Thoughts? 2005 Outback XT

[sunny5280]

This morning I test drove a number of Outback XT's and I must say it's a fun car. I drove two manuals and two automatics. I think I prefer the three peddle version.

 

With that I've found a 2005 with 127K miles. Seems to be in fairly good condition...it's a two and half owner (current owner just purchased it within 90 days and changed her mind), local car. Maintenance looks solid...several things done which I'm happy to have seen.

 

The current owner states she was told the timing belt was recently replaced but she was not provided any supporting documentation. She does have paperwork to show the water pump was recently replaced and, given one needs to remove the timing belt to do that work, it makes sense the belt would have been replaced at that time. Thoughts?

 

It needs a little cleaning but otherwise has the normal wear and tear you would find from a nine year old car. The only issue is the disc changer does not appear to work. She claims it did when she bought it but it doesn't work now (she pointed it out to me). Anyone know how much to replace?

 

Comes with a set of winter tires (no rims), has all the original manuals and keys / fobs. Asking price is $8,700. Thoughts / comments?

[silen7guardian]

The cost of maintenance will be much higher than your '97. It doesn't necessarily require a lot of maintenance, just sometimes expensive maintenance. It's a great car, as long as it's well taken care of. Without looking around, that sounds like a fair-ish price, assuming the motor's healthy.

 

In addition to the cost of maintenance, you should consider the cost of the mod bug. You've described the Outback as "fun," so it's safe to think you'll eventually want to start modding the car. Turbo (+ oil lines, gaskets, etc.)? That's about $1k. Exhaust? Potentially another grand. A tune to make it work? Another $200+.

 

Get the engine compression-tested before buying, and, if possible, check the turbo for shaft play. If you buy it, remove the troublesome banjo bolt filters right away and change the oil to something you trust. Rotella T6 is generally recommended around here.

 

I absolutely love mine, but mine's been sitting on the side of the garage for six months due to a turbo failure.

 

If you get it, and especially if you depend on it, you should keep a spare $3,000 available for if/when your turbo fails. I don't want to sound pessimistic and deter you from considering it. The Outback XT is a great car. I just don't want you to find yourself up a creek without a paddle, as it were.

[MrTris]

This morning I test drove a number of Outback XT's and I must say it's a fun car. I drove two manuals and two automatics. I think I prefer the three peddle version.

 

With that I've found a 2005 with 127K miles. Seems to be in fairly good condition...it's a two and half owner (current owner just purchased it within 90 days and changed her mind), local car. Maintenance looks solid...several things done which I'm happy to have seen.

 

The current owner states she was told the timing belt was recently replaced but she was not provided any supporting documentation. She does have paperwork to show the water pump was recently replaced and, given one needs to remove the timing belt to do that work, it makes sense the belt would have been replaced at that time. Thoughts?

 

It needs a little cleaning but otherwise has the normal wear and tear you would find from a nine year old car. The only issue is the disc changer does not appear to work. She claims it did when she bought it but it doesn't work now (she pointed it out to me). Anyone know how much to replace?

 

Comes with a set of winter tires (no rims), has all the original manuals and keys / fobs. Asking price is $8,700. Thoughts / comments?

 

What made her change her mind? Sounds like a potential problem, especially at that price. It's a little too low for something that runs well and has life left in it.

 

A prepurchase inspection, including a compression test is worthwhile, and, for a turbo car with that kind of mileage is a must-have.

 

Hop into the regional forums and find out where the folks in your area take their cars (hint: it's NOT THE DEALERSHIP) and then call them up and coordinate to get in there and get the car looked at so you can make an informed decision.

[Max Capacity]

Plan on replacing the trubo before it goes. 130K is about average life. Some have gone longer, mine went at 142,000 miles. I went vf52 and a tune (about $1600), stock oil lines, both banjo filters are removed. You'll want a catless up pipe at the same time.

 

Read the stickys at the tops of the forums here. Lots of good info there.

[sunny5280]

Thanks for all of your responses guys. I ended up purchasing it yesterday and it's a great car. A lot faster than my 1997.

