loretts54 Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Hello, I am new to this forum. I need to buy a car as my 1988 honda blew its timing belt. I am looking at a 1996 Impreza, 128,000 miles, 2.2 engine. A good friend is the second owner. The car has a salvage title. She bought it four years ago from an auto body man. It is a reconstructed vehicle and she said it had to pass state safety standards to get this title. SHe had a dealer go over it and they said she had a great car. That was four years ago. Since then, it has had a new battery, regular oil changes, new brake shoes on all four. She has put about 20,000 miles on it. No info on timing belt replacement. I took it for a ride and it seems like a great car. I looked underneath and saw possible oil leak issues, she said hasn't had to add oil between changes. On one of the pipes leading away from the engine the outer shell was rusted away, exposing a rusty inner pipe. I am assuming this is an expense waiting to happen. I was all set to bring it to the mechanic who worked on my car for 7 years to have him go over it, and when he heard it was an impreza, he said to skip it. He said they are problem cars, expensive to fix and have allot of issues. Can I hear from the forum about this? What experiences others have had? I am between a rock and a hard place and need a car, however, I need to know I am not buying more trouble. Owner says bluebook value is $3800 in good condition and she thinks $2200. is a fair price. I haven't offered anything yet, was going to get it checked out first. Should I even bother? I have the VIN and was going to spend the $$ to do a Carfax check also. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctoth Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 The 2.2 is bomb-proof. I think that's a great price, given the uni-body isn't mangled. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I beleive the ej22 to be non-interference, right? If so, then the t-belt should be replaced but if it goes before you get to it, it shouldn't harm any internals. The 2.2 liter engine is the best subaru motor hands down. I would not hesitate to buy this vehicle at that price. Some well-cared for ej22's go 400,000 miles plus. Has your mechanic seen it? That generation impreza is great, except for the paint but anything rusts up here in NE. I guess I don't understand why your mechanic would say that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtsmiths Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Seems pretty steep to me for a reconstructed car ... http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/car/251445449.html ...compare. But maybe it's a regional thing. Unless you're desperate, I'd keep looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanski06 Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 ur mechanic is probably telling you that..because he knows that these cars dont break....and would rather have you buy something else so he still has a job.... the impreza's are great cars i have a 96 impreza L AWD 2.2l 210,000 miles....runs great besides a tranny problem that the last owner developed, and my g/f has a 93 L 1.8 165,000 also reliable however since it has a salvage title, and no service records...i wouldnt give them too much..even tho the timingbelt or pulleys could break and not leave any damage; u will still be stranded and still have to pay for towing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 at $2,200 you aren't going to get "unrisky" vehicles like a new car. but...the impreza you speak of is about as close as you can get. very reliable vehicle for that price range. if there are no records, it will need timing belts, water pump, thermostat, basic tune up. that's the case with any vehicle of this age and mileage, not impreza specific. that 2.2 is solid, i made sure my wife's car had it. the car-fax will likely show all sorts of flags...ten pages of red, bold letters exclaiming the reconstruction, don't let that scare you. have a mechanic try to figure out what kind of accident it was in and how bad it was. are the air bags functioning properly? reconstructed title isn't bad, but nice to have it checked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 my last mechanic in richmond, va also said subarus were expensive to repair when they got old. he preferred hondas. (he drove a huge american pickup.) but he worked on my subys and didn't complain more than he did while working on bmws or toyotas. i've had good luck with my legacys. i can't believe the quality of an impreza would be much different. i've driven over 200k subaru miles on 3 legacys (93, 95, 97obw) and i've replaced 4 timing belts and 1 tranmission and one clutch pack. i spent a total of $14,100 for all 3 and sold the 93 to the insurance company for $3000 after the wreck. the only thing i've driven that comes close to that is my 90 nissan pickup. bought it new, now has 177k miles. i'd still be driving it every day if it had a back seat. subarus cost less to buy than other cars, they run longer, and you get AWD. what's not to love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moodybluesr Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 Having been a Honda guy for over ten years and having recently switched to Subaru for my daily driver (a 1997 Impreza) I say jump on it. Your mechanic may not have too much experience with Subaru and could be a little intimidated. After working on them a little bit he will lose his aprehension. Timing belts are a PITA on Hondas, especially the later gen Accords and 'Ludes with the balance shafts. The timing belt/water pump job on my Impreza took all of three hours the first time I did it. I could probably whittle that down to two next time. The suspension and steering work I have done has also been very straight forward. Speaking as a mechanic, I say go for it, as long as the unibody's structure looks pretty solid from the rebuild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUBARU3 Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 Actually the quality, fit and finish are BETTER in the Impreza. The Impreza is assesmbled in Japan still. The Legacy in Indiana. I have both and both are good cars, but