Used '02 WRX questions

[Steve Niece]

I'm looking at picking up a used 2002 WRX, with about 95,000km on it.
It came off lease, and seems to drive pretty good. It still hauls like
crazy, and I wasn't able to hear any rattles or squeaks. There is some
minor body stuff (hood chips and a door ding...and it needs a good
waxing), it doesn't appear to have been abused or rallied (no obvious
chips on the sides from gravel anyway).

I'm just wondering if there are any problems in particular that I should
be looking for? The other question I had is regarding the under-hood
paint. The car is rally blue, but the underhood colour is somewhat
darker. Is this the way it's supposed to be, or has this possibly been
repainted? Everywhere else looks like factory paint.

Thanks,
Stephen

 

[Bryan Lee]

yes I have a blue '04 WRX and it darker under the hood. Is it a stick or
auto. Sticks are known for tranny problems due in most part to driver
abuse.

 

[Ned Pike]

In

yes I have a blue '04 WRX and it darker under the hood. Is it a
stick or auto. Sticks are known for tranny problems due in most part
to driver abuse.

As the owner of an '02 WRX Wagon, yes the WR Blue paint is subject to sun
fade. Of course, the rock chips in the front are even worse, but that's a
long-standing issue with Subie paint. I've got 85K miles/137K km on mine
with no tranny issues to date. Might be that lack of abuse previously
mentioned. The tranny will be the biggest issue; if a young'un with no
previous AWD experience is in the title chain, run screaming. After all,
the 5MT box in the WRX is 20+ years old and originally designed for a car
with half the torque. Yes, it's been upgraded, but you can only apply just
so many Band-Aids. Many will try to lead you down the "clutch shudder" path
and claim that cars that suffer from it are incipent garage queens. I've
been satisfied with Subie's claim that it's an inherent characteristic of
the friction material; my car's done the "judder" from Day 1 and here I am 3
years and 85,000 miles down the road with no problems at all (the "judder"
goes away as soon as the clutch is warm & dry).

In short, most of the doom & gloom seen here on the NG comes from those who
expect every Japanese car to drive just like a Honda.

 

[David Betts]

I'm looking at picking up a used 2002 WRX, with about 95,000km on it.
It came off lease, and seems to drive pretty good. It still hauls like
crazy, and I wasn't able to hear any rattles or squeaks. There is some
minor body stuff (hood chips and a door ding...and it needs a good
waxing), it doesn't appear to have been abused or rallied (no obvious
chips on the sides from gravel anyway).

I'm just wondering if there are any problems in particular that I should
be looking for? The other question I had is regarding the under-hood
paint. The car is rally blue, but the underhood colour is somewhat
darker. Is this the way it's supposed to be, or has this possibly been
repainted? Everywhere else looks like factory paint.

No inherent problems. Just look for a full service history. If it
doens't have that, then walk away. Do remember that consumables like
tyres, brakes and clutch wear out relatively quickly and are fairly
expensive on what is, after all, a high performance car. If they
haven't been replaced recently, check their condition and be prepared
for big bills.

David Betts
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Steve Niece]

I've checked out the service records (called the original dealer), and
in their words...'every service, like clockwork'. The tires have just
been replaced, the front brakes look like they're in need of new pads
and full system bleed, I did the '40km/h in 4th and honk on the
throttle' trick, with no clutch slippage to be found.

To answer the other posts, yep, it's a 5 speed. I have read about the
'problem' of not shifting into first below 10 mph. I had the same
problem, and the cold clutch shudder on my last Subaru (2000 OBS) and
didn't really consider it a problem. I can't shift into first without
double clutching on my current MINI Cooper either...in fact, I don't
think I've ever driven a 5 speed that would let you just push the
shifter into 1st without either a) a lot of effort, or b) double
clutching. It is good to hear about the darker paint being
normal...must be the prep for the aluminum hood or something. The chips
aren't too bad. I'll touch them up, and give the car a good waxing.

Now I just need to sell the MINI!

Steve