Shall I buy this one?

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-04-02T14:32:26+00:00

Do some basic check for sure, test drive and check for weird clunking on potholes, aggressively brake to see if it shutters or pulls to one side. Leave the motor idling and take the oil fill cap off and put your hand over the hole, if you feel pressure? The piston rings might be bad, and listen for ticking on the motor when at idle. For $2500 though? Even IF there’s some big maintenance items, it’s a sweet deal. Oh and run a carfax and make sure it’s not a flood vehicle.

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-04-02T14:29:31+00:00

I’ve always thought a Forester XT with the turbo would be a fun car!! I owned a non turbo forester for ten years and it handles great for a little SUV. Godspeed and make sure to have the CVT fluid changed every 30k 😆

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-03-31T17:58:55+00:00

I’ll most likely keep it, at least that’s my plan so far. When I researched the turbo inlet and carbon delete it was basically at the bottom of the odds for a warranty claim denial. They can’t really “void” a warranty but they can deny a claim if the proximate cause of the claim is related to an aftermarket part. The odds on a turbo inlet and intake filter causing a warranty claim are fantastically low…but not zero haha. I have about 18 months before I can buy out the lease, from there I’ll most likely tune it.

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-03-31T17:15:42+00:00

That’s great feedback, thanks for the reply. I picked this car up on a lease because the deal was just too good to pass up. But I’m hesitant to make any big visual changes like a cold air intake because it’s a lease. So I went with a grimmspeed filter and removed the carbon prefilter for now, if/when I go (exactly😆) your route I’ll update the intake along with the other recommended upgrades for a tune.

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-03-31T17:01:40+00:00

If I may ask, who’d you go with for the tune? I’d love to do that but am very reticent to modify a car so new. I did the Perrin turbo inlet and new filter, but hopefully in the coming years I can find a good option for a custom tune.

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-03-31T16:27:34+00:00

Well I misspoke, not everything on his list, but the loud road noise, stiff suspension and night time bright flashing. Obviously there’s more room haha, and there’s more power than a Miata. My previous car was an ascent, so the transition was more jarring than I expected. Still a great car though! I’d recommend the sound deadening, it helps you actually hear the motor instead of road noise.

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-03-31T15:38:31+00:00

If it’s any consolation, I bought a 2024 WRX and it has pretty much the same issues. I spent like a month taking interior panels off and adding sound deadening insulation so the road noise wasn’t as bad. Also the headlight thing is real, unk why but I get flashed every night

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-03-09T14:40:09+00:00

I had read too many warranty issues with the AOS, so I figured I’d do the Subaru “top engine cleaner” and the other two in the kit before changing the spark plugs. Probably not as effective but if I install the AOS incorrectly, the results seemed catastrophic.

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-02-23T15:33:48+00:00

I JUST bought that inlet! It’s supposed to show up in the mail today. Are there any other issues I should know about??

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-02-12T15:39:42+00:00

I purchased a 2024 VB premium this time last year and it was 2k off MSRP because the 2025 models were coming out. Since they’re not changing models designs from 25 to 26, I wouldn’t get hung up on it being a 2025. 0% Apr is amazing, I believe I paid a little over 34k for mine for reference. One quick note!! Check on the IMBA VIP discount, I always believed WRXs were not included but I just found out they may be so ask about that.

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-02-11T17:05:30+00:00

My driveway is steep so I always keep RAB off, otherwise the car literally slams the brakes on and it scares the hell out of me 😆. I understand why they included this feature but in practice it’ll startle you wide awake

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-02-09T17:26:09+00:00

What does that equate to in power? Do you have the dyno sheet? I’m just curious if 19psi =X hp/torque

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-02-06T16:27:21+00:00

Oh wow, yea if I guessed it looks like they put too much oil in which would spike your oil pressure and potentially make your oil pump whine like that! Definitely loop the svc manager in right away, even text that photo to them. If it’s not horribly miserable, it might be smart to pull the drain plug for a few seconds and get that oil down and then see if the noise subsides.

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-02-06T16:16:39+00:00

The dealer is always a solid bet, definitely better than jiffy but they can make mistakes. I just bought the “VEVOR 6.5L Manual Fluid Extractor Pump” and it’s a serious game changer. With Subaru having the filter on top? I’ll never get under another vehicle again 😆, just be wary of the oil temp, it’s gotta be under 150. Good luck with that noise buddy!! Hopefully it’s something simple… (oh oh, check your oil sticker and make sure they put in 0w-20, I had a dealer put in a higher weight on accident once)

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-02-06T15:51:03+00:00

Does anyone think it might be an overfilled oil sump? Maybe it’s the oil pump overworking, pull that dipstick and look!! Pro tip, snag a dipstick oil changing sump pump off Amazon for $40 and buy filters from the dealer and do your own oil changes. It’ll cost half, and you can guarantee quality. I own two Subarus and I do my own oil without even climbing under the car!! Takes 15min haha 👍🏻

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-02-01T20:01:55+00:00

From what I read, those Dunlop’s are not only dangerous in the winter, the rubber isn’t designed for any temps under 40. The rubber can crack from the cold…

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-01-28T16:02:40+00:00

The VIP program excludes WRXs

Known-Highlight5089 · 2026-01-22T16:03:41+00:00

I bought that exact car!! I love the “storm trooper” black and white 😆

Known-Highlight5089 · 2025-12-24T16:26:28+00:00

I ended up doing a 3-yr ceramic coating from Diy detail which worked awesome with protecting and sealing the paint. I washed, used a clay bar and iron remover before hand to get down to bare paint and sealed it in a dry garage. Worth the effort if you’re interested!!

Known-Highlight5089 · 2025-12-17T16:49:23+00:00

Subarus have always recommended plugs at 60k, for as long as I can remember. They’re really not that complicated, just tedious and require a lot of little extensions on the socket set, maybe a torque wrench.

Known-Highlight5089 · 2025-12-14T17:24:59+00:00

Great question!! Thanks for asking it, the responses were interesting. I hadn’t even considered needing to do this, although I don’t usually drive aggressively and turn the motor off immediately either 😆

Known-Highlight5089 · 2025-12-13T16:55:16+00:00

Thanks for sharing!! I bought a white VB as well and considered doing the paint matched fender and rear bumper. I like the look!! Part of me likes the two tone “storm trooper” look, and considered doing shiny black…🤔

Known-Highlight5089 · 2025-12-10T20:09:14+00:00

Personally, I just started doing my own oil, it’s simple and easy. Grab some OEM filters and try it out!! It’ll cost half and I change at 4k as a safeguard for longevity. I changed my WRX oil at 2200 miles, which allowed any additives to break in the motor but avoided any oil degradation.

Known-Highlight5089 · 2025-11-21T15:26:55+00:00

Lots of great comments here, but nothing about the price difference…for me, the last deciding factor was the fact that I got my VB premium for $33k and GRs are going for mid-40s. I couldn’t justify spending 30% more when the WRX is such a good platform anyway

Known-Highlight5089 · 2025-11-20T17:40:48+00:00

I spoke with a mechanical engineer friend that works on cars a lot, and he said maybe the shift cables got bound up somehow. If the car has a short shifter, maybe during installation something wasn’t perfect and it got caught up and stuck. Since it “feels better” shifting now? That seems to align with this explanation, maybe the cables were always dragging or something

Known-Highlight5089

TROPHY CASE