Is this a deal at $750? Guy says the tranny is starting to slip. It is a auto. It also has a dent on the right front bumper. Should I get it? What is this thing really worth?

You can just swap the tranny. See how the motor is...might have bad HG's

The guy says it runs fine. He is only getting rid of it because he needs a bigger car for his family.

What's the mileage? I'd give it a good going over for torque bind, head gasket signs, etc.

 

Check the ATF; the 'trans slipping' could be as simple as low fluid level.

Yeah I was thinking that. The guy thought he had a bad tranny but he found out that he needed a new battery instead. Makes me wonder if anything is actually wrong at all. Don't know what the mileage is yet either. Says the interior is perfect too.

Yeah I was thinking that. The guy thought he had a bad tranny but he found out that he needed a new battery instead. Makes me wonder if anything is actually wrong at all. Don't know what the mileage is yet either. Says the interior is perfect too.

I think it looks well worth the price, just in parts.

My 2cents

Take the car out for a good 20 to 30 minute drive. Keep your eye glued to the temperature guage to see if the motor starts to over heat because of a bad head gasket.

 

Also, take it out on a highway to feel how it drives at speed. Notice if the car steers to one side, or if tires are out of balance. Check the oil dip stick. Does the oil look clean?

 

Do the brakes stop the car nice and straight? Listen for grinding noise when brakes applied. That will tell you if you need new brakes?

 

Good luck, the price seems right, if the car is as good as you say.

The price is good. Swap the transmission with one from a pick a part yard and have a nice car for less than $1000.

 

If you take the bumper cover off, you can usually pop dents like than out from behind and it won't look too bad after a little cleaning and buffing out.

Ok the owner called me back this morning and gave me a little more info on the car. It has 180,000 miles. He told me he knows nothing about cars too. He was driving it at the time and said the tranny was working fine. He says that once in a while when he tries to start it it just clicks. He replaced the battery. So I was thinking starter? Ignition module possibly? Any thoughts? I am going to go check it out this afternoon. i am probably going to buy it anyway just because of the low price. come on it's a Subaru. How hard could it be to fix?

Might need a set of starter contacts, which is an easy cheap fix. There are several posts on the board, some with pictures. Search for "starter contacts".

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=80785&highlight=starter+contacts

i think most 96 outbacks came with ej22's in them in 97 they went to the 2.5 that had the horible headgasket problem. so for 750 plus a tranny you have a pretty good deal:headbang:

Wow, around here a 96 Outback even with those kind of problems would still be worth 5000....

i think most 96 outbacks came with ej22's in them in 97 they went to the 2.5 that had the horible headgasket problem. so for 750 plus a tranny you have a pretty good deal:headbang:

 

Nope!

 

2.5 in the automatic 96 outback and recommended PREMIUM FUEL (the only year for that) the 2.2 was only available in the 96 Outback with a manual transmission.