Old wagon VS New

[hardtail_pride]

OK any input here would be appreciated! So i am debating between newer outback wagon 98 limited or a 88 GL wagon. I have had a GL and a loyale before and loved the wagons minus the underpowered motors. But i never quite felt confident enough to take long trips in them. So that's why i am thinking a newer outback. More power, updated parts etc etc. But there is a GL wagon with a DR 5spd in great shape with timing belt, oil pump etc done recently. Oh FYI this will be my Daily driver main source of transportation besides my motorcycle. So I cant decide on new school or accept the old school for its quirks and repair when needed and just get the GL. I dunno just want to be a happy buyer when the deal is said and done. Thanks!

[vincentmoy]

OK any input here would be appreciated! So i am debating between newer outback wagon 98 limited or a 88 GL wagon. I have had a GL and a loyale before and loved the wagons minus the underpowered motors. But i never quite felt confident enough to take long trips in them. So that's why i am thinking a newer outback. More power, updated parts etc etc. But there is a GL wagon with a DR 5spd in great shape with timing belt, oil pump etc done recently. Oh FYI this will be my Daily driver main source of transportation besides my motorcycle. So I cant decide on new school or accept the old school for its quirks and repair when needed and just get the GL. I dunno just want to be a happy buyer when the deal is said and done. Thanks!

 

Have any service history on the 98 OB?

[Olnick]

Interesting dilemma! Can't help you make the decision--I've been driving my '95 Legacy Wagon for nine years and absolutely love the EJ22 AWD with 5-speed manual.

 

But I still miss my '85 GL wagon, FWD, 5-speed! Never thought of it as underpowered ('course I had just stepped up from a VW diesel Rabbit!) just that the 1.8L required a bit of driving skill and the 5-speed allowed it to sparkle. It made driving fun.

 

So the '98 may be your logical choice . . . but the GL could easily be my emotional choice.

 

Good luck with your decision.

[rweddy]

OK any input here would be appreciated! So i am debating between newer outback wagon 98 limited or a 88 GL wagon. I have had a GL and a loyale before and loved the wagons minus the underpowered motors. But i never quite felt confident enough to take long trips in them. So that's why i am thinking a newer outback. More power, updated parts etc etc. But there is a GL wagon with a DR 5spd in great shape with timing belt, oil pump etc done recently. Oh FYI this will be my Daily driver main source of transportation besides my motorcycle. So I cant decide on new school or accept the old school for its quirks and repair when needed and just get the GL. I dunno just want to be a happy buyer when the deal is said and done. Thanks!

You didn't tell us price, mileage, etc.

 

Remember the 98 will have HG issues and since it is limited probably an auto. As far as reliability hands down on the GL.

[idosubaru]

wow, this is rather wide open and requires a lot of decisions.

 

if the 98 OBW is going to limit your funds then you might want to spend some time researching to make a really good choice. one of the worst things people do is to spend too much on a used car and then it needs something. a 10 year old car is likely to need maintenance. brakes, batteries, axle, timing belt, bearings, it happens.

 

the timing belt alone is an expensive endeavor. even if you do it yourself a proper job should cost $200+ in parts alone.

 

add to that the significant head gasket issues of the 98 OBW and you have a car with the possibility of high repair costs in the near future. that's not a good fit for folks that aren't prepared for it.

 

that being said, the best way to score a nice 98 OBW is to get one with the headgaskets or motor blown and fix it. they have enough problems that it's not hard to find one with a blown motor (i picked up a 1998 OBW last week with a bad motor - hey you want to buy it after i fix it???) - anyway, buy one and replace the head gaskets or replace the motor. you can go original EJ25 (with new gaskets), EJ22, or brand new rebuilt from CCR.

 

as for the EA82 - they can actually be very reliable but are going to need some help. preferrably it's in good condition. even if the timing belt was replaced i'd still pull it off and replace all the timing components, i'll bet you $1,000 the pulleys aren't up to par. they are 20 years old and all of them should be replaced. i have a 1988 XT6 in my driveway now, all the pulleys are in very poor shape. they are not going back on.

 

tune up, all new hoses, proper timing belt job, brake job, fluid change, clean the EGR, PCV, and Idle control stuff, and stuff like that will make an EA82 reliable. i install new batteries, connectors, and alternator in mine.

 

i used a 1989 XT6 as my daily driver when I commuted 120 miles to NASA as a necessary employee. i had to be there, hurricane, blizzard or whatever and people/satellites depended on me being there no matter what. i made it there every day for a few years.

 

but it took lots of attention to good maintenance and repairing/addressing known XT6 issues.

