Hard Truths of Owning a WRX in 2022 (Donut Media Won't Tell You This)

YES ! SOMEONE FINALLY POINTED OUT GATES TIMING COMPONENTS IS SELLING OUT. THEYRE USING CHINESE BEARINGS. BOUGHT TWO SEPARATE ONES. SAME PROBLEM. GET AISIN / OEM !!!

I have brocolli hair, I've had my 2014 wrx for a year now and she's still stock and going to stay stock. I have a killer b oil pan and pickup for reliability. Going to be changing my water pump and timing belt. Going with a company 23 pump with a roger clark kit.

Lol I do but that's only because I shoved a ej205 in a gc and it has even narrower frame rails on my ej253 and the ej22 that was in the car it was less than a 5 minute job literally stupid easily ya you have to take the air box off but no you don't have to remove the battery it's not difficult. On a gr wrx it's remove battery and air box and use 2 extensions to make it long enough it's an extra step that's supposed to be done on an na that I skip because I can take my extension apart standing over the car it's fine.

Thx man, I just bought a bug eye and realized it’s more complicated than I thought at first. My dream car so it’s worth it. But it will be a journey!

Still sounds verrrrryyyyy sensitive though

Nothing wrong with flaps and hella horns lol. But you’re 100% spot on with everything else. Cheers.

My 2007 Impreza still had a graphite-coated head gasket that went at 180, 000 kms and had to be replaced with MLS.

As someone who has recently bought a 2014 Subaru Impreza WRX and was in the market for one for a whole year before pulling the trigger, I can anecdotally confirm that a LOT of these cars on the market were truly abused, and not cared for. Very rarely will you come across one that is single, or duo owner with a recorded maintenance history, let alone a carfax.

So many people make fun of these cars because of head gaskets, or ringland failure, or whatever else, and they completely ignore the fact that it's previous owners and their neglect of the car's regular maintenance that got that car to where it is today. Not the car itself. That said, the car has some inherent flaws. Nobody can sit here and tell you that it's good design to have Cylinder 1 and 3 have seperate coolant lines, while 2 and 4 share the same one (This is a big cause of ringland failure after hard driving).

Also the whole like.. headgasket issue stemming from them using single layer headgaskets in the base model imprezas being conflated with later year WRXs. It's all pretty annoying, but I wouldn't let it sway you from buying one if you want one. You just need to SEARCH. Don't go buy the first world rally blue WRX you see. If you see that it's modded at all, pass. Don't even look at it.

There's a truly great video from speedkar99 basically tearing down a junk ej where he goes through all the quirks of the engine and why the stuff that fails, fails and what errors owners tend to make with the car, even if you have no intention of ever touching a Subaru its super interesting

I have a 195k auto bugeye wagon. its my daily, its very reliable, but when work does need to be done its time consuming as compared to say a miata or civic.

an older one ought not to be an only car imo.

a word of warning:
these cars are almost always not stock and have just been returned to stock condition.

I got a Bugeye. And wouldn’t trade it for nothing now that being said. Yes you do have to do some good research. And yes unfortunately you have to be a subie guy😂 not everyone is cut out for the subie gang. 😂💀😂

Yes, correct. I have 1996 Impreza GT (same as WRX) for 7 years and I works perfectly. But yes, I know all about that, and I do all work by myself.

I reckon I’ve scored big time, first car, bought it a couple months ago, 2003 Impreza rs blobeye, in mica green 😮‍💨 and the old owner was a senior Subaru mechanic, who kept it bone stock, expect for putting multi layer steel head gaskets on it 🔥🔥🔥

I mean mud flaps kinda look cool

😂 "are you willing to take care of a special needs car?"

Btw do the usdm 05 stis have the immobilizer with the little key pad thing?

Looking at a low mile 1 owner (older guy in his 40s) 2005 sti this weekend. It’s completely oem and has no rust as far as I’m told. It’s at a dealer for 25k so If it all checks out I’m going to grab it. My neighbor has had all the sti models in the us and has never once had issues because he keeps them oem. I have my car to do straight line runs which is a 450whp b5s4 so I want something I can hit back roads on.

What would people say about buying a brand new one for 30k rn. Since prices are so out of control on used ones/the market kinda being trash. But keeping it 100% bone stock. Super low miles. (1000 a year I work from home). Would it still retain most of it's value or is this a shot in the dark?

I bought mine off a 40 year old lady, bought with full service history. Bone stock i fully lucked out. And for any newer Subaru Guys. NASIOC is a legendary website

If I wanted a rocket, I’d have bought the Camaro. I love my 23 as is.

the subaru is always the bugdet evo

About to buy my first WRX (2017). I plan on not tuning or modifying it as it will be my daily. I would however love to learn everything I can about it. There is unfortunately a lot of bad info out there. Thoughts on where to start? TIA.

Seriously dude, THANK YOU! I'm a Volkswagen person, but I absolutely cannot stand the dumb shit people talk about Subarus. They're a blast to drive and quite reliable if properly cared for.

