WTB: WRX but have some ?'s
 

I am looking for a car to buy, and I have narrowed it down to the WRX, but I have some ?'s. First off, this will be my third car and I am only 19 years old. So, I have bad luck with cars, and am really scared of buying a used car. I have been looking at 02 Wrx's with about 40-45k miles. My concern is focused on what I should look for when inspecting the car.
1. Any problems that I should look out for that are proned to show up at this time in the vehicles life?
2. Are there any problems at all that are common on 02 Wrxs or all WRX's in general?
3.What should I pay attention and look specifically at on the car, anything I should look for, listen to,and etc?
Well any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Off the top of my head:

- 02 WRX can get "clutch judder/shudder" when it's cold. It's a documented problem and is fixable under warrentee
- Lots of complaints that the paint is thin and clips easily
- Tranny is 'weak'. don't do any high rpm clutch drops. hopefully the owner knew that too.
- prone to a fuel line leak. get gas smell in cabin. this is also a techdoc, and fixable under warentee
- The windows can squeek rolling down/up
- frameless windows can leak air
- foglights can get cracked easily cause of it's location and size


that's all i can think off for now

^^ what he said.

Plus, make sure you run a carfax on it - carfax won't catch everything, but it gives you a decent idea. Also, you might have the car taken to either a mechanic YOU trust, or a Subaru dealer for a "pre-buy" inspection. They check out the car and let you know of any issues with the car (within the guidelines of their instpection).

Make sure you drive the car - if you can, try to get to it when the engine is cold (so maybe meet the owner at their house) and start it up yourself.

good luck :)