my vote is one of the following: One, go for a standard WRX, and mod the hell out of it. You can come close to the performance (if not pass it) for about the same price and you won't have the huge wing and scoop, and the interior of the standard WRX is WAY better IMHO than the STi, That blue is just hideous. The interior of my wagon is one of my favorite things about it... the fabric is awesome.

You can buy all the STi parts and slap them on the WRX, they'll all fit. Then sell the parts you took off to offset the costs. The only huge difference you'll have is the 2.0 vs the 2.5L engine, and the 6 speed tranny. Hell, with the rate the STi's are being wrecked, you could even find an image to swap. But all that would be a huge headache...

OR, go the other way. buy an STi, and trade seats, carpet and the trunk lid with someone. You wouldn't believe the number of people clamoring for those on the NASIOC message boards. You could probably even make some money off the trade. Way easier, and you get all the power with a nice interior/exterior and way less headache and warranty issues.