Another What's it Worth?

[KRB64]

Buying a 1997 Legacy sedan from a friend and need to decide on a fair price both ways. She got it from a friend years ago who bought it new. It has high miles (284K) but she has done all the maintenance required and kept up with everything, I have the records. Motor doesn't smoke and with the 22's reputation I'm not real worried about that for a car that will be driven very little.

 

Just a few rust bubbles here & there. Interior is clean and intact. Left fender and drivers door suffer from an impact with a deer but that's replaceable. She claims it has torquebind but what little I've driven it is seems to come & go. I'll do the tranny flush and see what happens. Needs tires soon and probably an alignment. She said that the front struts were next on the list for R&R.

 

It just showed a 440 code since I've been driving it which I think is emissions so I'll need to check vacuum lines, gas cap, filler neck, etc.

 

I'm thinking around $1,000. That seem reasonable? What do you guys think?

[idosubaru]

$500. for the sake of being really high and leaning towards helping the person out I'd call it a $500 car, maybe $1,000 high end if it's interior is super nice and there's zero rust/exhaust leaks at all - so $750 in the middle for a fair valuation.

KY is not a hopping Subaru market so it won't command amazing prices like some areas.

 

nearly 300,000 mile cars are a small market.  200,000 rules out a lot of buyers and being way over that i wouldn't expect much.

High miles, it's dented, torque bind is unknown whether it'll be a simple fix or not, and tires are expensive (relative to the worth of the vehicle)

 

these guys would probably take $1,000 for this already swapped EJ22 Outback with 100,000 less miles on body:  http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/cto/4201336390.html

compare to edmunds, kelly blue book, craigslist, autotrader, ebay (which is generally really low priced for stuff like this)

 

If you run it through Edmunds, which I just did, it values it as zero dollars needing repairs.  But if you lie about it's condition and say it's average (no dents, no torque bind, good tires) - it still only says it's worth $461.

[Rooster2]

Are you sure it has the 2.2 motor? If my memory serves me, all Legacys had the 2.5 motor, only the Impreza had the 2.2 for '97.

 

With high miles, and some damage, needs tires, and possible torque bind, I am thinking $300 tops.

[bratman18]

Are you sure it has the 2.2 motor? If my memory serves me, all Legacys had the 2.5 motor, only the Impreza had the 2.2 for '97.

 

With high miles, and some damage, needs tires, and possible torque bind, I am thinking $300 tops.

The Legacy L would have the 2.2

[idosubaru]

A, all Legacys had the 2.5 motor

 

It wasn't until 2000 that all legacy's got the 2.5.

 

Only GT and LSi had 2.5's.  Legacy Brightons, L, LS all got the 2.2

[KRB64]

Wow, that's all a lot less than what I was thinking. Guess I'm a little biased since its a friend and don't want to take advantage of her. But I also don't want to overpay (nor does she). Couple hundred bucks is scrap value though...

[later_Peter]

no comparable ones in the area?

assuming it is a thousand dollar car

front axels

radiator flush (careful here this is a major headgasket culprit)

fender

door

so you spend another thousand (now you're at two thousand) for a thousand dollar vehicle... (& if the radiator flush leaves air in the line.... figure another $5 hundred IF you do most of the work (you won't be planing the heads, I'd guess)

good luck... & remember: "friends don't sell cars to friends & remain friends"

[upnorthguy]

.

 

good luck... & remember: "friends don't sell cars to friends & remain friends"

 

I think that a friends transaction can work when you know the car as well as it sounds like you do and know what work needs to be done.  I bought my '87 GL wagon from a buddy for $500 and it was one of the best used cars I've had.  

 

I think the $750ish number sounds reasonable.

[idosubaru]

Wow, that's all a lot less than what I was thinking.

this is a very DIY group. we know what to pay for what we're getting - that it would be easy to beat that for $1,000.

 

Take this with a grain of salt, i'm an oddball. I help people all the time (usually multiple a week and always free). When I want to help (and i've done this recently and currently), i'd help them sell their car and go buy what i want. we both win that way. what you're proposing makes no sense for me - waste of my time and theirs to try to wrangle a good deal for them and me from one car - two mutually exclusive propositions and very limiting, i'd rather pick my car.

