Mr. Electric Wizard

I do love Outbacks but I am digging the lowered look of the Legacy GT more now. Not a bad price though.

How do you search the 'cars for sale' forum? When I do an advanced search that forum is not listed as being one you can search.

Here's what I want. I want the turbo motor, wagon, 5 speed. I don't know what the gearing differences are mentioned a couple of posts up but I get the feeling that I would like the Legacy GT gearing better. I do have a good former Subaru mechanic who has been taking car of my 1st gen Outback. Not worried about having to put some money into it (I've owned a lot of old cars). He told me not even to worry about the mileage. Just get a good body. The rest can be fixed. My 1998 Outback has been bullet proof at 250,000 miles.

I'm currently only looking on Craigslist, but nationwide search. I saw a lot more come up for sale before winter started which makes sense. Hopefully after the snows end more will be available.

I have been looking for a while for the right 2005 Manual Wagon to come up for sale. I've been casually looking for a couple of years but am starting to get serious now. One thing I've noticed is that Outback XT's come up for sale a lot more than 2005 Legacy GT Manual Wagons, and the XT's have a manual option much later than 2005. There is a 2008 manual for sale right now. So, my question is this. Would a 2008 (or so) Outback XT make more power than a 2005 Legacy GT? I don't necessarily want to break any land speed records, but I would like a fast car. As I understand it the Legacy GT in 2005 had the STI motor. Would the motor be the same or better on a 2008 Outback XT? I have to admit the Legacy GT looks way better than the Outback. But barring that, is there any advantages to the later model Outback XT? Or should I hold out for the 2005 Legacy GT Manual? Would love to hear some feedback from you all.