Buying stock vs. modified Legacy GT

[Youngd425]

Hey all, I’m looking to get my first Legacy GT. I’ve had Subaru’s before and love the reliability, safety, AWD - but the only thing I’ve wanted from them is more power. I was looking at E46 M3’s at first, but it seems like for the $10k-$15k price range you can get a lot more with a Legacy GT. Anyone have any input on maintenance costs compared to a BMW? I’ve researched costs on this forum but I was hoping to find someone who has owned both. I found this spec b on Craigslist - https://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/d/2006-subaru-spec/6352979981.html, and it brought up the question of buying stock vs. slightly modified already. Whichever one I go with, I’m planning to get a ppi. I would plan on doing stage 2 anyway. I appreciate any input!

[FLlegacy]

You need to go in with the understanding there is a good chance you will be replacing the engine, turbo, clutch, transmission at some point. If you are good with that carry on. Neither of the cars you have mentioned is about longevity in the sense of going hundreds of thousands of miles without issues. They are performance oriented and as such will require more maintenance and will probably need some key components mentioned above replaced before your naturally aspirated vehicles would.

 

Having said that they are a blast to drive and mod. Your best scenario would be to have another daily driver and buy one of these cars to play with. And the requisite bank account to accomplish your power goals.

 

As far as modded vs stock at this juncture finding an unmodded one would blow your budget, but be patient and find the car that is right for you and your money. Don't make an emotional buy and look for sales by owners keep an eye on this forums for sale threads you may find exactly what you are looking for right here.

[Mintoneowner]

I baught my legacy stock and almost modified it to stage 2. I chose against it for a few reasons: people that own these don't always keep them up to date. There is oil consumption issues you wouldn't be able to see during a test drive.

 

My buddy baught a Forester xt and literally next day was knocking on 1&2 cylinders, not sure if they put oil down the spark plugs holes to temporarily "seal" worn rings.

 

As I stated my lgt was bone stock and will remain it. If I were to build up one, I would highly recommend stock to start. Otherwise you might be back tracking other owners abuse and messups

[Gigs]

Bought mine stock with 135,000 miles and a full service history.

 

Only thing I have had to replace so far was the radiator ( $300 ) and soon Valve covers ( $150)

 

Not that bad at all , it would be the perfect wagon if it were not for the horrible mpg.

[JF1GG29]

E46 M3 is the better driving experience by far. You can possibly get more power out of the LGT, but the E46 M chassis is excellent. Also, E46 M3 values have stayed pretty constant for a while now, while LGT values dropped a LOT in the last few years. Take that for what you will.

 

E46 M3s suffer engine issues, subframe issues, etc.

BL/BP LGTs suffer engine/turbo issues.

 

If 4 doors and winter driving are not concerns to you, I would definitely go for a well-looked-after E46 M3.

[FLlegacy]

I baught my legacy stock and almost modified it to stage 2. I chose against it for a few reasons: people that own these don't always keep them up to date. There is oil consumption issues you wouldn't be able to see during a test drive.

 

My buddy baught a Forester xt and literally next day was knocking on 1&2 cylinders, not sure if they put oil down the spark plugs holes to temporarily "seal" worn rings.

 

As I stated my lgt was bone stock and will remain it. If I were to build up one, I would highly recommend stock to start. Otherwise you might be back tracking other owners abuse and messups

 

You can hide a lot of problems with a car, but knocking isn't one of them. Not only will the ECU tell on you very shortly, but the timing will be pulled back as far as possible and the car will generally run pretty sorry for what should be a strong performer.

 

This highlights the need for a compression and leak-down test unless you are buying really cheap and don't care.

[Bariki]

This applies to all cars, but don't buy a modded car unless you're OK with dealing with other people's mistakes and/or idiosyncratic tastes.

 

Almost none of the mods you can do on a used street car are something so expensive or hard that you can't do it yourself, in which case you get to make the decision about how it's down, what parts are used, what priorities you have, etc... and you can make sure it was done right.

 

Someone might have installed $3,000 coilovers on a car, but that is meaningless if you don't know how many miles are on those shocks, or what damping settings they chose, or if the springs are too hard for your tastes, or whether they got a corner weight adjustment and alignment... Rebuilt and/or revalved stock Bilsteins would be a much better use of money.

 

You might decide the muffler it comes with looks dumb or is too loud.

 

They might have installed an exhaust manifold turbo kit from Ebay.

 

You might find that the big, fat turbo kit makes the car completely undrivable due to the lack of low-end torque.

 

Those big brakes might completely throw the brake balance off.

 

A $1,500 aftermarket GPS navigation and audio system from 12 years ago is worthless if the maps are a decade out of date and you can't hook it up with your phone... or even watch TV on it.

 

 

It's hard to go wrong with a car that comes with nice wheels, though.

 

OTOH, you can save a lot of money buying a modded track or race car that's already built to race...