there are little things that seem better, tighter, higher quality in the Impreza. Todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loretts54 Posted December 21, 2006 Author Share Posted December 21, 2006 Hello everyone, Thanks for all the responses. So far, the Impreza is still in the running. The Carfax is a little intimidating and confusing. Any way to post a copy of this so perhaps someone can help me make sense of it. ? An accident is indicated, saying "Alert! Severe problems were reported by a state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). This vehicle does not qualify for the CARFAX Buyback Guarantee". There are items regarding the mileage, "Exceeds mechanical limits title", which I am interpreting as to mean that the odometer is five digit and rolled over, however, the mileage from the first owner to the third is off by four hundred miles. Maybe just a mistake on the part of the third owner, (My friend). The second owner was the body man who did the work, I think. Still getting more info on that. Any way to check with the PA DMV to find out what kind of accident? I want to have a mechanic go over it, not the guy who said Imprezas are problems. How do I check to make sure the unibody is solid? What do I look for or have a mechanic check for? As far as I know, is is a non-interference engine. Another thing someone said to me is that because of the R title, the car has no value if I went to resell or trade in. A dealer would not give me anything for it and it would be hard to resell should I want to. I appreciate all the input here. Thanks so much !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 You are going to need a mechanic you can trust when you have the car, so now is the time to find a good Subaru person. They are also going to know what to look for on a wrecked car, bad gaps on body panels, corrosion, tires wearing funny, tracking crabwise when going down the road. Just follow the car and you can learn a lot. A good mechanic will also tell you what work it is likely to need in the near future. A salvage title does really hurt a car's value as many folks won't buy a salvage car at all. The bad repair folks have been known to stuff air bags so they don't work and do a lot of other things that its hard to see. Flood cars were a real problem after Katrina. That being said if you are wary a salvage title can be a deal. A friend got good service out of a Honda that had been stolen and stripped. Nothing serious had been hurt and with new panels, seats, and radio it was fine. Just have it carefully inspected as it's your money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 shouldnt' be too hard to peak around the engine bay, under the car and see what kind of damage was sustained. if they cut off the front and welded on a new front clip, that would be obvious unless they were looney in their attention to detail (high unlikely). don't mind the carfax - their nice, but just a tool. i've bought cars and seen the ALERT ALERT things. they make it seem as if the car is demon-possessed. for paying top-dollar then maybe it's important but looking for a deal, it's just information you need to use in conjunction with everything else so don't worry about it. yes a 1996 is NOT an inteference engine. i believe your 1988 honda is not either. i looked up a friends honda accord this fall and his was not interference. so that vehicle should be good to go with a new belt. he ended up selling it to the mechanic for $50 because the mechanic gave him the load of crap..."might have some serious damage in there...". mechanic probably put a new belt on in 1 hour and sold the car for $1,000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moodybluesr Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 shouldnt' be too hard to peak around the engine bay, under the car and see what kind of damage was sustained. if they cut off the front and welded on a new front clip, that would be obvious unless they were looney in their attention to detail (high unlikely). don't mind the carfax - their nice, but just a tool. i've bought cars and seen the ALERT ALERT things. they make it seem as if the car is demon-possessed. for paying top-dollar then maybe it's important but looking for a deal, it's just information you need to use in conjunction with everything else so don't worry about it. yes a 1996 is NOT an inteference engine. i believe your 1988 honda is not either. i looked up a friends honda accord this fall and his was not interference. so that vehicle should be good to go with a new belt. he ended up selling it to the mechanic for $50 because the mechanic gave him the load of crap..."might have some serious damage in there...". mechanic probably put a new belt on in 1 hour and sold the car for $1,000. Don't know where you got your info Gary, but all Hondas built in '88 were interference. The Accords had the A20 SOHC 12 valve motors, carbed or FI, both of which were interference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 this one wasn't an 88, but it was older, i think maybe an 87...late 80's...early 90's. i'm going from memory. what i read indicated his honda wasn't interference, maybe it was a civic and not an accord? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loretts54 Posted December 22, 2006 Author Share Posted December 22, 2006 hello, RE: my post about my honda, 1988 civic 4 cylinder, 1.5.. according to the Gates website.. it is/was an intereference engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill90Loyale Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 Just an idea: Show your friend the carfax report and say $1500 take it or leave it (in as friendly a way as possible ). If it's a hidden lemon, you should be able to get $1000 back out of it. If it's not, you've got a $1000 cushion to get you going on the routine maintenance that most used cars need. With re: to the rusted thing under and behind the engine - my guess is you're looking at a rusted heat shield (no big deal, when it starts rattling, have it strapped up with a hose clamp or cut off if you don't live in the brushfire zone). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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