moosens Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1441791703003933/ Friends down in NC have a great son who is looking at this car above. He’s a great kid - young man - and we’d all like to see him healthy and in decent financial standing. So me being cheap I’d immediately advise against it. But how are these things for overall money dumping ? To me it’s a turbo right ? So I’m past that age. I know a turbo with age is going to be an issue. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 so many questions....how many previous owners? who did the maintenance? has the timing belt system been serviced and by whom? all japanese parts? premium fuel only. even if all the history is positive, it's a higher risk used vehicle than many, many others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 (edited) Avoid. A decade old turbo with no known history. I'd suggest an outback as they're larger and heavier and safer because of it. There's no substitute for size and impreza's are small. The highest risk for accidents is 16-19 year olds so safety isn't a bad consideration. Scour the wrecked auto auctions and look at totaled Subaru's - I buy from those places and it seems to me outbacks fare better as the weight suggests they should. There are turbo Outbacks and they come in H6's for a little extra power without the turbo's maintenance, repair, and failure horror stories. Any turbo gas engine is one small failure away from $5,000+ in repairs. My buddies 30k mile cream puff turbo blew up a a year or two ago - $10k repairs. And more. It happens. But let's be realistic - if the kid is looking at this and it's even remotely possible for his parents to be entertaining it - then practicality and finances are obviously of little concern. This kid obviously has free reign to get some sporty aesthetic he's after. That car is nothing remotely close to a good financial or safety decision, so those things probably don't matter much beyond just talking about it. If that's true, let's mitigate all the heat/synthetic oil/intervals/mods/maintenance issues possible with a turbo. I would want documentation on timely synthetic oil changes. Those engines are extremely unforgiving. Non-turbo's - who cares, don't let it get low and change it sometimes and they're fine. Turbo's...they like to blow up if you give them a reason. Get the VIN and pull all the data on it - VIN check, carfax, ask owner for maintenance history, and call the local subaru dealers to see what's been done to it. Pay particular attention to the oil changes and oil/cooling/turbo related work/repairs/modifications. At a minimum it needs a timing belt job ($1,000 at a dealer if it's done properly with Subaru belt, pulleys, tensioner). Mileage doesn't matter, it'll well past the age limit. Edited September 27, 2022 by idosubaru 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 It's listed mileage is 105,000. That's the exact mileage, 105,000, that subaru requires the timing belt to be replaced. So it may be the case that he's listing it for sale because he just got an estimate for the timing belt job. So that might suggest a reason for being sold. I always want to know why a car is being sold. Not just the reason someone gives, but the real reason they're getting rid of it. There's some reason they don't want it - why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan909 Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 (edited) 1. Kids these days. Why, when I was a boy... I wasn't "a great kid". I was kind of an @sshole. My dad gave me a '64 Rambler Classic (287ci) that had a very funny story attached to it that I won't get into here. But it was safe because I was wrapped in so much Detroit iron that I could have spent a day on the demo derby track and the paint would barely have been scratched. It's long gone, but I'm (gradually) restoring another one now and plan to put an (AMC) 327 in. My ultimate goal is to find an old tube car radio for it. If I can, it'll get the vanity plate "EMP HARD". 2. When my girls turned 16 (just under four years ago), the plan was to give them the '99 Forester that a friend had given me (it had been his dad's and the AT was funky). I replaced the tranny and cleaned it up and it gave us great service for a few years, then a deer wiped it out. We got more insurance money for it than expected, so I got a really nice '02 Forester (blown motor, but all mod cons) for $500 from a country junkyard. Put in a new motor, got everything cleaned up and dialed in, and then a deer wiped it out - just prior to their birthday. So with the insurance money we got another Forester ('01) for about $500, and other than it getting a little banged up when a moose ran them off the road on the way to school (them, not the moose, and it sounds funny, but that's actually very serious sh!t), they're still driving it (though it's seen a HG job, and later a full engine rebuild (spun rod bearing)). They're also on their second ragtop Mustang, but I won't get into that other than to say we jam econo. 