Hi,

 

Haven't posted in some time, I am going to look at a 1996 Subie Legacy L wagon with 103k, automatic, supposed to come with 2 sets of tires, snow tires and a set of all season tires, also comes with chains, apparently this guy was from greece and was nervous about driving in our Philly weather, shrug. Anyway he wants $2k and he is going to let me take it to my mechanic who I am sure will go over it pretty well, he has done this a few times for my over the years. So I know to to do the slow figure 8's to check for torque bind, he told me it has a small oil leak, and the abs light comes on and goes off now and then, so what should I be checking for or have my mechanic look for, any help would be appreciated.

 

BTW my wife's 96 impreza outback has 187k on it and is still running strong, although I bought that car in 2005 and so this car makes me a bit more nervous to be buying a 14-15 year old car as a daily driver. Thanks, Jay.

with only 103K, you should be in good shape. It sounds like you';re going prepared to give it a good once over.

 

Good luck and post pics when you drive it home

My 95 with 200K runs so well I recently decided to spend $1K for new tires/struts/brakes/timing belts.

Besides a bad clutch (getting fixed now), and some oil leaks my 96 runs beautifully with 178k on the clock.

I have 186K on my '95. Oil leaks are often from the valve covers and the front oil pump seal. These arn't expensive since your going to have to do the timing belt soon and they don't leak much. Another oddity of this era Soob is that the gas filler pipe often rusts out about a foot below the filler because the plastic guard traps sand there and it stays wet. And of course, the rear fenders very often rust through just behind the passinger doors, but you can observe that.

Ive got 211,000 on my 96 Legacy and it still runs great...Just as a side note...try to get as much previous repair info as you can on the car...Dont forget to have your mechanic check for torque bind...

170k on my 97 Brighton. Drives and rides like new on unbelievably original struts/shocks. Perfect no rust body at all and it lives in the rust belt too. It is used every day not afraid to drive it anywhere. And what does $2k buy anyhow. You are getting a low mileage, sophisticatedly simple AWD car that is as handy as a leatherman tool and easy to repair and cheap to run. If the car overall is decent, even if it has a mechanical flaw its worth spending the money on and fixing IMHO.

. . . sophisticatedly simple . . .

 

I like that description! May I use it?

Absolutely!!