what to look for when buying a used wrx

Overview

Few cars have democratized operation like the Subaru WRX and STI. From forbidden fruit JDM roadgoing rally car to today'southward family-friendly turbocharged all-rounder, the WRX offers all the flexibility of a Swiss Army knife. Iv doors and a hood scoop. Fun in the corners. And when the tarmac runs out, the political party simply gets louder.

With a new WRX on the fashion, what better time to take a wait back at nearly thirty years of World Rally Blue paint, boxer rumble, and vape pen jokes?


First Generation (GC): 1992-2000

Long before the WRX arrived, Subaru had already established the turbocharged pancake four and all-wheel-drive rally recipe with performance versions of the Legacy sedan. In 1992, the more compact Impreza arrived, intended equally a replacement for the boxy Loyale. Cramming gravel-focused operation into a smaller packet was a no brainer.

The GC chassis WRX were potent machines, bachelor first equally a sedan and later in coupe and hatchback variants. A 5-speed manual was standard, every bit were twin pasty express sideslip differentials and the EJ207 flat-four engine. The turbocharged boxer motor made 237 hp initially and responded eagerly to modification. Subaru called their creation the Impreza WRX for World Rally eXperimental.

To requite a rough idea of in-period comparison, this was more ability than y'all got in a 5.0L Mustang, combined with all-wheel-bulldoze for grip. The stripped-out RA version, which had crank windows, no A/C or ABS, and a shut ratio gearbox, weighed merely 2579 lbs.

Starting in 1994, STI versions of the WRX arrived. Established in 1988, Subaru Tecnica International (at get-go shortened to STi, later STI) was Subaru's motorsport sectionalisation. The commencement WRXs to receive the crimson-blossom-pink STI bluecoat were taken off the line and fitted with upgraded parts. Subaru quickly switched to building STIs alongside WRXs, then began cranking out special variants.

In typical Japanese home marketplace format, the longer the proper noun of the car, the more impressive its performance. For instance, the Version 3 Impreza WRX Type RA STI came with an engine that made around 300 hp and an electromechanical locking center differential called the Commuter Controlled Center Differential (DCCD). The coupe version was chosen equally the basis for the team rally machines.

Homemade WRC videos and games like Gran Turismo introduced a Northward American audition to the WRX and STI. The hottest Impreza we ever got was the ii.5RS coupe, which had plenty of rally jewellery just wasn't that special behind the looks.

Happily, the get-go generation WRX and STI accept now aged beyond the importation ban. Rails one downward and alive out your Colin McRae racing fantasies for real.

• Or just build your own. For the most role, Subarus are like Lego. About driveline parts can be relatively easily swapped around. Thus, instead of waiting around for the JDM WRX to go importable, many Subaru fans merely found a wrecked Usa-spec STI from later years, and swapped its two.5L flat four engine into a 1st generation torso. Finding a expert condition GC-chassis coupe is pretty tough these days (technically, the internal code for two-door models is GM; GC is an informal catch-all). However, have the fourth dimension and y'all can take the left-paw-drive STI we never got.

• You're going to want to start memorizing model codes. There are 6 unlike versions of the Impreza WRX STI, and each year brought new special editions. You lot tin't even rely on the designations to be consistent: Subaru variously claimed that RA stood for "Tape Attempt," and/or "Racing, Group A." Knowing the full model name volition help you know if you're looking at something special, or a more than run-of-the-mill 'rex.

• Gravel livin' ain't easy. The appeal of the initial WRX is something the current car still offers: performance that isn't restricted to the road. The problem with this flexibility is what happens when a car has endured at least 25 years of corruption at the hands of would-exist rally drivers. These cars aren't Skyline GT-Rs, and they thus weren't equally revered or preserved. Finding a skillful status i will have effort.

• AWD is not bad for all weather driving, and besides introducing rust. Buyers might not think of Japan as a peculiarly wintry country, but the northern part is, and this means road common salt. Part of the GC's lightweight structure is simply through using thinner metallic, and rust tin can eat large holes quickly. The rear quarters and roof around the window seals are areas to watch.

