I rolled the dice on a 2003 WRX wagon this weekend and so far - won!
Owner had put a clutch in and had thought it was not engaging properly. Car would move, but felt like the clutch was always slipping. I paid him his $2750, towed it home, and tore into it. Turns out, the rear axle on the drivers side had popped out of the diff. Took that apart, popped it back in, car runs and drives fine. Has been sitting for about 2 years so needs a fluid change, brakes are rusty, and I am gonna do belts and pulleys here as well, since those are cheap and relatively simple.
Car has a few things going for it.
144k miles
Original owner with all documents
Manual trans
Relatively rust free - no big rear quarter rot like all these cars get, lift points are good, suspension comes apart, etc.
Lifted on Forester XT suspension
New General Grabbers
Turbo-back exhaust
Cobb Accessport with 93 octane tune in it
Super clean interior, no rips or other damage
brandy brand new ACT flywheel and Exedy clutch
Downside is it lived on the street in Chicago, it does not have a straight panel on it. Nothing that looks bad from 5 feed, lots of little dings. Hood is the worst, I will need to replace that. Otherwise its a perfect winter beater.
