=CC=

Thanks! I was thinking I might have to call a dealer for that. Good to know that I can pick one up elsewhere. Skeeves me out a bit to have it the way it is now, lol. I can only guess how he used it; it had what looked like a section of maybe speaker wire threaded through it and looped around, so I think he may have just hooked it around the seat portion of the buckle to hold it in place, thereby having the appearance of the seatbelt buckled. Lucky he was never involved in an accident with that. He'd have really gotten hurt.

I just bought a new to me 1996 Outback....with 300k miles on it! Cosmetically, she's not pretty. There are some assorted dents and dings, a smidgen of rust (surface only) at the top of the windshield frame, scratches on the hood, and some pretty dirty seats. The previous owner took all the trim pieces off the inside of the rear hatch, to try fixing/replacing the wiper motor (he didn't fix it). Those are all in the back. The drivers side seat belt looks like the Tasmanian Devil tried to eat it for lunch, and doesn't stretch all the way across the seat, so the previous owner tied the seat belt together with a piece of wire (!). The tires were dry rotted and nasty, with little to no tread left. And the aftermarket stereo install was a hack job. The window button for the drivers side front window needs to be jiggled to work, and there's about $2.00 worth of gross change in the world's nastiest center console. Looks like I got some work cut out for me! We trailered this old battle beast home yesterday (3 hour drive), and today got some nice new tires mounted and installed. We also deodorized the interior, because the previous owner did something (who knows what) to make the interior smell kinda funky. On my list of things to do...new exhaust (current one looks a bit like swiss cheese), engine oil change, diff oil change, tune up, timing belt/water pump/tensioners, and look into what I need to do to get the seat belt fixed. Brakes are on this list somewhere, too. Oh yeah, and tags! Can't drive without those! I'll get some pictures up soon.

I paid $600 for it....not too bad. Shifting is interesting, lol. I had no idea it was in gear and stalled it the first time I tried to drive it. You can put it in any gear and literally move the shifter in a big circle. Purchasing new tires for it now, they are in pretty rough shape. I'm planning (if I have time tomorrow) getting the tags, so at least it will be driveable on the road, so I can get it to the shop for the timing belt (and all related bits) taken care of. I'm going to have a shop do the belt job, mainly because the weather is getting ready to turn crappy, and I don't really feel like wrenching in the cold/wind/rain. Pix will follow (when I have enough posts)

I'm now the proud owner of a 1996 Outback, 5sp manual with 300K+ miles. It currently needs exhaust work, shifter bushings (in a bad way, lol), new tires, and the emergency brake is sticking. Otherwise, it seems very solid mechanically. Since the previous owner was unsure how long it's been since the timing belt was changed, I plan to take care of that as well. She's not very pretty, but I should be able to replace the hood fairly easily, which will vastly improve her looks.

That's the only reason I'm driving 2 hours to go check it out, lol. I have a sneaky feeling that it may have been sold though...the ad's gone, and the guy isn't answering my calls. Keeping fingers crossed.

New update...the hunt continues, but may be coming to an end. The Audi is going to be parted. After getting her home, there's just too much damage to fix. I'll miss that old beast. I've checked a couple Outbacks in my area. One, a 97 with 285K on the clock. Looked pretty good, running well.....oil in the coolant bottle. No good, and took a pass on that one. We're going to take the trailer on a 2 hour road trip on Thursday, to check out another 96 manual. This one has 300k (omg), but according to the owner no problems or issues other than an exhaust leak. That's replaceable, so no big deal. If I buy it, plans are to get the timing belt/tensioners/waterpump changed immediately. This one's selling for pretty cheap, probably because of the super high miles, but it sounds like it's been pretty well taken care of. And if I keep taking care of it, who knows? Thanks to everyone that offered advice and info...it has really helped out in my search. I'll be sticking around for awhile I think.

LMAO, I rocked the old shoe in my Samurai, since it didn't actually have cupholders or a place to put them. I also used it in my Geo Storm for the same reason. Definitely not the nicest looking "cupholder" out there, but nothing spilled....and if it did, it just spilled into the shoe, so it was easy to clean.

This is true. It's really awesome when your soda falls out and spills all over the place. I have a deep personal dislike for these. I've resorted (in the past) to an old shoe stuffed along side the seat to rest cups/bottles in....but I know this solution isn't for everyone. Number 2 does look significantly sturdier that that Mk4 version.

