Subaru Impreza Wrx

[adamskill]

hey lads,

im thinking of buying a wrx for the mrs as a daily.. and maybe a nice little base to throw a few bolt-ons at.

somthing along the lines of this...

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?trecs=98&tsrc=allcarhome&__Ntk=CarAll&Cr=3&__Ntt=wrx%20sti&R=10482801&seot=1&silo=1011&__Ns=pCar_PriceSort_Decimal|0||pCar_RankSort_Int32|1||pCar_Make_String|0||pCar_Model_String|0&keywords=wrx%20sti&__D=wrx%20sti&__sid=126B56258AC6&__N=1216%201247%201252%201282%204294963801%204294963800%20410&PriceTo=410&__Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&__Qpb=1&__Nne=15&__Dx=mode%20matchany

my question is has anyone had any experience or owned a high km wrx? i know there is an inherent gearbox issue with high km models. any other problems, other than the usual problems associated with 12-15 year old cars??

also thoughts?? i was thinking of a 32 4 door as another option, as the mrs loved my old 32, but im keen for a bit of a change..

cheers lads

adam

[sinistaGTR]

The AFM in wrxs die all the time and at 220 a pop they arent cheap. I would go an evo 6/7 over a wrx any day.

[Sunkist]

plus 1 for evo.

[rondofj]

Another one for Evo, been in an evo and sti, evo hands down, though the boxer grumble sounds a lot better

[T.D]

I've driven a couple of my mate's 98-99 WRXs in the past and they're not too bad, but the one thing I hated most about them was the real lack of action down-low. I've never driven an RB20 before so I'm not sure how they would compare but the EJ20 is alright once it does get going.

Oh, and the seats in them are AWESOME!!

[GTRsean]

WRX fail in this order: Clutch, gearbox, engine, especially the earlier one's..

STI gearbox is one fix along with a heavy duty clutch.

[sneakey pete]

Supposedly putting a new clutch in onto the standard gearbox makes the problme worse, as its putting higher loadings onto the gearbox.

A new clutch and STI gearbox would fix it, but a bit extreme for a daily. That being said, if you don't drive it like a tool, and don't do any modifications to it apart from perhaps a new exhaust, i've heard that the gearbox will be fine, and their a decent enough car to drive around in.

However, EVO+1

[Iron Chef]

Another vote for an Evo here..

[FrangaR33]

hey lads,

im thinking of buying a wrx for the mrs as a daily.. and maybe a nice little base to throw a few bolt-ons at.

somthing along the lines of this...

http://www.carsales....mode%20matchany

my question is has anyone had any experience or owned a high km wrx? i know there is an inherent gearbox issue with high km models. any other problems, other than the usual problems associated with 12-15 year old cars??

also thoughts?? i was thinking of a 32 4 door as another option, as the mrs loved my old 32, but im keen for a bit of a change..

cheers lads

adam

Car is gone off car sales mate.

[mickey]

of course the evo is at STI prices, so it's not apples to apples...really it's sti vs evo...

if that's the case they are pretty even, although the boxer sounds better it's also a bit more difficult to service for major services.

[scathing]

Given that its a daily, what about a Liberty? Either a 2.0L turbo GT (forget the B4) or a 3.0L NA one?

Comfy, not an idiot/cop magnet, same underpinnings for tuning as the WRX. I found quite a few (not in Qld) on Carsales between $10K-$20K.

[eightsixboy]

Depending on how much yo wanna spend a evo is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better.

I used to have a 03 sti and it was quick but not as good as an evo, they handle better, less prone to blowing up to.

I wouldnt touch a rex with more then 150k on the dash, they are prone to engine wear due to the boxer design and the gearboxes arnt to flash either.

[BoyWhoCriedWolf]

^this

I have an STi lib as a daily, goes good, reliable and no cop action. I have a 2.5GTB with AVO cooler, dump, HKS exhaust, STi comp and HKS filter and it went like the clappers, however, it was fairly loud but did get flames out the tips. Good times.

