vincentmoy Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 I am looking at a subi. It's a 2000 SUBARU LEGACY BRIGHTON AWD 4cyl 5spd manaul trans. 185K on car, engine has 114k. New clutch. The current owner said the eng was bad when he got it in 09/08 so he replaced it with another. I check the Carfax and it said it has a minor accident in OR and has traveling from WA to AK pretty much. So I suppose most of the 185k is highway miles. The guy is asking for $4900. What do you guys think about it? I heard that the head gasket is quite sucky on those Eng. Is it true? Anyways, what do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 yes this engine has head gasket issues. just search the internet or here for EJ25 head gaskets and you'll get all sorts of info. this car is the Phase II SOHC, which is better than the Phase I at least. the alaskan market may be totally different than here so asking about price might not do you much good. price sounds high for my area, but i wouldn't want a brighton either. Brighton = rear drums, single pot front calipers (all other wagons including the L get dual pot calipers), and no power locks...maybe even no power windows? add to that the high miles and previous wreck and it sounds worse. if it has a rebuilt title then your resale value could be significantly hurt. new clutch is a big deal though as that's a rather large job. what about the timing belt? if you don't know when that's been changed then you have a $700 job ahead of you unless you do it yourself. this is an interference engine you can't just wing it on timing belts. personally i'd want the power options, larger brakes, rear disc and some of the other options of any other 2000+ legacy and i could do that for less money around here. you might not have the same market though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoobywagon Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 That price seems high to me, so I looked around on craigslist. Found this particular ad, even. Having dug around just a bit, it looks like Subaru's are significantly more expensive there than in the lower 48. So, if the car is as advertised, it might not be too bad a deal. Having said that, I'd pass on this one. The ad says "185K on car, engine has 114k". So he replaced the engine with one from a wrecking yard or something. Has that engine had its other maintenance? Head gaskets? Water pump? Rear main seal? I think I'd pass on the stripped down Brighton, as grossgary pointed out, and go for this one. 98 Impreza, extra wheels and tires, same miles, less money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 good point, might want to look at late 90's legacy or impreza with an EJ22 as well. some late 90's legacy's have the EJ22. i picked up a 97 for a friend recently. either way you're still at the age/mileage of major maintenance items. timing belts, transmission fluid flush, diff oil changes, PCV, water pump, etc. only the EJ22 won't have head gasket issues, so you're getting more reliability for less cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestboy Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 the Brighton is a 2.2 and has no headgasket issues. Here, such a car in good shape is around 2500 C$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 the Brighton is a 2.2 and has no headgasket issues. Here, such a car in good shape is around 2500 C$. I believe that that was the year that the body style changed for the Legacy and when it did they went to 2.5 for all models Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 car is about 2500 over priced. 4900 is way way way high Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentmoy Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 Thank you for all the inputs!! You guys don't know how much I appreciate! So Scoobywagon has mentioned about the 98 impreza. Do you guys think that it worth a try for such a hi miles car? I know a lot of subarus running around with 200k+ but @ the same time the late 90s and early 20s subaru seems to have all sort of problems. Thank you again! Vincent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Those are good cars. The 98 Impreza OBS came with the 2.2 engine and even though it was interference it was still a good car. My mother actually has one and loves it. Besides changing the oil she has only had to replace the struts and a knock sensor. They also get great gas mileage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 in 2000 i thought all legacy wagons had the EJ25, my bad. f it has an EJ22 or EJ25 with head gaskets already replaced, that's much better. in my area that's probably a $3,000 - $4,000 car. yes subaru's can easily make well over 200k+. but they can easily fail at 150,000 too. anything that has been well maintained is much more likely to see the 200k and 300k marks. so if it's a one owner vehicle with all the maintenance records it might be worth a look. being new is a good sign. good chance the radiator is still decent, etc. older cars with high miles tend to have all sorts of corroded, rusted, dry rotted hoses, clamps, and clogged/rusty radiators. all easy fixes, but all possibilities that it has at some point been overheated or run low on coolant. as for the OBS - it's a fantastic car. my wife loves hers. she's not a wagon fan and the little impreza OBS drive really nice. they don't sway at all around turns (which annoys me) and it handles very well. it's got benefits of a wagon but handles like a nice little small car. there are some downsides though, the OBS is really small. we're getting rid of ours now that we have a kid. it's too tight with the car seat back there. i'm only 5'10" and i still can't put the drivers seat as far back as i want in the impreza due to the car seat. the legacy i can. the legacy's are much nicer, just a little extra room, nicer trim, and stuff like that. the impreza's aren't as clean cut. cheaper trim, noisier driving, a bit more cramped, and the cup holders are in about the stupidest position possible. so the accouterments are lacking, but still a great car. test drive one and see what you like. they all (OBS) come with the EJ22 - fantastic motor. if no records you'll want a new timing belt kit installed (belt and all the pulleys. available on ebay for only $80 - i just bought two!