scandinavian link":2zlp91zs said:
Admittedly I've been toying with the idea of an older WRX. It's hard to believe the bugeyes are older now than my first st165 was when I had it in the early '00s. :shock:
I've had two bugeyes. Sedan (bought new in February of 2002), and a wagon that I bought at about 9 years old because I missed my old one too much after selling it.
If you are seriously looking at WRXs, make sure you get one that hasn't done time in any of the rust belt states during the winter. My wagon did time in Massachusetts and Western PA, and the body cancer was horrible, despite only having 73,000 miles. Once I hit about 127,000 miles, it was no longer a feasible daily driver, and I ended up making one of my poorest automotive decisions and traded in on a Ford Focus.
Also, it will likely be impossible to find one that hasn't been modded in some way in it's lifespan, but if you can find that unicorn (rust free and stock), that would be the one to buy. They are great cars, but nowhere near as good looking as the ST185. I think I recall reading a post on NASIOC from a member that had an Alltrac and a WRX, and it was a good read. The post described the differences in the drivetrain between the Toyota and the Subaru, and if I recall correctly, the Alltrac components were more robust and seemed to be heavier. Not sure if that was due to improvements in technology or if the Alltrac was more purposefully built in the event that the owner wanted to seriously rally their stock car.
I've also toyed with the idea of trying to either get an older '93 to '01 Impreza and build it into a WRX or STi, but that likely would turn into a money pit and test my wife's patience to a point beyond tolerable. There's only so much leeway that I can get with a father-son bonding experience through a project/classic car.