Considering '03 Baja, But Rust...

[the_bard]

Hey y'all,

 

Figured I'd drop by here and see if I can't get a second opinion (and third, fourth, heck, however many folks wanna give).

 

I want a Baja badly, which I fear is clouding my judgement. They're hard to find, but pop up every now and then, so my timing needs to be good. I've found one that's been sitting on a local Jeep dealer for about a month now.

 

I stopped by and took a good look at it this morning. 2003 Baja Classic. Just short of a 109k on the odometer. Overall condition looks good... some paint chips on the hood that haven't developed into anything serious. Some cosmetic issues in the interior. It's a nine year old car, so I'm not going to complain about any of that. Tires could have better tread, but it's something I can dicker over.

 

The deal breaker, however, is the rust. Overall, especially for being in the NE, the body's pretty good. Random bolts and brackets have surface rust, but it looks to be something I can brush and POR-15 without too much issue. So I thought, until I found the rust. It's hitting the back of the rear door sills. Paint's all bubbly and there is flaking rust underneath. I'm gonna guess it's coming through the backside, from the front of the rear wheel well, since that's a pretty common rust area from what I've seen. I don't imagine there's much good metal around those rust spots. It's affected both rear door sills, too.

 

They're asking $9k for the Baja. Given the above, I expect that price to be adjusted a bit depending on what happens with those rust spots. No idea if the timing belt has been done or any other maintenance.

 

I figure I have three options:

1. Run screaming in the other direction.
   
2. Try to dicker the dealership into doing the rust repair.
   
3. Dicker the price down and deal with it myself.
   

 

My bodyworking skills are rudimentary at best. I might be capable of cutting out the affected areas, then riveting in sections to match those curves (I expect to find rust under the plastic sill cover). Might have some friends that I can call favors in for to get some decent sheet metal welding. I have a feelign that trying to talk the dealer into repairing it will be as effective as beating my head against a brick wall.

 

Any thoughts?

[J A Blazer]

That rust doesn't look too bad to me. I would use it as a negotiating tool to get the price as low as possible, then take it to a body shop of your choosing to get it fixed. I wouldn't ask the dealer to fix it as a condition of the sale; they will take the easy way out and do a half-rump roast repair.

[Gloyale]

Doesn't look too bad to me.

 

It's a rust belt car. One that's likely to be driven alot in snow (more so than other cars)

 

It's not so bad that you can't enjoy having the car for the next 10 years. As far as long term collecting............not gonna happen. Not without lot's of restoration.

 

If you want to enjoy owning and driving a Baja for a while, get it. I'm sire it's structurally sound.

 

But.....if your buying it to add to a collection and try to keep it as a show car.......don't buy this one.

 

Take a trip out here to Cal/OR/Wash and buy one with zero rust (they exist here)

[subeman90]

I have a Baja and rust has been on my mind too. I have a friend that is a member here and I have put him incharge of finding out where a Baja rusts. He is an employee of a Subaru dealer in the middle of NY state in the rust belt. He has found no rust for the most part. The rust you have found doesn't surprise me but for the most part they seem to be holding up well.

 

You know for the right $ I could sell you newer Baja with a lot less miles on it. Food for thought. :-p

[bheinen74]

Its all price dependent. I missed the price.

 

example, I sold my rustfree 5spd Baja in 2010 for 6700. it had 161k miles one owner clean never wrecked nothing at all wrong with it.

Is this one less?

It took me 6 months to even get that price. I had it on all the boards, no one even came to look at it, I almost crushed it.

Edited March 4, 2012 by bheinen74

[subeman90]

Its all price dependent. I missed the price.

 

example, I sold my rustfree 5spd Baja in 2010 for 6700. it had 161k miles one owner clean never wrecked nothing at all wrong with it.

Is this one less?

It took me 6 months to even get that price. I had it on all the boards, no one even came to look at it, I almost crushed it.

9k

 

not a big market in Iowa for a Baja. In the NE that is a different story.

[the_bard]

The prices on the Bajas seem crazy in some markets... others, they're reasonable. Makes me want to switch markets . There's a 06' Baja out in Oak Harbor WA that's gorgeous... 53k miles, with what looks like Mudrat bumper and a carrying rack on it, already. He's asking $9,500 for it. I wish I lived in WA, fabled land of Subarus. We've got VT, but VT may be the fabled land of the salted Subarus. I suppose I could get it transported from there to here, but it violates my principle of seeing it before I buy it. Maybe he's a board member

 

I definitely do not want a show car. It'll be a daily driver, and it'll be worked (albeit mildly). I worry not about scratches that don't make it to the bare metal. Anything that does gets a spot of POR-15 on it and a once over with color close enough matching. I ain't fussy. I hate rust, though. I place it on the same category as cancer... slowly eating the car away from the inside out. Despicable stuff. So while I'm not concerned about aesthetics so much, I do want to keep the rust at bay for as long as I can.

 

Subeman90, you'll have a PM in a couple minutes.:cool:

Edited March 4, 2012 by the_bard

[subeman90]

There's a 06' Baja out in Oak Harbor WA that's gorgeous... 53k miles, with what looks like Mudrat bumper and a carrying rack on it, already. He's asking $9,500 for it. I wish I lived in WA, fabled land of Subarus. We've got VT, but VT may be the fabled land of the salted Subarus. I suppose I could get it transported from there to here, but it violates my principle of seeing it before I buy it. Maybe he's a board member.

I'd be all over that if it was me. I know what it would take to get mine.

[john40iowa]

I would get an under-carriage inspection. What you see might just be the tip on the ice berg. Just a thought, but you might find one reasonable with a blown engine/tranny; if the body and components are solid it could be a better, less troublesome way to go. Traveling is expensive, but with this kind of money and with research, another a car in much better condition undoubtedly could be found.

[the_bard]

I've got a brother in law a few hours away with welding experience... I don't know how neat a job it'll be, but something's better than nothing. If I can get the dealer to come down on the price enough to make it worthwhile, it'll be one thing. Otherwise, I'll walk on it. I did poke my head under... nothing detailed, but it has that "been in the salt belt for a few years" look to the undercarriage. Nothing I saw would've prevented it from being inspected, but I didn't go over it with a fine tooth comb, either.

 

There's another one a few hours away, an '06 Sport with 145k miles. Dealer's getting a video of its condition to me tomorrow. Gives me ammunition to get the price down on the rusty one.

 

That '06 Sport in WA has my eye, but I'm leery of buying anything that remote. I figured I'd see if the seller can't drop it off at a Subaru dealership for a pre-sale inspection (on my dime, most likely). Anyone know if Subaru will ship a used car dealer to dealer for a third party? If it's going to the dealership for the inspection anyway, and it'll make it easier to pick up if it's sitting at one of my local dealerships.

Edited March 4, 2012 by the_bard