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Comments
1. Is there anyone on this board from the NY area and if so how are the insurance companies responding to the WRX? ie. are the rates outrageous? anything I should know being that I'm just 23 years old?
2. Are the 17" wheels offered by the manufacturer a bit over priced or is it just me? Am I able to score after market rims for cheaper?
3. Being that I spend a lot of time stuck in traffic, I am looking at an automatic. Anything bad about the auto, I have heard that it is indeed a bit faster.
4.Anyone in here lease a WRX? if so what kind of deal did you get and what should I expect to pay for a 2002, or most important are there any 2002's still available that are significantly cheaper?
correct if I'm off; fibber, jfl, & fsteve [Upstate NY]?...
(b) Outrageous rate; no. But then, I'm not 23yo
2. (a) OEM 17" pricing, yes.
(b) Cheaper aftermarket, yes.
3. (a) I a new owner of the 4EAT WRX wagon, and so far I've found nothing bad about it.
(b) Faster?... nah. Maybe my imagination, but my WRX feels like it is spooled and rearing to go by 2500 rpm.
4. (a) I didn't lease.
(b) $$$ for 2002 WRX? I'll leave this to the more knowledgeable Crew Member.
(b) There's a black WRX wagon 4EAT in Staten Island Subaru. Call Mark Jerrick (718) 979 0033.
-Dave
4EATs are great
Mark Jerrick @ SI subaru rocks!
-mike
2. They are overpriced by about double. You can buy good quality aftermarket wheels for much cheaper, just make sure they are a Subaru friendly offset (48mm or higher)
3. Things bad about the auto: measureably/noticeably slower (lose a second to 60), not as well suited to the peaky turbo engine, loss of fun from rowing your own gears, harder to resale (since most WRX are manuals). The good: AWD system is a more sophisticated VTD system.
-mike
3.The Auto WRX is a great choice, even though a Normally Aspirated V6/H6 engine would not have turbo-lag. Turbo-lag is independent of transmission and you would face it in both the manual version and the Automatic version. The Automatic is slower than the manual version by around 0.4secs (6.3secs manual vs 6.7secs Automatic - sourced from Edmunds tests) but it is plenty fast as it is. Re-sale of Automatic equipped vehicles are always better than the corresponding manual versions, due to their universal driveability. Trade-in values are around 2000-2500 dollars more for Automatics but that would not be applicable if you intend to keep it for a long time.
Later...AH
Rotas are pretty good general rims and a good value.
-mike
It depends on the vehicle. For a WRX, where 90% are manuals, I have doubts that the automatic's resale is better. In the case of a car like a Miata, automatics are notoriously poor resalers. One guy I know tried to sell an automatic Miata all summer (for what seemed to be a fair price), but then had to take a hit on a trade-in in the end.
JW
-mike
Begs another question: why doesn't Subaru get into the "certified used cars" game? Topic for discussion in another forum maybe.
Ed
PS a lot of snow up here in Boston. The car handles snow well. No slipping and sliding unless you want it to and then things get real fun.
Used vehicles of any kind are almost worthless nowdays. Due in part by all the Mfgrs giving so many deals and low financing rates. The market is flooded with used cars, if you trade something in on a new one, the best you can hope for is auction value on your old one. If you can afford to sell it yourself, you may get lucky and get wholesale.
If you are buying this car for it's "assumed" long term durability, and intend to keep it for a while, then go for it!
Currently, and probably for the next several years, it is not a very economical choice to pruchase any New vehicle intending to keep it just a couple of years.
That's just my opinion, after taking a beating on the last several cars I've had.
Ken
Bob
Ed
I think 17s are ideal and anything more than that will detrimentally impact the car.
Later...AH
How much can I pay??
Any suggestions? Your opinions and advices will be very appreciated
On the one hand, the WRX has all wheel drive and seems to grip better. I felt the Mazda's front wheels slip accelerating out of a curve a couple of times. It is faster and (this is big) doesn't require a cool down for the turbo.
On the other hand, the Mazda is much better looking, seems a bit larger, and costs less.
Anyone here have any personal experience?
Thanks
If the AWD and extra horses for not a whole lot more money aren't that important to you, the mazda is probably the better pure handler. I don't think it's significantly different in size than the impreza, you could check the stats on the edmunds web sites for the 2 cars.
Good luck, drive both, and pick the one that puts a smile on your face and doesn't put too big of a dent in your wallet
The Mazda *is* more unique but I don't like buying very limited car for the fact that parts might be hard to come by down the road. The WRX is common enough and the turbo engine has been proven. We can't say the same for the Mazda yet.
JW
That said, if you've just been flogging the engine before you get to wherever you're going, it wouldn't hurt to cooldown (idle the engine) for a minute or so. Otherwise, just take it easy for the last mile or two.
