Buying Advice Request: '96 Imp. Outback & '98 Outback

[the_bard]

Hey guys, me again .

 

The wife and I have been trying to replace our current transportation ('96 Saturn SL1, '93 Merc. Cougar) with something(s) else. I've been trying to inch her towards an older Subie for me, and whatever she wants for her, but that hasn't happened. What has happened is the two of us looking at a pair of relatively newer Subaru's - a '96 Impreza Outback for me and a '98 Legacy Outback for her. We were quoted a price of $11k for both of them, total.

 

I don't have many questions regarding the Impreza Outback... the '96 should have an EJ22 in it, non-interference if I remember correctly, and a 5 speed tranny. It does have rather high mileage, 208k, but it appears to be all highway mileage. The body could be in better shape, but barely, as it has no rust at all... just a few paint scrapes on the hood that don't appear to have passed through the primer. Underside looks incredible, no rust there either, just some slight surface rust on the exhaust just before the muffler. Bottom of the engine looks very clean, just some slight surface rust and no oil. The rust appears to be old, not new, so I doubt that they cleaned it. Interior's intact, just needs some touch-up cleaning & mending. Engine purrs quietly... no obviously horrendous noises, though one heatshield 'bout the Y-pipes was loose (dealer stated he'd replace that before we bought it). Clutch seemed tight on the test drive. Haven't asked about the last time the timing belt was changed, but as long as it's a non-interference engine, I'm not going to go ape$h!t over it. 4 new tires. Original offer was $3450, we talked him into $3500 total (tax, licensing fees, etc.) He also threw in a 30 day extension on the basic warranty, so it's good for a total of 60 days (Woohoo .) Anything I miss?

 

For the wife: I haven't seen the actual car yet... we're getting a loan to cover for both cars, and imagine it'll be a lot easier to grab both from the same dealer. They did some hunting for us (about five hours worth), and managed to find a '98 Outback with 98k on her at a "cooperating" dealer just outside Syracuse. The '98 should be in immaculate condition, according to their description. Our dealer plans on sending a man up to check the car out tomorrow, at which point he'll go over the car and call us back with the info on it. If it's good, he'll purchase it and bring it back to his dealership, where we'll inspect it, and decide to pick it up. This should have the 2.5L in it, and I plan on inquiring about whether the timing belt's been changed, and if any work on the headgaskets has been done. Total price on this ought to be $11k minus the $3500 equaling $7500, which sounds about right, assuming the car's in the shape it's being advertised for. Anything else mechanical that I ought to be concerned about?

 

P.S.: Just remembered... the dealer did state that the '98 just had a wheel bearing replaced. I didn't think much of it, but I figured I'd throw that out, too.

 

Edit: Corrected title.

[the_bard]

Update, and a shameless bump...

 

They sold the '98... did some talking about the '96 Impreza Outback with some buddies down at work. Most were like "208 thousand miles! No way!"... these came from the relatively auto-ignorant crowd. One went "$3,500 for a 208k mile Subaru? Sound's 'bout right." The last went "200k miles on a Subaru? I don't know Subaru's, so I'd say no. But I know Volkswagons and Volvos, and if I was offered one of those like that, I'd take it."

 

Besides, I took another look at it tonight, and went "I love this car."

 

So I'm gonna go for it... they might have sold the '98, but I've got them looking for another one for the wife. Gonna talk to the guy I'm getting the loan for, and see if we can't split the loan up, so I could pick up the '96 before somebody else grabs it.

 

I realize most of this post is meandering, but it helps organize my thoughts and plans. And if you've reached this far, thanks for listening

[TheBrian]

I dunno. That's a lot of miles, I don't care what kind of car it is. You can do much better on $3500. And you can't trust a professional car salesman farther than you can throw him. For all you know, it could have been a fleet car. But I admit most Subarus with 20k miles a year probably have seen lots of highways.

 

Look in the Marketplace forum here and see what's being asked for an older Subaru.