 

the XT6 is just an EA82 with two more cylinders...same pistons, valves, bearings, etc.

[zyewdall]

Yeah... this is a hard decision. The '98 is a much nicer car...unless you like the better manuverability and low range of the '88 (which I do). Both of them are old enough that a bunch of preventatie maintenance probably needs to be done to make them both reliable. And, the '98 has the potential for needing much higher cost repairs than the '88 (head gaskets could cost $1500 or more, vs $300 for a whole new engine for the '88 -- $800 installed)....

 

Z

[hardtail_pride]

OK here is an update to get you more informed on the decision.

Car #1 The 98 OB limited. It has 130.000 2.5 DOHC 5spd. The dealer said if i buy it he will replace the timing belt, water pump if necessary, and the pulleys. I will have to ask about service history next time i go to the dealership. I posted here previously about this car and it has me worried about the HG just going out. Because yes it will cost around my spending limit. $4000

 

Car #2 The 87 GL 1.8? Dr 5 spd. The body is in amazing shape, the owner did the Chevy 6 bolt re drill swap, And a true dual exhaust with turbo mufflers. Dunno if that would help the motor or not. He says its fuel injected also. Has also 132.000 miles. Here is a link to his local ad for those interested.

 

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=443&sid=733005&tab=images/view&ad=1243814

 

It looks like he has replaced everything and possibly the pulleys but just not mentioned that in the listing. Its more expensive than the other gl's and loyales around here but i think its worth the price because of the shape and mechanical condition.

 

Oh and i have a set of pugs already picked out for it. hope this helps you all with some info. Steer me in the right direction!

 

And yes i know its hard to compare the two being ten years apart but the reason why i am comparing these two is because i had good luck with my old wagons and loved how versatile they were. But i would like to have something reliable and i guess cleaner/ up to date. But the old GL is pretty clean inside and out.

Edited May 3, 2009 by hardtail_pride
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[rweddy]

IMO go for the GL, if you only have 4k this gives you some padding for the unknowns that always come from a used car. So even if you have to put in a few hundred more you still will have around 2k that you can keep in the bank or invest and not throw away on a deprecating item. .

 

Plus the GL is already at the bottom of the depreciation curve.

So you can buy this car drive it for 2 year and sell is for probably what you bought it for. Also if the buyer is asking $1600 go there with Cash in hand and offer him $1200, he will probably counter but you will get the car for a couple hundred less I would guess.

[hardtail_pride]

I am leaning more towards the GL now after some feedback. I hate having car trouble and with the outbacks imminent head gasket failure issue and high repair costs, i think the GL would be better for my situation.

Thanks for the Replies! If you have more to say keep throwing me advice!

[bgambino]

the old wagon...hands down

 

my first sub was a brand new 2wd 4 dr DL sedan with the 1.6 and a 5 spd....pretty gutless but amazingly reliable

I have owned/bought& sold scores of the old GL's /Loyales 1.8's

Yes they are under powered and not as comfortable as the newer legacy's....but I would feel much more secure on long range trips with that old simple engine design vs newer

too many sensors and things to go wrong these days IMHO

[hardtail_pride]

Update, looks like the owner of the GL wants to keep it now. So the search goes on. So if the newer outbacks with the 2.5 dohc are out, what should i be looking for? Just a legacy wagon 2.2? Or keep looking for an older wagon in good shape? Bummer i wanted that GL.

[Olnick]

Sorry 'bout that. But any Legacy wagon thru '96 can be a good drive!

[rweddy]

Update, looks like the owner of the GL wants to keep it now. So the search goes on. So if the newer outbacks with the 2.5 dohc are out, what should i be looking for? Just a legacy wagon 2.2? Or keep looking for an older wagon in good shape? Bummer i wanted that GL.

You cannot go wrong with a 90-94 Legacy, great motors, built proof drive line.

Stick with a 5 speed, AWD and try to get one with Anti Lock Brakes.

[Twitch de la Brat]

I agree with going with the old wagon, the only reason I have to go with the

new wagon is if you need to seat 5 people, or have to have good a/c.

And heyall yeah on the first gen lego's.

Just avoid the 4EAT's with all your power and then some.

I HATE my car because of the 4EAT in it.

That tranny will soon be metal scrap.

So yeah, uh, back to the point, get a first gen lego manual or an EA81 or EA82

wagon, can't go wrong.

 

Twitch

[zyewdall]

You cannot go wrong with a 90-94 Legacy, great motors, built proof drive line.

Stick with a 5 speed, AWD and try to get one with Anti Lock Brakes.