 

With that I did have a little heart stoppage last night / today. I brought it home around 1:00, parked it, and then headed to the bar to watch the Broncos game (didn't take the new car as it's a stick and my designated driver cannot drive one). Upon returning home the car puked up a puddle of oil. Needless to say I was not happy the car I just bought seven hours ago had a large pool of oil underneath it. I don't mind putting some money into a car over time but to have something like this right out of the gate?

 

To make a long story short I ended up tracing the problem back to the lack of a crush washer on the oil drain plug. A $1.07 later, some oil, and a new oil filter and the problem has been solved.

 

MrTris...the seller owned an Outback which was totaled in a rear end accident. Needing another car she bought what she knew...another Outback (this car). She then decided she wanted a pickup truck and so decided to sell this. Given the above story I immediately thought she knew there was a problem (before I knew what the problem was...I was thinking something a lot more serious). In the end I think her boyfriend changed the oil and didn't install the crush washer.

 

As for the condition it recently had the head gaskets replaced, the water pump, timing belt (I called the facility that replaced the water pump and they confirmed they also did the timing belt all as part of the head gasket work), and both front spindles.I do have some service records and everything points to the previous owners having taken reasonable care of it.

 

The operating costs were the largest concern I had. Not because I cannot afford them (I own a BMW X5 so I know what high operating costs are). It was more a matter of do I want to afford them. The 1997 was meant to be a low cost, utility vehicle and this is a step up from that. With the X5 I already have a nice, and fun to drive vehicle. But this would be my daily driver so I figured why not?

 

All that's left is to head down to the DMV and pick up a temporary tag (I want to keep me existing plates on my 1997 until I can sell it), get an emissions test, and fix up a few minor things (such as the CD changer as it does not work...anyone know how to remove it?)

[MrTris]

Thanks for all of your responses guys. I ended up purchasing it yesterday and it's a great car. A lot faster than my 1997.

 

With that I did have a little heart stoppage last night / today. I brought it home around 1:00, parked it, and then headed to the bar to watch the Broncos game (didn't take the new car as it's a stick and my designated driver cannot drive one). Upon returning home the car puked up a puddle of oil. Needless to say I was not happy the car I just bought seven hours ago had a large pool of oil underneath it. I don't mind putting some money into a car over time but to have something like this right out of the gate?

 

To make a long story short I ended up tracing the problem back to the lack of a crush washer on the oil drain plug. A $1.07 later, some oil, and a new oil filter and the problem has been solved.

 

MrTris...the seller owned an Outback which was totaled in a rear end accident. Needing another car she bought what she knew...another Outback (this car). She then decided she wanted a pickup truck and so decided to sell this. Given the above story I immediately thought she knew there was a problem (before I knew what the problem was...I was thinking something a lot more serious). In the end I think her boyfriend changed the oil and didn't install the crush washer.

 

As for the condition it recently had the head gaskets replaced, the water pump, timing belt (I called the facility that replaced the water pump and they confirmed they also did the timing belt all as part of the head gasket work), and both front spindles.I do have some service records and everything points to the previous owners having taken reasonable care of it.

 

The operating costs were the largest concern I had. Not because I cannot afford them (I own a BMW X5 so I know what high operating costs are). It was more a matter of do I want to afford them. The 1997 was meant to be a low cost, utility vehicle and this is a step up from that. With the X5 I already have a nice, and fun to drive vehicle. But this would be my daily driver so I figured why not?

 

All that's left is to head down to the DMV and pick up a temporary tag (I want to keep me existing plates on my 1997 until I can sell it), get an emissions test, and fix up a few minor things (such as the CD changer as it does not work...anyone know how to remove it?)

 

LOL @ the X5's operating costs -- If you can afford that, you won't balk at the 7k it costs for a new motor and turbo in an XT.

 

Good show, chap! Welcome to the club!

[Merc6]

Welcome to the 4 gen section! I agree with the guys above and say banjo bolt filters and turbo should be up there on the list before it causes other items also pop up on the list.