• Japanese market cars are quite dissimilar than later US models. While both the first generation WRX/STI and later USDM models came with engine codes starting with EJ, the 2 motors have plenty of differences. If you need parts for your JDM motor, they may need to exist overnighted from Nihon, in the all-time Fast and Furious traditions. More often than not, the Japanese ii.0L engines had a reputation for beingness tougher than the The states-spec versions (especially the STI), just these cars are adequately old now, and some parts will be brittle.

• Boxer rumble explained. For a four-cylinder auto, both the WRX and the STI have a very distinctive sound. The reason for the signature exhaust note tin can be constitute nether the car; the exhaust manifold collects exhaust from the heads and pipes it up towards the turbocharger, which is mounted to a higher place and to the dorsum of the engine. Because the engine is flat, with two cylinders per side, the manifolds are longer for two of the cylinders. This gives the exhaust pulses the regular vanquish that's go a Subaru signature.

Of Note:

  • 1992: The first WRX arrives on the scene. The first cars are the lightest.
  • 1993: A wagon version of the WRX arrives. Up until the 2014 model year, a WRX with a hatch was pretty much unmatched as a do-annihilation vehicle. Regrettably, information technology seems like Subaru is also decorated selling Crosstreks these days to build a new one.
  • 1994: The first STI comes to market. Brilliant pink might seem an odd option as a signature racing color, but information technology'south a nod to the correlation betwixt Japanese samurai culture and ruby-red blossoms.
  • 1995: Colin McRae wins the World Rally Championship in his blue and yellow Impreza 555. Today, Subaru however offers a bright Globe Rally Blue every bit a paint selection on the WRX, but the earliest versions were a chip darker. The color scheme traces its roots back to an advertisement partnership with State Express 555, a British tobacco company.
  • 1998: Just 400 Subaru 22Bs were built as a nod to both Subaru's 40th anniversary and the make's 3rd WRC manufacturer title. Today, these widebody ii.2L boxer coupes are the nearly valuable Subarus ever made.
  • 1999: Japan wasn't the just market place getting special editions. Colin McRae'due south Scottish heritage had UK Subaru fans in a tizzy, and Subaru UK had some unique cars for them. The P1, developed by racing specialists Prodrive, was essentially a WRX STI Blazon R, retuned for bumpy UK B-roads.
  • 2000: Among the last of the GC-chassis cars was the rather odd-looking S201. Subaru fitted an unusual torso kit to an STI and bumped the power levels; it was the first of the Southward-line models that are among the fastest WRXs.

    2nd Gen (GD): 2000-2007

    The "New Historic period" Impreza showed up with a WRX variant correct out of the gate in Japan and select overseas markets, but at that place was still a filibuster for Due north America. Arriving as a 2002 model twelvemonth, the circular-headlight WRX we finally got was mostly worth the await.

    Each facelifted generation of this chassis would gain a headlight-based nickname. Dubbed the "Bugeye" by Subaru fans, the WRX was pretty much everything we'd hoped. It had a five-speed gearbox, all-cycle-drive, and a turbocharged two.0L engine making 227 hp in mill course.

    With no play a joke on heart differential and a tiny turbocharger that quickly ran out of steam, the WRX wasn't quite as sharp as the Japanese market cars. However, it did mostly print.

    "The WRX is one of those rare cars that makes you lot smiling even if you're just running a mundane errand. The on-boost power from the 227 bhp 2.0-liter turbo flat-iv provides a real rush. The all-wheel-drive treatment is forgiving, the steering abrupt and the front seats are supremely well bolstered. On top of that, the WRX is a kick just to expect at, what with those muscular fenders, the rear wing and the intercooler hood scoop." • Mike Monticello, R&T 2002

    Complaints? Well, the paint was about as durable equally chocolate. You lot could dent the trunk panels by merely looking at them. And in terms of rattles, Subaru carefully installed a maraca player within every dashboard they fabricated. Still, the WRX offered plenty of operation and box-flared charm, and the optional Sportwagon variant was fifty-fifty more applied than the sedan.

    Then the US-spec STI arrived to set the true cat amid the pigeons. Today enough of sport compacts offer around 300 hp, and high-performance versions of the Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger all make double that. In 2004, the starting time STI offered equally much power every bit a V8-powered Mustang Mach one, and that was earlier you opened upwardly the exhaust and cranked upward the boost.

