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July 5, 2011 10:34 p.m. frenchy New Reader

What would you guys do with a car that you should love, but don't? I have a 2002 Subaru WRX wagon. It should be everything I want in a car. It's quick, good aftermarket, practical, good in the snow. The only problem is that this car just doesn't do it for me. I have had it for the last 4 years. It only has 100k miles on it, runs great and very reliable.

I think the problem I have with it is the "driving a fast car slow" thing. You can't push it on public roads or you are going 90+ MPH. In my mind I keep thinking I should sell it and get something fun like an MR2, CRX, or RX7 (I had a CRX Si and a MR2 SC in the past) and then a truck for the winter. My reasoning is that I could sell it and pay cash for the other two vehicles. I'm guessing I could get two $3k vehicles.

My logical side says that I have a sweet car that's paid off and is good for another 100k miles. So what would GRM do? Also what would a WRX wagon go for? It has the good options like BBS wheels and painted side skirts. About once a month someone from the tuner crowd stops me in a parking lot to BS about it. It's completely stock. I get the feeling i could get some kid to overpay for it. Thanks for enabling me.

(edited for wall'o'text)
July 5, 2011 10:50 p.m. peter Reader

You want enabling?

Google "Factory Five 818"

You're welcome.
July 5, 2011 11:01 p.m. frenchy New Reader

I can't hack up a nice car for that. Lord knows that a ton of WRXs have been wrecked though...
July 5, 2011 11:36 p.m. Keith SuperDork

Been there, done that. Sell it. Get something you care about. Life's too short to drive boring cars.
July 5, 2011 11:47 p.m. fasted58 HalfDork

frenchy wrote:

My logical side says that I have a sweet car that's paid off and is good for another 100k miles.

The adult side has spoken, what would inner child say?
July 6, 2011 12:00 a.m. clutchsmoke Reader

Keith wrote:

Been there, done that. Sell it. Get something you care about. Life's too short to drive boring cars.

I'm with Keith.

Your WRX being bone stock actually increases it's value IMO. Tough to find unmolested WRXs. What it's worth kinda depends on your area. Around here it would probably be worth about 7-8K.
July 6, 2011 4:27 a.m. DWNSHFT Reader

Never underestimate the value of the two-car solution. Your fun car can be small, nimble, get good gas mileage, and maybe get tuned to where it's pretty sharp on the street but awesome for autocross/track use. Your truck can be mongo, winter tires, and awesome for hauling and parts-running or gravel roads or camping or even camping >in<. All of that assumes you have room for two cars, but you brought it up. :-)

David
July 6, 2011 6:13 a.m. Woody SuperDork

I'm in a similar boat with my Miata.

I wanted one before they were even available to the public. I had to wait another ten years to buy one. Now I've had one (had two actually) for eleven years and I have driven it about 15,000 miles. It was a little depressing last week when I took it for it's emission test and I discovered that I had driven it less than 500 miles since its last test, two years earlier.

But, it's beautiful, rust free, paid for and I know that it's the smartest track car out there. I just never use it. Hard to get rid of it, though.
July 6, 2011 7:40 a.m. ZOO SuperDork

Woody wrote:

I'm in a similar boat with my Miata.

I wanted one before they were even available to the public. I had to wait another ten years to buy one. Now I've had one (had two actually) for eleven years and I have driven it about 15,000 miles. It was a little depressing last week when I took it for it's emission test and I discovered that I had driven it less than 500 miles since its last test, two years earlier.

But, it's beautiful, rust free, paid for and I know that it's the smartest track car out there. I just never use it. Hard to get rid of it, though.

Do you have kids, Woody? I'm saving mine so my son will have an autox toy when he's sixteen that's not an Elise :)

Actually, I am trying to drive it more often since I rarely drive anyone but myself anymore. There's something so right about driving with the top down on summer evenings.
July 6, 2011 7:58 a.m. pinchvalve SuperDork

Easy solution: donate all these unwanted WRXs and Miatas (Miatae?) to me.
July 6, 2011 7:59 a.m. 92CelicaHalfTrac SuperDork

OP, you just eloquently stated why i'm starting to fall out of love with my MX6.

The novelty of how "quick" it is on my daily beater boost levels of 8psi is wearing off, and it doesn't feel so quick anymore. But... ramping up to 20psi+ gives me another problem: What do i DO with it? By the time i catch traction, i'm going to jail.
July 6, 2011 8:18 a.m. scardeal HalfDork

In reply to pinchvalve:

I have to disagree. They should send me the unwanted Miatas and WRXs.
July 6, 2011 8:22 a.m. ProDarwin Dork

A) You can't push any car on public roads. If you want to have fun, go to the track, autocross, drag strip, rally cross, or any other sanctioned motorsports event.

B) If you want a different car, get one.
July 6, 2011 8:36 a.m. frenchy New Reader

ProDarwin, I'm not talking about street racing or anything like that. I just like to have some fun while driving to work. If you accelerate as fast as you can in the WRX you are being reckless. If you do it in a slower car, say a stock CRX, you are probably not going that fast.
July 6, 2011 8:52 a.m. Klayfish Reader

I don't care what kind of car it is....if it doesn't do it for you, and you're a car guy, then why keep it?
July 6, 2011 8:57 a.m. EvanB SuperDork

Sounds like how I feel about my WRX. I solved it by buying a Miata to supplement it.
July 6, 2011 9:12 a.m. Woody SuperDork

That's funny, because once I bought my WRX, I stopped driving the Miata.
July 6, 2011 9:39 a.m. Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork

Yeah... unload it.

The truck + 1 idea is sound. Trucks are more utility to replace a one-size-fits-all car and free you to get the most impractical thing you can personally tolerate to take the "fun" part to the next level too.

I loves me some wagon - but they are the all-season tire of the car world. They do almost everything well and nothing great.
July 6, 2011 12:24 p.m. Alan Cesar Associate Editor

I think Keith hit the nail on the head.
July 6, 2011 12:31 p.m. HiTempguy Dork

Woody wrote:

That's funny, because once I bought my WRX, I stopped driving the Miata.

Power corrupts
July 6, 2011 12:36 p.m. Keith SuperDork

frenchy wrote:

ProDarwin, I'm not talking about street racing or anything like that. I just like to have some fun while driving to work. If you accelerate as fast as you can in the WRX you are being reckless. If you do it in a slower car, say a stock CRX, you are probably not going that fast.

This is true. When I worked at a Ford dealership for a short stint in 1995 or so, my favorite parts runner was a mint greet Ford Aspire automatic. Why? Because I had to drive the freakin' wheels off it in order to keep up with traffic. I was having a great time and nobody noticed. Classic Mini drivers are also familiar with the technique.

When I first came to FM, my coworkers did not understand my explanation of why I liked my naturally aspirated Miata so much. "Because I can enjoy WOT much longer!" just didn't seem to resonate with them. Of course, now my naturally aspirated Miata makes around 400 hp so it's not as good an argument...
July 6, 2011 1:15 p.m. Woody SuperDork

Similar story. I worked at a Honda dealer briefly in 1989. My favorite demo was a silver CRX DX. It was more fun than my Civic Si for some reason.

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