[sunny5280]

Thanks once again for the warm welcome. I've been hanging out in the second generation forum and everyone there has been so helpful. It looks like I'll see the same here in the fourth generation section. I'll definitely check out the sticky's as recommend by Max.

 

Since I'm writing this the banjo bolt filters seem like the next step. I assume this is a preventative measure. Advice seems to be to remove the filter(s) completely instead of replacing? Is that correct. What does the banjo bolt filter do (I did some quick Googling but what I found showed where it was and how to replace it...not what it does...I'm sure it's out there but since I'm writing this I figure why not ask).

 

Max also recommend replacing the turbo before it fails. Will a failure of the turbo cause additional damage? Or is it more of not being stuck on the side of the road? I'm all for preventative maintenance but $1K is a lot to spend on something that may or may not fail soon (it doesn't appear to be a question of if but rather when...correct?) I did notice a number of them listed for sale mentioned the turbo had been replaced.

[Gex]

A failure of the turbo will potentially destroy the entire motor. Just depends when you catch it. Pull the down pipe off and check the turbo for shaft play. Also remove the stock uppipe with the catalytic converter in it. The cat can break off from the pipe sending metal into and destroying your turbo. A catless STI unit ($50-$75 on Nasioc) and a 2.2kohm resistor in the EGT port (research) can solve this issue.

[silen7guardian]

As for the condition it recently had the head gaskets replaced, the water pump, timing belt (I called the facility that replaced the water pump and they confirmed they also did the timing belt all as part of the head gasket work), and both front spindles.I do have some service records and everything points to the previous owners having taken reasonable care of it.

 

I didn't think head gaskets were an issue with these models...

[sunny5280]

I didn't think head gaskets were an issue with these models...

 

I'm still not clear on this or not. I do see a head gasket thread in this forum but I haven't read a lot of people replacing them. Of course I haven't been in this forum very long either.

[Redryan98]

congrats on the purchase. You asked about removing the cd changer... its pretty easy

 

First part of the center console comes out, the part near the cover that surrounds the shifter. it should just lift right up

than you'll have to remove the shift knob, boot, and surround (2 screws)

than the trim pieces that run along the side of the stereo (two or four screws and than you pull out.

than the stereo comes out with 4 screws. Careful as there are four plugs hooked up to the back of the stereo

 

I'm going off memory so if I missed something I;m sorry. I'm sure there's plenty of DIYs around to reference

[sunny5280]

Thanks for the directions Redryan98. I'll be working on pulling the changer over the weekend. I now have one of those compressed air straws somewhere inside it (I decided to blow it out and the straw shot into the player). Looks fairly straightforward...one thing I like about Subarus. I removed the center console from my X5 and what a nightmare that was...four hour job.

[AF_3C2]

Used stereo systems run around $200 I think. Since you are in Denver, check Craigslist for auto parts....there is a local dismantling company that advertises on there- they always got some.

[Max Capacity]

http://people.csail.mit.edu/ilh/vacation/

 

You might like to have the service manual.

 

 

Yea, as a rule HG's don't seem to be a issue with these engines.

[Merc6]

Max also recommend replacing the turbo before it fails. Will a failure of the turbo cause additional damage? Or is it more of not being stuck on the side of the road? I'm all for preventative maintenance but $1K is a lot to spend on something that may or may not fail soon (it doesn't appear to be a question of if but rather when...correct?) I did notice a number of them listed for sale mentioned the turbo had been replaced.

 

A failure of the turbo will potentially destroy the entire motor. Just depends when you catch it. Pull the down pipe off and check the turbo for shaft play. Also remove the stock uppipe with the catalytic converter in it. The cat can break off from the pipe sending metal into and destroying your turbo. A catless STI unit ($50-$75 on Nasioc) and a 2.2kohm resistor in the EGT port (research) can solve this issue.

 

Turbo failure is how my daily driver became a project car "beautifying" the driveway scenery. Lawn gnomes are a cheaper alternative than a 4 gen but the addiction is hard to break.