2003 wrx

[flynntuna]

Opinions on this possible donor

?reply x flag Posted: 3 days ago

As Is Used 2003 Subaru Wrx For Sale Non Opperational - $1700


2003 subaru impreza wrx manual transmission

For sale used 2003 Subaru Impreza Wrx. selling the car as is, motor is not running and needs to have an engine rebuilt. asking for $1700.00 for the car. Everything works except for the engine.
175k miles on this car
The car was recently registered,
New wheels on the car about 2-3 years old.
Everything is stock on this car, no mods were done to the engine, used as a daily driver.



Email me if you have any other questions.
do NOT contact me with unsolicited services or offers
post id: 4258258279 posted: 3 days ago updated: 3 days ago email to friend ♥ best of
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[Xusia]

I think it's worth that. You could probably sell at least $1000 in parts on a non-wrecked car. You could always source an engine or block separately, if you decided not to rebuilt the one in the donor. Or get an awesome H6 from Wayne!!

[RM1SepEx]

I wouldn't go for it. The most valuable parts are worn out!

[Erik W. Treves]

I wouldn't pay $1700 for it...see if he would take $1200 cash ( might be worth it then)...need to ask about the tranny though...175k is a lot...I might also just keep looking

[jbackslash]

I responded to that ad yesterday, and asked when he would be available to show it. The guy said he was out of town and would not be back till January. Kind of curious why post an ad and not be available to show it.

[flynntuna]

Interesting... I haven't emailed him yet since it will be late Jan. before I can spring for a donor without stretching. At 175k I realize that most all the major parts will need rebuilding, and the wiring harness would be questionable. When I saw this, I thought since it will be a year till delivery of the 818 ,I'd rebuild the engine and tranny and drive it around to see what other problems turn up. Wether I go this way or Copart, it's a matter of "you pay your money and take your chances".
AJW's 818 donors is looking better every day. But like Erik suggested if he'll take $ 1000-1200 cash that could be worth doing.

[ktm]

That's certainly an option. Just be prepared for it to cost a lot more than you think to get it the way you want it. Basic parts add up quick!

I think that If I had to do it over again, I'd by as new and low mile as I could for about $5000 to $6000. Maybe I paid too much, but I bought a running 02 with 150K on the clock for $3200. It had "a new clutch, brakes, exhaust, tires, and a stack of records has still cost me a fortune to rebuild. The gasket kit for the motor (replaced the HG's) timing belt and the worn out parts like the turbo inlet hose that had a hole in it sets you back ~$700-800. Then there was the recently replaced clutch with receipts that had nothing left on the friction plate for another $300 and then a lighter flywheel just because.... All the rotors needed to be replaced and did the wheel bearings, ball joints, and tie rods. Good news is the brake pads are good!

The bright side is that everything is new! While I was in the motor, I opted to redo the heads and pull the bottom end apart for a close look. I was amazed that the factory cross hatching was still there and the motor was really tight. I'm into the motor with mods about $1500 plus clutch and flywheel. Ball joints and tie rods were either crusty, as expected, or damaged when removed. Brake rotors, pads, and calipers all new. Total with cost with the donor car is about $7000. If I had bought a 06 or so, I most likely wouldn't have touched anything that wasn't worn out.

Lots of choices out there on how to get a donor. In then end, it's still going to cost you $5000-$7000 for your donor parts which ever way you go. You may be able to recoup some if you sell parts of your donor. I haven't had much luck with it, but would guess that living in San Diego would be a different story.

[flynntuna]

Thanks Ktm good food for thought.

[RM1SepEx]

I forget where I went over donor stuff but I think a low mileage wreck is much better deal. My 05 with 70k only cost 3500 delivered from MI to Maine. The engine runs fine, the tranny was opened to install my Quaife and looked very nice inside. I replaced the rotors and pads, did a timing belts, quaife, new radiator yada yada yada my total donor cost w/o replacing stuff that was workable and the quaife upgrade was 3500-1300 sold in parts $2300! With all my upgrades etc I'm not too far over $5500 in my donor parts for a stock WRX build.

Find something with low mileage, these cars run for 150000 - 200,000 miles so a 50 -75,000 mile donor should serve you well. ANY part that has exceeded 100,000 miles could fail at any time...

[Xusia]

Donors with heavy damage - like mine - have their advantages too. I would have preferred all new parts and would have bought a "complete kit" option from FFR had it existed. Because of the damage, I paid very little for the donor. Obviously I spent additional money on new parts, so I wouldn't call this a budget option, but I more or less got the best of both worlds: A lot of new parts - where they count - without the cost of all new parts. Counting donor and costs for new parts, engine maintenance & performance bits, etc., I'm probably less than $6k into the donor; and that's without yet selling off any parts.

If you go this route, my suggestion is to decide on your engine strategy first (i.e. do you want to use the donor engine, or source elsewhere), and search for an appropriate donor. For instance, if you want to use the donor engine, avoid donors with front end damage (unless very minor and/or secondary) unless a complete rebuild is part of your budget. From what I've seen, most donors with front end damage wind up with valve train damage.

Personally, I still think the above donor is worth the money. Sure, offer less, but my gut says this guy probably won't go lower than $1400. If a leak down test comes out OK, the block is probably fine and the engine just needs some work. Since it's undamaged, you can sell off a lot of parts to make back a decent amount of money. Plus an undamaged donor will be easier to tear apart.

My $.02.

Good luck!

[wallace18]

If you can get it for 1.2K get it. Mine had 276K but I replaced or rebuilt everything. If I had to do it again I would do an AJW pallet.