[sinistaGTR]

of course the evo is at STI prices, so it's not apples to apples...really it's sti vs evo...

if that's the case they are pretty even, although the boxer sounds better it's also a bit more difficult to service for major services.

Bullshit...having driven and owned both, i can tell you the evo is a much much much better car all round Evo 6s and 7s are becomming quite cheap these days.

I went through about 4 afms in 8 months and that was normal boring driving in the wrx. Clutch went and gearbox was dying. Also the motors fail as stated above. Reliability and performance the evo absolutely beats a wrx or STI hands down.

[Cassbo]

Given that its a daily, what about a Liberty? Either a 2.0L turbo GT (forget the B4) or a 3.0L NA one?

Comfy, not an idiot/cop magnet, same underpinnings for tuning as the WRX. I found quite a few (not in Qld) on Carsales between $10K-$20K.

THIS!

My daily is the 3.0L Liberty and it's very nice. It's not slow (by no means fast though lol), it's comfy and is also fun to drive!

Can't really compair it to my brother's EVO 7 though... on one side you have a luxo-barge and on the other you have a performance car, but with this in mind a luxo-barge is usually better to drive every day right?

[simpletool]

WRX = gearbox issues.

Sti no gearbox problems (6 speed) but you still have engine, CV joint, clutch, etc.

The Evo was designed with high performance in mind far more than the Sti.

IF you are just using it as a daily a STi with exhaust will be OK. I'd still steer clear of a WRX, especially if you've come from an R32 (you will break shit you didn't even know existed).

[Beer Baron]

personally the NA libertys are not that great. either 3L or 2.5L. and the 3L cost a shitload to repair and service. the turbo's on the other hand are great fun. a 2L turbo liberty GT with teh 5speed auto or 5 speed man are great fun. handle nicely, good spread of power etc. very nice interior and great build quality.

the older rexx's are a bit suspect these days. I agree though it's a bit unfair to compare evo to wrx. it's really evo to sti and even then evo was a lot more $$ in aus when 6s were sold here new. but we are talking used and the price gap has closed which makes the evo a good choice. but as a daily the evo is not as nice inside as the STI or the liberty GT. evo's are really very basic inside and have a fair bit of NVH and also quite stiff. all things that make them handle well but also make them not such a great daily.

but yeah if you are looking WRX i would try and stretch to an STI. or consider a liberty GT (post 04).

[GTR-N1]

155000kms in MY06XT Forester (WRX engine)

Original gearbox; original diff.

I'm thinking of selling it at about 185000kms due to fault codes #1410 & #2432 that might pop up anytime due to faulty air pump > cylinder corrosion.

Been happy with it, but I might try something else next time.

[mad082]

personally the NA libertys are not that great. either 3L or 2.5L. and the 3L cost a shitload to repair and service. the turbo's on the other hand are great fun. a 2L turbo liberty GT with teh 5speed auto or 5 speed man are great fun. handle nicely, good spread of power etc. very nice interior and great build quality.

the older rexx's are a bit suspect these days. I agree though it's a bit unfair to compare evo to wrx. it's really evo to sti and even then evo was a lot more $$ in aus when 6s were sold here new. but we are talking used and the price gap has closed which makes the evo a good choice. but as a daily the evo is not as nice inside as the STI or the liberty GT. evo's are really very basic inside and have a fair bit of NVH and also quite stiff. all things that make them handle well but also make them not such a great daily.

but yeah if you are looking WRX i would try and stretch to an STI. or consider a liberty GT (post 04).

this. sister in law had a 2.5L liberty. was no faster than a 2.0L impreza and was slower than the missus SSS pulsar. had a bit more low down power though, thanks to the bigger engine, but didn't have the same top end. it was ok, but nothing special. go turbo or go home, LOL

[mad082]

oh and as for gearbox issues, this was mostly in the earlier models, and generally due to people thrashing the arse out of them (banging it on the limiter then dumping the clutch, etc). if you find one owned by an older person then it should be somewhat ok, especially since it is going to be for his missus.