Manarius Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 After doing a lot of research/pricing, I'm nearly convinced that I want to buy a semi-local 2000 Outback Limited Auto. It has the dual sunroofs, leather, heated seats, etc. Having done some research, I know of a few major issues with the 2000 Outback, but my question is how often do these things happen. Are they guaranteed? I don't want to drop nearly 6000 on a car only for one of the listed issues to happen: 1. External HG leak. I can handle this if it actually happens as repair is permanent after being fixed. I looked at the car and didn't notice a serious leak. For as long as the car had been there, the oil spot under it looked tame (maybe 3 in. in diameter). The car had the timing belt/water pump replaced just over a year ago, so that's a plus. 2. Transmission delay (this one worries me the most). Is this something that happens on all the autos or is it just something unlucky? I don't want to do the trans-x fix every year if I don't have to. I didn't get a chance to drive the car (dealer wanted an offer before he would even let me get behind the wheel....), so I don't know if the car actually has the issue or not. 3. Another issue I could be missing? I know about Subaru issues, I drive a SVX after all. But, at 196k miles, it still runs basically correctly and I spent way less than 6000 on it. Any thoughts/help would be much appreciated; TIA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 only that it has bad headgaskets. If you can live with that cost fix and the selling price. to me 6g and no records of Headgasket replacement, on a car that has them fail 100%, i say 6g is about 2 g too high. unless records of HG replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 only that it has bad headgaskets. If you can live with that cost fix and the selling price. to me 6g and no records of Headgasket replacement, on a car that has them fail 100%, i say 6g is about 2 g too high. unless records of HG replacement. They fail 100% of the time? I know that's the case for the Phase I DOHC 2.5, but I didn't know that was the case for the Phase II SOHC 2.5. My friend has a 2002 and I was looking under his car and noticed that his were weeping a little. So, he got the conditioner and eventually had them replaced (before they even caused any issue) for like $1700. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 They leak, but at least they don't blow out like the phase 1 dohc. car is overpried by the 2g i mentioned. otherwise you buy the car at 6g, and spend 1700 to fix them, then you are looking at a 8g car already. that is 12 year old. way overpriced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petersubaru Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 The subi HG's are poor quality and 100% replacement comes sooner rather then later on most 2.5..if the TBelt pulleys have not been changed out along with the TB, espcially the cogged pulley, then expect it to not last the until the next TB change.. I think, but not sure..the tranny problems were fixed by yr 2000..still had smaller front brake discs on the 2000... for your viewing if you have not already seen them... http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-timing-belt-idlers-part-ii/ and http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-head-gasket-problems-explained/#comment-72547 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petersubaru Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 They fail 100% of the time? I know that's the case for the Phase I DOHC 2.5, but I didn't know that was the case for the Phase II SOHC 2.5. My friend has a 2002 and I was looking under his car and noticed that his were weeping a little. So, he got the conditioner and eventually had them replaced (before they even caused any issue) for like $1700. ... I had no dripping of oil or coolant, just some smudge on the back lower head...by this time it is to late to think your vehicle is reliable anymore for long haul and the subi conditioner will not work..the gaskets are disintigrating and those small black particles are floating around in the coolant..when it gets really severe you can see them accumulate at the bottom of the over flow bottle by looking underneath with a flash light.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 EJ25 HG is not a 100% failure rate. price is subjective, but that sounds about right. it varies a lot by time of year and area. unless i missed it, he didn't list mileage. a 50,000 mile vehicle that would be a stellar deal. 200,000 miles, not so much. $6,740 on kelly blue book for private seller 100k good condition. great condition, dealer certified, lower miles is going to push that up. assuming the miles are around 100k, i would easily sell it for $6k here in late fall, winter, and tax season...and probably all year long and more likely $6,500. i would be hesitant to pay top dollar on an unknown headgasket. did you look to see if it's been replaced yet? or ask the original owner, they may know where it's been maintained and you can call Subaru or elsewhere? if you're willing to do the work, it's not that expensive to do it for the parts. if you have to pay the labor then it's a tough call. it's unfortunate for folks to pay what they want for a car and then within a year they need $1,500 in work done, that's not a good fit for most people and it happens quite often. as soon as you get it, change the coolant and add subaru's coolant conditioner additive. the delayed forward engagement can be fixed once with the trans X - it usually holds just fine and isn't a big deal. this is peculiar to 99's and some 00's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 EJ25 HG is not a 100% failure rate. price is subjective, but that sounds about right. it varies a lot by time of year and area. unless i missed it, he didn't list mileage. a 50,000 mile vehicle that would be a stellar deal. 200,000 miles, not so much. $6,740 on kelly blue book for private seller 100k good condition. great condition, dealer certified, lower miles is going to push that up. assuming the miles are around 100k, i would easily sell it for $6k here in late fall, winter, and tax season...and probably all year long and more likely $6,500. i would be hesitant to pay top dollar on an unknown headgasket. did you look to see if it's