 

but that's not how everyone works - i'm in a very rural state, the largest city here is only 50,000 people, a mere suburb for most states - and that's 2.5 hours away.  my neighbors will wheel and deal "locally" which means up and down the holler - with people they know or aunt jennies, mailman's, grocery store bagger guy has a car to trade for 3 cows kind of deals. compared to how i do things it's worlds apart but it works for them. extrapolate that out and people operate in a lot of different ways and it's not easy to compare transactions.

[heartless]

Buying a 1997 Legacy sedan from a friend and need to decide on a fair price both ways. She got it from a friend years ago who bought it new. It has high miles (284K) but she has done all the maintenance required and kept up with everything, I have the records. Motor doesn't smoke and with the 22's reputation I'm not real worried about that for a car that will be driven very little.

 

1. Just a few rust bubbles here & there. Interior is clean and intact.

2. Left fender and drivers door suffer from an impact with a deer but that's replaceable.

3. She claims it has torquebind but what little I've driven it is seems to come & go. I'll do the tranny flush and see what happens.

4. Needs tires soon and probably an alignment.

5. She said that the front struts were next on the list for R&R.

 

6. It just showed a 440 code since I've been driving it which I think is emissions so I'll need to check vacuum lines, gas cap, filler neck, etc.

 

I'm thinking around $1,000. That seem reasonable? What do you guys think?

 

While maintenance records are nice to have - they are not the only thing to be looking at.

 

1. rust bubbles = body work = $$$ - chances are those little bubbles you see on the outside are a lot bigger underneath than you realize. What you see on the surface is just a fraction of the underlying problem

 

2. Body damage (fender and door) = body work = more $$$ - body work is not cheap. Even used parts cost money...

 

3. potential torque bind = potentially more $$$ - you "might" get away with a simple flush, but chances are that wont fix the issue. at the very least you are looking at a duty c replacement, at the worst an entire tranny replacement.

 

4. Tires = at least $250 for cheap tires - $300 or more for good ones + mounting and balancing costs. Being AWD they all need to match which means all 4 tires at once.

 

5. Front struts = another chunk of $$ - cheap struts are going to be at least $60 each - and what about the springs and tophats (upper strut mounts)? and lets not forget about labor to install...

 

6. Throwing a code - this "could" be a relatiely easy fix, but it might not be...

 

All in all, this car is really not worth all that much. IF it were me looking to buy it, and I needed a "winter beater" car that I didnt care what it looked like, I might offer $300 for it because it does need tires and struts at minimum. IF it already had the tires and struts done, I would be willing to go a bit higher, but not over $600.

 

Kelley Blue Book (& they tend to run high in pricing) lists the car at $999 in fair condition - "Fair: 18% of all cars we value meet this criteria. This car has some mechanical or cosmetic defects and needs servicing, but is still in safe running condition and has a clean title history. The paint, body and/or interior may need professional servicing. The tires may need replacing and there may be some repairable rust damage." (thier definition of fair)

 

When you start deducting for the things that need to be replaced/fixed - cost of new tires and new struts at minimum - $5-600 is right on par.

When it comes down to it - only you and your friend can decide on the car's value between you - I know you want to be fair to your friend, but $1000 is too high in my opinion for all of the things that need to be taken care of.

 

I recently purchased a 95 Legacy L wagon with lower miles (201K), a bad tranny (no reverse), and very worn suspension (had a broken spring, too) and paid $300 for it. KBB lists the "fair" value for this one at $1286 - ummm...no.

As it stands right now, I am into this car for much more money than it is really worth and it still needs new tires, and a complete engine servicing...

Edited December 1, 2013 by heartless

[86BRATMAN]

I bought a 97 needing a bit of work a few months ago. Had rust on the quarters, maf and knock sensor were bad, but the interior was spotless, had 216k miles, keyless entry, fogs, and all original. I paid $300 and drove it home.