Questions about a 2006 Legacy I'm purchasing

[wintergreen]

2006 Subaru Legacy 2.5i LTD

125,000 miles, automatic

 

I was going to pick it up, but when they moved it from one of their other lots the CEL came on. Long story short it needs head gaskets. They are going to "fix" is at no extra cost. I want to make sure everything that should be done when the engine is out will be. It is my option to have more additional work done at my expense.

 

I don't know exactly what they are covering. I know so far new head gaskets, machining (decking) the heads, block? I want them to also put new:

 

Timing belt, tensioner, idler

Water pump

Thermostat

Front main crank seal

Rear main crank seal

Rear separator plate seal

 

Any other suggestions of what I should ask or look out for?

[MrTris]

Pass.

 

There are plenty of regular NA Legacies out there. The dealership will likely take the cheapest route available to repair the headgaskets, which means it won't be done right. They'll probably deck the heads, but they won't have the valves done, or any other significant headwork ($~400), nor will they use good quality parts on the timing gear. They'll do exactly what is necessary to scrape by without investing any more parts and labor into the car.

 

You can do better -- find something that hasn't been abused.

[wintergreen]

Pass.

 

There are plenty of regular NA Legacies out there. The dealership will likely take the cheapest route available to repair the headgaskets, which means it won't be done right. They'll probably deck the heads, but they won't have the valves done, or any other significant headwork ($~400), nor will they use good quality parts on the timing gear. They'll do exactly what is necessary to scrape by without investing any more parts and labor into the car.

 

You can do better -- find something that hasn't been abused.

I really appreciate your voice of reason. I talked it over with the wife and yo uare right...we are going to pass on this one and keep looking. Now that I stop and think about it something isn't right here.

 

The dealer selling it set it to a shop because they don't do Subarus. I talked to the tech at the shop and they are only replacing head gaskets/studs and decking the heads. No other work is being covered, you are right they are taking the short cut. They claim they are doing $2,800.00 worth of work, I'm not buying it...literally.

 

I called a local Subby dealer just to get parts pricing on what I listed above, that alone would be about $600.00 plus the labor, I would rather do the work myself.

[lee07]

Agree, Pass, It'll be fixed and running, but for just a week or a month and you'll be back here posting a thread about it's new issue. Pass or if it's to late, sell it or fix it at another shop that specializes in Subarus but out of your pocket if you want it done right.

 

Dealership doing at 3k job for free and great work:lol:

[apexi]

Part of me agrees with those saying pass, but part of me also disagrees. What happens if you find another car that has head gasket problems 5,000 miles down the road?

 

Who would be performing the head gasket work on the car? It is a lot of money to replace the head gaskets, and to know that that work was just done on a high mileage car would be a relief. It doesn't sound like they're taking a shortcut to me, I was worried that they were gonna put some anti-leak stuff in the coolant and call it a day or something, that would be a shortcut. Were you really expecting them to do the timing belt and seals at no cost to you?

 

*I forgot to mention, head gaskets seem to be a common issue on 2005-2008 legacies, that's why I'm worried another legacy could have the exact same problem down the road.

[MrTris]

Head on over to the prepurchase questions section to get an idea of what to look out for and get more advice on something specific.

 

The NAs typically are easier to own and maintain, though -- As long as the engine looks and sounds good and doesn't miss, you should be OK, mechanically.

 

Suspension bits can add up quick and can impact how well the car drives and handles safely. Really listen to it go over bumps and don't be afraid to take a corner a little harder than you normally would -- It'll help expose any potential trouble spots.

[wintergreen]

I agree you never know exactly what your getting. Any car could have an issue down the road. I would prefer to do the job my self, save money and learn more about Subarus. I know a lot about Toyotas, but am new to Subarus.

 

In the history of the Subaru boxer, they have had good and bad stages of head gasket issues. I'm sure it all comes down to design and engineering. When some things fails and they didn't expect it to, they redesign it and fix it later. I see no fault there.

 

Sure the repair shop was using OEM head gaskets, but they aren't any more expensive than the Felpro ones. They weren't even pulling the motor to do the job! I really didn't expect them to pay for all the extra seals and timing components. When the tell me they are doing the job "right" and it will "be a good runner". I know better, the small part of the job they are doing might be "right" but they aren't doing the whole job the way it should be. I know everyone needs to make money and stay in business. I'm not going to be someone the head gaskets were replaced on, and then I need to tear it all apart later anyway to do a rear main seal, separator plate, or timing components.

 

Thank you for all the advice. I figure to find something in my price range it will have at least 100,000 miles on it and I will have to do the timing components at a minimum. I'm prepared for that. With all the head gasket issues Subuars have had, isn't every Subaru owner taking a chance when they buy one?