Donor Guidance

[Kasmodean]

Hey, Everyone. Finally got things lined up to get started on an 818 and have started looking for a donor. But I am not having much luck.

In general, what do you guys feel is a reasonable price to pay for a working donor? I have seen dealer asking for 12k+ for 2004-2006 WRX's.

Also, what would be the highest mileage you would consider buying? I live in New England so any car around me from that time frame will have 10+ winters of salted roads.

Thank you.

[Hindsight]

You said, "Dealer" so I'm assuming you are looking at fully functioning driving cars with little to no issues or damage. While you can certain go that route, you are going to pay a lot of money.

90% of us buy wrecked cars. You can find them on Craigslist and several online insurance auction sites like IAAI and COPART to name a couple. You need to find one wrecked in a way that ensures most, if not all the parts you need are in good working order. Most avoid front-end collisions due to radiator, steering rack and engine damage that can occur. Best bet is a sideswipe or rear-end. You can also sell the parts you don't need to recoup some of your expenses. I think I recovered around $1800 in parts sold off my donor. My donor was a rollover but actually still ran and drove just fine. The biggest issue with online insurance auction sites is that you generally can't see/test what you are buying beyond the pictures so it's a bit of a crap shoot. The places will generally not help you if you call them and ask them questions about condition. Some of the auction sites have a "Runs" or "Runs and Drives" or "Starts" status that they put on the listing, and of course, a good number of pics. Avoid STIs... over-priced. A wrecked one can sell for $12k+

I wouldn't get a donor for a state with rust issues. Too much parts prep, frozen bolts, rust.... you'll really add a lot of time and hassle to your job and it won't look as good when finished. There are plenty of cars in non-rust areas. After you win an auction, you can go online and put a request for quotes for shipping the car to you. Transport companies will start sending you bids. It cost me just $800 to have my WRX shipped from central Texas to Atlanta GA (and the car was listed as non-running, non-driving even though it just needed a jump).

I would stay under 120k miles. The lower the better though. Getting hard to find a pre-2008 WRX with under 100k on the clock though. Depending on year and damage, expect to pay around $2000 to $8000. I got my 2007 WRX with 65k miles on it for like $2800 or so if I remember correctly, but that was a smoking good deal and I think partly due to the fact that the online auction system went down during the middle of the session, but I had my max bid in on time. After auction fees and transportation, I had $4300 into it. Then recovered the $1800 or so in parts sales. I would budget like $5k for a good donor, knowing you can get one for a little more or a little less.

06 and 07 have the 2.5 and drive by wire. 06 has the aluminum lower control arms which are kinda cool, but you can buy those new from Wayne for ~$330.

[Buzz Skyline]

I agree with Hindsight. It almost seems a shame to buy a dealer car, then disassemble it.

Why are you looking for 2004-2006?

[Kasmodean]

I wasn't specifically looking for 2004-2006. They just represent most of the cars I see. If I buy a car from Copart or the like, do I get the title with the car? I will be registering the car in MA and from what I hear, having a clear paper trail is required.

[Hindsight]

Yes, you will get the title with the car if you buy from an auction site.

[AZPete]

Is Wayne Presley, Very Cool Parts, still supplying donor pallets? If so, I would contact him to start him looking for what you need. See vendor list at the top of the screen.

Edit: Whoever said Wayne is fast is wrong! It took him a full 2 minutes to post after I wrote this.

[Wayne Presley]

Or you could call me and I'll put you together a package with all the parts you need without the hassle of finding a donor. I can do them with new motors, low mile JDM motors or the one out of the donor.
760-403-6266

[Maximus]

Wayne, you just made my life complete.

[Wayne Presley]

No problem Maxi

[JeffS]

I bought my donor through IAAI and looked for almost a year. I wanted an unmolested 2006 or 2007 WRX with low miles from a non New England state. I paid a lot ($6000 plus another $1000 in fees and transport) but it was super clean (from Virginia) with no rust and 43,000 miles. It had a pretty hard hit in the trunk, but all the important parts turned out to be in great shape. All it needed was a fresh battery and it started right up. I drove it around the block and then straight into the garage and cut it up.

