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1999 Outback 5 speed manual transmission, has a couple red flags but my sis-in-law is bound and determined to buy it, first off its from a dealer and the check engine light is on, second its has a new odometer that reads 76K but the guy cant say when that was put in, did 99 outbacks have any speedo problems that anyone knows about? and lastly she did take it to her mechanic who quit the diagnosis after determining that the battery was on its last legs and the alternator was bad. i believe theyre asking 4900 or so, to her credit she is a diehard subie gal who is reluctantly replacing her 92 legacy cuz some mechanic told her it was more costly to replace all that was wrong than the car was worth, i find it hard to believe but cant convince her of that, oh btw the vin # is 4S3BG685XX6605819 thanks in advance and much appreciated

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1999 Outback 5 speed manual transmission, has a couple red flags but my sis-in-law is bound and determined to buy it, first off its from a dealer and the check engine light is on, second its has a new odometer that reads 76K but the guy cant say when that was put in, did 99 outbacks have any speedo problems that anyone knows about? and lastly she did take it to her mechanic who quit the diagnosis after determining that the battery was on its last legs and the alternator was bad.[...]

Some '99s do have speedo problems, sometimes intermittently. Knowing what set the CEL could be useful -- however, with a low battery and bad alternator, it's often difficult to get reliable data. If your s-i-l is set on getting the car, ask the dealer to replace the alternator and battery (assuming they're really bad); that will likely clear any stored trouble codes. Then take the car out again and see if the CEL lighting returns. If so, have the code(s) read to determine what the problem is. (On the other hand, if the dealer balks at getting the electrical system up to par, that should probably red-flag the purchase.)

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