Looking at Used 98 Forester 195k miles ! !

[SVX_commuter]

Hi I need some help if possible.

 

I am looking at used 5spd 1998 Forester L with the 2.5L engine.

It has 195,000 miles on it. Roughly about 21,667 /year and 60miles per day

I just don’t know that much about the 2.5L engines.

Does this have roller rockers on the cam shafts?

The vehicle has had extensive work done it.

The head gaskets and heads were redone in June 03

Then again with a new engine block assembly in Aug 03

A new trans and clutch was done about 10k miles ago

A new CAT at some point

New rear struts

Good tires but not for snow I need new ones for the winter

There has been lots of work done but I don’t have the details.

 

I can't see any bad rust on it top or bottom even though it's in a salted road area.

 

So I want an opinion on the heads that have 195,000 miles on them.

Do the cams hold up on these engines?

I also can’t tell if the water pump, oil pump and T-belt have been replaced recently.

 

Does the t-belt have to be changed at 60K or can let it go for awhile?

 

Anything else that would fall apart with this high mileage? I am tryingto come with reasons for the dealer to drop the price more.

 

Radiator ? Wheel bearings ?

 

Since 2003 it has had over $8500 dollars done in work..........

 

How much would you pay for this?

 

It's RED the color is red. Drives quiet and has that computer weather center in it. Was that standard for this year and model. I am in trouble because I would buy just for that !!!!!

It drives good and looks good.

 

 

Thanks for your input !!!

 

Life is good,

 

John

[nipper]

Rear wheel bearings are a little weak in this car. It sounds like the car has been well loved, but driven hard, so i dont know how much you can get them down.

 

The HG, block replacement makes sense (someone blew the HG and cooked the engine).

 

Ask them why they are selling, since they practically have a 5yo car.

 

Has the car been hit?

[msmithmmx]

First here on USMB we do not pay KBB and i am sure thats what they want or around that price. Any car with almost 200K could have any problem at any time. At most I would pay 3K

[86BRATMAN]

What does the lot want for the car to begin with. I probably wouldn't give any more than $3500. And that would be a far stretch IMHO. For any car with that miles on it.

[75subie]

if you are not in a rush, i`d say hold off for a lower milage one. if you are in a rush, pay no more than $2800.

 

it is not uncommon to find a deal (like $3k or less) for one with 125k or less around here.

 

plus at 195k, what could it have left in the original motor/drivetrain? foresters are not known for high milage. repair bills are usually pretty high on these as well.

[SVX_commuter]

Thanks for the quick replies !!

 

I want to hold off on what the lot wants until I get a few more replies.

 

The Forester has not been hit the best I can tell. I am still trying to get someone to check on carfax just to confirm.

 

It is being sold because the people that owned it got new jobs across the country and left the area after selling the car to this dealer.

 

Any thoughts on the heads/cams with 195K miles ? Not much experience in this area and maybe this is leading the pack in 2.5L mileage.

[86BRATMAN]

If you are just looking for a wagon type subaru. I know of somebody who was selling an impreza wagon prety cheap...

[75subie]

heads are your biggest worry. a compression test couldn`t hurt.

 

2.5's are common for whizzing headgasket/cracking heads. and that usually comes at the 150k mark, 200k if you are lucky.

[86BRATMAN]

The head gaskets and heads were redone in June 03

Then again with a new engine block assembly in Aug 03

A new trans and clutch was done about 10k miles ago

 

Ehhem....

[SVX_commuter]

if you are not in a rush, i`d say hold off for a lower milage one. if you are in a rush, pay no more than $2800.

 

it is not uncommon to find a deal (like $3k or less) for one with 125k or less around here.

 

plus at 195k, what could it have left in the original motor/drivetrain? foresters are not known for high milage. repair bills are usually pretty high on these as well.

 

Hey 75subie The engine block assy is new and the tranny/clutch is new so I don't follow what you say here other than Foresters have have higher repair cost as time goes on. BUT these are the major components and the engine should be good for at least another 60K and the tranny for another 150k or so.

 

I nevr know about the gas milaeage though.......until I drive it. that could be a problem too.

 

Are you saying that most people would stay away from this Forester?

[86BRATMAN]

If the price is right, go for it. How much do they want?

[SVX_commuter]

Ehhem....

 

So ah you wouldn't even T H I N K about this from what you know about Foresters or the 2.5L Right?

[75subie]

hahaha

 

teaches me for not reading the first post after i read 195k miles

 

but still the miles hurt. try to sell a 250k mile car, its not fun no matter how many parts you've replaced.

 

i owned a forester for a very short period of time, and currently my uncle has a 98 s with blown hg's he said i can have for free. frankly i just don`t want the headache.

 

heck, i`ll sell you a 97 outback sport with 58k for $1300 if you just want a wagon.

[86BRATMAN]

So ah you wouldn't even T H I N K about this from what you know about Foresters or the 2.5L Right?

 

No, don't take what I said that way. I was direction that to 75subie. Where he had said bout the motor and stuff not lasting long.

 

The things replaced mean that the drivetrain aspect will be safe for some time to come, with proper upkeep of course.

 

The main thing it comes down to. For your negociating, the dealer ship will try to use those new parts to make it worth more. You must use those parts as an example that the car wasn't properly cared for by the PO, and therefore because of said abuse is not worth what they want.

[eryque]

if you are not in a rush, i`d say hold off for a lower milage one. if you are in a rush, pay no more than $2800.

 

it is not uncommon to find a deal (like $3k or less) for one with 125k or less around here.

