I've been thinking on getting the full service manual set for my '02 rex, but the whole thing is like $300. I was checking out Ebay the other day, and spotted about 6 or 7 auctions for a full service manual provided on CD. Are these things for real, or is it just a hoax?

 

Those are unauthorized copies of the Subaru manuals. They would be either made by someone who downloaded the manuals from the Subaru site, or copied from a pdf set distributed a few years ago by a NASIOC member until Subaru made him stop.
If you want to be absolutely sure of getting the right thing, go to the Subaru tech website and sign up for the 72-hour subscription which is currently $34.95. You can then download whatever manual segments you need, up to the whole thing, as well as other technical documents such as TSB's.

 

Thanks a lot, appreciate it