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ionic

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  1. Well, we looked at the Legacy L. Car is in great shape cosmetically. Was not impressed with the interior quality and the ride though. I would have thought that they'd have upgraded the materials and controls since the 95 and 96 that I have, but everything looks and feels almost exactly the same. Ride was fairly harsh, not nearly as good as the 96 Legacy LS. Still the same ole wind leak from the same ole place at the driver's window. Partner was not impressed with the car's ambiance compared with the Beetle; even though the Legacy *should* be more reliable and has AWD, it didn't have right "feel". I preferred the old 96. We're looking at an 02 Outback this weekend with a lot more options (read: seat warmers) and 35,000 fewer miles for about $3000 more. It'll be an interesting comparison.
  2. I'm pretty familiar with 80s and 90s Subarus, but I'm going to look at a 2002 Legacy L 5-speed wagon with 79,000 miles at a VW dealer. Partner has a '00 Beetle that we're considering trading for the Legacy. Dealership has $9900 on the Legacy, which seems like a fairly good price. It's the basic Legacy L wagon and doesn't appear to have any options. I think this car is still subject to the external headgasket leak. Is this correct? Any other particular trouble spots on an early 2000s Legacy? Price seem fair? Thanks! Also, anyone know if it is feasible to retrofit heated seats into this car? My partner is in love with the seat warmers in the Beetle, and I am wondering if the heating elements could be added to the Legacy's existing seats.
  3. We have a 93 Loyale 4WD automatic that has had for several years an intermittent starting problem that seems to be becoming more frequent. The car has a new battery (6 months old) and the starter contacts were replaced shortly after the battery, but to no avail. My mechanic is baffled by the problem because it is so intermittent and never happens when the car is at the shop. The problem occurs only on warmer days when the car has been parked on the sun. We've had a warm winter (temperatures in 60s and 70s), so it's happened several times in the past few weeks. It's worse in the summertime, but there is never a problem starting the car on even the coldest days. When the car won't start, which is only intermittently and only on warm days, turning the key in the ignition elicits one click and never any more. We have several keys and several drivers, and the problem has happened for each different driver and each different key. All the accessories, radio, blower, headlights, warning lights etc., will always work fine. The problem occurs regardless of whether the shifter is in Park or Neutral, and jiggling the shifter has no effect. Jiggling the key in the ignition also has no effect. The battery is fully charged and there is no corrosion on the battery terminals. Jump starting the car works instantly to start it every time. Occasionally, turning off every accessory that was left running when the car was parked will allow it to start immediately after a no-start, but this works only sporadically. Allowing the car to sit turned off for half an hour or an hour after a no-start will usually allow it to start just fine without jump starting. The other odd thing is that the 91 Loyale we had previously exhibited the exact same problem, but we sold the car before trying to fix it. Anyone have any ideas? The annoyance of the problem is just becoming too great. Thanks!
  4. Your suggestions for checking the AWD are all good. It's also always good to have a mechanic you trust check over the car before you buy. However, if Carfax checks out and the car's physical condition looks good, a 1-2 year old Subaru with 30,000 miles is a very safe buy, especially since it does still have a warranty. A 5-10 year old car would be more of a risk. Few people will buy a brand new grocery-getter base-model Legacy L wagon and take it off road. Outbacks would be more likely to have owners take them off-roading, but not a lot of people in general want to risk damage to their brand new $20-25,000 car. There's also a pretty low chance the car has ever been towed or had tires replaced. It's just too new. So, it's always good to be cautious, but in all likelihood any potential problems the buyer might have would be warranty issues. The car is also probably still eligable for Subaru's extended warranty if the buyer wants extra protection. Now, if the price is just too good to be true, the car's physical condition looks questionable, and the seller seems shady, more caution is warranted.
  5. A 2005 Legacy with 30,000 miles is practically a brand new car. It's still under Subaru's bumper-to-bumper warranty until 36,000 miles or 3 years and powertrain warranty until 60,000 miles or 5 years. The powertrain warranty covers the AWD, transmission, and engine if you're concerned about any problems. If the price is right, and the car is in good cosmetic/physical condition, buy it. It's probably still worthwhile to do a Carfax on it, though, but you should not expect *any* mechanical problems with a Subaru that new. The only items that might possibly need to be replaced at that mileage are the brakes and tires, which are easy to check. Good luck with the purchase.
  6. The latch and strike should have phillips screws. Just loosen, adjust, and test. Repeat. You may need to use a ratchet with a screwdriver bit to loosen and tighten the screws correctly. This is the easiest part of the door to adjust, so try it first. A trick is to mark an outline of the strike plate at its original position so you can always return to that. Use a fine point permanent marker or a knife to lightly score the paint. There are a myriad of adjustments for the window. The window is a real bear to adjust because you have to get the right combination, and the wrong settings will cause the door not to shut, let in wind, or cause the window to roll up at odd angles or not go high enough. There are adjustments for in/out tilt, forward/back tilt, front/rear height. It's basically trial and error, again. The door hinges have hex head bolts. If you loosen these, remember you have to support the door to keep it from sagging. Again, loosen, adjust, and test. Again, outline the original positions so you know where to return. If the main problem is wind noise, you can probably work with just the gaskets. There have been several other posts on this forum about wind noise and gasket fixes. If you're determined to fix it, just start experimenting.
