my first car was a mustang 5.0. my second car was a porsche 944 my third an rx7 turbo then an explorer then a volvo coupe. now i have a wrx and i have to say im having just as much fun with it "stock" as i did in my 5.0 in the rain when i first learned how to fishtail. u do the math. WRX well worth the money.

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The tranny isnt weak itself. Its just the weakest link. Believe me, its plenty fast without dropping the clutch. Youve got awd so you dont need to launch as hard as the cobra cause you arent gonna get wheel spin. By the way, nice ride. I wish I still had my 71 mach1. That was my first fun car I bought when in highschool like 8 years ago. I want another one badly. Anyways, when buying, avoid high milage or heavily modded cars cause they are magnets for abuse. If you find a car stock with 3-9k on the odometer I would imagine your relativly safe. As far as switching to synth, I would wait until after break-in. The dino oils got stuff in it the engine needs at the early life. They definitly need 91+ octane, I think they run better on 93. And as far as redlining, once youve broken it in they beg to be driven hard.

 

So you don't know the true joys of Ford ownership yet . . . I used to drive a Mustang GT 5.0L, very fun car, but at some point I realized I could be paying off a good sized car loan for what I was paying to keep the thing running! It drove me to buy a Toyota. The WRX is the most fun vehicle I've owned since then.

A major drawback of the Mustang was that is was useless in the snow, too much low end torque for its own good, the wheels would just spin, sometimes I'd start to go backwards.

It's a very different car from a Mustang. I like trying out different cars, but that may just be me. From a stoplight it will seem very slow to you. Oh the highway it may seem faster (it IS faster above about 30mph than my Mustang was). A turbocharged engine takes more effort to drive -- the power band was much wider on my Mustang so I never really had to think about it, on the WRX you need to think ahead, make sure your RPMs are in the right place.

It won't let go in corners like my Mustang used to! I've never ended up pointed the wrong direction in another car like I did in that car.

So overall: the WRX is way fun, but very different. Just keep that in mind.

I'll pass on that, other than to say that's the risk you take with any used car.

Between 2003 and 2004, the changes are mostly cosmetic, it's up to you which you like better. The suspension is different, I think most people like the new suspension a little better? For looks personally I think it's all been downhill since the 99's (but I drive a 2004). 2003's are going really cheap right now. The 2002's had some problems that have been fixed in the 2004's and I think 03's, but I'm not as sure there.

I don't punish my car that much, so I can't say. Except that in general, coming from Fords, it can't be any worse!

Yes (91), no (synthetic), and I'm no expert here, and you will get every answer under the sun to this question. I'll probably switch to Mobil 1 at 3k miles, others will tell you everything from right away (which seems like a bad idea to me) to wait until 10k miles.

 

Most of my Mustang's problems came once it got a little older, but about the age of yours. The biggest pain was the carburetor which needed almost constant work -- that's not a problem any more, and it tells you how long ago I drove a Mustang! But my familly drives mostly Fords -- they have gotten better, but the Mustang still falls below average reliability according to Consumer Reports, the Subarus fair better.

28 sounds like way too much -- most people don't pay more than a few hundred over invoice, many have paid exactly invoice. WRXs are everywhere, there's no shortage.

Check these places for invoice:

http://www.edmunds.com
http://www.kbb.com
http://www.cars101.com/subaru/impreza/wrxsti2004.html

Try getting an internet quote from them, or just offer invoice and see where they go.