Yesterday I test drove a 2003 Subaru Forester 2.5X (168,000 miles, 1-owner) that I want to like alot. It looks and drives great, and yet I'm worried that there might be more than the usual expensive repairs lurking in its near future.
Before the test drive I was able to contact the previous owners. They said they had kept it well maintained but I would need a new timing belt since they had never replaced the original. They traded it in because they preferred to deal with a new car than with the check engine light that had appeared on the Forester. The dealer told them they waited too long to replace the O2 sensor and that had made the catalytic converter go bad. They traded it for a new KIA early this year (2011) and they've been wondering if they made the right choice ever since. They thought they might look up the current dealer and buy it back themselves. They assumed the dealer they traded it to and who put it up for sale had replaced the catalytic converter since he "obviously" couldn't have sold it with the check engine light glowing. The KIA dealer ended up selling it at auction to the dealer who now has it for sale (4-6 months after the original trade-in). The current dealer replaced the valve cover gaskets two weeks ago.
I drove it for 40 miles at highway speed on a 90+ degree day. it did great. After shutting it down for 30-40 minutes waiting for a mechanic friend to show up, we could find no evidence that the O2 sensor or the catalytic converter had been recently replaced. The entire exhaust system looked OK but there was enough rust that it might still be the original. No other signs of problems under the car. When we checked under the hood, all seemed fine except -- the coolant recovery jug was bone dry. Looking down through the radiator fill hole there were traces of green coolant in visible ridges of the core but no standing coolant could be seen. And yet, the temperature gauge during the drive had risen about a third of the way up the scale and stayed there. It did so again on the return trip to the dealership.
So, should I be concerned that the check engine light is waiting to come on again and that O2 sensor and/or the catalytic converter is still a problem? (The check engine light does display with all the other warning lights at start-up.) And what's with the engine running cool even though there's no visible coolant in the system? Our paranoia makes us wonder if the head gaskets are allowing a slow leak of coolant into the cylinders where it is vaporizing and blowing out through the exhaust -- although there's no obvious white smoke or antifreeze smell. There are also no signs of external coolant leaks around the head gaskets or elsewhere.
The dealer was willing to lower the price $400 to allow for replacing the timing belt, but he had no explanations or additional discounts to offer for the converter or coolant confusions.
What do you think? Thanks.
