QUICK ADVICE PLEASE - Looking at an outback

[cobcob]

I'm going to look at an outback in about 2 hours here's the specs,

'97 Legacy Outback Limited, fully loaded, EJ25, Auto Trans, 125,000 miles...

Seller reports no issues with the HG's. Power steering rack, pump, and fluid completely replaced in July, upstream oxygen sensor may need to be replaced and it has been leaking some oil from the valve cover gaskets. Windshield has a crack in it.

What else should I be looking at other than the HG's, tire wear & Torque Bind??

 

[EVOthis]

the two i were going to mention was HG's and TB so you got those......obvious oil leaks is all i have to add........looks like a deal how much is he askin?

[cobcob]

the two i were going to mention was HG's and TB so you got those......obvious oil leaks is all i have to add........looks like a deal how much is he askin?

I'm confident that I can get them under $4000

[Bigbusa]

from reading horror stories on here... make sure you test drive it for a good 30-60 miles to make sure no HG symptoms show up. It seems many people take short test drives, buy the car and then soon realize the HGs are shot.

 

a 2.5L with 125k miles... I can't imagine the HGs haven't already been replaced or will soon need replacing.

[Rooster2]

Looks like the car is in good shape. I have a 98 Limited that is the exact clone of the 97 that you are looking at. I have the same exact exterior red color, same dove gray leather interior.

 

Looks like you and others have covered the essential to check out.

 

Other minor things to check out......check out operation of CD and casette system, also that the power antenna extends upon turning on the radio.

 

Also check to see if the heated seats work.

 

Look in between the slats on the road wheels to see if there is any scaring of the brake rotors. That gives you at least an idea that there is some brake pad left.

 

Drive the car long and hard at highway speed to see if there is any over heating because of bad HG. Casual driving around town may not may not over heat the motor, even if the HG is bad.

 

When driving, observe if the steering wheel pulls to one side or the other. If so, a front end alignment is needed.

 

Good luck, hope the car is as good as it looks. If so, hope you buy it at a good price.

[eagleb]

Is that a rear cup holder I see???

I've been looking for one of those since I bought my OBW

[porcupine73]

Timing belt is overdue for replacement, if not done already.

[OB99W]

Unless the pics are misleading, I see rust on the brake rotors where the pads would normally run. Rotors rust pretty easily, but just a few miles of usage usually removes suface rust; so if my eyes aren't deceiving me, what's the story?

 

I also see what appears to be more rust than I'd expect on a few areas in the engine compartment (and I know what rust-belt cars look like). This all has me wondering if the car was in one of those Missouri floods.

 

I'd check the underbody and elsewhere for excessive rust. I'd also carefully check the electrical system operation, and see if any non-stock ground wiring has been added (it's sometimes done to improve compromised chassis ground connections).

 

Check fluids for both level and condition. It might give you an idea of whether the current owner has been doing proper maintenance.

 

Lastly, is the battery really being held down with what appears to be a Bungee cord, or do we need better pics? :-\

[four-fleet-feet]

Some other things to try:

 

Take it over a few speed bumps. If anything's loose underneath you'll hear it or feel it. If the current owner is not alone when you are looking at the car, ask the other person some maintenance and driveability questions once you can get them aside. Stories don't match? Hmmm.

 

If you can, drive the car from cold. Some problems appear only until the car is warmed up. Others, of course (HG here) show up only when it's hot and run for a while, especially on grades.

 

Look for the manual. Then look for the spare. Is it the same as what's on the car, or a temp spare? You can tell if the spare's had heavy use. If it has, casually ask the current owner to show you the fuse connector under the hood (I'm talking about the FWD box, here). If they don't have a clue what you're talking about, and the car has a temp spare which has had heavy use, or a used full-size spare of another size than what's on the car itself, RUN!

 

You should also run the transmission manually through all the gears, even if it's an automatic. Clunks? Doesn't want to go in or out of a gear? If you feel like a trans repair won't mess up your life, it's your call. Want to avoid a trans headache? Check the fluid. Low? Dark? Smells funny? I'd say ixnay.

 

Another minor expense you'll have is polishing up those cloudy headlights. It can be done, but you'll need to do it soon or the light loss will drive you crazy at night. I'd also check all the lights. Try the tail lights. Pull a bulb. Corroded? Water in the tail light? No signs of water trail around the light? It came from somewhere. If the car was a flood car, that might be how. We're getting our share of flood cars here in WA; you could always check with your DMV for a checklist of flood-damage to look for. You don't want a boatmobile!

 

Good luck!

[screwbaru2]

That looks just like my OB. My 2.5 lasted 180K before the HG issue. I didn't know about the issue at the time or USMB and was mislead by the subaru parts counter guy. So i replaced it with another 2.5 w/ 60K that lasted about the same amount of miles. About 4 years. They are great cars I miss mine but I have a 2.2 for it so it won't be long the OB will ride again. Buy the car then start looking for a 2.2 to replace the anchor in there now. After a long test drive check the overflow tank for the cooling system if you see small black spots floating around in there then the HG is starting to appear it doesn't happen all at once, that should get the price down.

Good luck and enjoy!

[mnwolftrack]

based on the photos, those are some scary looking rotors. Drive cautiously and see if they clean up. Perhaps it is just surface flash rusting, but if it's thicker and scaley, it's been sitting a while. If the rust is thick enough and you "drive it off" it can still require new rotors and pads. The pads get full of rust, and the rotors get funny spots in them resulting in pedal pulsing because the rust is usually less where the brake pad is (creating a thick spot).

