1996 Legacy

[colsub]

I been looking into buying a 1996/97 Legacy Outback, I never owned a Subaru and was wondering what I should be looking out for and what the approximate mileage expectations are for car which is reasonably maintained. I have looked up the approximate value for a this year on the NADA and kelly's website and it looks like the car is going to set me back around $4000, is this indicative what these cars are selling for?

 

 

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated

 

thanks.

[Subie Gal]

the 96/97 Legacy Outback is a dual overhead cam - Phase I 2.5L engine

 

these engines are prone to head gasket failure

not ALL of them suffer this fate, but be SURE TO CHECK

whichever car you are considering, for head gasket issues

 

also check for the other commalities on these engines:

oil leaks/seal leaks

meaning: front main (oil pump), rear main, cam seals

 

those are really the only gotchas with this car

i have a 97 OBK but when i purchased it, it had suffered from HGasket Failure (i knew this) - - approx $1000 in parts to fix it properly

 

and the car will now run like a champ for another 60-100k miles.

 

They are good cars, reliable, & can go through anything.

 

Unfortunately that first run of 2.5 engines has head gasket issues

but that's nothing that cant be fixed...

 

Jamie

[rweddy]

the 96/97 Legacy Outback is a dual overhead cam - Phase I 2.5L engine

 

these engines are prone to head gasket failure

not ALL of them suffer this fate, but be SURE TO CHECK

whichever car you are considering, for head gasket issues

 

also check for the other commalities on these engines:

oil leaks/seal leaks

meaning: front main (oil pump), rear main, cam seals

 

those are really the only gotchas with this car

i have a 97 OBK but when i purchased it, it had suffered from HGasket Failure (i knew this) - - approx $1000 in parts to fix it properly

 

and the car will now run like a champ for another 60-100k miles.

 

They are good cars, reliable, & can go through anything.

 

Unfortunately that first run of 2.5 engines has head gasket issues

but that's nothing that cant be fixed...

 

Jamie

Just like Jamie said, but the 96 5sdp had the bullet proof 2.2.

Also the 2.5 HG issues is something to look out for but do not let this scare you away. I have several freinds who have 200k and up on thier orginal HG.

[northguy]

My wife had a 2.2 96 Legacy with over 200k on the clock when she sold it. Great car and as tight when we sold it as it was on day one. Excellent car.

[outback_97]

In Colorado (market similar to Utah I'm guessing) expect to pay a bit more than that for what you're looking for, especially this time of year. If they're not asking more than $4000 then it's either got high miles or the car isn't in very good shape. My $.02.

 

Examples from Denver craigslist:

 

1997 / 130K miles / $6000

http://denver.craigslist.org/car/106953443.html

 

1996 / 123K mils / $4200

http://denver.craigslist.org/car/106878036.html

 

1997 / 89K miles / $6500 *legacy, not outback

http://denver.craigslist.org/car/106576491.html

 

1995 / 124K miles / $3600 *legacy, not outback

http://denver.craigslist.org/car/106400638.html

 

1997 / 147K / $5500

http://denver.craigslist.org/car/106309351.html

 

You get the idea.

 

I would add wheel bearings to the things to check out for, common problem and not inexpensive (couple hundred bucks per wheel). Listen for a medium pitched droning sound, sounds like the car has heavy lug truck tires on, can vary with which way you're turning and in mine was noticeable around 25-50 mph.

 

I love my '97, they're great cars. No HG problems on mine, currently at 117K miles.

 

Steve

[rweddy]

In Colorado (market similar to Utah I'm guessing) expect to pay a bit more than that for what you're looking for, especially this time of year. If they're not asking more than $4000 then it's either got high miles or the car isn't in very good shape. My $.02.

 

I love my '97, they're great cars. No HG problems on mine, currently at 117K miles.

 

Steve

I agree Steve, you will pay a bit more to get a nice one in Colorado.

I think the 96-99 is the best looking of the outbacks. And the HG issues are over rated on this board.

[swc7916]

the 96/97 Legacy Outback is a dual overhead cam - Phase I 2.5L engine

Jamie

 

Don't the '96 2.5s have different cylinder heads than the '97 2.5s? My '96 had about 125k miles on it when it was totalled and I didn't have any headgasket problems. My only gripe about it was that after about 100k miles the oil consumption went up to about 1 quart every 1000 miles - I don't know why as I had changed the oil and filter every 3000 miles since it was new.

[colsub]

Oddly enough, I test drove the 1996 legacy in from the Craigs list posting above this morning.

 

The car seemed pretty clean no evidence of leaks and I checked the coolant for any signs of discoloration and it looked pretty good. I did notice a bit of a knocking/tapping sound come from the engine at around 3k RPM, I think I'm going to a mechanic take a quick look at as I'm not sure what it may be, lifter, bearing, motor mount. I test drove another car last week with a similar noise, so maybe I'm just being too picky for a 10 year old car.

 

Thanks for all of your replies. I appreciate it.

[rweddy]

Oddly enough, I test drove the 1996 legacy in from the Craigs list posting above this morning.

 

The car seemed pretty clean no evidence of leaks and I checked the coolant for any signs of discoloration and it looked pretty good. I did notice a bit of a knocking/tapping sound come from the engine at around 3k RPM, I think I'm going to a mechanic take a quick look at as I'm not sure what it may be, lifter, bearing, motor mount. I test drove another car last week with a similar noise, so maybe I'm just being too picky for a 10 year old car.

 

Thanks for all of your replies. I appreciate it.

 

Subaru's are very tight cars, they are built great so you should hear nothing. Get it checked out by a good shop or a mechanic and you will be good to go.