WRX quality?
 

One of my friends is considering getting a WRX (not an STi). One of my other friend's bros has one, (an 04) but has had a ton of problems with it: his transmission has gone out, and his flywheel disintegrated among other things. From what I hear he puts his wrx though a lot of abuse, but how do most WRXs hold up? I'm just wondering how they are quality wise.

Thanks

Michael

i had a wrx 04 (not an sti)manual short shifter, for a year before my 8. i put 10k miles on it, was great, no probs, kinda wish i would have kept it. what you have to realize is alot of the people with tranny problems are dropping the clutch like retards and not slipping it for a good launch. i once read on nasioc forum about a kid complaining about not being able to get his car to go into first when he was doin 20mph or so. duhh no wonder these idiots have problems great car, decent mileage, i will probably get flamed for this, but it would walk all over my 6spd gt.

No complaints here and they are generally considered rather reliable. Subaru was just picked as the top car in reliability by Consumer Reports beating out Honda, Toyota, Lexus, etc Some people have had problems with trannys but many of those are a result of abuse and mods. Some will go so far to say that they have glass trannys, but I have been to WRX club meetings and have yet to meet a single person that has had to do any tranny work, and many of these people are autoxing and rallyxing their cars with mods regularly. Simply put, if you know how to drive it properly the tranny is fine.

Road noise can be a bit higher than other cars due to less sound deadening, but at the same time that saves a good amount of weight. My biggest complaint with the car is the squeaky windows, but that's just a result of them being frameless. The interior is nothing flashy but is well made, the only other complaint is the paint is a bit thin.

"Subaru was just picked as the top car in reliability by Consumer Reports beating out Honda, Toyota, Lexus, etc "


^^what I was going to say^^

The last time i posted here was about a year ago...and i was 2 months out form buying an RX-8. (ive been a consistant lurker ever since) Go Figure i bought a new 04 wrx wagon in june, 5 speed, no frills. Turns out im cheap, and life was more expensive than i realized :-)

Anyhow, had it for 9 months, i just turned 17k miles, have had no problems, and i drive the heck out of it every day. Its the same stuff thats already been said. Dont drive it like a mutt and it will be good to you. My ONLY complaint, and i dont attribute this to a problem since this happens to lots of cars, is that the gas gate gets fozen shut frquently in this NE weather. I have to ask a lot of strangers to pull the release lever next to my drivers seat at the gas pump while i pop the gate open with a key.

I love my turbo boxer, but deep down im still a rotary fanatic...

I use to spray that deicer in the seams of the fuel door. Usually worked vs a key. Might take a couple of times.

Huh, never had or even heard of that problem, and Milwaukee winters aren't exactly mild. Then again my car is kept in a garage, though it's just as cold in there as it is outside.

I can only speak for my STI, but build quality wise, it's essentially the same. No doubt road noise is there, and no Impreza, whether the RS WRX or STI are built for luxury. Car does lack refinement, but that should be expected in an economy car base. I'm not a big fan of the frameless doors. Looks to me like it will have less longevity, and leaking will eventually take place. As for paint, Subaru has been known for very poor quality paint jobs since their existence, and are bottom of list in that category. It's unfortunate, yet so so true. It chips very easily. I guess they just don't apply enough coats, and/or the quality into it just isn't there like with other cars. As for reliability and durability, that's a bonus. It is a great car, and will last. For most part tranny problems are a result of abuse. Under normal use, this car will last with the best of them, no doubt in my mind. Now if you modify car powerwise, all bets are off, and dont' complain if car loses it's reliability. :)

At the same time there are a number of guys creeping up on 100k miles with Stage 4 and have had almost no problems. That speaks pretty highly for how well the car is made.

No doubt. Those people know that they have to give the car more TLC when modded, and use it normally most of time. Modding the car is generally not the main problem. It's how they treat car when modded. You simply have to restrain from using all that power all the time, and take it easy on the transmission and clutch. Plus, with that amount of miles, it's obvious they are using it on highway, in which mods have little to no effect on longevity. Those guys that do stage 4 and use it as a fun car for sunday flying and track, they will not get the same results. Several on WRX and STI forum, have already blown their engines and trannys, because they did not take proper caution when raising the car to that kind of hp level. In the end, Subaru is very durable, and can withstand mods. However, no car will withstand constant hard driving with massive hp without having to make repairs, so those who expect it to go 100k miles, yet they can beat on it, are in for a rude awakening. :)

A WRX is a quality car for $24,500 base price.

My friend just recently got a used 04 WRX with 9,000 miles and he has had no problems at all.

Dealership seems to take alot more care for their cars than Mazda does. :(

People I know with Subarus (including WRXs) have been very happy with the reliability.