Rep Power: 310

As I continue to look for cars I think I nailed it down to the IS300..... BUT a couple people suggested that a WRX would be a much more fun car to drive which is true.

I decided to look them up and it seems to be in my price range.... I'm just wondering a couple thing that I dont want to ask on the WRX forums cuz I'll probably get a lot of biased answers.

So, how is the reliability of this car? What are some problems with this car and do you think its worth the money? Please add anythign else... I just want to know if its worth even checking this car out at a dealership.

 
Rep Power: 360

Only downside I know of is that hideous spoiler those things get! the rear end of the wrx's are hopeless. but AWD >>>>> RWD if you live in PA. Don't you remember the winter we just had?

 
Rep Power: 273

i hear the tranny has its problems, search that cuz i have a heard a lot fo things about it.

 
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wrx's have a small spoiler which i think is very nice....much better than the Honda OEM ones.

 
Rep Power: 310

I dont really care about the looks with the WRX.... I would only be concerned with the performance aspect of the WRX so I want to know about the reliability factor

 
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man... it seems that its very hard for you to chose a new car... just keep the civic and save up for a ferrari?

 
Rep Power: 351

Having owned one (2004 WRX) I can give you some truthfull answers. Reliablility is awesome. I really beat on the car and I never had problems with it. You really wont notice the AWD until you drive something else and come to respect the AWD. The major problem with the WRX is the tranny. They are fine until you grind a gear IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. Seems once that happens (and it will happen) that the tranny is just a pain in the butt. First and reverse are the major gears of pain.

Is it worth the money? Being that you are in Philly, and deal with the snow and mud and all that, for you I would say yes. Im in So Cal, so there wasnt much offroading that I could do. I mean there are a couple of nice canyons and all, but going in the mud is where its really fun. I was able to take it to a spot where only lifted trucks go thru for "mudding" and it was the best time I had. So for me, it wasnt really worth it (esp with gas prices) but for you it might be.

Negatives: Tranny and gas milage (310 miles/tank max)
Positives: Power, Reliability, Capabilities, AWD, TURBO

Dont forget!!! The BOV will keep you so entertained as well. I loved it, I just wish that I was able to use it what it was meant for.

EDIT: Oh yeah, the clutch might feel a little stiff when you first drive it, but you should get accustomed to it. My stickly friend had a problem with it when he got his, I never had a problem with mine, but thats probably becuase it was his first stick car (not a great choice to start on) and I only drive stick.

 
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my friend just got a Werx after crushing his civic to pieces.when I got a chance to drive it I felt that as many people say that its the passionate hearty car that it seems to be, i didnt really feel in touch with the car as i did with my civic...course the werx is 10 trillion times faster..it coulda been the clutch and the shifter iono..somthin like a evo would tickle me fancy better

 
Rep Power: 294

I test drove a based WRX and the shifter felt really spongy, that was the only thing I dispite from the car. Other than that its awesome...

 
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That is because HONDA makes the best gearbox's

 
Rep Power: 276

i am not sure that is so true of our 7thgen
our transmissions seem to be a little weak.

 
Rep Power: 364

The only downside I've heard from my friends who have them is that they require premium. Other than that, I've not heard one bad thing about reliability/performance.

 
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whats up hustle...

the tranny isnt the greatest if you beat on it and launch it continuously.

as far as relaibility it was number one last year according to something i saw from cnn... subie had 8 cars per 100 that needed work... compared to honda which was 9-100 and some lincoln was like 49-100 haha.

 
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They are fantastic cars with gread built quality. I almost bought a new one a few months back, but the 05's had just come out and they wanted too much money. I plan on selling the vic and picking up a 02-03 bugeye within the next few months once i get moved into my new house.

 
Rep Power: 320

Yeah someone had a link that showed suburu was one of the top cars in reliability for 2004 or something. The wrx is a nice car, i just think its ugly as hell. The IS300 is a nice combo of performance, luxury and reliability. Reliability wise Toyota > all. Stock for stock the wrx has more performance straight out of the box but the IS300 has a lot more potential, since it uses a supra engine. All you really need is do a supra tranny swap and one of the supra turbos and you have a really nice sleeper.

 
Rep Power: 310

Thats exactly why IS300 is on top of my list..... its combines EVERYTHING I'm looking for in my next car: combo of performance, luxury, reliability and resale value.

Only reason why I like the WRX is that it would be much more fun to drive then the IS300. I just wanted to get some data on the WRX and see if I should spend some time looking at them.

Anyway, thats for the inof guys. Keep it coming

 
Rep Power: 320

get the is300 man. Thats the next car i want, for the reasons i stated. The new 06 IS300 looks ugly in my opinion. The 06 is too much luxury sedan and lost too much of its sportieness. Then again, i live in California, so it doesn't snow here unless we go looking for it. You might be better off with a AWD car where you live. RWD sux for bad weather.

 
Rep Power: 0

My bro owns an 02 WRX, it has about 56000 miles on it so far, and it hasnt had one problem with it. The only thing wrong is that his check engine light keeps coming on.

I drove it a few times and i dont get the comment on people saying the transmission is "mushy", it was much more solid than the tranny on my friends 99 si. The tranny on the wrx feels much more solid, and the car as awhole feels like a much more expensive car. However, i did like driving the si more, probabaly because im new too stick and it was a lot easier ( hondas have light cluthes).

To tell you the truth the civic felt faster, but i know its not. Maybe because the engine made more noise, its lighter or because the cluth is lighter.

At first i thought the WRX was one of the ugliest cars id seen, but now its grown on me and it take one in a second. Id go for the sti though, and get a cool color like Black, Blue or Red.

One thing i forgot to mention- After a few runs at my local community college parking lot, you could smell my bros cluth burning or something lol it smelt like bbq.

 
Rep Power: 389

My fiancè owns an 04 as well, and I couldn't agree wit ya more. The secret, tho, to stop grinding in 1st gear is like this "1st-2nd-1st". Switch to 1st like normal from nuetral, then down to 2nd and back up to 1st before you start to accelerate. It sounds rediculous, I know, but it actually works. And after a while, you just get used to it. It become a habit, so to speak.

The reliability aspect is terrific. I own an Impreza myself (2004 2.5RS), so I know first hand how good it is.

The power is awesome. He had a 2001 Civic, so going from that to the WRX was like "WOW" . Deffinitely puts ya in your seat.

Modifying it is a LOT more fun than the Civic. Especially with the power gains.

He got an internet special for the pricing. I think we paid (yes, we -- I helped him buy it) just a little over $22k out the door.

Good luck!

EDIT: Check out NASIOC and go to the Newbie section if you need some more input. People like you are always asking questions like this. You'll get A LOT more responses there, than here.

 
Rep Power: 301

My best friend's wrx is sooo much more fun to drive than my civic. It is the AWD that does it. There is nothing like taking corners at 50 and powering out of em full throttle. The thing just sticks to the ground.