 

Really? I'm up in Albany and was just hunting for a Subaru (any) and didn't find many listed in that price range. I was searching all the classifieds I could find in addition to all the online car selling sites. Anything with less than 150,000 miles was listed for well over 3 grand, and interestingly Imprezas and Foresters were selling for as much as same year Legacies and Outbacks.

 

I finally found an Impreza wagon for $3k, but it's turning out to need more work than I realized and seems to be getting crappy mileage.

[75subie]

you have to know where to look

 

i'm a bargain hunter, not an impulse buyer. if you hold off eventually a bargain will pop up. make sure you look for possible future problems when you are buying a car as well. some cars are just destined to be money pits.

 

my impreza was doing 28mpgs

[msmithmmx]

Ohhhh,,, your looking at a dealer who has this car. The question is what did the dealer pay. I would think around 1,200. With that said i am lowering my price to 2,200 and thats with a 7 day / 500 mile warrenty. Watch out for that busted HG

[eryque]

you have to know where to look

 

i'm a bargain hunter, not an impulse buyer. if you hold off eventually a bargain will pop up. make sure you look for possible future problems when you are buying a car as well. some cars are just destined to be money pits.

 

I am too, but after 6 weeks of borrowing someone else's car and looking and looking and looking, I finally settled on this one.

 

Next time I'm looking I'll ask you to help

[SVX_commuter]

Thanks for all your opinions

 

The dealer is asking $3500 and I'll have to see how low he will go.

I think I'll have it checked out by the local Suby dealer for combustion gas in the radiator and the $100 used car check out before I close the deal.

 

Thanks

 

John

[jon38iowa]

Thanks for all your opinions

 

The dealer is asking $3500 and I'll have to see how low he will go.

I think I'll have it checked out by the local Suby dealer for combustion gas in the radiator and the $100 used car check out before I close the deal.

 

Thanks

 

John

That price seems reasonable to me, that is if everythings solid. I love my Forester! They are a little noisy, however; I spent the Summer sound insulating mine with awesome results- Almost like the sound quality a of Caddilac.

John

[SVX_commuter]

That price seems reasonable to me, that is if everythings solid. I love my Forester! They are a little noisy, however; I spent the Summer sound insulating mine with awesome results- Almost like the sound quality a of Caddilac.

John

 

What did you use to "sound insulate" I am interested in this. How did you do it? Cost? Time ?

 

Thanks much !

 

John

[Rooster2]

Since the motor and trany has had a lot of repair work done during the last three or four years, if you can document that, I wouldn't be that scared about buying this Forester with so many miles on it. I don't know that I would count on this vehicle as a dependable daily driver, but as a valuable back up "grocery getter" car, it should be fine. You can pretty much count on wheel bearings, fuel pump, power steering pump, etc going out on a regular basis on a super high milage car like this.

 

Change the timing belt, water pump, front seal, and belts if approaching 60K miles, since the last timing belt was installed. If that tb breaks, it's demise will take out the valves, maybe more. It would pretty much trash the engine.

 

I prolly wouldn't pay much more than $3,000 for this Forester.

[86BRATMAN]

If I'm not mistaken the Phase two ej25 has a 105K mile timing belt interval.

[jon38iowa]

What did you use to "sound insulate" I am interested in this. How did you do it? Cost? Time ?

 

Thanks much !

 

John

 

It is very labor intensive, especially for someone like me who learns as they go. Unfortunately though, Subaru doesn't put much insulation on these Foresters.It took roughly the equivalent of an entire Summer of Saturdays to complete, mostly doing one panel at a time, moreover, doing the floor pan took two full days. Despite the curse words and hand cuts, I would do it again.

It requires use of several materials- A sound deadener( sometimes multiple layers) and foam accustical layer.

Up until recently much of what I Purchased was through Ray Mat, out of Oregon. However, Rick( very nice guy) has had difficulty with his Supplier, and it thus forced me to seek out and buy a Dynamat product. This particular Dynamat I found through a dealer in Canada named B-Quiet, at a substantial savings over the American Dynamat.

Addionaly I found and purchased insulation for the Firewall, this helped a lot

with keeping the engine noise suppressed.

It has run up a tab of around $ 600. 00 in materials.

In addition to the sound quality improvement, I have noticed a much warmer car in the winter! It get cold here in the Midwest.

[SVX_commuter]

It is very labor intensive, especially for someone like me who learns as they go. Unfortunately though, Subaru doesn't put much insulation on these Foresters.It took roughly the equivalent of an entire Summer of Saturdays to complete, mostly doing one panel at a time, moreover, doing the floor pan took two full days. Despite the curse words and hand cuts, I would do it again.

It requires use of several materials- A sound deadener( sometimes multiple layers) and foam accustical layer.

Up until recently much of what I Purchased was through Ray Mat, out of Oregon. However, Rick( very nice guy) has had difficulty with his Supplier, and it thus forced me to seek out and buy a Dynamat product. This particular Dynamat I found through a dealer in Canada named B-Quiet, at a substantial savings over the American Dynamat.

Addionaly I found and purchased insulation for the Firewall, this helped a lot

with keeping the engine noise suppressed.

It has run up a tab of around $ 600. 00 in materials.

In addition to the sound quality improvement, I have noticed a much warmer car in the winter! It get cold here in the Midwest.

 

This is great thanks for your comments. I am thinking that if I get an older Legacy I could do something similar. The Dynamat material is the best I think for dropping the noise. I understand doing the floor and the firewall as that is all inside but I am not sure what you did to the "panels" Is this the door panels? My only concern here is if the Dynamat absorbs water or moisture.

 

I would really like to a ride in your ""quiet"" Forester!!!!!