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Buying My First WRX. Tell Me Everything I Need To Know!

1K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  MtnDrew 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello everyone,

In the market for my first WRX. I'm looking for 04'-05' wagon and I have 15k to spend(No idea if that's what these cars are worth or not). My plans for the car is a nice reliable daily for commuting that I will tastefully mod.

I don't know anything about subie's so I wanted to make this post to start my research about them. I have owned many Japanese sports cars and I do all my own work so i'm not a bone head, it's just a new type of engine scares me.

I'm going to list every question I have about WRX's and Subaru's in general. Any information or opinions is greatly appreciated. Also, I know newbie questions like this are beaten to death so if you can link any informative forums or videos that would be awesome. Thanks for viewing!

Questions: (Specifically the 04'-05' WRX)
What are the most important things I need to know about owning a WRX?
How much should I spend?
What is the price range of these cars?
How reliable are these cars?
What are common problems?
What are some of the weak points of the car?
What is the maintenance like?
What are things to look for when buying used?
Wagon vs sedan, which is better and why?
What is the best years/models and why?
How good is the stock suspension?
Is there any differences between 04' and 05'?
What the hell is a cobb accessport and is it necessary?
Why does the WRX require tunes?
I herd mods to these cars do nothing without the proper tune, is this true?
Are the tunes just for performance or can they help reliability too?
I herd WRX's have very weak transmissions, how do you prevent blowing and tranny?
 
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#2 ·
Questions: (Specifically the 04'-05' WRX)
What are the most important things I need to know about owning a WRX?

Take care of it. Maintenance is important when you own a vehicle.

How much should I spend?

Depends on your location and market.

What is the price range of these cars?

Depends on your location and market.

How reliable are these cars?

As reliable as a 10 year old toy would be. I would say in general marginal at best for something that old.

What are common problems?

At 10+ years old many things.

What are some of the weak points of the car?

Not a lot when taken care of and driven reasonably. When it comes to buying a vehicle as old as what you are looking at there are a lot of potential failure modes.

What is the maintenance like?

Same as any vehicle.

What are things to look for when buying used?

Something with a maintenance record history, zero modifications, low miles, preferably long term ownership.

Wagon vs sedan, which is better and why?

Preference. Wagon because of practicality.

How good is the stock suspension?

At that age bad. It needs work unless it's had it done recently. A fresh suspension is way better than cheap coilovers so avoid them. There is plenty of information out there and these 800 coilovers sets flat suck.

Is there any differences between 04' and 05'?

I know of no differences.

What the hell is a cobb accessport and is it necessary?

No, but if you modify the vehicle you need a way to load tunes to the ECU. The AP is the common choice.

Why does the WRX require tunes?

Most vehicles do when you modify the engine with bolt ons.

I herd mods to these cars do nothing without the proper tune, is this true?

They will blow it up in a hurry.

Are the tunes just for performance or can they help reliability too?

When you squeeze more power out of anything reliability goes down. How much it goes down depends on a lot of factors. I've heard arguments for and against the stock tune on the vehicles and I can't speak to an aftermarket tune being more reliable.

I herd WRX's have very weak transmissions, how do you prevent blowing and tranny? Remembering it isn't a race car.



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#5 ·
I believe the 09 and up have more power. Then 11 and up have the wide body like the STI. I love the old bugeyes. It's just to the point it's hard to find them in good quality.

The newer the vehicle you find the better chance you have at finding an unmodified car with a history of maintenance. Those are the critical points. These cars have always been known to consume a little oil and many of them out there get run low a lot.

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#6 ·
Yeah I have done more research into what are the best years/models or the WRX and found some really interesting stuff. Seems like 04-05's are really solid overall. 06 seems to be a favorite because it's when they introduced the 2.5 and the car also came with forged aluminium suspension parts and four piston brakes just for that year. 09+ are a lot quicker but people seem to have issues with over build quality.

I'm looking for a car that has under 100k miles that I can drive reliability for many years without experiencing any serious issues. Obviously it's going to be harder to find a older WRX that fits that description but i'll keep my eyes open.
 
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