I consider myself very lucky in addition to being patient. There are numerous stories of people buying from Co-part and IAAI and getting a car doctored to look good enough for an auction but in reality being a pile of junk. One guy bought a WRX in "Runs and Drives" condition that came with broken cam pulleys. (I think you need cam pulleys to run and drive.) You have no recourse if you buy a junker... the auction house's policy is that you should always inspect the car in person before you buy. Having said all that however, I've bought a total of 4 cars (including my donor) through IAAI and reconstructed 3 of them which are now daily drivers. For my sample of 4, the cars were accurately and fairly described, and I put them back on the road for about 60% of what I'd pay for a clear title used car in similar condition.

I'm not sure I will be so concerned about finding a low mileage donor when I build my second 818. You do pay a premium for a low mileage car, and the reality for me is that I rebuilt everything anyway, just because I wanted it to be all new, and I wanted to learn how to restore everything to as new condition. I've learned a lot, purchased a lot of cool tools, and had a lot of fun doing it. So in my case spindles with 100,000 miles would have ended up in the same as new condition as my spindles with 43,000.

Jeff

[CNC_Geek]

I live is southern California. Impreza's with less than 200,000 miles are way more than the suggested $5,000. WRX models are like gold. So I found a stock 2004 wagon with a blown engine. I paid $1,600 and recovered about $375 in sold parts. My first thought was to purchase a new short block and get the valves done before reassembling the rest of the engine. I knew this car was in rough condition but a found that it must have been in a flood and /or snow country. The suspension parts were all sprayed with undercoating. Then the Axels would not separate from the spindles (rusted solid) . Then I broke more than one 10mm bolt trying to remove it. Turns out I couldn't use any of the suspension parts. On the bright side I found the experience of disassembling the car fun and very educational. If I had purchased a box of parts from some supplier I would be doing lots of research to learn how it all goes back together. Start with a better car and you'll save yourself much grief later on. Most important, if you are on a budget time is your friend. Be patient, the right deal will come along soon enough.

[Wayne Presley]

I package my donor pallets with all the bolts in their respective locations, and all of the major assemblies are still together. I even include a box of assorted metric bolts and nuts.

[michael everson]

Have you looked on Craigslist. There is one on there right now that needs head gaskets for $3000.0 116,000 miles.
Mike

[Carlsonmj]

Would a 2008 SUBARU IMPREZA WR make a good donor? Would it have the necessary parts? What would be missing/needed to make it work?

[Zach34]

I had great luck with IAAI. I found a 2005 STI, 135,000 miles that was totaled due to an interior fire. No body/chassis damage. I paid about $7500 with all the fees. AJW Performance brokered the purchase for me and was super helpful. You get a salvage title with a car like this. I picked it up myself, so that cut down on transport costs. It had sat on the auction lot for a little over a year, and I was able to jump start it pretty easy. Having no damage to the trunk and hood was great for recouping some costs.

It's a bit of a gamble since you probably will only be able to go on the pictures from the site, but you can mitigate that a bit by favoring cars sold in the southern states to avoid rust - probably the most significant problem to avoid.

I definitely recommend going the wrecked route. No sense paying all that money for a clean car when all you really need is the motor and drivetrain. Most of the suspension is in the kit and if you need some spindles, etc, due to wreck damage, you may only be talking about $500-1000 through ebay.

[Carlsonmj]

Thank You! Yes, (a Impreza WRX Wagon to be specific) I was wondering why Factory Five specifically states 2002 to 2007 year range and also no STIs when I see a lot of folks using 2008+ earlier and also some STIs in their builds. Are there any crazy modifications that need to be done if going outside the box like this (2008+) in a build.

[JeromeS13]

WR? Do you mean a WRX? If so, yes, that's what the kits are designed to use (that is, any WRX and any 2002 or later Impreza, probably earlier models as well, including naturally aspirated ones and STIs)

That is partially incorrect. The 818 is designed to use a 2002-2007 Impreza. They changed quite a bit in 2008, including suspension pieces (front and rear), moved speed sensor to ABS ring, etc.