Looking at buying a '93 Legacy LSi wagon

[pirho451]

Everyone,

 

I'm in the process of trying to find a new car for my wife. We've been looking at the Legacy/Outback wagons, but we came across a '93 Legacy LSi Wagon that's for sale. It only has 93k miles, so that's a big plus. The only major problem that I know of is that the owner says that it needs new shocks. Unfortunately, this wagon has the air suspension system. I know it's going to be expensive to replace the shocks, but realistically... how much would I be looking at? Also, could we convert the car to use the regular shocks? I'd imagine that it's not too hard to do, based on prior experience with other cars.

 

Also, are there any other trouble areas that we should look out for? I'm new to Subarus, but have been working on my other cars (mostly GM) for years now.

 

Thanks!

[Cougar]

The LSi was the top of the line back then. The shocks may run you around $600 dollars to have it converted. I would call a Subaru shop and see if you can get a quote to do this. I would adjust the price of the car according to the quote and the local market.

 

I don't know of any problems to look out for except the normal wear items. You might want to get a block check done to see if there are any exhaust gases getting into the coolant. This is cheap to do. I think you are going to really like this car if you get it.

[Legacy777]

Convert the suspension to standard struts & springs.

 

 

Cheapest way to go is find a similar wagon in the junkyard, take the entire spring/strut/top mounts, and replace the struts with new ones. I'd recommend KYB GR2's, which can be had from www.tirerack.com Also, depending on the condition, you may need to replace the top mounts.

 

I would think you could get all four complete strut setups for 40-50 bucks

New struts will run you about 350-400, and new top mounts 30-45 a piece.