I've been searching for an Impreza, especially the 2.2 L's for several reasons. Here in Ohio, these are tough to find and Subarus are going for HUGE dollars. Anyway, I found a 2002 Wrx wagon with 182,000 miles (ouch) for $5,500 o.b.o. If I can get it for around $4500, I may go for it. So what do I look for, especially with high miles? Is premium fuel a must? Also, I am no where near a Subaru dealer. Maybe an hour away. Oh, the ad says no mods ever.
Did you mean CRX, not WRX? 
Watch out for a grind going from 1st to 2nd or 2nd to 3rd. Synchros go bad in WRX trannies. I am pretty sure the are premium fuel only.
Look for missing heat shields etc. Quite often a sign car has been modded and then returned to stock. A lot of older WRX's have been beat on.
If it wears a turbo, I put premium fuel in it.
Looks for rust in the same places you would on an early impreza. 182 means it's about due for it's second timing belt change, bonus points if that has been done. Look at the turbo to see if the heat shield is still on it, lack of one is a sign the car was modified at some point in it's life.
In reply to bravenrace:
I still have it. I don't think you could give away a Crx right now, at least mine. I did have a guy e-mail a bunch of questions the other day.
I'd pay big money for a CRX wagon.
A used WRX should be approached with caution. They're great cars, but complex and somewhat maintenance sensitive. That price is toward the low end of the WRX market, so there may be a reason. A test drive will tell you much more than I can think of off the top of my head. When we were shopping for ours last year, it took a while to find a nice, clean, unmolested example.
The February 2009 issue of Grassroots Motorsports has a buyer's guide.
Tom Heath wrote: I'd pay big money for a CRX wagon.
How much is "big money"? 
Still big money if it's rough around the edges?
That does seem really cheap, especially considering Imprezas fetch nearly that much around here.
if the turbo hasn't been replaced it's likely to need it soon.
Yes, you will want to be thorough when looking at them, but they can go for a lot of miles if they are cared for. I have 261,000 miles on my '02 WRX wagon -- original owner, original engine, turbo, tranny, clutch, etc. I did a Cobb Accessport stage 1, an STI exhaust and 17" wheels. Otherwise, its pretty much stock. Mobil1 in the engine and religious maintenance. I still run the engine to 6k regularly but I don't beat it up. A little graunch going into 1st sometimes and a couple of minor rattles, but it still runs like a car with half the miles. Good luck with your search.
^^ 261,000!! That's incredible!
Just rolled over 200k on my '02 Imp TS yesterday, these are fairly stout cars. I'd love to give this one up to pursue my vehicular ADD, but I don't remember the last car I had that was such a great all-around driver and such an ease to work on.
Rear wheel bearings, turbo failure, head gaskets, timing belt(aren't 2.0 Rexes on a 60k change? Look into it), clutch chatter, etc.
Don't fear the mileage, fear a lack of maintenance history and former owners in backwards hats.
Steering rack bushing rot out, but are cheap and easy to fix. Wheel bearings seem to be 50/50. Plastic radiator end tanks tend to blow out fairly often. The up- pipe cats fail sometimes blowing chunks through the turbo. Timing belt is at 105k.
Between me and wifeys 02 and 03, the only failures have been radiators and her evaporator. My engine went 50k on a rotated rod bearing, and finally cracked a ringland after 25k @ 24psi, around 75k miles total. I was asking for it...
8 years later, we still love the heck outta them.
later, matt
I get tired of hearing about fragile transmissions in these cars. If the previous owner was a 19 year old who spent his first two licensed years doing front wheel burnouts in his Civic, you may have an issue and will want to keep looking for another car.
I bought my 2004 WRX in the fall of '03 and it has 124k miles on it. I've changed the timing belt, water pump and plugs. Castrol GTX every 5-7k miles. I replaced the original shocks last week. I have never had a wheel bearing issue. I had to replace the radiator when it got hit by a huge chunk of rubber from a semi tire. My only real failure was an HVAC fan that seized up.
I drive this car hard all the time, but I don't abuse it. My synchros are fine and the car shifts perfectly. The clutch shows no signs of giving up any time soon. It still has its original exhaust. I'm on my second battery. I've gone through a lot of brake pads. The car is amazingly free of squeaks and rattles and there's zero rust in spite of year round use, lots of dirt roads and infrequent washing.
I hesitated before buying this car, as I was unsure of their durability. It has been the most solid and reliable car that I've owned.
If I could find one around here that wasn't "herrafrushed" or wrapped around a tree, I would buy without hesitation. As with any car, a history of questionable mods results in parts breakage and flying at top speed into trees is not conducive of long-life.
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