Hello USMB,

 

Recently been thinking of purchasing an older Loyale wagon... I've owned 2 subarus, a 2001 that I sold after the HG went and a 98 that I sold after the timing belt exploded on me. My current vehicle is a 95 tacoma and while I love the 4wd capability, it's been expensive to fix and i'm growing a bit tired of low mpg's. I'm planning on hitting the road in a couple months for a long road trip across the western states and would like to sell the truck and pick up a wagon with decent offroad/snow capabilities and good mpg's (25-30mpg). I figured that for the selling price of my truck, I could pick up a loyale for a grand or so and throw a bit of cash at it to fix gaskets and other major components that need it, plus be able to put some back in the bank account. My question is this... A lot of the loyales i've seen for sale have around 220k on them. Do you think it's worth it to wait for something that has mid 100k's on it or just purchase the vehicle with a bit higher mileage that has already had some major things replaced on it? This thing definitely needs to be dependable since I'll be spending a good deal of time in the middle of nowhere in the desert southwest... 

 

Thanks!

Find one that doesn't leak oil, or doesn't leak much at least. Put a new timing belt kit in, new water pump, new oil pump, new distributor cap, wires, plugs, new radiator hoses, get a spare distributor and a spare alternator and fuel pump to keep just in case. Put a new battery in it. Replace axles if they click, check ball joints out, make sure wheel bearings are good. After all this, you should be gold. If you can do all this work yourself, except maybe the wheel bearings just cos it's a pain, it's not going to cost that much money. Also put new diff fluid in the rear and front and new gear oil in the trans.

If you need a shop to do all this work, just forget about it lol.

 

5 speed with push button 4 wheel drive will work well for you. If you're doing major offroading (for a car anyway) get one with the dual range transmission.

 

Personally I'd try to find a lower milage one. I own two and both of them had less than 55k on the clocks.

 

Don't get a turbocharged motor; just more that can go wrong with it.

 

Where are you located?

Oh and also, personally, if never pay more than 1500 for one in good shape with low miles. Both of mine I got for less than 1200. One I've driven across the country (twice), the other I took to Canada and back. Expect about 25 - 30 ish mpg highway.

If your going to the desert, you'll want to make sure the AC works.  The repair cost on those can get quite high.

Awesome, thanks for the info! I currently live in Portland OR. I'd be amazed to find any early 90's car with less than 100k on it, but I suppose they do exist if you look hard enough... I could do all the work listed myself except for the bearings. I've never swapped out an axel before as well, but it seems like it wouldn't be too bad. I don't plan on going down roads that are meant for wheeling, but I want the rig to handle sand and semi rutted out roads fairly well and definitely without overheating... 

If your going to the desert, you'll want to make sure the AC works. The repair cost on those can get quite high.

Not really though, so long as we're not talking about replacing the compressor itself. You can convert the system to use modern refrigerant, and most times the only problem with the system will be leaky o-rings at the couplers. Put in new rings and you should be good. Electrical problems with the system are easily resolved at the harness behind the glove box. If you find a couple cars post them up here and we'll share our thoughts on them

Cool, thanks! Here's one close by... http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/cto/4410967560.html

 

I would definitely work him down in price... 2k is way too much.

 

Plus side is that he has done a bit of work to the car recently. Downside is the miles. He said the paint and body looked good, but I haven't asked about rust yet.

Edited April 26, 201411 yr by DJA

Looks like the craigslist post just expired.. guess that takes care of that.

might go take a look at this one... high mileage, but honestly I'm not too sure if i'll be able to find one even in the 150k range...

 

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/4442816141.html

Looks to be in great shape. High mileage definitely. Not that these motors aren't good for it. inquire about last time timing belts and pulleys were done, water pump, etc. Front end, ball joints, all that stuff mentioned previously.

If any of those things need attention use that as a driving point to bring the price down. I could see $1,000 not being a bad price for that car. Naturally it'd be better at a lower price, but it sounds like there are slim pickings right now.

http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/pts/4446956521.html

OooOoOo ... Touring wagon. $750 would be a nice price for that wagon to me.

http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/pts/4446956521.html

 

Looks suspiciuosly like a turbo model.

 

That would make sense why blown gaskets....

 

Get it convert to carb or non-turbo MPFI.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to set up a time with the white loyale to check it out. Not too sure how I feel about the GL, 80k miles and a blown gasket seems a little suspect to me. I'd like to not get to involved with swapping motors or going super crazy with repairs since this will be my DD and not a project car. I'll try and get a bit more info though just to make sure i'm not passing up a good opportunity. I didn't even see that one a CL, so thanks a bunch for bringing my attention to it! 

Just picked up a '91 Wagon  134K blown head straight body,  $350.  That was up near Seattle.

http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/pts/4446956521.html

I like that one, the raised roof of the touring wagon is a little on the rare'r side, getting a good used engine I don't think is a real big deal, easiest car in the world to put an engine in, you don't want a Turbo car, most GL-10 (not all) were turbo, stay away from the turbo stuff, the absolute best years are 88, 89 spfi with a 5 speed duel range tranny, you might have that with this car if it's not an automatic.