    Over the class of the adjacent three years, both the WRX and the STI picked upward refinements but remained raw to drive. Both the original 2004 STI and terminal-of-breed 2007 STI are highly desirable today. Nearly WRXs from this generation have been ridden hard and put abroad moisture, then a surviving Bugeye in proficient condition will be a collector's item someday.

    • The early cars had weak transmissions. Some of the first 2002 WRXs had a weak gearbox that tended to break. Information technology's not so much the car's fault as the inevitable event of handing an inexpensive all-cycle-bulldoze performance machine to an enthusiast who promptly does a clutch dump on tarmac. Notwithstanding, later cars are stronger.

    • The 2004 STI is vulnerable to theft. Later WRXs and STIs had an immobilizer key, but the first USDM STI was an easy target for thieves. If yous're looking at preserving ane, make sure to improve on-board security.

    • All kinds of overseas -market parts bolt correct on. JDM WRXs and STIs came with bigger hood scoops, roof vents, better headlights, and all sorts of upgrades. The Europeans also had better wheels and a few other options we didn't become. The good news is that, as mentioned, Subarus are like Lego. Become to the hunt on eBay, and get a bigger scoop to go with an uprated top• mount intercooler.

    • The 2004 STI'south BBS wheels are really valuable. Every other STI has a dissimilar commodities pattern, only the wheels from a 2004 STI will fit WRXs. This puts a premium on fifty-fifty crude condition sets.

    • For every weak point, the aftermarket has a solution. Whether it's oil starvation in corners or shifter action similar stirring rice pudding, the huge WRX/STI aftermarket has a solution. These cars arrived in the heyday of sport compact tuning and were supported by dozens of companies offering everything from tuning solutions to underbody gravel armor.

    Of Notation:

    • 2002: The Bugeye shows upwardly both as a sedan and a little wagon. Owners cheer, then immediately brainstorm cranking upward their boost and breaking things.
    • 2003: Petter Solberg wins the WRC Commuter'due south Championship in his Prodrive-congenital STI. This would exist the concluding rally title for Subaru on the earth stage, but the GD chassis continued to compete elsewhere over its entire run.
    • 2004: While Japanese STIs continue to come with a revvy two.0L engine, the U.s.a. market doesn't have the same types of deportation taxation. Thus, Subaru comes up with a 2.5L turbocharged four that has a niggling more usable torque. Turbo lag is even so considerable.
    • 2005: Did you know that Scandinavians came up with the idea of salmon sushi? Anyway, here'due south the Saab 9-2X, a rebadged version of the Subaru Impreza railroad vehicle. In Aero form, it was basically a WRX carriage with more audio dull, no roof track, and the quicker steering box out of the STI.
    • 2007: Subaru America announces production of a limited version of the STI. They made 800 of them, and different the Japanese tendency to offer more than hardcore performance, the U.s. Express models were more refined, with heated leather seats, a subtle rear lip spoiler, and an upgraded stereo. Even so, the terminal WRX and STI were sharper than what was to follow.

      Tertiary Generation (GR): 2008-2014

      Permit's not exist coy about it: for enthusiasts, this is pretty much the worst the WRX always got. Subaru took its rally weapon and nerfed it, making it soft and civilized and more attainable to bulldoze. The first couple of years were a particular let down.

      Having said that, the STI at to the lowest degree retained its potent powertrain, and was now available exclusively every bit a hatchback. If yous were a parent looking for a way to get the kids to a piano lesson inexplicably held at the end of a gravel rally stage, there simply wasn't a better car on the market.

      And, as much as the blueish-and-yellowish faithful looked back wistfully on the rawness of the 2004 STI, this generation of WRX and STI were easier to alive with. The seats no longer gripped you with narrow side bolstering, just they were more comfy. The intermission on the STI was less harsh. Even the interior quality was improved. Sort of. By Subaru standards, anyhow.

      Further, while the STI didn't modify much over the years apart from a mid-cycle facelift that saw the sedan body style return, Subaru did sharpen up the WRX a little. The company's initial intent was to split up the WRX and STI lines more, figuring enthusiasts would but opt for an STI anyhow. Only a WRX should be, similar a Volkswagen GTI, an affordable performance machine for the everyman, and stepping up to the STI wasn't cheap.