It's the same as every car. You have to be willing to do a tone of labor and get body parts fabricated. Especially up here because everything... And I do mean everything. Including Saturns ( though it's floors in that case ) are totally rotted out. No expectations. And if you can't afford a hauler to bring up a car from down south then that's just what you deal with. You will always be chasing rust and repairing rot and getting panels and quarters and shit fabricated.

I agree I've owned 4 and never had issues no value leaks no head gasket blows. The secret keep them as stock as possible and if modded I definitely suggest getting them from Subaru itself I currently own a 2015. Also pay attention to them they need attention like women if you ignore them you're only going to find a headache and problems. No joke.

Not me having this pop up after thinking of getting a 16 WRX 😅

I see people hopping from platform to platform always looking for the same two things, unlimited aftermarket support for effortless mods, and some concept of bulletproof. Started with a DSM, they have the aftermarket but are fragile, try Hondas, reliable (in theory) tough and loads of parts! But its fwd.... G35/350Z? Well you keep mssing shifts and the interior is such shit quality you might as well drive a corvette.... so you end up with a corvette, it ticks all the boxes, easy mods, strong drivetrain, scarry good handling. And you cant wait to try whatever magazine promoted cam header combo is supposed to give you a guaranteed +200hp, but it stays a hypothetical because the truth you wont admit is this stock C5 is more than enough for you and the thought of 600+ hp in a car smaller and lighter than you thought it was leaves the taste of pennies in your mouth. So now you drive around in a mostly stock vette, bored to death because the car is so disturbingly competent you have to put your life at risk just to have a bit of fun.....

I have a non wrx Impreza. I use it for mail delivery out on dirt and gravel roads in the southwest. Can I have mud flaps?

Boxer motors are very temperamental. Its important to get a quality tune after really any mod to the motor. Trust me, I know owning an aftermarket single turbo kit on my 2016 Crosstrek. It runs great, but wouldnt without a good tune.

I disagree with mud flaps point, Subaru paint is very soft.

Those boxer engines are not set up for any additional power from factory. You need to do a full internal upgrade to reliably push extra boost.

Could someone explain why, if head gasket and timing belt failures are so common, Subaru's cost so much used? I was thinking of getting a WRX because of the obvious fun factor, also because most are manuals! But 2016's with 100K plus miles are like $17 Large. Just an example, I guess the demand is high?

Diying laughing awsome video😂

Should you buy a WRX? No, buy a Legacy GT instead. Seriously, they have higher odds of not being completely thrashed, abd you get an EJ255

100%. After so much researxh all of these fact make sense. Treadwaer is duper imortant because of the differentials..

Once bought a '99 Legacy wagon 5speed, anniversary edition for $300. It was a great beater until the exhaust rusted off, the parking brake stopped working and the clutch burned up trying to get through deep snow. It made an 800 mile road trip with no problems though. Sold it to a guy that wanted the engine for $300.

Ngl you dont gotta punch low with the women jokes. Takes a person out of the immersion of the vid when somebody starts dragging their knuckles in an otherwise very well informed and put together video. I have an 04 fxt and everything you said totally nailed it. If you throw a million mods and 40 pounds of boost at an otherwise stock engine youll be seeing the inside of the block very soon lol. Subies are plenty fun left stock. (and NOTHING can beat the winter drifting) Ive converted all the forester suspension to sti bolt-ons and left the engine alone and it made a massive difference in the "fun to drive" factor which really is the only thing that matters in a daily driver. And i can still take any total shitbox car that tries to race, so its hardly an embarrassment left stock. You really do have to be a subaru person to own one for long

Mud flaps are amazing I have 3 colours!

are you canadian?

I almost bought a WRX recently. Only reason I didn't is because some royally clapped (but stock) IS300 showed it's ugly little face

To be fair, those Rally Armor flaps probably help with rust even a little bit. Speaking from having had a bugeye that rotted from the inside out.

I totally understand what you mean but when you build it well she holds up pretty nice I have been running my 06 Hawkeye sti with a fully built IAG closed deck ending with a 6466 gen2 presión living at 30psi making 750 awhp it has been running strong for the pass 3 n half years

This is gospel, unbelievably true coming from a forged WRX T owner (04)

Yk, after bunta's talk about the subaru, and the explanation he gave to his son, it was funny for me in the first time, but now that i've grown up, i understand what he meant on a whole new level

For me, they are tsundere wifes that like to take care of their owner, yet require the same attention they put on you

It's weird but true, they feel like having a soul and a mind, i swear...
When i enter any car i can feel their owners connection with them, haha♪♪

As a 11 hatch owner, this man is SPITTING FAXXX! 👏🏽

Well to be fair Donut Media probably doesn't know. If you watch there vids a lots, you start to realize that most of them do not actually know a ton about cars. Don't get me wrong, they love cars, but do not really know them. That is partly why they have so many mechanics come on the show. If you watch a normal episode you will hear them say a lot of stuff that makes you just scratch your head. I would call them (at least most of the hosts) car enthusiasts, not experts.

Ive had 5 turbo subarus and still currently have 2. Yet to see any problems greater than any other car. Also own a mazdaspeed 3 which is very similar in the way you need to look after a subaru. Keep the oil clean, dont thrash it unless its built properly and tuned properly.