I like, anyway, and the stockers look good).
I love that even in the reflection of your car you can tell ND is flat with nothing around. LOL! Congrats on the find. Sexy cobb rubbles are sexy. Looks like you live on a gravel road, that's gonna suck for keeping that black clean. Oh well, pushing the gas peddle will make up for that.
:laugh: So true... Thanks though! And yeah, it gets dirty pretty easy, even though it's only a bit under a mile of gravel that I have to drive on. But even a little bit is enough, I've learned, with the 3 other black vehicles I've owned. Oh well...and yes, everything about this car makes up for the extra care I have to take cleaning it. :rockwoot:
what he said! and if your ever back in fargo, stop in at the tintmasters there, they have a few things in the show room for your wrx!
Last time I was in Fargo I stopped there, and yeah, they've got some sweet stuff back in that WRX room! When I stopped in and checked it out, it looked like they were carrying Cobb Accessports for a slightly discounted price. Might have to look into that when I've got the extra cash to spend on one! Either way, great place they've got down there.
Great lookin car - I almost bought one in Milwaukee identical to that, but decided to go LGT instead and had one shipped in from PA for incredibly cheap. Good luck with it, please post where you find the best deal on your Kumho's, I had them on my MAzda 3 an will be getting a fresh set for this winter as I can't afford to buy tires 2x in the same year just yet! Congrats again!
Thanks! :biggrin: I'm incredibly happy with the car. Not only that, but the more I look at it, the more I like the styling of the wagon over the sedan. Would love to see some pics of your Legacy! As for the set of Kumhos, it cost me $369.98 shipped for the set of four from Tirerack. Not sure if that's the best deal I could find, but I'd always heard good things about them so I decided to give it a try. Either way, pretty good price for some pretty good tires.
+1 I really like the wagon. I was very sad when they stopped making the wagons. So i had to take the hatchback.... Similar but not the same.
So...maybe I'm missing something, but what's the key difference between the wagon and the new hatchback body style? The sloping of the roofline of the hatchback? The roof rails on the wagon? Or a combination of both? Anyway, I did some reading a while back that stated when the WRX first came to the US, there were more orders put in for the wagon than for the sedan. Not sure how accurate that was, but it surprised me to say the least, even though I kinda prefer the wagon now myself.
