vikingDBA

thx guys, car sold before i could get with the guy. was this car he literally had done a ton of the stuff that can fail. https://harrisburg.craigslist.org/cto/d/mechanicsburg-sold-2007-subaru-legacy/6792384990.html thing is you can't find an old subie for under that unless it's really old and in mediocre shape.

So my son had an 2003 legacy L, we had done the head gaskets a year ago and other then very medicore MPG the thing was a tank. Then a jaguar came alone and totalled it Everyone's ok but now I'm looking to help get him car. He wants another subie, and really just want to get something that will give 2-3 years of trouble free driving, but for cheap. So I found a 2007 Legacy, 2.5. It has had the head gaskets replaced, timing belt, ball joints. New tires, etc. Guy wants 2.5K for it which I think is pretty fair. The only thing is it has high miles, 284,000 miles to be exact. I've always heard that after the head gaskets are dealt with that these things run forever practically. Just would like some thoughts on the longevity of these and if that's just too many miles... thx!

just an update. so after putting in the coolant additive and changing the oil. went on a few trips, put about 700 miles on the car. Oil level, and coolant level are still exactly where they where before the trips. gonna get some of the other stuff done by a mechanic i know that's a lot cheaper.

i really do appreciate the advice. Before I pulled the trigger on the head gasket, I had the dealer inspect the car to see what it would need to pass inspection (due end of next month). Just because I didn't want to fix that if it needed a pile of work. well... the dealer says it needs a pile of work. Dang thing is the car only has 102K miles on it, and it runs like a top. The engine just purrs along. Transmission seems solid. Some of the stuff I'm gonna fix myself. I mean the dealer wants to charge $26 to replace a lightbulb on a license plate, and $30 to replace one of the fog lights. The only thing that might be a bit tricky is the windshield washer button isn't working,and I suspect that I need to replace the entire stalk. (dealer quoted $140 to replace that). The biggies where 2 rotors and brakes ($550), and a front CV axle and differential seal ($540). Oh and they wanted me to replace all 4 tires, though only one fails inspection. (no i won't just replace one tire) I know a mechanic that will do the rotor/brakes for just over half that. The front CV axle I dunno if he'll do that or not. I do not have any rust issues. But I think I've taken a completely different mindset now with this information. Gonna keep it on the road for the minimium I can, hope the additive helps the head gasket and go from there. Unfortunately not in a situation right now to trade it in on something new(er). But I might do so within the next 6 months, but that means I have to get the inspection done as it runs out end of next month. Anyhoo thanks again. Any tips on monitoring the head gasket situation? Other then check coolant/oil levels regularly? Like I said the engine purrs like a kitten, really is a shame all this other stuff broke. (Oh and I found out that the AC has a leak and the high pressure line and o-ring need replaced to the tune of $500) This is my son's car so some of this stuff was a little bit of a surprise.

The additive is for the coolant, I think I'm weeping out oil. I guess the coolant additive helps the head gasket regardless, just sayin. I think my weeping has progressed to the point that the gaskets just need replaced. Though I might be getting a sales job on that. However, I've talked to 3 different mechanics, 2 different franchised subaru dealers, and one independent who does really good work. All 3 of them are within $100 of each other for the work. 2 of them that that inspected it told me that the gaskets just need to be replaced. (the third just gave me an estimate for getting the work done) The subaru dealer i'm going to says they will warranty their work for 2 years. I hate spending this much, but i can't have my son going on one of his hikes to the middle of nowhere (which he likes to do) and have the car break down. That and I don't think any damage has been done to the engine at this point. If I am going to keep it I don't want to risk getting to a situation where the engine does get damaged. My bigger thing is I don't want to get into a money pit if there are other known issues on this model/year. But if people generally deal with this issue and then put 200K miles on them without major repairs I'm ok with the routine stuff.

I'm having the dealer do it, I trust these guys they even discussed with me about which head gaskets should be used and so on. I shopped around and their price is inline with everyone else and they explained things pretty well. The car has never overheated, the oil leak isn't that much but I do think it has gotten a little worse as of late. Never has been run with the oil really low either. Thanks for the help. It's just one of those decisions I try to get as much information as I can prior. The $2500 includes timing belt, water pump, valve covers don't think the cam seals are in that though.

So my son has a 2003 Legacy GT with the 2.5 engine. We got this car for reasonable deal a few years ago with low miles. It now has 110K miles on it, and it runs great except the dreaded head gasket issue has now reared it's head. The engine runs fine and it's not leaking that much. Basically we caught this before it could become a big issue. BUT. The big question is how realiable are these cars. If I sink $2500 in this to replace the head gaskets/valve covers (and waterpump / timing belt while they are in there). Do the transmissions in these generally last (automatic). Over all my son really likes this car, I'm just pretty hesitant to sink that much money into a car that is 13 years old. However the engine does run well (even with the gasket issue) and everything else seems fine. Just want to get some feedback if others have went ahead and fixed this, or if I'm just crazy if I sink that kinda money in this car. All feedback welcome. Thanks!