Durania Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Wife and I are wanting another vehicle to use to haul trash off, take camping, or other miscellaneous items. My 2.5RS coupe is not a practical vehicle for hauling large items. She has an 04 Accord that can haul some larger items than my RS. The years I would like to stick to are 97-01. She cannot drive manual and I will not let her learn on my RS. She wouldn't mind learning so we are both cool with an auto or a 5 speed. I realize that the phase 2 EJ22 is in these things. Mileage is not an object either as long as it is in good mechanical upkeep and not rusted out. Color preference would be for the Blue ridge pearl two tone or the acadia green two-tone. Main question is: What is USMB's dealings/experiences with this model of OBS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericem Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Id look at it like this. If you get a older Subaru with a 2.5L like the range your looking at. Spare the extra $1000-1500 for headgasket and timing belt "maintenance". So be sure to bargain and look for a good deal. Having a really good body is important too. Look around the under carriage as well for rust and rubber (axle boots, rack etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru360 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 They are great, I like them a lot. My brother in law bought a used 98 OBS from somebody on NASIOC about 2 years ago. It had a bad engine, some sort of lifter bleed down issue that nobody could track down. I put in a used 2.2 for him. Engine was $100 at a U-Pull. It's been perfect ever since, not one problem. He likes the space and awd. He always tells me how much he likes the car and how well it runs. He got rid of a much newer Jetta to get the OBS and is now a subie convert and will never get anything else again. He wants a WRX wagon next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru360 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Id look at it like this. If you get a older Subaru with a 2.5L like the range your looking at. Spare the extra $1000-1500 for headgasket and timing belt "maintenance". So be sure to bargain and look for a good deal. Having a really good body is important too. Look around the under carriage as well for rust and rubber (axle boots, rack etc) 97-98 OBS is a phase 1 2.2, no head gasket issues. 99-01 OBS is a phase 2 2.2 sometimes they leak externally, but not nearly as common as the 96-99 2.5 phase 1 dohc internal leakage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 (edited) OBS won't have the EJ25, so no head gasket issues to worry about. If you're looking at the car for room considerations then you might want to consider legacy wagon's as well. Might as well get more room and have more options as you're looking. We ended up getting rid of our OBS for that reason, wanted more room. OBS is a great car. The impreza's tend to be lower trimmed than the Legacy (except some older L and brighton models with crank windows and crap seats). They're a bit noisier and not as nice with fewer options (heated seats, power seats, trim, etc). But that also means they're on average easier to find good deals on. And they only came with the EJ22, which is a fantastic motor. 1990-2000 Legacy's and Impreza's don't differ much - same couple engines and transmissions used in them all. Once you know the engines and transmissions then it's just down to personal preference. Edited October 22, 2009 by grossgary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 The headgasket issues was why I wanted to stick to the Impreza OBS. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the 96 Legacy Outback the coveted one because it has the EJ22 in it and not the EJ25? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the 96 Legacy Outback the coveted one because it has the EJ22 in it and not the EJ25?that's 50% right - the manual trans OBW got the EJ22 in 1996. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 yup.. the 96 OB is the covetted one.. I have a legacy and honestly.. I dont like it.. its heavy and slow...compared to my Impreza. I would gladly trade it for an OBS or an 88-89 GL wagon. you will get better gas mileage with the OBS also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru360 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 I personally would stick with the 98 and down OBS with the phase 1 2.2. They are the cheaper to buy and MUCH cheaper to keep running. If you want a legacy outback with 2.2, I have 2 of them right now. I put together as many of them as I can, people buy them as fast as I can put them together, it's a great combination, no idea why subaru didn't make more of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 (edited) its heavy and slow...compared to my Impreza. actually there's a good chance your impreza is heavier. the impreza is also 13 years newer, almost 30 hp more, and a manual verse auto on the leg. Edited October 22, 2009 by grossgary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 If hauling stuff is a major reason, the legacy wagon or legacy outback might be a better bet -- they do have a bit more space than the impreza based models. But, I just got a '97 OBS because I didn't want something as large as the legacy, and it's pretty fun. Ridiculously fast (keep in mind that I've been driving 80's subaru's for years, and am used to having to keep them floored 80% of the time just to keep the speed limit -- the OBS you actually get in trouble if you keep it floored all the time, even on hills). It feels faster than the '07 outback wagons that we have for company cars, but those are automatics. It does feel like a very dense car compared to the older subarus, or even the 1st gen legacies. I haven't driven it enough to get a check on the mileage yet and I suspect it's kind of bad right now since I'm missing 4th gear and the transmission is grinding horribly (new dual range transmission going in soon). But I'm hoping if I can keep my foot out of it that it'll do at least 30 highway and 24ish around town (the old GL wagon got 30 highway and 26 around town, and a 1st gen legacy I have gets 30 highway and 24ish around town) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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