3. A few years ago I drove by a used car dealer that had one of those portable fluorescent-moveable-letters signs out by the road. It said "30 CARS UNDER $15,000!" I did the mental math and thought, "yeah, that's about right." The moral of this story is: I'm really fsck'ing long-winded. No, not that, the other moral: New drivers, regardless of how "good" they are, need cheap cars that'll take a beating and keep them as safe as possible. 4WD good. $13K USD bad. Turbo bad - I don't have (and haven't had) one, but I'm surrounded by horror stories. I'm with you - I think he should start out with something more modest... and learn to pull a wrench so that if he wants to "graduate" into something sportier later it won't be a money pit. Edited September 27, 2022 by jonathan909 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 hate to say it, but I have to agree with both ido and jonathan - no way I would get a teenager (even a supposedly responsible one) a turbo anything, let alone a WRX. sure, it is a pretty nice looking car, but like ido asked - WHY is it being sold? the REAL reason? is it because of the needed timing job? or is there some other hidden defect that has not been mentioned? A turbo is just not a good choice for a first car for a kid.. or even a 2nd car, for that matter.. unless the kid is paying for it him/her self, there is no way i would go there as a parent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted September 28, 2022 Author Share Posted September 28, 2022 All the things I said too. Thanks guys ! I advised the mom but the son was already on his way to see it. And that’s when she told me there a SALVAGE TITLE. So I said whoa momma ! Stop that boy. And she read the lengthy text I had sent her to him as he was still enroute to the WRX. Haven’t heard back yet. Basically I mentioned pretty much all that you nice folks had said. Older turbo - going to need attention- same crap I’m telling my own son and luckily he’s getting to the age where he is listening and Agreeing !! Now he needs to sell his own little turbocharged Ford thing. But that’s his story. I told the mom it’s like this: if the car runs well the kid is going to throw money at it thinking he will find some “gains” and if it’s not running well he’ll be tossing money at it that way. Yeah , I didn’t have it too easy either. Two older brothers, one had a VW beetle and the other went for the muscle cars. I went for the little Japanese “crap boxes” those guys didn’t want. First one of my very own was a 68 Le Mans with bald tires. 350 mild tuned. A slug really. That’s one of the reasons I leaned into the smaller cars. And once you’re a teenager and find out the front seats fold flat !!! Whoa !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 If they can't buy it with savings/cash and have money for the insurance they should not get it! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 (edited) There's a class action on rod bearing failures. Engine replacement cost is rarely less than $10k. I have no less than 6 of that exact chassis awaiting engine builds at my shop currently. Wouldn't touch it with someone else's dirty d1ck beaters without lots of records and a thorough inspection including FILTER CUT and detailed inspection of contents. Young man will have REALLY high insurance costs. Manual transmission and turbocharger are both HUGE red flags to the insurance providers. Likely going to be $300 to $600 a month to insure it for a new driver. Transmission and drivetrain on them is pretty solid but he's going to burn through clutches. That model is easily capable of 315 HP @ THE WHEELS with an intake, exhaust, and a custom tune. That's not the 265 HP that's advertised. That's 360 HP at the crank and that's only going to cost him about $2k to get it there. He likely already knows this and isn't telling mom. He will be dangerous in short order or he will pick a poor choice for a tuner and blow it up. See my first sentence...... Honestly a terrible idea for a first car. GD Edited September 28, 2022 by GeneralDisorder 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted September 28, 2022 Author Share Posted September 28, 2022 Thanks for the details which I will pass along. He’s a great young man. Did downhill bicycle until an eye issue. Not a new driver, currently owns a Forester for a couple years now. Sure the insurance was discussed at the head. That alone should kill the deal. They still want it .... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 yeah.. salvage title on it? No way in he-double toothpicks.. forgetaboutit... I dont care how nice it looks right now.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 a '64 Rambler Classic (287ci) I had one of those, among the most trouble free vehicles I ever drove. "Weather Eye" instrument cluster, and 'desert only' knob lol! FULLY reclining front seats hubba-hubba 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan909 Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 6 hours ago, 1 Lucky Texan said: a '64 Rambler Classic (287ci) I had one of those, among the most trouble free vehicles I ever drove. "Weather Eye" instrument cluster, and 'desert only' knob lol! FULLY reclining front seats hubba-hubba Damn straight, bubba. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.