Eric E

Follow-up on this car. It was serviced it's whole life at a Subaru dealer in AZ. I called them, and although they wouldn't provide the service documents to me since I haven't purchased it yet, they were willing to go over them on the phone with me. Regarding the oil leak, the prev. owner reported an oil leak which was traced to the oil cooler gasket and they replaced it at 24k miles. He said because of that, on subsequent service visits the tech noted that he checked for oil leaks and found nothing. On the battery, he said that they didn't think the replacement was unusual due to the combination that Arizona heat is hard on batteries in general and the prev. owner did not put a lot of miles on the car, implying that they let it sit for long periods without driving. He did also say that this year and model Legacy is known to be "hard on batteries" and that Subaru has issued a warranty extension for this model on batteries, up to 60k miles. I'm in the process of arranging a pre-purchase inspection at a local Subaru dealer. I'll post back if I am able to make a deal on this one!

Thanks for the advice everyone! I think the best suggestion is to pay a Subaru mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection. Will be money well spent!

I'm new to this forum, but a long time Subaru fan. Last Subaru was a '96 Outback and then I went over to the Honda darkside in the early 2000s. I now have my heart set on a 6th or 7th gen Legacy before Subaru decides to discontinue sedans in the North American market altogether. I'm looking at a 2019 3.6R with about 33k miles on it (but more than 3 years from original sale, so out of the primary warranty). It's really clean, no cosmetic flaws whatsoever. CARFAX report shows it regularly serviced at a Subaru dealer. However, my concerns from the CARFAX report are the following: 1. The dealer replaced the battery at 10k miles and again at 24k miles. I found the car at a local (non-Subaru) lot. When I went to go look at it, they couldn't start it because the battery was dead, so I left without seeing it run. They now tell me that they've replaced the battery. To me, a new battery every 10K miles is pretty ridiculous. Should I be concerned here, or is this a known issue that can be addressed. This car will be a daily driver, and I'm not planning on calling AAA regularly instead of getting to work on time. 2. I notice that in the first or second service they replaced the oil cooler O-ring, and in every subsequent service there was a remark something like "check for engine oil leaks." Is that check routine, or does it indicate an ongoing problem that I should be scared of? Anyway, thanks in advance for any advice! I'm really looking forward to getting back among the Subaru community. EE