Hey Barebones.
In my opinion you can't go wrong with a new WRX right now.
You will get a full warranty, the stiffest best handling version they have made thus far, 5 door practicality, great stereo ,etc,etc PLUS 0% financing up to 63 months through Subaru and massive way under invoice discounts on remaining 2008 models. Including the STI.

I have had an 04' STI, 06' STI and now have an 08' STI and never had any problems with any of them, they are fast and handle like you wouldn't believe, Plus when you change to a winter tire & wheel set up you can pass snow ploughs ! ~ Technology and design advances on the 08' make the new WRX the best one yet no doubt. ~ My .02 ~


^^^ The current 08' is the best Subaru have ever made ..Mine above sporting my Winter wheels and tires.

^^^ And with the super sticky Summer set up on 18" BBS Goldie's.

 

since subaru= what i do for a living...

anyway, the 09 wrx is .1 second slower in the 1/4 mile then the sti. and alot less...

i would pick up a used 05-07 sti because the tranny is unbreakable compared to the 02-08 wrx's which are definitely breakable if you mod them.

06+ wrx is better then 02-05 because it has the 2.5L motor vs 2.0

so to me the choice would be 05-07 sti (not 04 because it has many downgrades compared to the 05-07) or an 09 wrx

 

Roommate drives an '05 STi. Stage 2 gives him something like 350hp, it's very fast, handles well, etc. He beats the hell out of it and has never had a major mechanical issue.

 

I have had an 04' STI, 06' STI and now have an 08' STI and never had any problems with any of them, they are fast and handle like you wouldn't believe, Plus when you change to a winter tire & wheel set up you can the pass snow ploughs ! ~ Technology and design advances on the 08' make the new WRX the best one yet no doubt. ~ My .02 ~

Thanks for your imput, how does the 06 compare feature wise with the new one? I loved some of the features on the 08, but the look of the 06's is right where I want to be, plus there is about a 15k difference on the ones here in Canada. The only thing stopping me from going out and buying a used one is that i am worried some kid with no respect for the car had it before me.

oh well.... I will make a decision some day!

Thanks for all the input guys!

 

^^^ Yup...You can make them into very quick cars without any reliabilty issues if you do it right. My 08' STI is Cobb stage II and has a dyno proven 288 HP and a juicy 355 FT LB's of Tourqe at the wheels, which converts to around 350 HP / 395 FT LB's of Tourqe at the flywheel if you do the conversion... I know I will get a "Rise" when I say this but ....There aren't many cars anywhere on Teamspeed or in my SHOWROOM for that matter , that could catch me from 0 to about 70 MPH in my little Scooby Hatchback

 

Nope, I believe it. My roommates car is very quick, a mid 12 second car really. From a stop until about 100 it's ballistic; however, it does slow down in the triple digits. He ran a stock 335ci 6-speed on the highway from 40-140, and pulled a car length, that's it. They aren't highway bombers, but they are deadly from a dig.

 

and for just a few k you can make them have 400whp

my 06 had 450whp...stock motor/tranny just bolt on's
0-100 bested my srt-10 viper...bad

 

Thanks for all the help guys. I found a mint 06 WRX with no mods and it was on a fire sale for well under market value. Should be getting to drive it very soon!