Going to check out a 2002 Subaru WRX with 122k miles, manual trans, in a few days. The seller is selling it for 7700. The car is mostly stock except cobb intake and access port running stage1 mishimoto coolent expansion tank ,stock exhaust rear muffler deleted, new passenger front axle, new spark plugs recently, timing belt was done by pervious owner. The car seems well taken care of, what things should I look out for, should i get a mechanic to check it out? Would this car last until 200k and mabye past if i treated it right and maintained it?
Get a mechanic to check it out. That's a nearly 20-year-old car and those WRXs tend to get beaten to death by their owners.
Subarus have relatively high resale value especially the WRX, however, $7700 for a 2002 WRX with 122 000 miles is too much money IMO. I would offer the person $4-5 grand.
For the obvious, it's a WRX. It could just appear to be well taken care of seeing the new parts list or can indicate what the guy did before. On the assumption that this is a street legal sports car I wouldn't throw out all the possibility of it being abused so defintly check if there were signs of that. Other major thing is head gasket being the boxer engine and all that. Scan for codes, look for curb-rash and other signs like maybe scrapage under the car if it was lowered on static springs. Any car can last if you are willing to put money into it. Now how lucky you get and how much you are willing to spend that's up to you. If you don't know mechanics and is just a driver then yes. I highly recommend a mechanic take a look for ya.
I thought the 2.0 L engines didnt have head gasket problems like the 2.5? My friends dad is a mechanic so if I like it I will pay him to check everyrhing for me. Do you think things would break down and be unreliable?
I wouldn't know the specifics on subbie engines tbh. The breaking down and reliability part, yes I do think things will be faster to wear. As I said earlier, dude put a sport tune, intake and exhaust. Even if mostly stock, he probably did use it to street race. You'll need to see to tell if abuse be had especially being a WRX. Also being a sports car, parts are probably going to be a little more pricy compared to say an outback.
The turbocharged version of the 2.0L H4 in that Subaru WRX did not have the head gasket issue. See below:
- https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/postid/96722/
- https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/postid/84809/
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https://www.cashcarsbuyer.com/subaru-head-gasket-problems/#om
Thanks, good to know!
Ok, the bugeyes are extremely collectible and legendary drivable. As always, get it inspected and get the best deal you can, but that car will appreciate fast. As long as it’s running and driving, it will be a solid investment.
Having said that, you better be passionate about it because it will be a lot of work. I don’t care how it’s been treated and maintained, it’s gonna need work. And if you have to pay somebody else to do it, that will eat up all your appreciation.
The good news is that they are simple cars and easy to wrench on yourself, and parts are still fairly easy to find and cheap.
By the way, you mention wanting to get it to 200,000. That tells me you want it as a daily driver. Two thoughts: 1) if that’s what you want, take it back to stock. A tuned bugeye with a muffler delete is gonna be a miserable driver. And 2) I hope you’re not too tall, cause the driver seat on those is a bit tight for big guys.
PS: the asking price is within the range for a bugeye in average condition. If it’s got flaws, you might get it for $5-6000. Above average to excellent examples typically list for $10-15k.
What type of work would need to be done? My grandpa is good with cars I have always worked on cars and trucks with him., so I wouldnt be paying anyone. also the only things that arent stock is the muffler delete and tune to compensate for it, i thought tunes made them more reliable?
Anything, really. At 20 years, there are certain to be parts near end of life. And some things, like the clutch, that have been done may be due to be done again.
That model is not included in the notorious Subaru head gasket thing, but you could need a head gasket anyway in any car that old. Other major jobs could include the gearbox (yes, manual transmissions wear out), differentials, and turbo. Medium size repairs might include radiator, HVAC components, axles/hubs, and front end components.
The thing with Subaru is that they are generally well designed for what they are, but they are not high-end cars. They use a lot of good but cheap components. They are generally cheap and easy to fix, and you can do much of the work yourself, but things are gonna break.
I’m always wary of sport models like the WRX or the Type R. People usually drive the heck out if them. In the case that the one you are looking at was well taken care of, $7K+ seems expensive to me, but it might very well be the price these days, in this economy.
Yeah the prices are inflated a lot
That seems way to much. Either way have a trusted mechanic inspect it. Like others have said people like to drive those vehicles hard.
