Looking to purchase a Baja

[TreaddyBear]

So hello wonderful Subaru people, both Experts and Subie Newbies!

 

I've wanted a Subaru Baja for oh-so-many years and I don't have a car and I have a chunk of change floating my way.

 

I decided to look at Auto Trader and found that in ~400 miles there's a Subaru Baja that potentially has my name on it.

 

It's a turbo 2005 that seems to have no cosmetic defects. It has >180,000 miles on it. A maintenance schedule I found says that the timing belt should be replaced at ~105k, but the Carfax shows that it was only inspected at ~170k with no indicator of replacement.

 

I'm a little hesitant to post where it is and how much it is because I'm really paranoid that someone will buy it out from under me if it's not too good of a deal (but just good enough to take advantage of).

 

What all should I worry about? I've contacted the dealership directly and they say that they recently dropped the price quite heavily.
 

If there isn't anything I should worry about, I really look forward to becoming a deserving member of this amazing forum site!

[spazomatic]

Outside of the timing belt, pulleys, water pump, etc that should be replaced...id betcha the head gaskets are weeping too.

I wouldnt consider any of that to be a deal breaker; but could be used as leverage to get the seller to drop the price a bit more, too.

 

Other guys will probably chime in....i dont know of any other specific quirks to watch out for.

My baja's an '06, and my wife loves it. (I wish it was faster)

[idosubaru]

*** I wouldn't care if the timing belt was replaced.  All the timing components need replaced anyway - a new belt is pointless at this age/mileage.  A Gates kit on Amazon is $130 or so and comes with belt, tensioner, and 3 pulleys.  Have one of those installed. That's non-turbo pricing.

 

if it's a good deal - they usually don't last long - like only a couple days at most.  it's winter and tax returns mean people walking around with big old eyes and fat gubmint tax returns making them drooling inside.  it's easy selling and dealers know this.  and you're in the PNW?

 

a large price drop in the PNW, on a hot novelty item like the Baja, a turbo one, in winter, during tax return season - that has sketchy all over it.  i'd be looking that thing over carefully. 

 

those turbo engines are enormously problematic - a small issue turns into $5,000+ in the blink of an eye.  i'd carefully inspect for turbo/oil/engine issues.

the turbo engines don't have head gasket issues so it's unlikely to be those - although the turbo's can make any part of the engine go kaboomy really quick so who knows. 

[ferp420]

a freind of mine has a 05 outback xt turdbo there is a catalitic converter befor the turbo well his turbo ate the cat when the cat failed and then of coarse the motor ate the turbo blowing out the #4 cyclinder the dealer charged him almost 7k just to clean the metal out and put a new turbo cartridge and new head gaskets in now 10k miles later its getting a brand new motor it was 4k just for the short block the motor still has to be built and swaped turbo are for thoses with big $$ or mad skills not the every day average joe but if its at a dealer and they give a killer warrenty and you dont mind working on it or spending $$$ on it go for it other wise wait

[Pgh_Scoob]

I had an 03 N/A 5 speed baja that I picked up with 182k. 

Although it was a  N/A there still are some other problematic areas. 

In the rear door jams right where the door meets the body in the corner they are prone to show signs of rot. Mine had small bubbling on one side and a small hole on the other and after a year both sides were holes one almost the size of a baseball. Also someone went ahead and pulled their cladding to fix the body work and discovered the entire panel rotted in various spots. So if it show any signs of rust be prepared to invest in quite a bit of body work.

Also I replaced my transmission due to the front Input Bearing (iirc) going bad. When driving and the clutch engaged there was a nasty growl but would go away when pushing in the clutch pedal. You dont have to replace the transmission if this is present... depending on how bad it is... mine starting popping out of 4th so I went ahead and replaced the whole unit instead of tearing apart and realizing it was too far gone.

 

Oh and one last thing that I have read about with the turbo models is a banjo bolt that is part of the oil feed to the turbo (iirc) has a screen that gets clogged and causes oil starvation to the turbo. I believe theres a recall but not sure but either way your gonna want to check in to if its been replaced or replace it. Also if there has been a turbo replacement due to this verify that nothing went into the engine. I had just read about people trying to replace the turbo and then shortly after having complete engine failure due to the initial turbo failure and debris.

Hope this helps in your decision making and like mentioned above the turbo models of anything are the ones for people with deeper pockets.

Good luck and they truly are fun cars just wish they would have offered a h6 versions instead of the turbo.

The 2.5 N/A just doesnt do it justice for the weight of the baja.

Greg

[Fairtax4me]

How much are they asking for it? We know soobs and several of us have worked for dealers and are familiar with what constitutes a "good deal". We don't have to know exactly where it is, but the state/city its in would help determine market value. Nobody here is going to scoop it on you.( At least, I hope we're more honest/moral/ethical than that.)

 

Any turbo vehicle is going to require extra maintenance and extra diligence in paying attention to potential problems because when unmaintained they do have the potential for catastrophic wallet damage. Frequent/on-time oil changes are an absolute MUST, or you'll have problems with varnish and sludging that will lead to turbo failure. The story above is not a common one, and won't be your experience if you keep up with normal maintenance and pay attention when the car starts smoking out the tail pipe.

 

First things first, have it checked by another mechanic. If it's at a dealer and they drastically reduced the price, it's because it's been sitting there for a long time and they need it gone, and they're possibly already losing money on it. The question you need to ask yourself is: Why has it been sitting there so long? The answer, more often than not, is because something is wrong with it.

 

Of course dealers are known for jacking up prices on clean and well maintained vehicles. That's how they make money, and you have to remember that they're in business to make money. Sometimes the car will sit there until the buyer comes along who is willing to pay what the dealer is asking for it. But there's also the possibility they've had to spend $10k on repairs and need to make their money back on the sale.

 

Any oil leaks are an issue that generally cost quite a bit to fix, unless you're mechanically inclined and can do repairs yourself.

Look for blue smoke from the tail pipe after the engine is warm. Any blue smoke when idling, or if you notice any when driving (particularly when the turbo is spun-up), probably a sign that the turbo is shot.

 

Auto trans don't have many problems except for torque bind due to chewed up transfer clutches. Check for any binding/jerky feeling when making tight circles after the car is warm.

Manual trans have some synchro issues because people like to shift a little too fast. They can have torque bind problems as well but not as common, same as with an auto trans, check for binding/jerk feeling when making tight circles after driving.

Check underneath it for rust. Especially the rear crossmember and rear suspension. You might be in an area where cars never rust but that car might have spent some of its previous 10 years in New Jersey.

[idosubaru]

If you can't verify synthetic oil it's entire life - that increases risk significantly.  Those engines dont' do well on conventional oil and that's a lot of miles for it to cause issues.

[TreaddyBear]

Sorry for not responding earlier, guys! I set it to send email notifications and I thought my post was just being neglected.

 

Thanks for all the good advice! Just because I feel pretty comfortable about naming off more details, it's an automatic and yes it's in the Pacific Northwest.

 

It's listed on auto trader as being "recently deducted" or what have you and the dealer says it went from ~$12k maybe four days ago to ~$8k now.

 

I'm going to make a list of all the things you guys mentioned and look closely for all possible signs of issues. I spoke with my pop shortly and he told me to get a new water pump and something else as well as the timing belt as soon as financially possible.

 

Keep the advice coming, you guys are great!

[Fairtax4me]

That's a pretty fair price. I wouldn't say its great, but its decent because of the mileage on the car. Barring any rust or other problems, sounds like a good buy.