Leaderboard

Oh great, you’re already familiar with these then. Excellent! Itll sound odd but I’d replace the belt with Subaru brand belt and that lower pulley, or all the pulleys even if it’s “got a new belt”. Most shops only do the belt or use non Subaru branded parts which have higher failure rates. I’ve bought blown EJ25 96-99 Subarus with new off brand timing belts that have broken and bent the valves. Friend is getting a Subaru and I told them today I’ll just do the timing belt for them even if it’s “already been done”. I’ve also seen people say “it’s got a new timing belt”, and it doesn’t. They think a new belt means a new timing belt but all they really got done was the serpentine belts. Anyway I assume have like new reliability and no bent valves for $100 and an hour of my time.

The last time I bought something under 100k was my former 2002 Forester in 2011, with about 98k. Sure there's maintenance to be expected at 100k and above, but the last time I had a car payment was in 2009. Back in 1975 it was a huge deal watching my '67 Chevy Caprice hit 100k miles. Back then it wasn't all that common.

oh yeah.. remember, where ever it hits sitting still, will be a bit lower at highway speeds, LOL

I say do what you want. If you want an XT then get one. It will be a valuable learning experience. It will take a lot of leg work to find parts. And you will be working on it (and learning) more than you will be driving it. But for many of us - that's just part of the hobby. The endless, frustrating search for dirty, broken, used parts with a 50% chance of finding something that will work for just a few more miles..... Personally - I got off the train. I realized that I want to USE my machines. Not spend endless amounts of time fixing them and trying to find or make parts for them. Make the decision - do you want to DRIVE the car or do you want to endlessly WORK on the car? The XT choice leads you down one path, and the newer car your parents want leads you down the other path. My choices have led me down the path of vehicles for which I can easily (not necessarily cheaply) obtain parts (and service information), and that give me pleasure to drive. I can tell you that the XT fits neither category. It's nigh impossible to find parts for, and it's underpowered and terrifying to drive. GD