Hope this helps,
Phil
What's more important than cool down is to switch to synthetic oil. Using synthetic is good for the entire engine especially a turbo one which places lots of stress on the oil.
While I can't comment on my mileage (don't have one yet). I know I read somewhere in these Subie boards that someone just got about 30mpg or just over on a recent trip.
As for why these cars get rather low mpg...turbocharged engine is part of it, also because they are quite heavy for a small car (due to AWD).
-Ian
Phoodawg, if you are highly concerned about milage a sports car like the WRX probably isn't for you.
-mike
The RS, without turbo, is only 21/28 for the manual, though, so Paisan is right, the AWD probably is not helping.
If you're comparing the gas mileage on these cars to other cars in this class(all manual):
Honda civic EX 1.7L 127hp 114lb/ft 32/38
Honda civic Si 2.0L 160hp 132lb/ft 26/30
Nissan SER-V 2.5L 175hp 180lb/ft 22/28
Impreza RS 2.5L 165hp 166lb/ft 21/28
WRX 2.0L 227hp 217lb/ft 20/27
Honda Accord V6 3.0L 240hp 212lb/ft 21/30
The civics are lighter and have significantly less displacement than the RS. The Nissan is a little lighter, with similar displacement to the RS. The hp and torque of the V6 accord makes the city number similar to the WRX, but the gearing and no AWD allows a slightly better highway number.
-mike
JW
I think the car does very well considering the available power.
I suppose if you nursed it, you could get 30mpg. But I generally average about 26-27 on the highway, but it varies a lot just running around locally. Probably between 20-24. I think one time I only got about 18-19, but I ran it pretty hard that time.
I know it does a heck of a lot better than the Durango I used to have! I don't think I ever got more than 14mpg with that. Even with a strong tail wind.
Let alone, the fact that the WRX is a blast to drive!
I suppose it's all relative, if you want great mileage don't buy the WRX, but if you want to really enjoy your driving experience, with reasonable mileage, then the WRX is my car of choice.
I figure by the time I drive for 3-4 hours, I'm ready to stop for a break anyway.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Ken
It is rated 32/38 mpg, i am getting 24 mpg. Daily commute is about 10 mile highway and 10 mile local. It is an atuo, but it is driven like a manual, shifiting in to D3 and 2 often. At highway, it goes above 80 with ocassionaly passing above 95. It is a nice and fun car. Drolling a WRX though.
Gas mileage - 2/3 of trip at 78-80 mph @ 3200 rpm - 26 mpg.
Going ~84 mph for 1/2 a tank, then mixed driving afterwards - 23 mpg.
Replaced the regular oil with Mobil 1 after reading all the comments about synthetics at 13000 miles while in Phoenix.
One question, what is the recommended oil replacement period? 5000 or 7500 miles?
A Mobil oil filter was also installed.
Also, when I switch to synthetic, will the OEM filter be OK, or will I need something else?
Thanks for putting my mind at ease...
TWRX
Anybody have backup info?
DjB
With the WRX, mpg should stand for Minutes Per Grin!! I really don't think it falls under "economy car".
I'll keep TWRX in mind when I hit >20k.
I don't mind stretching out the intervals a bit because I know that the oil is still good for much longer than that. On BMW's, their computers monitor and dictate the oil change interval and typically oil changes happen between 10-15K miles! I'm not sure how their filters are different, but I certainly feel safe running my car to 6000-7000 miles if I need to if my driving is mostly highway. One car expert said that mileage based oil changes are inherent flawed....it would have been better if manufacturers put in gauges that measured how long the car was running. That's partially what BMW does in their engine computers.
However, if you run your cars in harsh conditions (dusty, cold, short trips), earlier changes are prudent.
Your filter, however, probably should be changed at the 5000 mile mark.
Ken
the 1,000 mile break-in period. Waiting til the 3000 mile figure is OK too if it makes you feel better, but there is no point in waiting to 10K or 15K as this will only cause more of the engine wear you are trying to prevent by using a synthetic in the first place. Just my 2 cents after using Mobil 1 since 1992 in all our family cars and talking to the Mobil guys, SoA reps and countless mechanics on the subject. Changed our WRX wagon over at less than 1000 miles and the engine runs like a champ and needs to be topped up less than 1/4 qt. between changes. Others on these forums have reported excellent results changing over around 1000 miles also.
Mobil used a 7500 mile oil change interval for their million mile test, but personally, I have a hard time going that long and change about every 4 months (or 3500 miles). The regular Subie filter, Bosch, and Pure 1 are all fine for synthetic oil, IMO, but hopefully, Mobil will at some point make available its excellent Mobil 1 synthetic filter for the WRX.