      1 year later the WRX debuted, Subaru fitted an upgraded turbocharger producing more heave, stiffened the suspension, and added stickier tires. The softer version of the WRX had its name changed to the Impreza ii.5GT, and was simply available with an automatic. The manual-but 265 hp WRX was clocked at 0-lx mph in 4.7s by Car and Commuter.

      "To sum up: The 2009 WRX is what the redesigned 2008 WRX should've been. And proficient for Subaru for realizing this, albeit it...and fixing it!" • Mike Monticello, R&T 2008

      Even better, the 2011 model year saw the WRX get the aforementioned widebody every bit offered in the STI. The STI still had that clever center differential and more power outright, but in many ways the WRX was a better buy. Information technology was less expensive to operate and insure, just about equally quick in the real earth, and now looked just as adept… which is to say, ugly with box flares.

      Subaru also bought the sedan shape back to the STI in 2011, making for a stiff showroom lineup. If you wanted the big wing and bigger brakes, Subaru had that for yous. Afterwards a hot gravel hatch that needs to handle a daily commute and haul a mountain bike to the trailhead? Subaru'southward got you covered there also.

      Simply with news that a new WRX was on the style for the 2015 model year, fans started worrying that Subaru was going to get things wrong once again.

      • The widebody looks cool, but grip is more almost tire choice. Narrowbody WRXs are worth less than the afterward widebody variants simply because they don't look like the STI. However, the wider stance doesn't affect overall grip as much every bit a decent tire choice. Save a bit of money, and spend it on upgrades.

      • The WRX is more tuneable. With the tiny TD04 turbocharger now replaced past a bigger VF52, accessing more boost through a simple reflash is quite piece of cake. Yep, you can also become more power out of an STI, but boosting your WRX to due north of 300 hp requires lilliputian in the mode of supporting modifications.

      • But don't try to build an STI out of a WRX. It'south easy to go ability out of a WRX to the betoken where it will easily hang with a stock STI. Even so, all the STI extras add upwardly: bigger brakes, stronger transmission, differentials. If you're going to exist doing serious modifications, yous're amend off saving a bit extra to find an STI. It's only that the STI isn't necessarily more than fun than the WRX.

      Of notation:

      • 2008 – The STI is hither as a hatchback. Cheering! The WRX is a big soft mess. Pelting with rotten tomatoes!
      • 2009 – Subaru pulls a do-over, stiffens up the WRX, and rights the ship. Enthusiasts breathe a sigh of relief.
      • 2010 – The Dirtfish Rally School opens in Snoqualmie, Washington, with STI hatchbacks set up for gravel duty. A day spent hither learning the intricacies of the Scandinavian flick should be on any Subaru fan'southward bucket listing.
      • 2011 – More than merely a facelift, a mid• cycle update brings new body styles for both the WRX and the STI. The WRX now has the same widebody as the STI, and the STI returns in big• wing sedan form (the hatchback version is notwithstanding available too.)
      • 2015 – At the Goodwood Festival of Speed, a widebody STI hatchback stuns the supercar community when it beats everyone else upward the colina. Olly Clark's "Gobstopper Ii" is spectacularly be-winged and packing 780 hp. It'll trounce the McLarens the following twelvemonth too.

        Fourth Generation (VA): 2015-2021

        When the current generation of the WRX arrived every bit a 2015 model, reactions were mixed. On one manus, this wasn't the ball-drib the 2008 model had been. On the other mitt, Subaru had raised expectations with the great-looking WRX Concept, shown off at the 2013 New York Auto Show.

        Where the concept was sleek and low, with a bulging front-terminate that looked a bit like something from Jaguar's Special Vehicles skunkworks, the production machine was a lot more applied. Yes, information technology had a hood-scoop and fender flares, only it was overall just an ordinary three-box sedan.

        Which is dandy. What the grumblers missed is that the WRX isn't supposed to be some sleek coupe take, aping the 22B. That was a special edition; the backbone of the range has to offer everyday practicality to keep with the performance.

