So I looked at this 04 wagon with 160k miles

[Vmercado]

I drove this car yesterday

Cars for Sale: 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon in Elmhurst, IL 60126: Wagon Details - 324128481 - AutoTrader.com

and the car fax

CARFAX Vehicle History Report on JF1GG29654G800499

The first thing I noticed was that there was a fair amount of rust on the rotors. Which obviously shows that the car has been sitting there for a little while. I looked underneath to check for any leaks and it was good and dry.
Aside from the shifter nob, and the boost gauge on the column, the car was stock. The turbo still had the shield, and there where no leaks that I could see on the engine. It started right up and idled steady at about 750
(does the 04 wagon come with a stock under seat sub? the audio sounded REALLY nice)

It was really fun to drive. ALL the electronics worked. Aside from Daily Driving wear and year, the body was in great condition.

BUT the ONLY thing that concerns me is the miles on this car. 160,000 on a 04?!
How are these engines on with high miles?
The Carfax doesnt show any maintenance, and from how the car felt, leads me to believe that the 1 owner was an enthusiast and did all the work himself
and the wear mark on the steering wheel even lets me know where he HELD the wheel all the time :P

What are your thoughts on a WRX like this? any and all comments are more then appreciated.. thanks in advance


-Seph Victor Mercado

[tebriel]

Do you think there were any mods made to it at all? That shifter knob and boost gauge both came from the factory that way I think.
The 04 wrx wagon that I'm looking at has the same. On the one I found, i'm concerned about mods made to the car. Not sure all what it has done to it.

[Vmercado]

Do you think there were any mods made to it at all? That shifter knob and boost gauge both came from the factory that way I think.
The 04 wrx wagon that I'm looking at has the same. On the one I found, i'm concerned about mods made to the car. Not sure all what it has done to it.

as far as I could tell.. and I really did try to look... it was completely stock..

[tebriel]

man that does seem fairly pricey for 160k. But, I think it matches blue book fairly well. Too bad it's a long ass drive for me, I'd love to take a look at it too.

[poly_poly-man]

looks damn good. That's a stock turbo gauge, can't tell about the shift knob (but there is a subaru parts catalog one that looks like that.

Check out all the car buying faqs. I'd say in particular, make sure you get a compression test done, and check everything underneath for excessive rust.

Looks like a fine specimen, hope it's as good as it looks.

[Vmercado]

I dont think a dealership would feel good about me doing a compression test. But I did read the sticky here about buying a used WRX.
I did check underneath for rust. The actual body was good. There was rust on the suspension components. But nothing like powder coated upgrades to take care of that.

[teflon_jones]

and the car fax
The Carfax doesnt show any maintenance, and from how the car felt, leads me to believe that the 1 owner was an enthusiast and did all the work himself
and the wear mark on the steering wheel even lets me know where he HELD the wheel all the time :P

A Carfax is only useful if it DOES show something. Just because it doesn't show something doesn't mean it didn't happen, i.e. it could have been in a major accident, could have had dealer maint regularly, etc and there's nothing to say any of that will be on a carfax.

The first thing I noticed was that there was a fair amount of rust on the rotors. Which obviously shows that the car has been sitting there for a little while. I looked underneath to check for any leaks and it was good and dry.

My STI's rotors were completely covered in rust the other day after sitting overnight. Rust on the rotors has absolutely nothing to do with how long a car has been sitting.

BUT the ONLY thing that concerns me is the miles on this car. 160,000 on a 04?!
How are these engines on with high miles?

That's not that many miles. It's slightly on the higher side of normal at 20k miles/year but that's perfectly normal. I'd argue that a car that's driven that regularly may be a better bet than a car that was only driven occasionally because oil was always being circulated through the engine, seals never got the chance to wear out, and if somebody relied on that one car for so much driving they probably maintained it well.

The price is in line with what NADA says ($9,425 clean retail). This assumes new tires (no more than a few thousand miles on them) and brakes (at least the pads) and
fresh: oil, brake fluid, coolant, spark plugs, air filter, cabin filter, etc.

[tebriel]

The dealer shouldn't have a problem with you doing a compression test. It's non-invasive and is probably the easiest way to tell the condition of the pistons and rings.

[tebriel]

Ironically thinking about going to look at this car... but it's a 2.5 hour drive for me. I totally forgot that this other dude was looking at it. I'm not sure if I want to pay anywhere near that for something that has a 160k on it?

Any opinions on that?