Thanks I'm great at takng advice and direction so I will definitely be following this
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Practical Car vs Fun Car as a second car! - Sub 20k or less!
- Thread starter mimico_polak
- Start date
Thanks I'm great at takng advice and direction so I will definitely be following this
Selling my XRS, handles like a go kart, cheap on insurance, easy on fuel and goes like stink.
Best and most fun car I've had to date but I need an AWD.
Is the XRS way better than the regular Matrix? I've had a few regular Matrix as rentals and I hated them very much.
If I were in the market for a car right now I'd buy the Forester GT with full STI suspension and drivetrain (minus engine) with Cobb tuning over 300 HP that's for sale on Toronto Subaru Club right now. Seriously considered selling my 09 WRX for it but decided it wasn't worth the hit I'd take selling the WRX for a very similar (but older) car that was only slightly larger and I'm not a fan of suspension being quite that stiff. You get loads of fun to drive and can still haul stuff and fill it with stuff if you need to. Guy is selling it because he uses his minivan all the time now and wants to get an STI to use as a track-only car.
Or I'd get something like a Ridgeline or Avalanche for more practicality but I doubt they're much fun. And yes, I know they are not "real" trucks but I have no need for a real truck. I just like the idea of being able to tow my 944, if required, or throwing a new couch in the back without having to get delivery or something.
I don't know if anyone commentd on this but the SmartBusa will probably cost more than 20k because he'd have to buy a Smart car, a busa's engine, and the mounting equipment.
...if you do it though OP, please give us pictures and burn outs.
I've never heard this before. 91 is what I'm almost certain is recommended and it's always run fine in mine. Manual even says you CAN put 87 in it but not to do so often (and I never have). I can't recommend the WRX, though, because Subaru apparently failed at building the car as far as I can tell. It's only sold in manual yet they couldn't put a decent transmission in it (worst feeling transmission of any car I've ever driven) and are known to snap the firewall simply from using the clutch in normal driving. Who the heck makes a car only sold in manual that can't even support a clutch? The rotors are also known to warp and need replacing every 80000 km or so. Plus they seem over priced. You pay almost double for a WRX vs normal Impreza for some different seats, stiffer suspension, and a turbo. Also, they seem to rust very quickly. The STI has much better components, so I hear, and I drove a car with an STI transmission and it was like night and day compared to my WRX. However, insurance is much more expensive, it uses a little more gas, and maintenance items (brake rotors, for example) are much more expensive than for the WRX. Also, the drive train is supposed to be more lossy and apparently requires occasional rebuilding (but I could be wrong about that) to maintain optimum torque distribution because the clutch plates in the electronically controlled center diff wear out over time.
I've also heard good things about the Fit. I wouldn't call it something "different" by any means but it gets great functionality reviews and one review I read said it handled better than a Ferrari.
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XRS is completely different then a matrix.
Different motor 2.5 not 1.8, different trans. Independent suspension and strut tower braces, heavy duty sway bars and bushings, jbl sound system, ground package, etc.
Its a completely different animal in every way.
Good to know. I'll have to try it sometime. Do they make it in AWD?
Not in the XRS model but the AWD model has same power train.
What about that fancy suspension you mentioned?
rbjeepthing
Well-known member
You are correct 91 is all that is required 94 is just more protection against detonation.
All the 08-09 WRX and STi's are prone to the firewall cracking at the mounting point of the clutch pedal assembly although it's easily warrantied by every dealer (ours was fixed they had to pull the dash and weld).
The warped rotors are directly related to rusting which is easily solved with performance aftermarket ones. At the 80,000km most people are due for brakes anyways depending on how you drive the vehicle.
The fun factor alone is worth the difference in price between a Impreza and the WRX. Ever driven a base Impreza vs the WRX? That's like comparing a Honda CBR vs the RR version.
08's had a hatch recall for rusting. We were the second owners and purchased ours with 60,000km on it and there was a pin size speck of rust. The dealer replaced the entire hatch with a new one will all new components. Can't beat that kind of service.
I do agree for as little as $7000 more for an STi vs the WRX is worth it when new but that spread becomes huge in the used market. At the time we purchased our WRX the spread between it and STi's with twice the amount of km was more then 10 grand which in my opinion made it not worth it. WRX's and STi's typically are beaten on just due to the kind of car they are. Maintenance is huge so if there isn't full records i'd never purchase one. All it takes is for the previous owner to bounce it off the red line a couple times and the motor becomes more likely to have a ring land failure.
Yes mine got fixed as well but they still had to get special permission from Subaru because it was technically classed as a chassis issue and the chassis warranty is only 60000 km. I still think that seems like a pretty big design flaw. The dealership told me even with the repair I would still get loads of firewall flex and it would probably break again unless I get some kind of aftermarket brace.
Mine weren't rusted at all and they put new pads on it before I bought it. When I noticed it 3 days after buying they accused me of taking it to a track and warping them myself. Maybe this was more of a dealer failure.
I haven't driven the base model Impreza so you've got me there. Never ridden a CBR of any kind or any SS for that matter. My friend has a regular 08 one so maybe I'll ask him to try it sometime. I did test drive the new 2.0 Impreza and it drove ok but sure lacked any torque.
