Im looking at buying a 96 WRX pretty much stock as a rock except for exhaust and pod filter. Ive always owned mazda rx7's (Rotary Engine) and never had a piston engine car before. What are some of the problems that i should be looking at with a early model WRX? Any help would be much appreciated!!

How much are u buying it for, there are some nice later models on the market for a fairly cheap price.

Would check that its always been stock and not just un-modded for sale. Can't go past the RAC or SGIO check though worth the money, coz if its fukd so is your wallet!

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yeah would like a later model but cannot afford! Price not confirmed yet still negotiating with seller.Are these cars reasonably reliable?

Take it to one of the Subaru Specialist shops as listed on the Mechanical section sticky (called ECU and tuners)

Get them to check it.

I would do the following as a minimum
- compression test
- suspension play
- dump some gearbox oil out to check for metal
- check plugs
- check service records
- check oil consistency
- check noise in cabin for ticking, pinging, etc

Most workshops will do this and charge you probably something like 50-80 for it
I rather workshops than RAC, SGIO. Reason is a WRX is a little different to say a Barina, Commodore. At least a specialist will know what to look for in the "weak" points

Just something to keep in mind.

10 year old sports cars are not driven on sundays by little old ladies.
What looks cheap to purchase at the start could end up being potentially fairly expensive. I'd rather buy a $22,000 MY00 than a $16,000 MY96, more milage and more likely to fall over.

The $7000 saved could very easily be eaten up over the course of a year if the gearbox let go, the engine throws a leg out of bed, whatever.

Older WRX's also seem (this is a generalisation) harder to insure and more expensive.

I'm not saying all old WRX's should be avoided, but just keep in mind that any older sports car can start costing you a hell of a lot of money really fast, and perhaps it's not something for you if you're already stretching the budget for the initial purchase.

**edit:
http://www.perth-wrx.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6260

Can you find a MY96 cheaper than that?

17k is very cheap for a my00, so u may as well go check that one out. He didnt list the k's so could be part of the reason for a cheap price but he'd been constantly dropping the price so prolly just desperate to sell. So could be a good buy, worth a look. 96's can go for 15-16k so spending that lil bit extra if you can would be well worth if for the extra features of the my00.

If you look hard enough you will find one your looking for.

i got my my00 for around the 20k mark stock standard and a 60 year old owner that had it since brand new although it does have 120k on the clock i cant complain

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Thanks guys, ive had a few Rx7's before and they are pretty unreliable and cost me heaps over the years so i know about old sports cars and their cost to run etc.Was looking at spending well under 20k closer to 10k .Have found a few just need to get them checked out by a performance shop before i purchase.

Um.... yeah, ok. Good luck with it.

Hope we won't be reading a post about how a $10k wrx cost you another $10k in repairs anytime soon.

**edit: The more I think about it, the less likely it seems. I mean, for $10k, I don't see any way to get a registered, legal WRX.

I'd be wondering how many times it'd be crashed / rebirthed or if it was a GX shell with WRX bits dropped in.