Maintanence on a 2002 Subaru WRX

^^ Nice generic answer, no wonder you get so many points. Really helpful... As for your question, make sure it has had the 100k service done (tbelt, water pump, etc) and you should be golden. Check out NASIOC.com for some really good information, there are some very intuitive people on there. A full exhaust and a tune will give you a substantial increase in power, you may not ever need to change out the turbo unless you decide you want more power. My best advice is to head to the website I gave you and read read read. You can find the answer to just about any question you may have over there, because it has probably been asked before. Happy Modding.

There was a recall on the 02 wrx's as well. It deals with the antifreeze container on top of the motor. I believe its the antifreeze, its been a while. Make sure all the recalls have been done. The recall can be done yourself, it takes about 20 minutes to do if it has not been done. In my opinion if you are going to upgrade the turbo you should do a rebuild to make it more reliable. Also the 02/03 wrx's are known to have "glass" transmissions so just be careful with that. Again if I remember correctly a lot of the newer 04-07 transmissions will fit that car.