Might get a subaru, ideas/ thoughts?

[nando]

it's just a crapcan car with a turbo on it. rally inspired? lol.

I really doubt they're going to replace a 2009 mini with a 14 year old WRX anyway..

[graveshaker]

Eh they are okay. My brother has had a ton of them. Nothing special.

AWD, rally inspired, boxer engine, your brother owning a ton, I think that makes it a little special.

[b*saint]

Eh they are okay. My brother has had a ton of them. Nothing special.

[cale]

In a 2013 STI hatch now, had a 2004 WRX wagon before. They've both been quite reliable for me, and with a mild tune on the 2004 they can both put a big grin on your face.

[Das Delfin]

I'm banking on driving my dad's '02 Legacy wagon 5 speed out from California this summer and using as a winter daily here in CT. So I support the Subaru notion. I originally bought the car because awd, wagon, 5 speed, reliable. Definitely don't get an automatic because the awd system they used in autos is inferior to what they put in manuals. In a manual you get 50/50 power between the front and back all the time.. auto is 70/30 front preferred and uses speed sensors to determine when to send more power to the rear.

Outbacks and GTs got LSD front and rear so try to get one of them if you can. The 2005-2007 models look the best and don't have head gasket issues but if it's a second car you can always drive your e30 while you fix the Subaru head gasket.

Going from a mini to an impreza is a jump up in terms of carrying capacity. If I didn't care about cargo space I'd try to find a '98 2.5 RS sedan in good shape rather than a Legacy wagon. But it depends what you want the car for

[Steveb68]

I've had an '05 Legacy GT for just over 9 years.

Brilliant in snow (of course) and RAIN. Tight right turn into oncoming high speed heavy traffic? No other gap in sight? No problem. Gas it and go.

In general, drives like a rear drive car, but with more traction.

Sufficiently reliable if you stay on top of the oil changes and don't get stupid with the tune. I'm at 163K, bought it at 10K. Original turbo (and these supposedly have failure prone turbos). Yes, all the wheel bearings have been done. Also, just pay someone to change the spark plugs, and give 'em whatever they want.

Needs a bigger rear sway bar. Understeering pig otherwise.

They're noisy, both road noise and engine noise. The flat 4 runs rough and sounds rough (but at least it doesn't sound like a fart-canned Civic). Gas mileage isn't great (low 20's)

Mine's a 5 speed. Get the automatic. No really, get the automatic. The 5 speeds clutches are abrupt AND weak. The aftermarket clutches are even more abrupt. Keep the dual mass flywheel. I've had 5 manual shift cars in 20 years; the LGT is by far the worst in to drive in low speed stop-n-go traffic. Pretty fantastic at 70+, though.

[mitchlikesbikes]

i have been daily driving a 2004 WRX wagon since april/may. i bought it with 302,000 miles on it and it is now at 316,000 miles. i love it. i have rebuilt the turbo and replaced a front cv shaft since i bought it. the previous owner rebuilt the engine at about 290k with a 2.5l STI block and the 2.0l heads. with a high flow catted downpipe, stock catback, and a tune it is BARELY louder than stock but has kept up with a 335i and i beat an LS1 trans am from a dig by a mile. i took it to california with my girlfriend about a month ago and did over 2,000 miles in 5 days across nevada and northern california, then home to salt lake and it never even flinched (short of a headlight bulb burning out). with a 1/2" lift and general grabber all terrain tires it will go anywhere i want in the snow as well. i feel more comfortable with it in the snow than i did in my daily jeep cherokee i had before actually. like some said earlier it is a bit small and i would have liked an outback xt or legacy gt wagon for a little more room but overall super happy with the car so far. WRXs definitely get a bad rep because of all the shit for brains 19 year olds that own them but honestly i think they're fantastic cars.

here are a couple random pics of the adventures i've taken it on so far

[richardb]

How about a 2009, 2010 528i x drive. You can find one in that price range.

If you are set on Subaru, maybe find out what year they switched from timing belts to the chain. Could be worth it, paying for that timing belt job to be done correctly will be costly.

[J.Rizo]

Does it get boring to those people because they are used to fast cars?

can't say, but I'd guess its because of how abundant they are, and of course rwd > everything.

[graveshaker]

I love my WRX bug eye, has never let me down. It has 160,000 miles and going strong.

[e30onBBSs]

Does it get boring to those people because they are used to fast cars? I think an older wrx would be great and fun. Don't need any crazy mods or anything a nice stock stick example would be sweet. The mini is almost death in the winter and my parents won't let me get winter wheels/ tires for it "because it's their car". I love the wagons but don't want to have all that extra space I have no use for. We used to have an h6 3.0r it was the tits, but too big IMO

[J.Rizo]

But they get boring after awhile .

I hear this a LOT. especially if you don't live in a climate where awd actually comes in handy.

no personal experience, but the consensus I've gathered is that they lose their boosted awd rumbly exhaust note novelty pretty quickly.

[nando]

legacy wagons are.. heavy, slow, boring. very useful, but I couldn't love one. We managed to find a manual, but 99.99999% of them are automatics. It would have been unbearable otherwise.

the Impreza/WRX platform is too small for me but coming from a Mini it would probably be fine. At least a WRX comes in a manual.

[nomansland92]

I daily drive a 03 wrx, it's a awesome car been very reliable too. The hardest part is not starting to build it haha.

[TimeMachinE30]

Legacy Wagon GT if you can find one. I purchased my first new car, a 2007 Legacy Wagon. It was a wonderful vehicle. That was the last year of the wagon, too, I believe. New it was about 22k. I bet you could get a nice price after these years.

Even if no wagon, the sedan is sharp. The 3.0 motor I never learned much about but would look into that uncommon breed of the Legacy.