been replaced yet? or ask the original owner, they may know where it's been maintained and you can call Subaru or elsewhere? if you're willing to do the work, it's not that expensive to do it for the parts. if you have to pay the labor then it's a tough call. it's unfortunate for folks to pay what they want for a car and then within a year they need $1,500 in work done, that's not a good fit for most people and it happens quite often. as soon as you get it, change the coolant and add subaru's coolant conditioner additive. the delayed forward engagement can be fixed once with the trans X - it usually holds just fine and isn't a big deal. this is peculiar to 99's and some 00's. 117k miles. I couldn't do the HG work myself, I'd have to pay. It's at a dealer and the dealer showed me paperwork that the timing belt had been replaced, but nothing about the HG's. I looked in the coolant overflow tank. It looked a little low, but not that low. Color was a dark green. It's not dealer certified and I don't know about what kind of certification or warranty could be obtained (the dealership is a used car dealership and the guy seemed kind of hesitant to let me drive the car for some reason...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john40iowa Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I advocated and got my friend the 2000 Outback (around 2006). She has now around 200K on it now. Yes the head gaskets went around 150K, otherwise almost no problems beyond basic maintenance. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surferdroz Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I have a 2000 Outback limited I'm selling for $4500. They're awesome cars, the only critique I have for them is they go through CV joints like every two years. Other than that they're awesome cars and last forever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 As discussed by others, the 99 and 00 models had a tranny problem with delayed forward engagement. I don't know that it affects every car those two years, but it affects enough of them to be a known problem.I wrote the original thread about using Trans-X to correct the problem. From my own experience with my 99, Trans-X treatment last one year. The good news is draining and filling the trany with new fluid 3 times, and adding Trans-X with the last fill, will give you another year of good tranny operation free of delayed forward engagement. I am three years into using Trans-X, and the product still performs great. It is just kind of a nuisance to change tranny fluid every summer in my car. I am surprised that the dealer wanted you to make an offer even before getting behind the wheel. That is pure nonsense. I sell used cars part time, and always let a potential buyer drive a car before making an offer. Usually, I ride with the customer on his test drive, and continue to talk about the car in a positive manner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 we had a 2000 outback. got it with 75k on it in 2004, i know im bad, but i never got around to changing the timing belts until 175k when my wife had the radiator blow up on her and warped the head. previous to that the HG's were fine, i never had to add coolant or anything. never experienced the tranny thing. we put a used engine in from a junkyard, so the new timin belt etc i got went on that. then the car got tboned last winter and the ej25 is in my loyale now, but other than the radiator and my wife being a typical woman (i dont mean that in a bad way, just how men and women work) the car was great. had to change an axle once on it, no cv issues, it was the DOJ. we replaced it with a 2002 OB, basically the same car for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john40iowa Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 As discussed by others, the 99 and 00 models had a tranny problem with delayed forward engagement. I don't know that it affects every car those two years, but it affects enough of them to be a known problem.I wrote the original thread about using Trans-X to correct the problem. From my own experience with my 99, Trans-X treatment last one year. The good news is draining and filling the trany with new fluid 3 times, and adding Trans-X with the last fill, will give you another year of good tranny operation free of delayed forward engagement. I am three years into using Trans-X, and the product still performs great. It is just kind of a nuisance to change tranny fluid every summer in my car. I am surprised that the dealer wanted you to make an offer even before getting behind the wheel. That is pure nonsense. I sell used cars part time, and always let a potential buyer drive a car before making an offer. Usually, I ride with the customer on his test drive, and continue to talk about the car in a positive manner. I agree! If didn't test drive on the freeway, and if it wasn't a gift, I say see ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercuryrising17 Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 I would not ever buy a car from a salseman that required an offer before a test drive. they r trying to rip you off. Sounds like this is a risky deal and I would pass on it. Take your time and look for a while and you can get a great subbie for a great price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbeerd Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I would not ever buy a car from a salseman that required an offer before a test drive. they r trying to rip you off. Sounds like this is a risky deal and I would pass on it. Take your time and look for a while and you can get a great subbie for a great price. x2 yeah thats pretty crappy and sheisty! i've never heard that one before for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercuryrising17 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 What are the details on the pugnacious and where r u located at. my old boss is looking for one in that price range. She is in idaho falls area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted October 28, 2011 Author Share Posted October 28, 2011 I actually passed on the vehicle and am instead looking at a 2002 LL Bean Edition Outback with 87k miles. Trying to get the vehicle down to 8k in price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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