211 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 I'm in the market for a used mid to late 90's Soob. Something in a wagon- no sedans here. What are some things I should check for while I'm out kicking tires? Obviously there's the no-brainers like oil in the water, unusual clunking, ticking, or pinging noises... What else? Thanks Oh also: Loyale, Outback, Forrester or Legacy? Any opinions good, bad or indifferent??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86subaru Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 my opinion , legacy L 2.2 wagon, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 i like the 2.5L but be aware of head gasket issues. But in all honesty they are getting old enough in the mid 90's that a failing headgasket at that point in the cars life wouldnt necassarily be a design fault. Any used car from that era can blow a HG. Torque bind. Check the tranny fluid to make sure its clean and red. Look at all the tires and make sure they match and are inflated. Check the FWD fuse holder and make sure there is no fuse in it (if its an automatic). If the fuse is in the holder walk away (means they are bypassing the AWD due to torque bind) If the tires dont match and its a manual, walk away. If its an auto, keep poking around. The auto is more forgiving then the manual with mis matched tires, but either way be on your guard if you see that. Auto or manual take the car for a drive and make tight turns. The car should be able to (on level ground) turn in a tight circle at or just above idle in a nice smooth motion. if the car is jerky it has torque bind issues (800-900 repair). If you feel vibration that comes and goes from the center of the car, its the carrier bearing or the universal joint in the driveshaft. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdrsubaru Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 Definetely, 95 or 96 2.2 legacies are very reliable shop around and take your time to get the right one, i took my time shopping around and i fond a 95 legacy LS wagon in mint condition family car, well maintained at a subaru dealer here in NJ, that car WAS a very nice car, i could count on it day after day... watch out for the 4EAT tranny, check the fluid, take the car for a spin after is fully warmed up, check to see if reverse engages right away and make sure all gears are shifting... 5spd would be the way to go but they are hard to find even then make sure the clutch is ok, also dont let a small oil leak scare you away, it may be just the front crank seal on the other had if its leaking frm behind the engine it very well may be the rear seal, most used subarus leak at the valve cover gasket, that is a easy quick job it can be done in less than 30 mnts... hmm what else... oh CV axles, lol yeah every used subaru i ever bought had a riped cv boot, that can run you up to $200 to get it fixed. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericem Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 Check out the 91-94 legacy wagon's they are truly solid vehicles! I prefer 92-94 design over 90-91 but thats just me, the 90-91 can look good for others. But overall very very very reliable solid cars! with very good safetly ratings(like most subaru's ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
211 Posted February 24, 2007 Author Share Posted February 24, 2007 i like the 2.5L but be aware of head gasket issues. But in all honesty they are getting old enough in the mid 90's that a failing headgasket at that point in the cars life wouldnt necassarily be a design fault. Any used car from that era can blow a HG. Torque bind. Check the tranny fluid to make sure its clean and red. Look at all the tires and make sure they match and are inflated. Check the FWD fuse holder and make sure there is no fuse in it (if its an automatic). If the fuse is in the holder walk away (means they are bypassing the AWD due to torque bind) If the tires dont match and its a manual, walk away. If its an auto, keep poking around. The auto is more forgiving then the manual with mis matched tires, but either way be on your guard if you see that. Auto or manual take the car for a drive and make tight turns. The car should be able to (on level ground) turn in a tight circle at or just above idle in a nice smooth motion. if the car is jerky it has torque bind issues (800-900 repair). If you feel vibration that comes and goes from the center of the car, its the carrier bearing or the universal joint in the driveshaft. nipper Thanks nipper, Don't mean to sound like a noob, but where's the FWD fuse holder? In the fuse-cluster box under the dash, or in the engine compartment somewhere? That's good advice about the torque bind BTW. Does the bypass fuse apply to all AWD Soobs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Novakaine Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 The FWD fuse is located under the hood, near the firewall. I think. I took my time and bought a 95 2.2, alost 2 years ago, I am very happy. People keep asking me when I will get rid of the junker and buy new car, they just don't understand. I would look at the basics, check for cracks on the metal under the hood, to see if it has been in an acident. Color and level of all fluids, records, comfort level with the seller. I bought a car sometime ago, I was not entirely feeling good about it, but it was a good deal, I regreted that purchase. The Soob purchase however, nice guy, invited me to his house, talked about the car, and had all the paper work. I was very comfortable with the seller, and very happy with the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 FWD fuse is an automatic only thing. manual trans won't have that. the EJ22 (2.2 liter) engines are awesome. they are very solid and should not cause you any serious expense assuming they've been well maintained and continue to be so. in 1997 the EJ22 went to an interference design, so the 1996 and earlier 2.2's are nice in that if the timing belt ever breaks you don't have to worry about major engine damage. all 2.5 EJ25 engines are interference and they also may experience various head gasket issues at