How many miles is too many miles?

[Kasmodean]

Looking for a donor in Massachusetts.

Have been looking at copart, but the WRXs seem to be few and far between and tend to be really badly damaged, so I have been looking for used.

How many miles do you guys consider too many for the WRX?

I could rebuilt the engine and tranny if needed, but how does that factor into if there are too many miles for the donor or not?

Thanks

[tirod]

I have a '99 Forester and the motor blew at 221,000. The cost to rebuild with the #2 rod bearing included having to remachine the cam bearing surfaces in the heads and also the cams, as there are no bearings there. The cam rests directly in the head - pumping tiny parts of the rod bearing thru them ruined the polished surfaces. What was a $1700 short block rebuild turned into $2500 project and I would still be out the labor assembling a motor. That means cross torqueing two block halves to check bearing clearances - not something for the lesser skilled and unlike a standard open sump motor. Subaru's don't have bearing caps - the other half of the block is the bearing cap.

Most likely know this but it needs to be pointed out rebuilding a Subaru isn't as easy. It adds another level of complication. A newly rebuilt motor would have cost me $3400 thru the parts house with my discount. I bought used from a state away shipped in for $1,300, great motor that doesn't use oil. That's another issue - Subaru's are high demand and a WRX in good condition is rare. Goes to the interest in using a Ford Ecoboost as some see it as a highly competitive alternative, or the EZ30 as a naturally aspirated concession.

I would suggest if the used motor has over 150,000 on it a rebuild would be necessary - and expensive. Of course, the JDM motors freighted in from overseas aren't cheap either, but adding up the costs, a $3000 used WRX motor plus $2500 rebuild costs minimum would mean a clean used $5000 JDM is realistic. I'm sure I am being conservative, there are plenty of WRX motors much higher and they are selling. That's the current market - WRX owners are willing to get their cars back on the road and are seriously competing for the engines.

This wasn't the situation ten years ago when the 818 war originally visualized but it's the situation now. Goes to why others are striking out on their own with alternate power - when the motors start costing as much as the kit it's a financial hinge point for new decisions. It's basic accounting - estimate the cost of acquiring and rebuilding a motor vs picking up one used. If it's under 120,000 miles with sound compression and no evidence of leaking it would be a candidate.

I'm sure others will chime in with actual numbers based on their locality, the math isn't any different.

[Kasmodean]

Thanks for feedback. A local subaru dealer says they have a 2006 manual wrx in stock, I don't know the price yet, but it has 160,000 miles.

What compression numbers are considered good for a WRX? Nevermind, googled it. 142-170 with no more than 10% difference.

[6t8dart]

My suggestion, look for a southern car from California, Texas or New Mexico. Might cost you a little more, but you would have no rust, and less cleanup and restoration.