Raiu Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 (edited) Greetings all! I found this very informative board while researching this potential purchase. So needless to say, I am QUITE new. I have learned quite a bit already however. I should have posted this much sooner as it's only a matter of several hours before I go see it, but it here goes anyway... http://louisville.craigslist.org/cto/1055763669.html According to the seller (who knows little about cars), some belt in the motor that's supposed to be replaced at around 100k miles has been done. I'm thinking (and hoping) it may have been the timing belt, but she wasn't positive when I described it. Sadly, her husband is the one who knows for sure and he's out of the country. I forgot to ask if there are any service records available. The brakes were also apparently serviced recently. The car has a few dings and scratches, and has some bubbled paint near the bumper by the rear wheels. No otherwise visible rust that she's aware of. Coming from PA and then living in KY, this all sounds quite normal body wear for the region given its age (assuming she's not being conservative). She also suggested that I may want to get new tires before next winter, so I'll assume they're fairly worn. It does seem that it's sporting the wrong hubcaps, though that doesn't surprise me considering what I've read about the originals (and hubcaps would be such a deal killer... :-p ). She's not aware oil leaks and the exhaust is sound. And to the best of her knowledge, it drives very well and everything is working. She appears to be the third owner, and the VIN check is otherwise clean. I have an idea of what I'd like to pay, but I'm always willing to get other opinions. Thanks in advance! Edited March 7, 2009 by Raiu Forgot to add any sort of greeting and introduction. How rude of me. :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 It's a very fair price, buy it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pontiac6KSTEAWD Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Looks to be a outback sport base. Price is good for millage, and body condition. Although, i wouldn't touch it until I got the service history for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raiu Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 There's multiple trim levels within the OBS line?? I mean I knew that alloy rims and fog lights could be added as extra options, but I hadn't run across any mention of distinct trim lines until now. I learn something new every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pontiac6KSTEAWD Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 I think their were 3 or 4 trim packages... But rims, tint, spoiler, hood spoilers.. If it had those, it was either Tier 3 or 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raiu Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 Well, I'm off to go look. We'll see what awaits! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raiu Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 Well... as it turns out, she was being just a tad conservative as far as dents and dings go. http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b164/Ryoga77/Subaru/?albumview=grid There are previous signs of standing water in the spare wheel well, though I was almost expecting that. It was all very dry today. Based on what I saw, it's probably the apparently common tail light leak. There is also some advanced rust behind the left rear wheel (pictured). That's the only place I noticed rust through, though those rear fenders probably aren't far behind. The interior is straight (no rips, cracks, etc.) but it is quite dirty. Not to mention one of the owners apparently letting their kids put stickers all over the back windows. And it's actually in desperate need of tires. There would be no waiting until winter. The passenger mirror is non-functional, and the rear wiper doesn't park itself. All other electrical items appear to be in good working order. A/C and heat work well. There is also something amiss in the right front of the car (like the tire wasn't a give away, right?) as it likes to pull to the right. It's especially noticeable at highway speeds in a left curve. What ever the issue is, it causes involuntary sawing at the wheel as it tries to go right. It's not severe, but still an issue. It also exhibited what I could only describe as mild torque steer at times. Though again, there's clearly something out of alignment or worn out up there. The right front also had some detectable slop when yanked on at a 10 and 3 position with the wheel on the ground. It wasn't anything drastic, but it was detectable. I didn't have a jack with me (that I would trust) to allow further investigation unfortunately. The engine is mostly clean except for some greasy build up at the base of the intake on both heads. I attempted to get some pictures of that. The underside was pretty clean, as were the transmission and rear differential. Whether it's really that clean, or it's been cleaned off at some point is hard to say. The fluids were all good. The fan cycled properly and the temp gauge stayed right around the half way point. The exhaust was disappointingly quiet. I tested for torque bind (something I wouldn't have known to look for before finding this board ), and there appear to be no issues there. Other than a barely perceptible bump when it up shifts to 2nd (and I do mean barely), the transmission was very smooth. The brakes were also fine with no pulling or vibrations. And the ABS also appeared to be working quite well. Well, I didn't get any wheel lock ups on dry pavement at about 25 mph at any rate. Though I didn't test it on any gravel, etc. I didn't notice any noise or pulsating or have any indication that the ABS actually did anything (other than no lock up). Is the ABS that smooth and quiet (I've had no experience with Subaru ABS systems), or are the brakes on that car possibly just weak under load? I certainly didn't detect any other issues with the brakes during normal driving. Overall, other than the issue in the front, the car does drive rather nicely. I was very disappointed with how bad the body is torn up. The service history is still up in the air as she doesn't know where the paper work is at. I do not doubt that she has it, but it is misplaced at present. I told her I'd be hard pressed to give any more than $2000. And as I think about it, even that might be more than I'd like to give. The drive line may be great, but I've had too many beat up looking cars already. Who knows, in another week or so I may get that desperate, but I'm not there... yet. Oh yeah, she's basing her price off of the KBB fair appraisal minus the cost of tires (the cheapest from Sam's Club). I mentioned to her that both NADA and Edmund's value the car much lower. Opinions? And sorry for the ridiculously long post everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikec03 Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 (edited) If you buy it, I hope that you are good with Bondo. When you start to grind that rust spot, you will find nothing there. I bought a 97 Legacy with 130K last year for $2500 so I empathize with you. I don't think that I would buy it with the drivability issue on top of everything else. Edited March 8, 2009 by mikec03 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pontiac6KSTEAWD Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 From what I am seeing in the pics, and your description, I would have a hard time paying more than 1600 bucks for it. But thats just me.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 As others have said, $2,000 may be paying too much for this OBS. Looking at the photo bucket pixs, I would classify the body as in poor condition because of the nasty crease running down the side of the car, the rust spots, and plenty of dents and dings all over. The really dirty and stained interior further adds to the body being in poor condition. Dirt can be cleaned away, removing stains is really difficult. Saving grace is that mechanically you don't mention many problems that new tires and a front end alignment wouldn't solve. In my thinking, this "beater" could be an okay car as a daily driver to go to work, if it is not an embarrassment to be seen in something looking like this. Maybe do a little body work on the rust, I would leave the scrapes, dents, and creases as is, unless you just love to do body work. Paying to have body work done is so expensive, and not worth the investment on this bargain basement beauty IMO. From what you have described, my max would be to pay $1,500 for this ugly duckling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raiu Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 Yeah, that's pretty much what I'm thinking at this point. I'm in no hurry to drive another rough looking car (I've had a few over the years) unless it's something particularly special. I also don't expect she'll go that low until she gets desperate to sell it. She's not leaving the country until sometime in April, so it'll be awhile before she reaches that point. I'll need to find a car before then anyway. So unless I become terribly desperate, I don't think this will be my next car. Thanks for all the input so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash321 Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Run, don't walk away from this car. If she was that vague on the description, they are probably the "I just put gas in it until it stops" kind of people. Better vehicles out there, happy shopping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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