First and foremost, thanks for the great trove of information reguarding Subaru vehicles. I've been lurking on this and a couple of other forums for a couple of months reading all I can about everything WRX related. I've never seen a community with so many greatly knowledgable people in one place. To the Subaru Savants, I tip my hat.
At the moment I'm at an interesting juncture in the car world. Let me take a couple to explain and relate.
First and foremost, I'm what one would consider an internal combustion junkie. If it burns gas/fuel, I've probably worked on it. My primary area of specialization for the time being lies in Honda products. I currently own a 2006 Accord which is going away in favor of an Impreza WRX, which has been a dream car of sorts for a good number of years.
I'm very much of the control and handling mindframe when it comes to performance vehicles. Horsepower is good and all, and more is usually better; However having all that power over a very small rev range, or having all that power in a vehicle which can't go around corners with any respectable grace is pretty pointless in my opinion.
So, to the point at hand:
In September or October of this year, I plan to land a WRX. They seem to strike the best ballance between the personally uninspiring 2.5i and the more expensive STi. Also being a fan of forced induction, riding around with a snail up front makes me smile.
It will be a daily driver as well as something to explore the local twisties in on weekends. It will get me to work when conditions prohibit crawling attop the bright red 600cc screamer. As I'm in Colorado, the potential of snow/ice and general road horribleness is very real; I have a job in which I -must- be there and there is no valid excuse for anything otherwise, meaning AWD is money in a very literal fashion.
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The new car has it's advantages. First and foremost, I know that it hasn't been driven [significantly] by anyone other than myself. If it has problems due to the idiot behind the wheel, I am that idiot. If I break it, it sucks, but it's my own doing.
The new car also has disadvantages. The most glaring being in the wallet, as a decent used WRX in this area can be had for around 18k out the door with a solid warranty, a new WRX will end up around 23-25k out the door with the factory warranty.
The used car has one strong advantage, and that would be the price. I can get a car which was 23-25k new locally, a couple of years old, for around 18k all said and done.
On the other side, the biggest fear that I have is getting a car driven by an utter tard. AWD cars, idiots, and manual transmissions usually spell a decent bit of disaster. There is little way to tell if a WRX was driven by Lil Granny or Clutch-Dump McGearstrip, other than to drive it around and hope nothing goes horrible down in engineering.
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On the new front, I gather it's best to go with a 2009. The larger turbo and stiffer suspension make for a better starting point for any work which would get done in either department. This goes in addition to the points posted above.
On the used front, I'm in a bit of a quandry. I'm pretty well taking this from the mechanical standpoint, as it has the potential of making the worst of days. I've read that the 2001-2004 tend to have weak trannies, and would prefer to avoid those. I've read bits and pecies all around of various breakages in the 2005-2006 model ranges as well, but without the general idea that the trannies are just under engineered.
I've also read that the 2007 model recieved a different tranny, which is currently in use in the 08 and 09 WRX models. I've also read conflicting information stating that the tranny in the 07, 08 and 09 are all different. And then further conflicting posts stating the 07, 08 and 09 all have the same internals, but with a strong case in 07 and 09 and a weak one in 08.
And then the thought occurs to me that I've read reports of many 2005 and up WRX's pushing nice horsepower numbers without any reports of gearbox soup other than out of a few people in the drag crowd, some of which have repeated issues with the same problem with progressively stronger parts, leading one to believe their driving style could be altered.
So really, in the end, I don't know what to think about the new vs used market, quite possibly beacuse I don't know enough about the used market to make an informed decision.
This is where you, gentle reader, come in. I know this information exists, but with so much counter-information and disinformation, it can be difficult to weed out.
A couple of questions:
1.) Does anyone have any input on the new vs used debacle. I'm by no means rich, but I can afford to take either one home, so that's not the biggest sticking point. The sticking point on this one is effective use of money, which offers more "bang-for-buck" in the long run. (Yes, I plan on keeping this car untill the wheels fall off, cows come home, fat lady sings, hell freezes over, and pigs fly)
2.) If possible, does anyone know or have a link to a breakdown of transmissions by year, whats good, whats not-so-good. I've looked all over and can't find one solid compendium of information on this topic.
