[SuBeast]

Well, welcome first off, and second, high mileage could be classified as anything above 100k miles basically (on the 02-03) If you are looking for a reliable car that's going to last you, look for 02-03's in the 0-80k mile range, and the 04's in the same range also... I persoanlly wouldn't buy a WRX with more than 90k miles, not necessarily because they tend to break down or anything, it's just my personal preference for being safe.

And also, with the WRX, the "basic bolt-ons" don't really consist of what other cars use. The WRX doesn't perform any better with a Cold-Air-Intake for instance. It makes the car run too lean. And also, BOVs (blow-off-valves) are one of the more argued subjects in the forums, supposedly they create a momentary rich* condition and can damage your car (low chances) *i don't remember if it's rich or lean.... So basically most the majority will tell you to stay away from intakes and BOVs, the stock intake box can be functional up to 300hp... The first mods that most will advise will be a upgrade DownPipe, and then Engine Management. For EM, the common thing to do is to get the COBB Accessport. And after you get the DownPipe, you can flash to the Stage2 map, and make some serious horsepower....