Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

thinking about buying a '97 Legacy Outback


Recommended Posts

Hi all -

 

Recovering former Saab loyalist, contemplating entering the unknown world of Subarus. Found a 1997 Legacy Outback with 128,000 miles. Owner asking $5500. Ad only says that the car runs great, is dependable and that the owner "took good care of it (regular oil changes, etc)". Obviously, I need to know more.

 

But, before I contact the owner, I want to find out what questions I should ask (beyond the obvious questions about major accidents, current mechanical problems, etc). A quick search of this forum indicated that I might want to know if/when the timing belt or water pump were replaced and if the oil pump's been resealed. What other questions should I be asking?

 

A number of posts mentioned a head gasket issue with this model year. What do I need to be concerned about regarding the head gasket and what questions should I ask the current owner regarding it?

 

Finally, assuming there are no major problems, is $5500 a fair price for the car?

 

I plan to contact the owner within the next day or so, so any quick and informative responses would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For the HG, check the overflow tank. Any oil residue is an indication of a leak. If you can run it hard for at least 30 minutes and then check for air bubbles in the overflow tank.

 

Tires should match, the AWD does not like different sizes, they say within 1/4" rolling length of the tire.

 

Standard Trans is better than the Auto. Auto should be serviced every 30K or so.

 

$5500 is a little high, but reasonable if the car is in good condition.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

See my post about this car (which I own) in the following thread.

 

http://http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=30553&highlight=outback

 

Don't get thrown off. They are nice cars. If you know the weak points, you can be prepared and deal with them. There are many things that these cars "are", and some that they "aren't".

 

Commuter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i would be concerned about these older model 2.5 headgaskets. i'd take your time making this decisions. if this was the 2.2 liter i'd say jump all over it, but it's not. the early 2.5 liter motors had serious head gasket issues for some people. i would want lots of information on the head gasket maintenance and documents showing it was done to that car. this problem can be very tricky to see or pinpoint when it first starts. i've seen cases where at the beginning of the problem it would be very easy to sell it without any easily detectable signs of failure. search for "head gasket" on this forum and you'll get plenty of instances of what i'm referring too. the newer ones are much better, i guess they upgraded the gasket or made changes. others that know more can inform you of phases, engines and which years are better than others.

 

otherwise like mentioned earlier they are great cars and it's nice to know timing belts, water pump, oil pump conditions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi all -

 

Recovering former Saab loyalist, contemplating entering the unknown world of Subarus. Found a 1997 Legacy Outback with 128,000 miles. Owner asking $5500. Ad only says that the car runs great, is dependable and that the owner "took good care of it (regular oil changes, etc)". Obviously, I need to know more.

 

But, before I contact the owner, I want to find out what questions I should ask (beyond the obvious questions about major accidents, current mechanical problems, etc). A quick search of this forum indicated that I might want to know if/when the timing belt or water pump were replaced and if the oil pump's been resealed. What other questions should I be asking?

 

A number of posts mentioned a head gasket issue with this model year. What do I need to be concerned about regarding the head gasket and what questions should I ask the current owner regarding it?

 

Finally, assuming there are no major problems, is $5500 a fair price for the car?

 

I plan to contact the owner within the next day or so, so any quick and informative responses would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Giving up on Saab huh? :brow:

I totally agree with Commuter, there are some HG issues with 2.5 but not as bad as you would think from this board.

Check the usuall like he said, do tight turns in a parking lot and look for any grabbing.

You will love these cars, once you get bitten by them, I am on number 10.

They go forever,parts and service is cheap, and they are great in bad weather.

As far as price goes that is totally by region, that is a good price for Colorado but I do not know about CA.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would say go check it out and if you like it, go for it. It really isn't all that bad of a price. This message board represents such a small percentage of 2.5L engine owners. Usually, people only come to the board to ask if their symptoms are HG related, but you RARELY hear someone praising their 150,000 mile subaru....but come on, we know there are a ton of high mileage Outbacks out there that have little to no problems. That being said, my bosses 99 Outback had the HG go at 205,000.

 

Good luck, and enjoy the hunt!

Kevin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...