I'm looking at picking a 2005 WRX tonight possibly. 5spd, 94k miles, it was a CA car (still has CA plates even) so zero rust. Seems to be 100% stock and doesn't look like it has ever been modded from what I can tell, besides a k&n drop-in filter and a non-stock front grill (no subaru emblem) and the rear is de-badged. Carfax is clean, with 2 previous owners, no accidents, etc. Are there any problem area's or specific things I should look at before buying?
Well since nobody has posted anything for you yet, i'll give ya my .02. Mainly, just take it for a test drive and listen for any imperfections(rattling, clunking, squeeling). Make sure that the clutch feels like it engages smoothly from 1st gear through 5th gear. Look for any slop in the steering when cornering. How does it handle under braking...(any steering wheel pull left or right under braking.) It sounds like a cherry from your description. Just remember that the 100 thousand mile tune up is drawing close! You'll need to do the timing belt for sure. Might not hurt to do the spark plugs and fuel filter at the same time, just so you know that they have been done and are fresh. Also, ask the seller if they have any maintenece records for it. It's not a huge deal if they don't, just helpful in knowing if the car has been well taken care of. Hope that helps!
Along with the tbelt, see if they did the waterpump. Also see if the valve lash has been checked. Check the turbo heatshield (and bolts) as well as downpipe bolts for signs of removal.
Man, i always forget that one. And it's extremely important!! Make sure when you do the timing belt+water pump, that you have them do this too! Sheen, how often do you need to have them checked? Every 100,000 or so?
I think the maintenance schedule says 105k or something... but like everything, it's a guideline... I prefer to do it earlier. So start thinking about it around 80-90k? Pretty sure Joel posted a good write up about it a couple years back.
When I got my 06 the guy said he took it to the detroit lakes dealer to have it worked on/looked at every 30k miles, pretty much a two person/one family owner before I got it. Well after I owned it for a couple months one of the exhaust valves was completely shot so I spent about $1500 getting new exhaust valves put into it. Roughly around 85k miles so if thats the valve lash thing I would definitely get that checked out. I had to get new tires/water pump/timing belt right after I got it as well.
Thanks for the info. Turbo heatshield bolts were the first thing I looked at, couldn't see any signs they'd been removed. All the vac lines looked intact and not tampered with as far as I could tell. I used to have a couple DSM's and a 05 SRT4 and vac lines not being routed correctly or missing was always the first thing I'd look for, that's a easy way to tell if the previous owner had messed with it. I'm pretty sure service records aren't available, the dealer doesn't even have the keyless entry keyfob (only the metal key), but I'm OK with doing the timing belt/water pump myself. Done it a hundred times on dsm's and it looks 10x easier on the wrx lol. We'll see how it goes...
Bingo, that is exactly it! I was lucky that my 2.0 made it to 193,000 without ever having them done! But everyone said that my car was a freak of nature.
Yea I was trying to sell mine for awhile it was pissing me off so bad with air injection codes going off every other week and then the valve issue...
