is insurance cheeper on the 2002 or 2004?

The liability would be the same because they both have
sports car ratings, but the collision/comprehension would
be higher on the 2004 model because its worth more!

Check wagon prices if you want to save on insurance. l saved quite a bit by switching from a sedan to a wagon WRX.

Insurance is always cheaper on an older car.

The 2002 and 2004 WRX are the same mechanically. They just have different bumpers and headlights and wheels.

obviously the front styling is different between those two years. there r other differences that may or may not matter to you:

1) '04 wrx (and late '03 wrx) have the same width gears as the STi RA gears (which makes them 1mm wider & therefore stronger than the '02 wrx gears. if u plan to modify this could be an important consideration

2) '02 wrx & early '03 wrx have a different front brake pad shape than the late '03 & up wrx. some pads for the '02 wrx r a couple of dollars more expensive. this does not really matter too much in the end

3) '02 wrx have functional brake cooling ducts for the front brakes. not sure if the '04s have these. this is a nice to have if u plan to track the car

4) '02-'03 wrx front seats have much more side bolstering & hold u in place better than even the '04+ sti seats

5) '04+ wrx have a delay between closed loop & open loop which could result in detonation & very high EGTs even on stock cars

personally, l say u should go with '06+ WRX or STi so u can get the 2.5L motor. the extra displacement makes the 2.5L makes much more difference than the rated hp suggests. if u look at dyno plots on the cobb website u will see the 2.5L wrx makes 25 more hp stock compared to the 2.0L car

if costs force u into an older wrx, l recommend u get a '05 instead of the '04 so u can get the automatic climate control (nice to have!) also, look for the saab 92-x aero. u might be able to get a great deal

the best thing about the '02 wrx is that they will be the cheapest to buy. the down side is that is will be hardest to find one in good condition (low miles, not modified)

in any case, take ur time looking, it is worth it to find a stock low miles example. it took me a year to find my '02 wrx wagon & i'm glad l took the time to shop careful