My 09's hood was covered in little rust spots when I bought it and has more now. Dealer flat out said they would do nothing about it. The car even has rust INSIDE the car on the seat mount in one spot. I get new rust spots every day. Fenders are both rusting where the bumper meets the fender. If I keep this thing until it's paid off (another 1.5 years) I will likely need to paint the front end just to be able to sell it.
So if you drive the sports car like a sports car it fails? If it can't run at the rev limiter shouldn't the limiter be lower? Then again, I blew up my Tercel engine from doing the same thing years ago but that car was a crap box. I'll have to be more careful with the WRX I guess. When I realized the price difference between the STi and WRX it surprised me and just made me wonder why anyone would buy the WRX new. $7k is nothing on a $40k car. But when I looked at them the price gap was also bigger and price of both was much higher. They dropped the prices significantly almost right after I purchased the car. That was kind of annoying.
I also left out the part where the car seems to stumble and lose power between 3000-4000 RPM. Dealer tells me it's normal. In fact, whenever I have a complaint, the dealer just tells me it's normal. What's the point of having warranties if any time I complain about something they tell me it's normal wear and normal for the age of the car? It took 3 complaints about the crappy shifting before they looked at the firewall and found it was busted. It's a little better after that repair but I wouldn't call it anything close to even my 2001 Jetta.
I dunno... I went with Subaru to try Japanese for better reliability than the European models I've tried before (and loved) and can't say it's been any better while also not feeling as nice to drive. It is pretty fun to drive when you're going way fast on a nice twisty road. Until you miss a shift because the shifter got stuck between the gates for a second and you're cursing that stupid transmission again.
Guess I won't be selling that car on this forum after that rant, lol.
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rbjeepthing
Well-known member
1. It should not fail again as it's a spot weld that fails due to an incorrect program during assembly.
2. Sounds like a ****** dealer to me. They were clearly warped before you purchased it and again it could be due to the car being beaten on by the previous owner.
3. World of difference.
4. Unless it's chipped those rust spots were likely caused by paint contamination during shipping from the brake dust particles on the train. When left on they burn into the paint. Ultimately the dealer is supposed to properly perform paint correction to the vehicle before delivering it to the customer. If the fenders are rusting by the bumper ends see if it's fastened correctly. If there is any movement then I would seriously look to see if there are any signs of it being in an accident before you purchased it.
5. They did in 2009 there was a re-flash TSB since apparently people dont know how to drive and hit the rev limiter. The WRX/STi is not a sports car its a sporty hatch in my opinion.
6. Not sure about the stumble but it is not normal.
7. Subaru has been know for being a cult car for years and that it has reliability issues when you compare it to the other big Japanese manufacturers.
8. lol nope neither do I.
Yeah I read mixed things when I looked up reliability. Seemed people either loved them or hated them. Oh, dealer also tells me that burning oil is normal even though none of my other turbo cars with twice the mileage never did. I've heard that could be the Subaru oil and I haven't tried anything else yet.
Go for the 4 door. The wife will think you made a practical choice, but its still as much fun as the coupe. It looks better and draws less attention from the cops too.
The Mazdaspeed3 is great but you'll be stuck with premium fuel only and it's not that great on gas either. Plus it's a turbo so that's one more thing to worry about if you have a breakdown (same engine in my CX-7 and it's been bulletproog for 150k so far though).
Get the Civic (and I've NEVER said those words before). Has the space, reliability, and fun-to-drive factor that you want. Plus it's pretty cheap to fix if/when the time comes.
Get the Civic (and I've NEVER said those words before). Has the space, reliability, and fun-to-drive factor that you want. Plus it's pretty cheap to fix if/when the time comes.
I drove the non-turbo Mazda 3 and it was ok....but even my wife said it had no oomph and if I want a toy to get a real toy and not a regular car with a manual! LoL
the dealer near me had no SI models so I'll check another one tomorrow. Mind you he didn't even ask for my name or number so I'm not shopping there again. Actually he seemed to talk down to me because I wanted a manual and was bad mouthing other dealers in the area...
Thanks for for the great suggestions guys. And btw all the talk here has scared me away from the WRX!
the dealer near me had no SI models so I'll check another one tomorrow. Mind you he didn't even ask for my name or number so I'm not shopping there again. Actually he seemed to talk down to me because I wanted a manual and was bad mouthing other dealers in the area...
Thanks for for the great suggestions guys. And btw all the talk here has scared me away from the WRX!
Ive driven the A3 and frankly I was quite disappointed. Interior was nice and all but the overall drive didn't have much of a sport feel to it.
the WRX was always on my radar simply from a power and fun factor. I've never researched it thoroughly but now I'm seeing it as more problematic than I had expected. (Obviously you can get a lemon or a car with zero issues!)
the WRX was always on my radar simply from a power and fun factor. I've never researched it thoroughly but now I'm seeing it as more problematic than I had expected. (Obviously you can get a lemon or a car with zero issues!)
The Mazdaspeed3 is a lot different than the regular grocery-getter 3. Take one for a test drive for kicks just to see.
You can't drive a Civic, especially SI, if your over 18. It just doesn't work =)
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