Hi everyone,

 

I am new to the subbie world and dont know a whole lot a bout them. Im stationed overseas in japan and have found a 2001 legacy b4 sedan with ~110K miles on it for $1500. I was planning on going out to the dealership this weekend and taking a look at the car but i wanted to know if anyone had any specifics for me that I should look out for? I work on cars and have a pretty good understanding of basic things i need to check allready but i know that sometimes these cars can be tricky and I dont want to buy a project car.

Thank you for any help that you can give

A couple things come to mind right away: 

The usual cold start stuff: check condition and level of fluids on it while cold and then keep an eye out for puffs of smoke on startup. 

Torque bind: after driving it up to temperature go to a parkinglot or somewhere big and paved. do a few slow, tight figure-8 type maneuvers to feel for torque bind. If you notice the car digging and hopping around like a 4x4 would do on bare pavement then the centre "diff" in the transmission is exhibiting what we call 'torque bind'. You can search lots about that around here if need be.

Leaks (old subarus don't really leak, they mark their territory):  Headgaskets in that generation tend to weep externally at a slow rate. if you can get under the front of it look for a line of dirt a scuzz stuck to the coolant/oil that has seeped out between head and block on either side. And of course have a look around for other general leaks.



Hopefully others will speak up for things that I've missed, and good luck! 

Thanks A lot Fishy,

I will defenitely look out for those now and see about the torque bind. hoping it doesnt have it because the car looks to be in amazing shape but important for me to know now before i get tunnel vision when im looking at it in person.