  7. Body work is always really tricky to do well. I've seen a lot of cars that have had body work done, and I have NEVER seen a single one with everything lined up exactly like it was from the factory. A good shop can get things really close, but I think it's virtually impossible to get it 100 percent perfect. I'm sure the door wasn't this way when the car was brand new. There must have been some accident (maybe minor) along the way to knock it out of alignment. After my Impreza got hit on the driver's door and the car was repaired at a very good body shop (best paint job and color match I have ever seen...still matches the rest of the car exactly 7 years later, and no chips at all) I had a similar problem to you. I eventually fixed it myself, but it took a lot of little fiddling over time to find the perfect set of adjustments. It's hard to tell exactly from your description what the problem is. Does the problem change depending on whether the window is up or down? Sometimes the window in the up position can put too much outward pressure on the door and cause the door not to shut tightly. If this is the case, adjust the window regulator and/or stops. Most of the bolts on the metal door shell have slotted holes to allow for adjustment, so if the window isn't the problem, I would suggest adjusting them one at a time to see if you can improve the fit. Your door latch is the first place I'd try adjusting since it's the easiest. The strike plate on the door jamb will definitely have an adjustment up/down and in/out. Sometimes the strike can come loose or misadjusted over time. The latch in the door may be adjustable as well. If that doesn't work, try the door hinges. The fender might be back a smidge too far. The bottom line is that it takes a lot of trial and error and patience to adjust it just right. Sometimes, you just can't possibly make it physically fit quite right because the car is old and slightly distorted from age or accident. The door or the fender might have had a dent repaired that distorted the geometry just enough to cause the problem. Sometimes Bondo body filler near the edges of body panels can cause a rubbing problem. It may just be a bit of quirky character that is part of owning any older car. If you want perfect fit and finish, buy a brand new 2007, but don't let minor problems like this drive you crazy on a 1993! :-) Good luck!
  8. All Legacy Postal Carrier wagons are AWD automatic. It was standard. Mail carriers do not usually like manual cars. I'm not exactly sure why you'd want one unless you're a mail carrier. They usually get pretty beat up and high mileage that's all stop-and-go. Imagine how many times the brakes have been stomped on, the transmission shifted, and the engine revved versus an average high-mileage car. This will have much greater wear. It's the exact same car as a standard Legacy L wagon, except RHD with a full-size spare tire. Some repair parts may also be harder to find, as the RHD models will use some different parts from LHD models due to the flip-flopped steering.
  9. That's correct operation for the locks. The system changed in 97 for the Legacy and 98 for the Impreza. All Subarus prior to this had operation similar to the Loyale. I also highly recommend the keyless entry system. You can probably get one from a Subaru dealership that will "plug-n-play" on your car. This may be an easier installation than an aftermarket system, and the online Subaru dealer pricing is usually very good on these things. On the Loyale, you CAN lock the doors without using the key from the outside. Simply flip the interior lock switch to the "locked" position, then shut the door with the outside handle lifted like when you are opening the door. No need to use the key.
  10. The 95-99 grille should only be held in by clips, no screws. There are four across the top that you can readily see, and there two hidden behind the grille near the headlights. If you detach the top four clips and gently pull up and outward on the grille, the two lower ones should detach. Be careful not to break any of them off! In my experience they break easily. I have seen aftermarket grilles installed on Legacies that do not attach the same way as the original, so it is possible yours could be different. I think you need a replacement mast for the antenna. I have heard there are generic masts available and that the replacement is not extraordinarily hard. Mine does not always retract either, but it doesn't bother me. I have lubricated it with silicone, and that seemed to help for awhile.
  11. 96's don't have plastic trim. It's a decal. You should be able to get it from a Subaru dealer. There are probably not many other sources.
  12. You have dirty contacts in the window switch. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=62883
  13. Yes, your switch contacts are dirty. You need to take the door panel off then remove the plastic panel that surrounds the switches from the door panel. Unscrew the the switch unit from the plastic panel to make it easier to work on, then take out the several screws that hold the switch units in place. The plastic toggle switches pull off, but be careful taking out the metal contacts that are below the toggle switches, because they're very tiny. Clean them off really good to remove the carbon deposits left by arcing. There are a bunch of small pieces, but other than making sure you keep track of them all and put all the screws back in the right holes, it's a straightforward job.
  14. The Forester is definitely smaller in every dimension than the Outback save the height. Check the specs. The Forester might have slightly taller doors than the Outback that could make it easier to lean in and out to fasten the kids into their seats. I agree that there is no one family car, but coming from a minivan, an Outback is a major downsizing.
  15. The Forester is definitely smaller in every dimension than the Outback save the height. Check the specs. The Forester might have slightly taller doors than the Outback that could make it easier to lean in and out to fasten the kids into their seats. I agree that there is no one family car, but coming from a minivan, an Outback is a major downsizing.
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