[ColoradoNuggz]

Hi guys I'm considering buying a bugeye WRX with 204k miles on it. He said the motor has 66k on it. Suspension has been mostly done. It has a new clutch. Good tires. Stage 2. The interior is in decent shape. Exterior is rougher. he says the only negative thing is the transmission is getting old but still has every gear. My question is how reliable would this car (theoretically) be. I drive roughly 10 miles a day but occasionally I take small road trips. I see a lot that are similar to this at a similar price. What are your guy's opinions about high mileage car with low mileage motor. Could it be taken care of and go a few years or will it be an endless money pit like my Fbody? Keeping in mind I won't buy anything until I look it over well.

 

[silver_scooby]

Profile the owner, does he/she have complete service records down to receipts for parts/fluids/filters or are they likely to skip oil changes, buy vape juice and splice wires for an amp? Ask for a list of mods incl. mfr and part# of each part and the tuner's name. Stage 1/2/zillion means nothing. Contact a subaru specialist shop, give them the mods list and maintenance history and have them do an inspection. Call up the tuner and ask if the mapping matches current parts list. Any change between intake and catalyst needs tuning although the bugeye is supposedly more forgiving.

A 20yr old engine swapped wrx with unspecified mods is not going to be camry reliable, that's out of the question. If you get a good one, you will be chasing minor problems regularly; hoses, worn parts, brittle plastic, etc. Any abuse by previous owner and engine/gearbox failure is a real possibility.

 

[ColoradoNuggz]

Thanks for the quick response. I will put in some footwork and see where I stand on it. Also is $4k over paying for this car generally speaking. I don't expect Camry reliability, and I don't mind replacing small things that come up.but if it's as reliable as my 01 outback with 240k I will be satisfied.

 

[silver_scooby]

Thanks for the quick response. I will put in some footwork and see where I stand on it. Also is $4k over paying for this car generally speaking. I don't expect Camry reliability, and I don't mind replacing small things that come up.but if it's as reliable as my 01 outback with 240k I will be satisfied.

$4k is extremely cheap. Bugeyes don't go below 6k unless there's a major problem. A rough body could be the reason. But atleast that's visible.

 

[ColoradoNuggz]

That's what I'm hoping for 🤞🤞

 

[zax]

It will absolutely be an endless money pit. If you like that - go for it!

 

[Jbravo_AK]

4k is pretty cheap so this sounds like a can of worms you don't want to open up unless you really want to do the leg work and fork over more coin than you paid. Anytime you mention a car and over 200k miles the word reliable isn't the first thing I would say.