I've been shopping around for another WRX as well. When I sold my 2002 a few years back, it had over 100 drag passes, 3-4 track days and 80k miles. Most of its life it had seen the basic exhaust/reflash power mods. Clutch had just started to slip. Oil analysis was perfect and the engine still made perfect compression. Great car, bulletproof and drove quite well on a basic shock/spring/swaybar upgraded suspension.
Great cars, and they're all over the place for 7-9K. I've even seen some higher mileage cars in the 6K range.
I still think of the WRX as a 'new' car, but it is definitely grassroots. With clean higher-mileage cars under $10k, they're going to be showing up more and more around here. If you have a WRX wagon and a Miata, you've got just about every worthwhile aspect of motoring covered.
Osterizer, I think your mod list pretty much nailed the best bang-for-the-buck approach to these cars. I'm doing just about the same thing.
One week report:
I love this car.
Though I'm catching grief from my friends about it being a wagon, though. Berkley them, I've managed to get practicality with practically (hur hur) no downside!
Ever since I saw this I have been seriously considering selling off all my project/unreliable cars and buying a WRX.
Osterizer wrote:
One week report:
I *love* this car.
Though I'm catching grief from my friends about it being a wagon, though. Berkley them, I've managed to get practicality with practically (hur hur) no downside!
Open up the exhaust and get that tune, they will come around.
I never realized that Austin-Healey made a wagon.
Osterizer wrote:
ignorant wrote:
wonderful.. if you don't mind me asking, what did you pay?
$11,100. $40 less than what KBB says it's worth.
Probably could have haggled it down a bit, but that's what was left on the guy's loan (also, buying a car with a lien on it IS A BITCH. ARG!) and I really, really, really wanted it after I saw it. I mean, it might be the cleanest stock bugeye wagon in the States.
11K left on a loan for a 7 year old car?
jstein77 wrote:
11K left on a loan for a 7 year old car?
The previous owner is lucky the WRXs hold their value pretty well (sold for 44% of initial MSRP after 7 years).