FOH Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 Hello all, I'm looking to buy a 99 Forester L (113,000 miles) that I'm told needs a head gasket. It runs great and seems well taken care of, but there is a small oil leak that drips onto the exhaust manifold, it doesn't "burn" oil, but once the oil hits the manifold you get that wonderful burning oil smell. Basically, its from a small dealer whom I trust, and its priced below book ($4500) what I want to know is, do you think its worth it? I'm thinking that when I have the head gasket done, I'll do the timing chain, oil pump seal etc, because the engine is already pulled. I estimate the cost of the head gasket and timing chain plus labor to be around $1000, do you think thats realistic? I'm new to Subarus but have been lusting for awhile... I think this COULD be the deal I've been waiting for. Thanks for your advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtsmiths Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 If it were me, I would negotiate heavy and buy it. Once it's fixed, you'll probably have zero problems. IF you manage the cooling system (search). There is evidence that head gasket failure is the result of improper coolant refilling, in many, if not most cases. Plus ... you might get lucky! There have been some folks that have bought Subarus with 'head gasket issues' that only needed to be correctly burped (search again). The engine may actually be fine, just airlocked. For those that don't know Subarus (including most mechanics) many airlocked engines are mis-diagnosed as needing a head gasket. The estimate to do the HG and front case work seems a bit optimistic tho' ... budget $2K to be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattocs Posted April 17, 2005 Share Posted April 17, 2005 Yeah...$2,000 should cover it all...but try and get them really low...and after its fixed, you'll have a great car. I'd offer them like $2500 - $3000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT95 Posted April 17, 2005 Share Posted April 17, 2005 Well, how obvious is it that the car has something wrong when you test drive it? Would Joe No-Mechanic off the street take it for a test drive and know something wasn't right? If so, you're doing the dealer a favor by being interested in this car. They probably can't work on it themselves and won't make a profit if they pay a repair shop to do the work. It is a six year old car that could potentially leave the buyer stranded on the road. $4500 is a lot to pay for that scenario. I'd offer him $3500 if the interior is in sweet shape and the car has never been wrecked. Figure sinking another $2,000 if it is indeed the HG issue. There are lots of good 99 model cars to be had for $4,500 that don't have mechanical problems. Your car lot guy is probably aware of that. If he can cover up the problem and sell it someone else who wouldn't know any better, he may not budge much on price. If the car obviously has something wrong that any test driver would notice, offer $3,500 if the rest of the car is nice. That's more than he would get if he sent it to the dealer auction... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.