I recently purchased a 01 RS coupe in Dec 03. It had 63k on it and before taxes I paid 10,900 at a dealer. Test drove it and fell in love with subarus.

Had my heart set on the WRX until I looked at the price and insurance. The RS I believe is classified as a sedan and not a sportscar, pretty sure, here in Texas. WRX I am sure would be classified as a sportscar.

Now. Things I know now after owning the car for a bit. Previous to owning my RS I knew little to nothing about cars (swaybars, midpipes, crankshaft, etc) so I could only look for cosmetic details and drivability. Things I found on the car after further examination: B+G Lowering springs (wondered why it was tight around the turns and a little stiff over bumps) and an Unorthodox racing pulley (think its underdriven too). 'Cool' I say on one hand and 'why the heck did the dealer not mention these mods' on the other hand. Dealers are not obligated to tell you about mods on a used car, and some prefer not to know before and after selling one.

All in all. Your gonna haul more @$$ in a WRX, but are gonna spend more money to make repairs on it and on insurance as opposed to the RS models. WRX will respond more to mods, but from what I've done to my car so will the RS (I know your not interested, just FYI). Good luck in the purchasing of a Subaru.

 

ya that sounds like a steal. Make sure everything is in working order(have a mechanic check it out). If everything looks good, buy it ASAP.