I've decided to take a pass on it. There's just a little too much on it's history that sounds hinky. The owner won't tell me if it's got a clear title, hasn't tagged it himself, and every time I've called the only number available, I've gotten a different person answering the phone. It just feels "wrong", nothing I can put my finger on, but enough to make me hesitate. I don't really care much about mechanical issues; after driving a 30 year old Audi for 5 years, that stuff doesn't really scare me. When I bought the old 90q, everything wearable under the hood needed to be replaced. Plus motor mounts, all fuel lines, brake lines from the MC all the way to the rear brakes, suspension (including control arms, which were a bugger to find), axles, brakes (pads, calipers, and carriers)...you name it. By the time it was done, she was brand spanking new, lol So, I'm still looking. I've found another one about 100 miles away (no biggie, we have a trailer). It seems to have it's own issues, biggest being the mileage (260k), and what looks like an ugly rust spot in the PS rear wheel well. As long as the maintenance seems to be up to date, and that ugly spot isn't a hole, it may be the one.

Checked out the 96 tonight...it doesn't look too bad for a 20 year old car. The current owner originally bought the car intending to ship it to Africa, but I guess he changed his mind, so he's selling pretty cheap. Unfortunately, he has no clue...no idea when the timing belt was changed, oil changed, blah, blah, blah. It has a check engine light, so I'll be taking my OBDII scanner with me tomorrow afternoon, to check that out, and look for any ominous puddles. It also has a slightly crinkled hood (not too bad), the sloppiest shifter I've EVER seen, and a weird cracked looking Bondo-esque area on the top of the lift gate. Interior was dry, fairly clean, and not stinky (which is good). If it looks ok in the daylight, I'm gonna buy it. So, now I need to price out TB kit, shift linkage, belt, hoses, and suspension components. Wish me luck...I'm starting a new journey!

Good to hear. I'm lucky in that I've got the parts needed to fix my Audi, just need installing. Of course, my parts car was black, so they don't match, but well that old girl was never gonna win a beauty pageant. I called the owner of the Subaru, and it's still available, so I'm planning to go give it a look over with my husband...who knows, maybe it will find a new home! My plan would be to do a thorough tune up as soon as possible, go over belts and hoses, etc. We had to replace everything under the hood of the Audi when it came home, too. Gotta admit, as much as I love old Red, I'm looking forward to seeing if this old blue battle beast will be a good fit.

Thanks for the info! That's what I needed to hear. Oh yeah, it's a manual. I had him sit in my sisters Baja last night, and it was a pretty tight squeeze for him. That, and the fact it's an automatic are the reasons I'm not looking more seriously at her truck. My husband joked that I'd be the one doing most if not all the Subaru driving. I did get some good news on the Audi front, though....because it wears historic tags, it won't need to be inspected after repairing it, so the Subaru might be on the back burner for now. I'll admit, I was kinda looking forward to a change, so now I'm torn. If the guy doing the bodywork wants to charge me an arm and a leg to fix it, I may elect to part it out (that would really hurt though).

New member here from Maryland. I'm not an owner yet, but I'm looking to replace my beloved Audi 90 quattro (killed in an accident), and am looking at an older Outback. I found a 1996 Outback locally that looks pretty good, but haven't gone to look at it yet. I do have one question....how do these older Outbacks fit a large person? My husband is a big guy, 6'5", so anything I buy will need to fit him too. He was super comfy in my Audi...that was the only car he could actually fir in without the seated being moved all the way back! That thing was like the TARDIS...bigger on the inside. Anyway, this will be my daily, but I'm not averse to having some fun either. We wheeled Samurai's for years, but they're too hard to find anymore, plus I have 3 big dogs that like to go too, so the practicality of the Outback is looking pretty good! Anything in particular I should be aware of, besides the obviious? I know to check the maintenance records for oil change intervals and timing belt/tensioner/water pump changing, but what about the head gasket issues? Are they a problem on the older models (such as 96)? Rust issues? Where are they most likely to have rust? Any info appreciated...and yeah, I've been reading this forum for the past 2 days, but sometimes model year specific info can be tricky to find if you don't word the search correctly. I'll make it even better...link me a link, and I'll be good! Thanks!