l found a beautiful 2002 Impreza Wrx (2.0L) that is in immaculate condition. Very clean and has aftermarket exhaust and downpipe for the turbo. It has 116K miles on it, but the interior is so clean! It is black and has the carbon fiber look interior trim pieces- which is exactly what l want. It is my dream car, and in one of my preffered colors (Silver). I've always wanted a boosted Subaru, and this one has around 225 HP.
But...There is also an Electric Blue (another of my favorite colors) 2003 Impreza 2.5 RS for the same price though. It only has 56K miles on it, but the interior is not everything l dreamed of, like the WRX is is. It has a few doordings, which l know is normal but still I am leaning towards the WRX hard. the RS does not have the optional foglights, so l feel like I'd have to add those later, and l really do not wanna start modifying cars again, as there is other things l should be spending $ on. l wanna be happy with my purchase as is, but for the same amt. of $...
should l just get the RS? It will last me longer, as it has much lower miles, but will l be happy with it or wish l had bought a boosted car?
Insurance cost makes no difference for me, and I am smart enough to stay out of trouble with speeding so the extra HP is not a downfall.
insurance will be $180 a month for full coverage on any type of Impreza with the insurance carriers l checked with.
The suspension has been dropped a little on the WRX. Not sure when, but the carfax says it was sold at an auction as a fleet vehicle. Since it is got modded downpipe, suspension, and exhaust l can not imagine it was a rental. Perhaps someone is company car. It looks like it was maintained really well, and l was surprised the WRX was even in my price range.
Both cars are $10,500 asking price and both have had 2 registered owners.

have u checked the cost of the insurance on both? l bet you will find insurance is a lot less on the rs

if it where me, Id go hands down for the wrx. thats just cuz im a turbo freak :> hopefully by the sound of it, they took care of it & didnt beat on it, but its always hard to say. It is alot of miles especially on a turbo car, u should find out if they have replaced the clutch, suspension parts ect.. cuz that sorta stuff is gonna be going out soon if not.

add:
what a tough choice :< thats alot of miles for the wrx, & l doubt it was a rental, it could of been a number of things, maybe a guy that worked at the car dealerships demo car, or a company car, in which case. If l had a wrx for a company car, that wasnt MY car, l would be beating it up pretty good :)

If l was trying to make a choice in the matter l would go drive them both, & try getting the most history of the maintence that has been done on them, l would take the car over to my mechanic & have him give it a look over & see what looks newer & if anythings going bad.

and that rs is still gonna have some kick to it with with 2.5 Ive driven my buddys before & its not -slow- but its not a wrx either :P

if the wrx doesnt smoke at all or grind gears id go with the wrx. if its an 02 or 03 pay very close attention to the tranny, its probably been replaced with those miles but they dont hold up well

l vote WRX as well as long as u get a pro to look at it.the $100 or so the guy will charge to do a full check will be worth it in the long run.

WRX vs. RS there is just no comparison given the condition of each car as you've written it. The RS would take a lot of work to make as or nearly as fast as a WRX.

The only concern is that WRX is mileage.make sure it checks out & be prepared to possibly have to do medium to major maintenance in the future. Most WRX is that have made it to 100K r well taken care of.most WRX is that I've heard of that were beaten on do not make it to 100K without having at some point a new motor, turbo, gears or entire trans.

If the car was well taken care of u should be able to run the thing into the ground to 200K with good maintenance.

You will have to burn premium fuel in the WRX because of the turbo. Regular in the 2.5

The WRX ofcourse, by 100%
specially if it looks like this one http://apc.net/mechworks/pics/mywrx.jpg

never buy a used turbo car especially WRX, most of the time abused by owner. when you have a turbo car, i'm sure you do not drive like grandma. Just do not buy a used WRX impreza. Get yourself a brand new STI.

l would do the WRX only if the timing belt has been changed & all other scheduled maintenance has been done properly. Also if there is an aftermarket down pipe without any tuning the check engine light will come on after u drive it a week or so. They only have to disconnect the battery to turn off the light temporarily so u wo not see it right away. It will not pass emissions in it is state though so beware. If u do get it buy a thing called an Access Port. With just a down pipe it will not only take care of the check engine light but also add about 40-50 HP at the wheels.