        And the performance was pretty adept. The WRX particularly benefited from an extensive powertrain overhaul that relocated the turbocharger beneath the flat-4 engine for quicker spooling. A slightly notchy six-speed transmission was standard to handle the now 268 hp, and thanks to brake-based torque vectoring and a quicker steering ratio, the car seemed more than eager to dive into a corner.

        "After 40,000 miles of road trips and commutes, a blanket of snow was a welcome reminder that the WRX still shines brightest in the sloppiest weather. Information technology'southward an piece of cake affair to forget; the latest WRX feels more at home on the road than any of its predecessors. And then we were comforted past how our final sideways fling in the rally-inspired four-door proves that, even as it grows more than civilized on the route, the WRX remains true to the character that makes it distinctive." Eric Tingwall, Car and Driver, 2016

        The STI soldiered on with a retuned and refreshed version of the EJ25 that notwithstanding made a footling over 300 hp. It was far laggier than the WRX, only the shifter action was more precise, the brakes soaked upward abuse better, and if yous had that center differential set correctly, the STI was no longer an understeering mess requiring a bootful of left-human foot braking.

        "For the first time ever, there is an STI that wants to turn. This is a Subaru that, unlike any all-wheel-drive Subaru in recent history, tin can be driven on a racetrack without frustration. And not only does it plough into corners willingly, it'll accept loads of power without pushing wide.
        Oversteer isn't part of the auto's repertoire, but drive the STI the manner it wants, and it at least goes neutral. And fun. And very, very rapidly." Jason Cammisa, Road & Track. 2014

        Practiced news all around. Things got even meliorate when, perchance acknowledging the importance of the US market place to the company's global bottom line, Subaru decided to bring some of its knife-edged special editions across the Pacific. We got 500 examples of the WRX STI Type RA for the 2018 model year, and afterwards, 209 units of the 341 hp S209. The latter was built peculiarly by STI, at a tiny mill that but produces two cars per 24-hour interval.

        • The STI's engine is old, just well understood. At the time of launch, many complained that the STI didn't really justify its premium over the WRX, especially with the aforementioned 305 hp it had been pumping out for decades. The chassis tuning and driveline upgrades tipped the scales; besides, where the EJ25 wasn't cutting edge, tuners had long known how to brand ability out of it, and where the weak points were.

        • If you make fun of the CVT, may the Rally Gods curse you in some mild way, like stubbing your toe on the java table. We get it: the manual is the merely purists' choice for a WRX. However, past putting their CVT into the WRX, Subaru was able to double the applied appeal of this quick little sedan and make sure the sales results paid for the auto'southward development. Yes, a proper dual-clutch gearbox would have been better. Simply take Hyundai every bit an example: it uses the dual-clutch box in the Veloster North in all sorts of other applications. Subaru is a much smaller company, and so just swapping in a CVT makes sense.

        • In Subaru Land, modifications aren't the finish of the world. The odds of finding a completely unmodified WRX or STI are fairly low. However, mods don't mean corruption, and a lack of mods doesn't mean a auto has been babied. If y'all're looking at a used WRX, is the seller a mechanic with well-nigh robotic attention to detail? Or are they a vape cloud with a No Ragrats tattoo? You're probably better off buying from the starting time guy.

        • The limited editions are worth the premium. Both the RA and S209 are fetching big dollars these days, and that's unlikely to modify. The thought that a Subaru can be a collectible has been cemented by 22B values, and the 2004 STI followed before long later on, if not to the same extent. The S209 especially volition be a sought-after automobile well into the future. The RA offers less convincing performance for your dollar, but will also hold its value.

        Of note:

        • 2014: The new WRX and STI get in on the VA chassis for the 2015 model year. The general shape, front doors, and body are shared with the Impreza, but the chassis is unique, and the Impreza proper name is dropped.
        • 2016: Marking Higgins pilots a particularly modified 600 hp STI race car around the Isle of Human TT course, coming within a half-minute of the records set by the motorcycles. The record is not terribly important, as Subaru is the only automobile manufacturer to run the form, only the lap is thrilling to watch.
        • 2017 – The Subaru STI Type-RA NBR clocks a half dozen minute 57.5-second lap around the Nürburgring. The RA road car that follows tin't come close to matching that functioning, but rather pays homage to it.
        • 2019 – The S209 emerges as the about hardcore STI to ever officially attain Usa soil. It'south not just a ability upgrade: the steering, suspension, brakes, cooling, gearing, and aerodynamics are all reworked past STI's specialists.
        • 2021: Travis Pastrana breaks his own tape at the Mount Washington hillclimb with a breathtaking 5:28.67 run upward the mountain. His 862 hp "Airslayer" STI was some 45 seconds quicker than the next competitor.

