Just purchased.

140,000 miles - 1 owner

Pristine.

$2800

Overall consensus?

Reliable vehicle?

Any bugs?

good car.

 

timing components should be replaced - tensioner, pulleys, and belt. do that and these motors easily last another 100,000 miles with minor maintenance items. interference engine so if the belt breaks it'll likely bend valves, i'm currently repairing two broken belt Subaru's - a 99 and 03 - both had multiple bent valves.

 

at nearly 10 years and that mileage the original tensioners and pulleys are not up to my standards to leave in there, i would plan on a complete timing belt job at some point even if the belt was replaced.

 

the only "issue" they have is the headgasket issue - they leak externally at the bottom or rear of the engine, you should probably go look right now and see if it's currently leaking - it's not that unheard of for them to hit the market as soon as they show initial signs.

 

the good news is it's not really an *issue* functionally speaking for a long time as long as it doesn't run low on oil or coolant (it can leak either).

good car.

 

timing components should be replaced - tensioner, pulleys, and belt. do that and these motors easily last another 100,000 miles with minor maintenance items. interference engine so if the belt breaks it'll likely bend valves, i'm currently repairing two broken belt Subaru's - a 99 and 03 - both had multiple bent valves.

 

at nearly 10 years and that mileage the original tensioners and pulleys are not up to my standards to leave in there, i would plan on a complete timing belt job at some point even if the belt was replaced.

 

the only "issue" they have is the headgasket issue - they leak externally at the bottom or rear of the engine, you should probably go look right now and see if it's currently leaking - it's not that unheard of for them to hit the market as soon as they show initial signs.

 

the good news is it's not really an *issue* functionally speaking for a long time as long as it doesn't run low on oil or coolant (it can leak either).

 

How much would the parts cost for the timing components and the head gasket? I have a mechanic who does excellent side work at a great rate.

 

Thanks for the tips.

Parts cost for timing components and water pump could be around $200 if getting the PCI or Gates kits such as off eBay. For genuine parts it gets expensive fast, mainly because the idlers are pricey. You can check out genuine parts prices at many web sites such as 1stsubaruparts.com subarupartsforyou.com and so on.