any mileage. great engine, great cars, but keep the headgaskets in mind in terms of maintenance costs and reliability. it'll run $1,000-$2,000 to fix it if they go. some people are far more capable of dealing with a $1,500 repair bills than others. the idea that any used car can blow a headgasket masks the EJ25 issues. what is nice though, is that it doesn't need to be discussed here. you can look it up yourself if you feel this is something you'd like to know more about. type in "headgasket" in the search forum, google or yahoo and you'll see that the 2.5 headgaskets have issues. you will be hard pressed to find 2.2's with headgasket issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgh831 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 Mid 80's GL D/R gonna be so cheap you could replace everything and still come out on top of a 90's car. and the money you save over the years in insurance alone is worth a trip to Vegas or maybe a second offroad car. Just my 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
211 Posted February 25, 2007 Author Share Posted February 25, 2007 Guys, You're giving me excellent information, I appreciate it! Will someone please confirm where the FWD fuse is? So far I got a "under the hood near the firewall, I think". Is this accurate? If I go poking around under the hood of one of these I'd like to go right to it- ya know? Thanks again- Hope to be joining your "New Gen" forums soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Pin Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 The FWD fuse is under the hood just back from the passenger strut and before the firewall. It says FWD on it...you can't miss it. Best of luck. I've had 2 95's with 2.2's and 2 96's with 2.5's. All have been good cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 If its an automatic, open the hood. Look at the rear right hand quarter of the engine compartment. It is near the wiper motor between the strut tower and firewall. You will see a fuse holder that will be marked FWD. Odds are the cover is missing (like mine) and you will just see the fuse holder. It is rather obvious once you see it. Oh if it has heated seats, odds are 1/2 the drivers seat heater won't work. that seems to happen with age. It will work on high but not low. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86subaru Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 of course ask for all service records, check for rust under the rear hatch ,the latch part, check the support struts for the hatch, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 of course ask for all service records, check for rust under the rear hatch ,the latch part, check the support struts for the hatch, If there is rust at the handle for the rear tailgate, that is easily reparable. I think it cost me 35.00 and an hour of my time to fix that issue. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyhorse001 Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Please let me know if I've overstepped my bounds, but wouldn't this be a good FAQ sticky? Any good shopper will look into these forums for info, and this thread has this info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
211 Posted February 25, 2007 Author Share Posted February 25, 2007 Please let me know if I've overstepped my bounds, but wouldn't this be a good FAQ sticky? Any good shopper will look into these forums for info, and this thread has this info ...most definately does! Well, thanks for all the help. Armed with this knowledge I'll be making a trip down south, stopping at a few used car lots, etc. Not going to buy anything just yet. Still trying to decide how I'm going to do this, so far I have 3 options: Take out an auto loan through my bank- Pros: lower interest (maybe) Cons: car usually has to be "new" or semi-new or have less than X amount of miles, that alone puts me into higher than comfortable pymts Take out a personal loan- usually higher interest, but I can borrow whatever I'm comfortable paying back. Plus I have the freedom of buying used at a dealer or used private party. Finance through the dealer- sometimes pretty competitive with bank's interest, but I have a problem giving dealers more money than they deserve. Would anyone agree that by buying from a dealer they've had a chance to shake out any problems??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Would anyone agree that by buying from a dealer they've had a chance to shake out any problems??? Sorry, but I would have to disagree. Maybe I'm just a cynic, but dealers are in business for one thing . . . and that doesn't necessarily include providing you with a problem free vehicle! Over the past 20 years I've had great results buying from private parties. Of course you have to evaluate the vehicle--and the seller--very carefully. Good luck. And I hope you find that perfect '90-'96 2.2L wagon!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Personally i find the best cars to buy are from people that have valid plates on the car. A dealer doesnt care if the car wont start all the time, or is leaking oil, as it just sits on his lot. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 do not buy a dealer from a car. the only thing you'll get is to pay higher prices and you won't know anything about the vehicle, that's what yo'ure gauranteed. there are people selling good vehicles in the paper and on-line (craigslist) every day that have full service records and great vehicles. look for one owner or two owner with service records and all. depends what you're looking for, but for the most part buying from a car salesmen does not gaurantee anything. sometimes newer vehicles have really good plans, like they'll offer them with new timing belts and such...but that's usually not the norm. buy from a private owner every time - you'll get a better deal and know more about the vehicle. dealer won't know anything. take along a friend or two as yo'ure looking and driving and get to know the person yo'ure buying from. if they seem shady or anything, go elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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