 

Might want to avoid the 90 legacies... they apparently had some engine issues the first year with a certain manufacturing plant (porous engine blocks... I didn't believe it, but a friend had a car with that problem...) The 91 to 94 have been good.

 

And... even though I generally hate automatic transmissions, the 4EAT in the 1st gen legacies is one of much less annoying auto trannies I've driven. I'd take it over the Honda accord of the same era, and definitely over any american made one I've ever driven.

[Gloyale]

You cannot go wrong with a 90-94 Legacy, great motors, built proof drive line.

Stick with a 5 speed, AWD and try to get one with Anti Lock Brakes

 

I would advise NOT ABS brakes. The systems are getting old, and are not cheaply replaced or serviced.

 

Plus they can actually cause an unstoppable skid in mud and ice. They won't let you give the wheels that final lock up to actually stop. you just keep rolling down the muddy hill. Sometimes you need to slide:grin: I always pull the ABS fuse in the 96 Outback when it goes off-road.

[Bucky92]

I absolutely adore my 95 Lego...even though it got the 4EAT..but thats how I picked it up so cheap $250 ..needed a new one..put a new one in and now its pretty much my daily driver and I keep my 08 Impreza home ( trying to take the mileage off it). Its an awesome highway cruiser and comfortable as anything. Now I personally like the looks of the 95-96 legos better then the gen 1s but thats just me. I moved up from old gen cars to new gen and I will never go back to old gen for daily driving. And the EJs are a dream to work on. I have even checked a code on the fly with mine.

 

and we do the same thing..take the ABS fuse out when off roading

Edited May 5, 2009 by Bucky92

[hardtail_pride]

OK so i talked to the dealership more about the 98 OB limited. I brought up my concern with the HG issues and he said if and or when the HG goes out, i will only be charged his price. Essentially tops 600 bucks out the door for the mechanics hours, gaskets, and machine work. This helped me feel more comfortable with the car. I am possibly going to buy the OB tomorrow if everything goes good with selling my current daily driver tomorrow. I don't know, am i making just an awful decision? It seems that every Subaru has its high points and lows. I am starting to get burned out on finding a Subaru that is perfect for me when the ones in my range are reportedly a bad setup. And no one has the old school EA s in good enough shape around here to use as a Daily Driver.

 

Sorry for rambling. Any advice like always is greatly appreciated.

[greg donovan]

OK so i talked to the dealership more about the 98 OB limited. I brought up my concern with the HG issues and he said if and or when the HG goes out, i will only be charged his price. Essentially tops 600 bucks out the door for the mechanics hours, gaskets, and machine work. This helped me feel more comfortable with the car. I am possibly going to buy the OB tomorrow if everything goes good with selling my current daily driver tomorrow. I don't know, am i making just an awful decision? It seems that every Subaru has its high points and lows. I am starting to get burned out on finding a Subaru that is perfect for me when the ones in my range are reportedly a bad setup. And no one has the old school EA s in good enough shape around here to use as a Daily Driver.

 

Sorry for rambling. Any advice like always is greatly appreciated.

not a bad decision at all. however, get those promises in writing. is this at a subaru dealership?

 

one thing to look at is the future. traveling with kids in the future (if you dont have any now) is much easier in a nice modern legacy.

 

either way you are allready on the right path with a subaru wagon. i love my 95 legacy wagon. it has 274,000 miles on it. it is getting a bit rough around the edges and needs some work but it should make it one more year if we take good care of it.

[Loyale 2.7 Turbo]

I Preffer the Older Wagons, for their Simplicity and They`re Very Reliable: Less Electronic parts that can Fail; Also you can Upgrade any older GL / Loyale with an EJ Engine if you Want ... ... Plus their Parts are Cheaper.

 

Might want to avoid the 90 legacies... they apparently had some engine issues the first year with a certain manufacturing plant ...

 

Let me Tell you, Respectfully, that the First Year for the Legacy was 1989.

[greg donovan]

I Preffer the Older Wagons, for their Simplicity and They`re Very Reliable: Less Electronic parts that can Fail; Also you can Upgrade any older GL / Loyale with an EJ Engine if you Want ... ... Plus their Parts are Cheaper.

 

 

 

Let me Tell you, Respectfully, that the First Year for the Legacy was 1989.

yes, but you cant buy a 89 legacy in the US since the first year for a USDM legacy was a 90.

[DarkDave]

I LOVE my 83 wagon yes it might rust out befor the ea81 runs out but I run it more than 50 miles a day for work and I can't beat the mpg!!