So it was an instant love with the '87 GL 3dr hatchback, 4spd manual, 4wd with working AC. A bit of rust only around the rear fenders, scratched side windows from tint removal attempt, but otherwise meticulously maintained judging from the repair records. It sounded real smooth and ran great even on the freeway at 65mph. May need $100 more to pass the stringent Maryland inspection, but hey a good running car with AC for less than $1000 sounds not too bad to me. The owner is asking $850 for it as is, but is it worth that much in your opinion? Bluebook value for one in a "good" condition is $830. It has 122K miles on it. I think it will grow on me and in the end a few hundred bucks in the purchase price will be insignificant, but I want experts' opinions. This will be my first Subaru. Any input including what to watch out for will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

mt700a1

OK, I would probably talk him down a bit anyway, especially since there is rust on it. Overall it does sound like a good car, and you will love the 4WD when it snows. Even if you can't get the price down, it is still a good car and a fairly good deal.

I'd try to talk him down to about 700-750, but bring cash with you if he sees that you have cash he might be more willing to take less

I paid $150 for mine and it sounds like it's in better shape than that one. Of course I did have to drive 900 miles to pick it up.

Yes, that is a good price for a good running hatch, especially on the East Coast. Grab it.

Thanks for encouraging comments. I have a few more questions. Does it have an "ENG" warning light that comes on every 60,000 miles? I was told that this comes on at that interval regardless of the engine condition. Also, how hard is it to replace the timing belt? I read that the valves are non-interference type which means you don't ruin the engine if the timing belt snaps.. you just can't drive until a new one is put on. Is that true for '87 GL?

yeh but if you snap a belt on the way to something youll be stranded on the side of the road. Yeh i beieve the check light does come at the intervill that it belts are meant to be changed

A hatch is going to be ea81 powered, which means no timing belts. A major bonus when considering tune-ups.

 

Edit: Oh and none of mine have ever had that engine light. Maybe it's just a ea82 thing?

My 88 GL hatch was free. My neighbor just got tired of looking at it.- Freed

500 bucks would be nice, i have never payed more than 300 bucks for a hatch.

 

remember, thats not the only one in the world. i always get good deals, because i wait for them. cant jump on the first overpriced subaru you fall in love with =]

So it was an instant love with the '87 GL 3dr hatchback, 4spd manual, 4wd with working AC. A bit of rust only around the rear fenders, scratched side windows from tint removal attempt, but otherwise meticulously maintained judging from the repair records. It sounded real smooth and ran great even on the freeway at 65mph. May need $100 more to pass the stringent Maryland inspection, but hey a good running car with AC for less than $1000 sounds not too bad to me. The owner is asking $850 for it as is, but is it worth that much in your opinion? Bluebook value for one in a "good" condition is $830. It has 122K miles on it. I think it will grow on me and in the end a few hundred bucks in the purchase price will be insignificant, but I want experts' opinions. This will be my first Subaru. Any input including what to watch out for will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

mt700a1

This model doesn't have timing belts. The light does come on at 60,000 mile intervals to have the EGR valve serviced.

 

He's asking $850.00. If it needs the additional work to pass DEQ and the blue book value is $830. Then you should present that to him as such and offer him $730.00. The only problem with that is he may decline your offer. A Subaru of that age that isn't rusted all over is a rare find in Maryland. I would crawl under it and verify the wheel well rust hasn't migrated into the frame rails or any of the undercarraige for that matter.

 

Don't let the stories of free and next to nothing Subes steer you away from this one. Very few of those freebies are worth more than parts.

 

Good luck!

 

Don't let the stories of free and next to nothing Subes steer you away from this one. Very few of those freebies are worth more than parts.

 

Good luck!

you assume too much

Not really, you'll notice, or not, that I said most not all. And I am willing to bet that all/most had to be repair to some extent to make them road worthy.

And something else to consider is this. If all Subaru's could be had for free or pennies on the dollar what would yours be worth?

i just think of it like this. most people look at these things like throw away cars. if they need too much work, they toss em out. thats why i see near perfect ones in the junkyard, only to find a broken timing belt, or a bad set of brake rotors.

 

i hate seeing people pay too much for these things. you will see one for 500 one week, and the same one could pop up a month later for 1200 bucks.

 

if they were all cheap... does that mean id get less respect from big offroad rigs, or more... cuz nobody ever thinks mine are worth anything. =] cept subaru people.

I agree, for the most part. But paying fair market value for something is just that, Fair. Most of the time you find ones like that in the junkyard is because some mechanic treid to bend them over and they just decided that they could get a new car with less headaches.

 

Very few of the big offroaders are ever going to give respect for anything but what they are driving so don't wait for that.

 

But I will stand by my original post and say that if the Hatch he is looking for is in good shape it is worth paying for. Escpecially considering his area. Salt sucks!!

i agree wholeheartedly!

you gotta have a hatch!

The area that it's in definitely is a big factor in what they're worth.

 

I personally have never paid more than $300 for any of my Subarus(except for the WRXs obviously) and every one was roadworthy and in fair to decent shape. Last week a nice looking XT down the road was sent to the crusher because the owner didn't want to do the heads. I was given an '81 wagon yesterday that the guy just dropped $500 in less than a year ago, the only problem? It was old he bought something else and needed a battery. If you personally believe he's offering a good deal, don't let it go. It may not be there if you change you mind.