Ok so long story short: I've alway lusted over the GC8 2.5RS, almost had one as a first car, still loved em today. A baby is coming an although we can afford the current car (STI), some extra money would be nice...

What should I know about these cars? What should I look for? I want to find one pre-swapped so whats the usual way people get these smogged/registered? Most importantly, are they pretty safe and could I fit a good size baby seat in a coupe or should I aim at sedans?

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

 

Well are you planning on trading down or just picking up another one?
In most cases these things have super high mileage since these are at least 11 years old.
I personally dont think these are big enough to be called family cars whether theyre coupes or sedans.
If you want a family car with ooomph you can always find yourself with pre-swapped forester!

As for smogging a pre swapped 2.5rs, the only way you'll get to do that legally is if you find a BAR'd vehicle and when i say BAR'd it needs to have been approved by the state referee as basically a legal street car. Usually it requires a placard under the hood of the vehicle identifying that the vehicle has been swapped with whatever setup is in it. Its basically an instruction sheet for the smog technician.

 

Yeah I know how bar works, I've owned and offered smog exempt post '74 cars and have taken smog courses. I was just wondering if it was possibly easier for these cars/engines.

I would be trading down, Im also used to old cars. I've owned a few 80's BMW's. This wouldnt be our main family car, just one we throw the car seat in if we cant take my wife's WRX wagon. I've seen people have car seats in very small coupes so I was just wondering if anyone had first hand experience on here with a baby seat in on of these things.

 

RS Sedan owner here.

The biggest thing to look for that I've learned through out my process has been issues with the motor i.e. rod knock or head gaskets, also the RS's have been known to have a leaky rear diff. I was fortunate to find an RS with a rebuilt motor but I did have to get my rear diff fixed.

Also, I don't know if you have ever driven an RS but these babies are slow as hell, so be ready to experience an extreme drop in power. You can still have a blast driving through corners and having boat loads of responsiveness but the power won't be there.

I think you'll have the best luck finding an RS on craigslist rather than RS2.5 since you are going to be looking at paying damn near the same price for a bugeye WRX.

You should have plenty of room for a baby seat in the back, and it'll be easier to adjust having the 4 doors versus the coupe. I don't see yourself having a good time trying to adjust a baby seat while being half out of the car.

In terms of the body you are more than likely going to be looking at a fading paint job depending on the owner, or at least the clear coat being messed up. The good majority of the parts off a GD won't be compatible with a GC as well.

It's a decent car to DD and you shouldn't have an issue getting it smogged as you can always get some CRC 'Guaranteed to Pass' to clean up the motor.

I apologize for being all over the place I didn't take the time to gather my thoughts. I hope this information helps. Feel free to PM me if you want any other info.

Best of luck!

 

Not to be bashing on you.. but your post I don't think is going to help the OP at too much unless he gets an unswapped RS except for you saying how adjusting the baby seat with a coupe would be a pain. He said he wants a pre-swapped motor so the motor issues you stated are going to be irrelevant, and the paint thing you said is with every car. I think you should read the post a little closer. Some things that maybe you can help the OP out with would be common issues with the RS bodies and parts other than the engine because it is going to have a swap. I'm just being a lurker and bored as hell and would also like to know problems that the RS' have because one day, I'd like to get one.

 

His information was very helpful, if the perfect non-swapped RS pops up I might just have to pick it up and do some work myself.

 

right on then good luck finding the right one. If you don't mind traveling throughout the state for a car like I did, I would recommend searching with Statewidelist - Craigslist search by state. It searches on craigslist throughout the state, it saved me like 4 grand. Got my 04 wrx with 70k miles for 10k.

 

I was under the impression that preswapped was the same as the stock motor, but maybe I misunderstood him.

 

Aw, the stateside search got shut down. I used to use crazedlist (does the same thing) and they got shut down too.

'Pre-swapped' can be read the wrong way, in that case Im looking for a 'post-swapped' RS

 

I suggest skipping the RS entirely and picking up a good clean L model with a 5 speed. The 2.2 engine is less troublesome, and the car can be given the same looks easily enough if you are willing to do your own work and find a good RS hood.

If you are looking for a swapped RS/L you will definitely want to keep an eye on RS25, although Cali makes things a bit more complicated. Just be patient, dont throw money at the first car you fall in love with, and do thorough checks before paying a dime.

 

I myself am an RS owner. 2002 impreza RS BRP

Just a few thoughts to throw out there: As someone has already stated, you wont have the power as the wrx. you will however have the handling and AWD that a wrx has. I myself am not a big power guy....well not yet at least. lol. I am completely content with my rs handling amazing, slightly better MPG than wrx, a bit easier to keep an eye on maintanance wise. If you are debating between an RS and a WRX, i feel like it really comes down to, do you want that extra power? Things to be looking for id agree would be the head gaskets. I havent heard much about rear diff issues, but not saying theyre not there. im at 220k miles and my valve stem seals are starting to fail. i bought my 02 rs with very minor cosmetic damage, interior was MINT. picked it up for 5k at 181 ODO. the only recurring issue ive had is my AC system. but thats not including my thermostat that almost blew my head gaskets prematurely. whatever you do, DO NOT buy cooling system accessories for you scoob from anywhere but the dealer. alum crankcase for one and theyre thermos failed within 2 weeks!. best of luck with the buy of your subaru! and in advance:

 

Hey man good choice on the GC if thats what you end up going with. I had an RS for awhile and then I swapped mine and drove it swapped for about 2 years or so before selling it.

If you are going for one that has not been swapped yet, keep an eye on maintenance records. Once the cars hit about 100-120k miles, it is very common for the headgaskets to fail, especially if you are looking at a 98 model, the DOHC 2.5 is more prone to headgasket fairlure than the SOHC in the 99-01 models. Also, depending on where you look the GC chassis is susceptible to rust around the windshield and the rear quarter panels where the rear bumper meets the rear QP. Just something to look out for.

Now if you are looking for one already swapped, some things to look for

Being in California, you need to get a GC that has an 02 wrx USDM or newer motor because otherwise the car will not pass smog due to the OBD2 compliance situation. A JDM motor is OBD1 and thus the car will not hook up to the machines and they will fail you on the spot.
A newer motor in an older chassis is fine, the process is easy. Just need to go to a state referee and they will smog the car for you knowing the engine is from a newer car. Once the car passes (if it passes) then they will print out a BAR sticker which means the car is CA legal and you can smog it wherever you would like. Not hard and last I did it state ref was like 15 dollars.

Also, something to look for in swaps is the quality of the wiring. If you can browse through the engine bay and see how clean the harness is run if there are wires all over the place etc, make sure all the electronics in the car are working and you are not running into a project. If the wiring is messy I would stay away, thats really something you do not want to deal with.

Another thing; swapped GC's go from anywhere to 6-10k or higher depending on mods and the engines etc. But beware at the lower levels as most swapped GC's will still be retaining their L or RS transmissions. Those are fine for a bit but over time depending on the pressure the owner has put on the transmission the tranny can break as the L and RS transmissions are not meant to handle the 220+ hp of the wrx engine.

If you can, I suggest finding an RS that has a full swap, like WRX or STI full mechanical system. This way you get the old chassis that has everything from the GD and that also means the bushings and whatnot are all newer and the car will not feel as old.

Let me know if you have any more questions I'd be glad to help

 

Since you has a baby on the way I would suggest a sedan. A coupe is a good single person car or even weekend car for you but as far as a baby is concerned I would advise against it.

With my GC8 coupe which has a 06 WRX STI engine swap, it's been through BAR, has the sticker and I do smog normally. Everything in the engine is stock. I've had my transmission rebuilt and it holds stock power fine. I've done track days and drag races, everything holds fine. I wouldn't suggest attempting AWD launches because the last time I did this, I broke axles. Plus having a push type clutch is better imo.

Another thing to look into for GC8 is the wheel bearing and balljoints conditions. I just replaced every single one along with bushings since it was time.

Good luck with your search, If you weren't expecting a child I would offer you my GC for 9k

 

hey, can i see the car? Lol im actually looking for one!

 

I wouldnt mind a coupe, same size car with just bigger front doors and no rear doors. You really thinking of selling yours? EDIT: Just saw pics of your car, probably hard to fit a baby seat in between the roll bar.

Thanks for all the info guys! Im definitely not in any hurry since I have a fun working car now. Just once the right one comes I got to sell quick and buy before its gone. I hope to buy a Cali car since I have heard of the rust issue, plus a swapped one would be best since I will have very little free time/funds with the baby here.