Hi all,

 

I'm shopping around for my first Subaru and am really liking the WRX wagons. I looked at one, had it checked out by a Subaru dealer and everything is checks out nicely. 121k miles, seepage in a few places, but no active leaks, needs tires and brakes soon, but the dealer offered to take care of that.

 

However, I have one major concern. During the test drive, when shifting into first, I noticed a brief grinding. The first time I thought it was just me. The second time I started paying close attention to making sure I was putting the clutch in all the way. The third time I'm sure it was the car.

 

It only happened those three times, and only happened when shifting into first gear. Is this a common problem? Or does anyone have any ideas what it could be?

 

The price is good but not great, so if its not a major problem, that would be fine, but I'm curious to hear y'all's thoughts on what the problem may be.

 

Also, if you guys have any opinions on what you'd pay for for the car, that's always appreciated.

 

Thanks!

Are you at a complete standstill when this happens or still rolling? Subaru's don't like to go into first until you're almost at a complete stop. Pretty common for all EJ manuals to graunch when put in first while moving. Mine does it.

 

If you keep forcing it into first while you're moving you'll probably end up bending or breaking the selector fork.

That very well could be it. I tried to make it happen after the third time, but I don't think it did because I was at a full stop (flatter roads at that point) each time I shifted into first after that.

 

I ended up not getting this one as they wanted a little too much for the miles it had. However this will be good to know for future test drives! Thanks!

To get a feel for prices in your area check out Craigslist and other websites to see what people are asking. Then look the car up on Kelley Blue Book (KBB, aka "The Dealer's Friend!") to find an inflated price. Then on Edmunds TMV (True Market Value) to find a realistic price based on actual sales.

 

Good luck. Keep looking, you'll find the car you want.