billzie Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 My nephew has a 98 or 99 (I can't remember) Subaru Legacy GT Limited AWD 2.5 manual trans. We need to get rid of it to raise funds for his return to college. We're trying to maximize on the price. The car is in very nice shape aesthetically in and out, but, we know it has some issues, one big, one questionable, one just a minor pet peave. I'll start with the lesser and work to the big one: The shifter when in neutral only doesn't automatically center itself, it stays in gear when in gear and it stays in neutral when in neutral, but it has a floppy play to it in neutral, it has never caused any issue and has been this way for a long time. The ABS system has a glitch, the ABS light stays on most of the time and nothing is wrong, except when the light goes off there is a very noticible pedal pulsation when braking at any speed any condition, no one in our part of the state has the diagnostic plug for Subie ABS, this could be a very minor fix or just drive like it is as it's been like this for a long time. Now the worst. This car had the overheat issue, the mechanic wasn't aware about the frequency of this problem with these cars, all newly replaced are the radiator, thermostat, belts, water pump, crank pulley, accesory belts, timing belts, power flushed, and new coolant. The car was never run hot, my nephew is very cautious and pulled over anytime the temp got high, it never outright overheated but did get hot the one time, the mechanic gave up on repairing it and charged him only for parts and refunded the labor, we then researched this problem and found the issue. So, we need to know how to maximize the dollar to be had out of it. He has another car that was from a 80+ y/o lady, Chevy Caprice, in pristine condition. He is returning to college this fall and the Chevy is the best choice, it's solid, has no issues, if any come up it's cheap to fix as this model has about a 20 year history with interchanges, and it's the small "econo" V-8 and he gets about 17 mpg city / 26 mpg hwy, it'll definitely last him through college. Should we just sell as it, as a fixer or whole parts car? Should we part it out? (not the best option due to time factors) Should we fix and sell it? Also, let me know what you all think it would be worth in each of those instances. Please email me if you want to give an offer as well, billzie_69@hotmail.com Thanks for all your help, Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billzie Posted August 10, 2005 Author Share Posted August 10, 2005 BTW, if my memory serves me right, it looks just like the one in this ebay link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Subaru-Legacy-GT-AWD-1998-Subaru-Legacy-2-5GT-Limited_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ31869QQitemZ4566745253QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW It is the same color, but my nephews' is a manual which I think is better anyway. Thanks, Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subeman90 Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 you never said what kind of mileage is on the car. BTW, my impreza has a sloppy shifter like that too..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billzie Posted August 11, 2005 Author Share Posted August 11, 2005 you never said what kind of mileage is on the car. BTW, my impreza has a sloppy shifter like that too..... I believe it is around 60,000 mi. I think the shifter slop is the result of a bad bushing/spring under the shifter, JME from other cars with this problem. If anyone has a schematic of the shifter I'd appreciate it. Thanks, Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billzie Posted August 12, 2005 Author Share Posted August 12, 2005 Definitely a 1998 model. My nephew drove this car yesterday to do some local errands, on his way there he said the temp started to raise above the mid point and was going to pull over but by the time he came to a place to pull over the temp was coming back down to the mid point, he continued his errands without any other issues. I will try to get more details about the car this weekend when I see him again. He lives kinda out in the boonies, so I don't know when I'll get pics. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c4barnes Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 Sounds like head gaskets. My '98 Forester blew them with exactly 60K and behaved the same way when they did. Your predicament: the engine must come out for them to be replaced, and this can set you back a couple grand at a dealer. If you can spare the $ and your mechanic can somehow document that the engine is in good working order, you'll have a low mileage Subaru with the improved head gaskets that should render the issue moot. Whether you can recoup all you put into it I can't say (mine was under warranty, thankfully). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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