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentmoy Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 Just check on the 1998 Impreza (180k mi). The owner said it had oil change in Oct, clutch done around 130-140k, timing belt done around 120-130k. It's a 2.2 also. Got 2 accidents according to Carfax. 1 has No damage or minor damage, the other has Minor to Moderate damage. It also got a recall from subaru on Axle Shaft Grease Leakage. Carfax also said there is a lien reported. I am going to look at the car tomorrow but what do you guys think about it? Vincent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 another accident vehicle, snow causing that? not a bad car, but that is high mileage. that would go for $2,000 tops around here. as a reference i bought a perfectly running 1997 OBS a few years ago that was previously wrecked/repaired as well. it was a newer vehicle and only had 60,000 miles on it. with 120,000 less miles i paid $3,500 for it. maybe you just need to fly down here and buy mine since we bought a larger legacy to replace it! how many miles do want to put on this thing? 20,000 or 100,000? i put a lot of miles on mine so i try and get lower miles. good car, good engine. if it's close you can at least go see if the lesser attributes of an impreza/OBS bother you or not. or you might totally dig the handling, which they do well. at 180k it's going to need a complete timing belt replacement with all the pulleys and such. the only cost effective method for doing that is buying the $80 ebay kits. from subaru the parts alone will cost closer to $500. add to those costs labor if you're paying someone to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentmoy Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 another accident vehicle, snow causing that? not a bad car, but that is high mileage. that would go for $2,000 tops around here. as a reference i bought a perfectly running 1997 OBS a few years ago that was previously wrecked/repaired as well. it was a newer vehicle and only had 60,000 miles on it. with 120,000 less miles i paid $3,500 for it. maybe you just need to fly down here and buy mine since we bought a larger legacy to replace it! how many miles do want to put on this thing? 20,000 or 100,000? i put a lot of miles on mine so i try and get lower miles. good car, good engine. if it's close you can at least go see if the lesser attributes of an impreza/OBS bother you or not. or you might totally dig the handling, which they do well. at 180k it's going to need a complete timing belt replacement with all the pulleys and such. the only cost effective method for doing that is buying the $80 ebay kits. from subaru the parts alone will cost closer to $500. add to those costs labor if you're paying someone to do it. How hard would that be to install all the timing belt things? I have never, I mean never touch any car mechancial stuff before I just ask my friend to do it and learn little bit here and there. I do want to learn though it seems really handy. I'll try to keep this thing if I do get it... just a college student and have much $$ to spend. I'm no racer and be honest, I'm only going for 55 on the hwy (spd limit is 65 and people just pass me by) Anyways, what should I look at when I see it later today? Thank you for all the inputs though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 timing belt is a fairly big job, but it's simple to those of us that have done a bunch. timing belts are not the belts you see, they're under covers inside the engine. on newer vehicles if the belt breaks or is installed improperly it can ruin the engine (pistons and valves collide). so it's crucial to be done right. that's why all the pulleys should also be replaced. lots of info on here for learning and doing the job right to keep your subaru reliable, but timing belt job probably isn't a great first job unless you have lots of time to ask us for help. i'd try to find one that already has this done or plan on an extra $500 to have the timing components replaced. this applies to any vehicle, and most importantly to any interference engine vehicle (engine damage is belt breaks), which is most newer vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentmoy Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 timing belt is a fairly big job, but it's simple to those of us that have done a bunch. timing belts are not the belts you see, they're under covers inside the engine. on newer vehicles if the belt breaks or is installed improperly it can ruin the engine (pistons and valves collide). so it's crucial to be done right. that's why all the pulleys should also be replaced. lots of info on here for learning and doing the job right to keep your subaru reliable, but timing belt job probably isn't a great first job unless you have lots of time to ask us for help. i'd try to find one that already has this done or plan on an extra $500 to have the timing components replaced. this applies to any vehicle, and most importantly to any interference engine vehicle (engine damage is belt breaks), which is most newer vehicles. ahh... thank you. So is/are there any particular items I should look for other than timing belt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentmoy Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 I bought the subi with $2800. The guy turned out to be an a/c mechanic and seems to keep the car in good shape. Hope this little rocker will last for a while! Thanks guys! Vincent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I bought the subi with $2800. The guy turned out to be an a/c mechanic and seems to keep the car in good shape. Hope this little rocker will last for a while! Thanks guys! Vincent That's a decent buy at $2800. What approach did you use to get the price reduced from $4900? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirbykirb Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Good luck, you'll need it when one thing breaks down. It's a a living hell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentmoy Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 That's a decent buy at $2800. What approach did you use to get the price reduced from $4900? It's not the $4900, it's the $3500 one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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