OK, I'm looking at two WRXs, 02 and 03, both the same price.
03 claims:
Spt intake, Vf39 Turbo,Front and rear kyb struts,Front and rear strut bars,Manley rods,Je pistons,Acl bearings,Gates racing timing belt kit,Jdm Subaru ra crank,Sti oil pump,Sti water pump,Sti intercooler,Perrin turbo ,nlet,Mishimoto hoses,Csf aluminum radiator ,Bps short shifter,Stage 2 clutch,Perrin Lightweight Crank Pulley,Turbo xs 4 inch bell mouth down pipe,Turbo xs 3 inch turbo back exhaust,06 sti muffler

with 30,000 miles on the engine and a stack of receipts, but thinks the center diff might be on its way out (probably not an issue for me)

02 claims 300/290 hp/tq at the wheels
2.5 Sti shortblock with 2.0 heads,JE Pistons,Manley rods, Sti crank ,Race bearings,Rebuilt 02 5speed tranny (5kmiles, no receipts),New timing belt ,Invidia Catless downpipe, invidia Catless uppipe, Evo 20g turbo, 1d1000s, Walbro 255lph fuel pump, Sti tmic, Cobb 3port bcs ,Gfb hybrid 50/50 bov ,Flow master turbo back 3 inch, 07 Wrx wheels tires are about 70% tread, New axels 8k on them ,Has Lowering springs ,v2 Cobb ap

8,000 miles on the engine but he claims to have found some metal flakes in the oil during his last oil change. His mechanic says bearings, but the build shop won't honor their warranty (seems weird, local company, great rep). Also, supposedly not making any noise yet. Now, I've seen bearings fail in a couple hundred miles, and after tens of thousands. Never at 8k. Unless he was racing those long sweeping turns I've been reading about, how much sense does this make, and what else might be likely on these motors?

It seems like the 02 makes a better bargain, parts/mileage-wise, but if I need to replace anything other than bearings/crank it might not make sense.

FWIW, I intend to build a reasonably comfortable 818, and won't be surprised if it's closer to 2200 pounds than 1800, with lots of daily driving where the 2.5 torque curve would be appreciated.

Weigh in!!!