          Collectability:

          When a Subaru 22B sold for $312,555 on Bring a Trailer, many conventional car collectors were left scratching their heads. Over a quarter of a million dollars for a Subaru? Enthusiasts, on the other mitt, felt like their favorite brand had finally been given proper credit.

          If you tin beget a 22B, and so please contact me immediately so that I can infringe it. I'll be your friend. If, equally is more likely, y'all can't, there are a number of other WRXs and STIs that are highly collectible.

          Values for the 2004 STI are already on the ascent, but it's notwithstanding possible to get a skilful car. The matter to do, possibly, is go through and unwind the modifications on a car that's been owned by someone who turned a perfectly good machine into a project car.

          I oftentimes-overlooked pick is a commencement-year Bugeye. On the whole, these accept been driveling into near-extinction, and are impossible to detect in mill form. A factory-spec sedan won't have the cachet and performance of a later STI, but they will be valuable, and are great fun at normal speeds.

          For earlier JDM cars, educating yourself on all the diverse specialist trims is a must. All the same, odds are that right-hand-drive cars won't exist quite as collectible in the US market place, with the exceptions of the really rare stuff.

          Lastly, in that location'southward the collectibles from the current generation, namely the S209 and RA. The S209 is the dream VA-chassis car to take, and it'south worth paying a massive premium for. These cars will continue to appreciate; they're very special. The RA is a bit less special, but information technology is a express edition, and will at to the lowest degree concur its value. Information technology's too more adequate to alter an RA to your own taste than mess with an S209.

          The Ones to Get

          • By 2003, the WRX had most of the kinks worked out. Any good-condition machine upward until 2007 makes a great buy, peculiarly the afterwards wagons.
          • For the GD-chassis STI, the theoretical platonic is a 2007 with some of the good stuff off of a 2006 model, like the aluminum control arms.
          • The last of the hatchback STIs is theoretically a good purchase, but they are thirsty and less satisfying to drive than in other generations of STI. You're perhaps ameliorate off with a widebody WRX hatch for the fun gene.
          • The VA chassis WRX didn't have many issues on launch, so some pretty standard advice applies: buy the newest 1 you tin can afford. The 2018 models do good from a host of small upgrades.
          • Buying a last-of-breed STI might seem similar folly with a new and probable more powerful car on the way. Yet, the odds are that this'll be the last STI you'll be able to get with a hydraulic steering rack. The actress feedback might be worth it.

            Notable Issues / Issues

            • The potential for rust in GC-chassis cars needs to exist extended to all generations. WRXs are all-atmospheric condition machines, and Subaru paint is prone to chipping and flaking. Check the usual points where water gets trapped: in the rear quarters, around the windshield, and under the rug in the trunk.
            • Transmission issues due to abuse can be a trouble with any WRX. The STI is tougher, but hardly invincible. Look for weeping differentials or crunchy synchros.
            • Clutch chatter when cold is mutual for older WRXs and STIs. Less experienced drivers can quickly wear out a clutch, then check the engagement indicate and watch for slippage.
            • Subaru wheel bearings are made of cheese. High offset wheels will gobble them up.
            • Even the theoretically tougher STI engines similar to blow band lands. Don't overdo the boost, and make certain your plugs are gapped properly.
            • A local rally shop says that a proper oil separator makes a difference for engine longevity. Stay up on your oil changes, and sentry oil levels, every bit a apartment-four tin can exist thirsty.
            • Interior rattles are only par for the form. Wind and route noise in a GD chassis WRX are on par with that of a Napoleonic-era wooden ship. You get used to it.
            • The flat 4 is a pain to work on for some tasks. Step one of the instructions for irresolute something like an oxygen sensor can ofttimes be: "Start, remove a bike." Happily, the WRX community is large, and at that place are guides to handling most issues.

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              Source: https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a37975530/subaru-wrx-buyers-guide/

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