[outbackusjunkus]

Has the timing belt been serviced yet? Water pump? Is there a seperator plate leak (it may not be the valve covers...I'd have it checked)...it would suck to have to dump another grand into a new (to you) car....

[cobcob]

alrighty...

 

Bungee on the battery - yes

Owner unsure if TB's were done at 105,000. they've not had the car that long. (Selling because they bought an '07 Corolla last year and the OBW's been sitting since)

Underbody rust = minimal to none

Rust on rotors, car has been sitting for about 5 months but they've cleaned up pretty well now after my test drive and not pitted.

Mid frequency howl starts up around 55-60mph... Wheel bearings? maybe the caliper dragging a little due to the corrosion build up?

No black spots in the coolant.

CEL on, code checks to O2 Sensor (confirmed by me) also showing a 0301(??) misfire bank 1 etc.

No clunky from the trans when shifted through gears manually, fluid's a good color.

No clunky over bumps etc.

Wiring is good, no undue corrosion or water in places it shouldn't be due to a flood

Going to CarFAX it to see about the title history

[1997reduxe]

Don't they have any info at all on it's service history?

No papers the other owners left behind?

for I think about 200 dollars or so there is a service at Subaru dealers where they go over the car to give you all the facts. And then if all turned out ok you could pay a little more to get compression check. Or, you might be able to go to Subaru (or call them) with the vin number and see if they have any info.

(Or take to someone else qualified for check out if anyone on this list can recommend...)

There's no way I'd put 4000 into that car unless it was checked out first.

It looks really nice, but that's a lot of money.

'97

[Bigbusa]

alrighty...

 

Bungee on the battery - yes

Owner unsure if TB's were done at 105,000. they've not had the car that long. (Selling because they bought an '07 Corolla last year and the OBW's been sitting since)

Underbody rust = minimal to none

Rust on rotors, car has been sitting for about 5 months but they've cleaned up pretty well now after my test drive and not pitted.

Mid frequency howl starts up around 55-60mph... Wheel bearings? maybe the caliper dragging a little due to the corrosion build up?

No black spots in the coolant.

CEL on, code checks to O2 Sensor (confirmed by me) also showing a 0301(??) misfire bank 1 etc.

No clunky from the trans when shifted through gears manually, fluid's a good color.

No clunky over bumps etc.

Wiring is good, no undue corrosion or water in places it shouldn't be due to a flood

Going to CarFAX it to see about the title history

 

 

Did they tell you the CEL was on before you went to look at it? If not, that's kinda cheesy.

 

It sounds like you have some MAJOR bargaining power with all those obvious issues. Especially, the 2 CEL codes, unknown TB replacement, leaky valve covers, broken windshield and possible bad wheel bearings. That's a lot of fixing!!! They know it's got a bunch expensive issues or they'd still be driving it.

 

Offer em $2900 as/is and see what happens.

[1997reduxe]

And as an example of where I found mine:

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp;?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=83&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&ppFilterOn=true&criteria=K-%7cE-ALL%7cLISTING_TYPE-_2-3-5_%7cM-_45_%7cB-3000%7cH-%7cD-_410_%7cN-N%7cR-250%7cI-1%7cP-PRICE+descending%7cQ-descending%7cX-popular%7cZ-63101&aff=national&paId=251760950&recnum=0&leadExists=true

[1997reduxe]

Or, for 4000 bucks,

http://www.cars.com/go/search/search_results.jsp?ct=22&tracktype=usedcc&searchType=22&cid=&dlid=&dgid=&amid=&cname=&rd=&ddrd=30&zc=63101&makeid=45&modelid=410&pageNumber=&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE%20descending&certifiedOnly=false&criteria=K-|E-ALL|M-_45_|B-4000|H-|D-_410_|N-N|R-250|I-1|P-PRICE%20descending|Q-descending|X-popular|Z-63101&aff=national

[OB99W]

[...]Bungee on the battery - yes

Owner unsure if TB's were done at 105,000. they've not had the car that long. (Selling because they bought an '07 Corolla last year and the OBW's been sitting since)[...]Rust on rotors, car has been sitting for about 5 months[...]

Sounds like a second (third, etc.) owner who put little mileage (obviously less than 20k miles) on the car, was unhappy enough with it that they didn't feel additional investment was merited, and bought a new one. I suspect there's more they're not telling and that you haven't discovered yet.

 

The howl might be from wheel bearings, or brake issues. BTW, did you check diff oil?

 

The cylinder #1 misfire could be a simple problem or at worst indicate the need for serious engine work. Given the other known problems, I agree with those who've suggested making an offer low enough to cover some contingencies, or look elsewhere.

[1997reduxe]

And one last one...

Personally, I'd prefer buying one that was a "regular" Legacy that had the outback package equipment, if you really wanted the outback deal, as then you could get one with the 2.2 engine.

If you buy the real Outback model i think it only comes with the 2.5.

Of course, that's just me.

245K today and counting...

[lostinthe202]

If you buy the real Outback model i think it only comes with the 2.5

 

 

...'cept the '96 5spds, which are the non-interference 2.2 :banana:

[1997reduxe]

'K, you win.

[lostinthe202]

'K, you win.

 

 

sorry, didn't mean to be smarmy:) I only happen to know 'cause I happen to have one;)

[1997reduxe]

That's ok. I was just kidding.

With these cars we all win, eh?

(To mimic EVOthis)

[lostinthe202]

That's ok. I was just kidding.

With these cars we all win, eh?

(To mimic EVOthis)

 

 

:lol: