Hey guys,

Recently ive been thinking about trading in my 2003 RS (22K miles, AUTO) for a 2002- 03 wrx. Seemed like a good idea til i read all these tranny issues. What do you guys think, im lookin for one with maybe 20 - 30 k miles on it, but my rent will not be happy if i trade in my old reliable and the new one falls to hell. I only have like 3 grand to throw on to whatever i get for my car, so maybe i should try to go for the 04 wrx, that n e better. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

 

trannies are the not issue with 02-03wrxs..its the driving characteristics of the previous owner you should be worried about. Im a little partial to look for an 02 because it doesnt have a valve on the clutch to prevent clutch drops. Im not positive its on the 03s..but its definietly on the 04s.
I know of serveral people including myself which are pushing over 300+whp daily on stock wrx trannies with lots of miles and occaisional visits to the track.
04s are nice too, just depends on your preference for the peanut eye vs the bugeye look.

 

Be good to your tranny and your tranny will be good to you. If you plan on beating the crap out of your car, it wont last long no matter what year; if you treat it right, you'll be fine with the tranny. Some dumb *** a few weeks ago posted about breaking his new sti tranny because he thought it was good to drag the hell out of it.

In terms of buying an 04, there are all sorts of things to consider like headlight difference, interior, gague set up with center tach... ect. Good luck with your decision, they're great cars.

 

what r u planning to do to it? if your gonna dive it like any other daily driver, i wouldnt worry about it. even if you buy one that has 30-40 thousand miles on it i wouldnt be too worried as long as it has no mods.

 

What they said ^^^^^^^^^^

I have a 02 Cobb stage 2 WRX with 76K and the clutch and tranny are still holding strong. If you learn how to launch a WRX without dumping the clutch and power shifting you shouldn’t have any issues. I’m not saying you can go out and drag the car every day but if it is done correctly and in moderation you shouldn’t have any problems.

 

Thanks guys, you eased my worries about tranny issues.....i think im goin over to the dealership monday and see what i can work out...i love my little RS and cant even imagine how thrilled i will be with the REX (not to mention that i will finally be able to drive a manny transmission!! thanks again guys