GypsyFeet

Thank you very much. I really appreciate your post, it helped a lot. I have been using CL for my search and that's how I found the dealership. I'll keep on looking & hopefully find something!

He said the timing belt and HG were replaced, but when I test drove it the idling was off, when it started up it made a weird noise. I didn't like how it felt or how it sounded so I turned away from the offer. The guy really wants me to test drive a 2000 impreza with 198k miles. The mileage is high for me, but it has a 2.2L engine which I like. I'm going to test drive it and see how it feels. Is basically 200k miles worth it for a 2.2L engine? One other i'm looking at is a clean titled 2003 outback for 5,500. Very clean, and drove smooth, but the only thing was in the beginning the engine made a sound simillar to that of a card against a bike tire. It wasn't too loud, but it was a soft sound and went away after a couple of minutes.

I've become more and more set on getting a subaru as my first car after a good amount of researching around the web. I've come across a local dealership that is a decent sized lot (about 15~25 cars) with the dealer specializing in Subarus. I've found a 1999 Forester L there. It has 108k miles, automatic with a 2.5 engine. The one thing that leaves me a bit weary is the HG problem in the 2.5 engines. I haven't come across a 2.2l yet, the only one I did sold faster than I could call. With small cosmetic damages here & there such as faded paint and a kind of tore up seat, I worked the price for 4,400 to 3,500, which is the lowest he'll go. I know the HG problem isn't super hard to fix, but aside from checking under the car for external leaks, asking about the timing belt, checkign the tires, small things like that, what is your opinion on this? I've got a maximum budget of 5,000 so I don't mind looking around more for something with a better deal, but this car seems reasonable. I'm mostly going to use the car to commute to work, and school. I wouldn't mind taking it to the mountains either to go backpacking and camping. From what i've read the forester has good handling compared to the imperza or outback. Any opinions, comments, or feed back is greatly appreciated. Thank you & have a good day!

I asked today if he could put the tires on and he said he could do it. The car has a salvage title because of a fender bender, and in california you can't re-evaluate the car to a clean title. I like it but the salvage title will raise the insurance and make it hard to sell, which might not happen. He said the timing belt looks great.

I'm looking at cars for my first car and I've been looking ay honda/toyotas just because of how much I hear about the reliability, but I had found something that caught my eye. There is a local dealership nearby that buys old subarus and fixes them up. There is a 1998 Subaru Impreza wagon with 158,000 miles for $3,000. The guy offers a lifetime warranty on free diagnosis and whole sale price of parts and maitenance. I hear they go well past 200k and when I test drove the car it felt pretty smooth, on & off the freeway. The dealer replaced 2 tires, had the alignment fixed, and a oil leak repair done. Any suggestions or opinions on these cars? I've read mostly good reviews from these cars, but not sure if it's a car that I could learn to work on myself for changing small things. Any help/info is greatly appreciated. thank you!