Ok went to see a 89 GL wagon Turbo. It has a Fair interior, all the electrics work. Very little rust on one fender. Engine has 125k miles and the heads and oil pan are leaky. It starts of but when you press the gas pedal it gurgles and acts like its gonna stall. Its FWD and has a Manual in it. He wants $300 for it, what do you guys think? You think $1,000 for mechanical repairs alone would be enough. I also think it needs an airflow sensor.

Replace the CTS and MAF, $300 is hard to pass up cos you could part it out for that...

$1,000 for someone else to do it or for you to do it?

 

if you're not doing it yourself and don't have a very experienced old school subaru person doing the work, i'd pass. otherwise there's a good chance they'll miss some important items to make it a reliable vehicle. that's assuming you're paying someone to do the head gasket work.

 

turbo's..and really any EA engine...need a good deal of maintenance to be reliable. and if you're putting $1,000 in it you might as well do it right. no point in spending $1,000 to have some $20 turbo hose blow a year later. nearly all seals and hoses should be replaced in my opinion. that's true even of a "good" car, but becomes even more important on a car that's cycled through some overheating.