Hey everyone...
Thinking about getting into a 2016/2017 WRX Premium, Lapis Blue with the 6-speed. I recently moved to an apartment in a city and, while I do have a covered parking garage, it's difficult to juggle my current car situation which consists of a RWD spring/summer/fall daily and a 4x4 for the winter.
The WRX would be totally different from my current DD but the all-weather capability is a huge plus. I'm hoping boost would keep me occupied and make me forget my V8, combined with the fact that the WRX may actually feel quicker due to gearing and the general nature of the car (lighter/more nimble/better visibility/etc). The WRX also seems to be a better financial proposition since it would be less costs in terms of insurance and registration and maintenance. Not only that but the dealership I've been talking to has offered me great trade-in values for both my car and truck, and has also offered a great deal on a WRX.
I'm not new to the world of Subarus in terms of knowing about them from afar but still have limited personal experience with them. My uncle has owned Subarus and only Subarus my entire life (I learned to drive stick on his '05 Legacy GT wagon), and he absolutely swears by them. However, a friend of mine who had a bad experience with his WRX (which was pretty well built) is telling me to stay away from the brand entirely. I can't use his input as the only deciding factor, but he is a serious gearhead and knows his stuff pretty well. That being said, I know that other people have fantastic experiences with these cars and seriously love them, so I'm curious if I can be persuaded to trust other peoples' experiences as well. Obviously members on here will be biased...it is a WRX forum...but I'm hoping to get some level-headed feedback on if this seems like a good move.
I do have a few questions:
-The new FA motors seem to be holding up well (relatively so, at least), but I put on a lot of miles. Any reason to avoid these cars in this case? I do about 22-24k miles/year. How do these motors do after 50k, 75k, 100k miles? How about the rest of the drivetrain?
-Has anybody gone from RWD muscle car to WRX and regretted it, or wish they had switched sooner? I'm most worried about missing the cruising comfort and long-distance drivability. I can easily do a full day of driving in my current car, and am wondering if that's the case with the WRX's higher road/tire noise and more high-strung nature.
-The dealership at which I've gotten the best price offers a complimentary "lifetime powertrain warranty." Has anyone heard of this and if so, is it legitimate? The salesman told me that, for example, "if the motor were to blow at, say, 250k miles, it's on us." I know the old adage about "if it's too good to be true...", but wondering if anyone has any experience with this.
-The aforementioned dealership also sells the Cobb Accessport and claims it won't void the warranty regardless of if they or I install it. Is this actually the case or should I be skeptical?
-Do I have unrealistic expectations about the car's ability in the snow? In the past I've primarily driven 4WD trucks on all-terrain or mud tires through the winter, so going to an AWD car does concern me a bit. I have the type of job where if I need to get to the building in the middle of the night in a blizzard, I gotta do just that. Obviously I'd get proper snow tires, and I know if there's 2 feet of unplowed snow I'm not making it, but will it do well enough to keep me in good shape should I need to go out or get around?
-Somewhat confused about the different stereo/screen/navigation packages, but understand that the base stereo isn't too good. As for the navigation, what package is required to get it as an option? And I've been told that navigation doesn't require a subscription, is this true?
I'm sure I'll have more questions as I think more and more about this, but this seems like a good place to start. I really like the WRX and think it would be a good fit for me and my lifestyle, but am concerned about making what's a big change in cars and also going against the negative experiences I've heard of. My other option would be to buy a proper 4WD vehicle (Jeep, small pickup, etc.) for DD/winter use and supplement it with a fun car on the side. That route is likely more expensive than the WRX would be, but isn't a bad option either. As I'm sure you all know, automotive decisions are never easy and this is turning out to be no exception. Anyways, thanks for listening and any help is much appreciated. Thanks everyone!
Thinking about getting into a 2016/2017 WRX Premium, Lapis Blue with the 6-speed. I recently moved to an apartment in a city and, while I do have a covered parking garage, it's difficult to juggle my current car situation which consists of a RWD spring/summer/fall daily and a 4x4 for the winter.
The WRX would be totally different from my current DD but the all-weather capability is a huge plus. I'm hoping boost would keep me occupied and make me forget my V8, combined with the fact that the WRX may actually feel quicker due to gearing and the general nature of the car (lighter/more nimble/better visibility/etc). The WRX also seems to be a better financial proposition since it would be less costs in terms of insurance and registration and maintenance. Not only that but the dealership I've been talking to has offered me great trade-in values for both my car and truck, and has also offered a great deal on a WRX.
I'm not new to the world of Subarus in terms of knowing about them from afar but still have limited personal experience with them. My uncle has owned Subarus and only Subarus my entire life (I learned to drive stick on his '05 Legacy GT wagon), and he absolutely swears by them. However, a friend of mine who had a bad experience with his WRX (which was pretty well built) is telling me to stay away from the brand entirely. I can't use his input as the only deciding factor, but he is a serious gearhead and knows his stuff pretty well. That being said, I know that other people have fantastic experiences with these cars and seriously love them, so I'm curious if I can be persuaded to trust other peoples' experiences as well. Obviously members on here will be biased...it is a WRX forum...but I'm hoping to get some level-headed feedback on if this seems like a good move.
I do have a few questions:
-The new FA motors seem to be holding up well (relatively so, at least), but I put on a lot of miles. Any reason to avoid these cars in this case? I do about 22-24k miles/year. How do these motors do after 50k, 75k, 100k miles? How about the rest of the drivetrain?
-Has anybody gone from RWD muscle car to WRX and regretted it, or wish they had switched sooner? I'm most worried about missing the cruising comfort and long-distance drivability. I can easily do a full day of driving in my current car, and am wondering if that's the case with the WRX's higher road/tire noise and more high-strung nature.
-The dealership at which I've gotten the best price offers a complimentary "lifetime powertrain warranty." Has anyone heard of this and if so, is it legitimate? The salesman told me that, for example, "if the motor were to blow at, say, 250k miles, it's on us." I know the old adage about "if it's too good to be true...", but wondering if anyone has any experience with this.
-The aforementioned dealership also sells the Cobb Accessport and claims it won't void the warranty regardless of if they or I install it. Is this actually the case or should I be skeptical?
-Do I have unrealistic expectations about the car's ability in the snow? In the past I've primarily driven 4WD trucks on all-terrain or mud tires through the winter, so going to an AWD car does concern me a bit. I have the type of job where if I need to get to the building in the middle of the night in a blizzard, I gotta do just that. Obviously I'd get proper snow tires, and I know if there's 2 feet of unplowed snow I'm not making it, but will it do well enough to keep me in good shape should I need to go out or get around?
-Somewhat confused about the different stereo/screen/navigation packages, but understand that the base stereo isn't too good. As for the navigation, what package is required to get it as an option? And I've been told that navigation doesn't require a subscription, is this true?
I'm sure I'll have more questions as I think more and more about this, but this seems like a good place to start. I really like the WRX and think it would be a good fit for me and my lifestyle, but am concerned about making what's a big change in cars and also going against the negative experiences I've heard of. My other option would be to buy a proper 4WD vehicle (Jeep, small pickup, etc.) for DD/winter use and supplement it with a fun car on the side. That route is likely more expensive than the WRX would be, but isn't a bad option either. As I'm sure you all know, automotive decisions are never easy and this is turning out to be no exception. Anyways, thanks for listening and any help is much appreciated. Thanks everyone!