NPoCP - 2003 Subaru WRX

"Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif" (lumpy44) 10/23/2013 at 11:54 • Filed to: None

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197000km, Manual, AWD, body looks good and $7000.

Whats not to like? NPoCP?

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Decay buys too many beaters > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 10/23/2013 at 11:55

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197000 KM

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > Decay buys too many beaters 10/23/2013 at 11:58

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Ya, it is a lot but that could help lower the price.

davedave1111 > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 10/23/2013 at 12:09

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Total CP, unless you typoed an extra zero in the price. 197 megametres on the clock? It must be pretty close to dead. You can assume that you'll need to replace everything in the transmission, just for starters. New brakes and so-on will be amongst the relatively minor stuff. And the interiors of those were cheap to start with, and won't have stood up very well to ten years' wear, I wouldn't expect.

Seriously, I'd expect this Scooby to need about as much spending on it within the first few months of ownership as the seller is asking - say $5-10k. On a purely economic basis, that car ought to be driven into the ground and scrapped the next time it needs anything more than new brake pads or wiper blades. As a Jalop, I'd think it worth rescuing if you were paying something close to banger/scrap value, but otherwise it's run-away-screaming territory.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > davedave1111 10/23/2013 at 12:14

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Dang I really thought 197000km wasn't that bad for a smaller car. I guess that's cause I drive a bullet-proof Sonoma and a Duramax Diesel. I don't have time for fixing everything, but I do still want a WRX.

Destructive Tester > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 10/23/2013 at 12:20

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197,000 km is "only" 122,000 miles which is acceptable for a 10-year old car. Assuming it doesn't have any signs of abuse or mechanical molestation, it doesn't sound too bad given Subaru motor longevity...

webmonkees > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 10/23/2013 at 12:21

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Quirky and falling apart, needing work beyond the value of the car. That sounds like a sports car to me. :P

At least they hold some value, usually to feed the other WRX owners when they break theirs. And no blue book value is going to hold their ambitions back: Wrecked 04 for 4900

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > Destructive Tester 10/23/2013 at 12:24

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Kind of what I thought when I looked at the km. Its not too far away so I might go take a look, and switch myself to bargain brand everything to afford another car. Except toilet paper, never cheap out on that.

davedave1111 > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 10/23/2013 at 12:30

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By UK standards, it's more than just high miles. I found one for sale with 150k miles, but no others with more than 120k on the clock - all in the £750-2k price bracket. That said, American miles tend to put less wear on a car, but that said, it's a WRX so has presumably been thrashed.

If it's been properly maintained, it might be OK - but the chances of that are basically zero when you're talking about a ten year old car with stratospheric mileage.

My general rule of thumb is that if you can't see a fair few (of the same) cars for sale with much higher mileage than the one you're thinking of buying, then it's because the one you're looking at has done about as many miles as they commonly manage. That's not necessarily a deal-killer, but the price needs to reflect that you'll be lucky to get more than another few thousand miles out of the car without expensive work.

Destructive Tester > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 10/23/2013 at 12:36

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I had to pull a Subi motor (for non-internal failure) with 190k miles on the clock. The cylinder bores looked fresh and there was no sign of wear in the bottom end. You might want to beware of the big end of the #3 connecting rod, that tends to be the only consitent failure point from my knowledge.

FYI, the motor swap was due to a stipped head bolt (FML) after replacing valves due to a broken timing belt tensioner... I had fresh heads so I just went with a JDM short block.

eovnu87435ds > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 10/23/2013 at 16:39

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I bought my 02 N/A impreza with that many miles on it. It was fine. I replaced the headgasket(after driving with it leaking for about 2000 miles), but that is because up until 2002, the 2.5L motor was known for a head gasket to start leaking at 200,000 miles. It's been great since. I've put close to 15,000 miles on it so far. Granted, the 2.0L turbo has more that could go wrong, but as long as you're not adding power to the car, you should be fine.

Your biggest thing to check is for recent maintenance. for 100k US miles, you are supposed to do the water pump, timing belt, and head gaskets. look for signs of that being done.

If it isnt, the car is an absolute dream to work on. My friend and I could lift the motor out in about a half hour. You shouldn't have to drop the trans for anything. Even though people complain about that 5 speed trans, saying it is fragile, it really only is if you start adding power to the car.

If I had the cash on me, and could get the seller down to $5500-6000 USD, I'd scoop it up in a heartbeat.