Thanks for those who plowed through this entire wall of text, and thanks in advance to those who opt to respond. I've very stoked about finally being in a position to get a WRX, and want to make the most informed and intelligent decision possible.
At the moment I'm at an interesting juncture in the car world. Let me take a couple to explain and relate.
First and foremost, I'm what one would consider an internal combustion junkie. If it burns gas/fuel, I've probably worked on it. My primary area of specialization for the time being lies in Honda products. I currently own a 2006 Accord which is going away in favor of an Impreza WRX, which has been a dream car of sorts for a good number of years.
I'm very much of the control and handling mindframe when it comes to performance vehicles. Horsepower is good and all, and more is usually better; However having all that power over a very small rev range, or having all that power in a vehicle which can't go around corners with any respectable grace is pretty pointless in my opinion.
So, to the point at hand:
In September or October of this year, I plan to land a WRX. They seem to strike the best ballance between the personally uninspiring 2.5i and the more expensive STi. Also being a fan of forced induction, riding around with a snail up front makes me smile.
It will be a daily driver as well as something to explore the local twisties in on weekends. It will get me to work when conditions prohibit crawling attop the bright red 600cc screamer. As I'm in Colorado, the potential of snow/ice and general road horribleness is very real; I have a job in which I -must- be there and there is no valid excuse for anything otherwise, meaning AWD is money in a very literal fashion.
-----------
The new car has it's advantages. First and foremost, I know that it hasn't been driven [significantly] by anyone other than myself. If it has problems due to the idiot behind the wheel, I am that idiot. If I break it, it sucks, but it's my own doing.
The new car also has disadvantages. The most glaring being in the wallet, as a decent used WRX in this area can be had for around 18k out the door with a solid warranty, a new WRX will end up around 23-25k out the door with the factory warranty.
The used car has one strong advantage, and that would be the price. I can get a car which was 23-25k new locally, a couple of years old, for around 18k all said and done.
On the other side, the biggest fear that I have is getting a car driven by an utter tard. AWD cars, idiots, and manual transmissions usually spell a decent bit of disaster. There is little way to tell if a WRX was driven by Lil Granny or Clutch-Dump McGearstrip, other than to drive it around and hope nothing goes horrible down in engineering.
----------
On the new front, I gather it's best to go with a 2009. The larger turbo and stiffer suspension make for a better starting point for any work which would get done in either department. This goes in addition to the points posted above.
On the used front, I'm in a bit of a quandry. I'm pretty well taking this from the mechanical standpoint, as it has the potential of making the worst of days. I've read that the 2001-2004 tend to have weak trannies, and would prefer to avoid those. I've read bits and pecies all around of various breakages in the 2005-2006 model ranges as well, but without the general idea that the trannies are just under engineered.
I've also read that the 2007 model recieved a different tranny, which is currently in use in the 08 and 09 WRX models. I've also read conflicting information stating that the tranny in the 07, 08 and 09 are all different. And then further conflicting posts stating the 07, 08 and 09 all have the same internals, but with a strong case in 07 and 09 and a weak one in 08.
And then the thought occurs to me that I've read reports of many 2005 and up WRX's pushing nice horsepower numbers without any reports of gearbox soup other than out of a few people in the drag crowd, some of which have repeated issues with the same problem with progressively stronger parts, leading one to believe their driving style could be altered.
So really, in the end, I don't know what to think about the new vs used market, quite possibly beacuse I don't know enough about the used market to make an informed decision.
This is where you, gentle reader, come in. I know this information exists, but with so much counter-information and disinformation, it can be difficult to weed out.
A couple of questions:
1.) Does anyone have any input on the new vs used debacle. I'm by no means rich, but I can afford to take either one home, so that's not the biggest sticking point. The sticking point on this one is effective use of money, which offers more "bang-for-buck" in the long run. (Yes, I plan on keeping this car untill the wheels fall off, cows come home, fat lady sings, hell freezes over, and pigs fly)
2.) If possible, does anyone know or have a link to a breakdown of transmissions by year, whats good, whats not-so-good. I've looked all over and can't find one solid compendium of information on this topic.
Thanks for those who plowed through this entire wall of text, and thanks in advance to those who opt to respond. I've very stoked about finally being in a position to get a WRX, and want to make the most informed and intelligent decision possible.