nrpvd Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 Hi, Today I looked at a 2005 Legacy 2.5i limited wagon with 125K from a small used dealer that was on the low end of the blue book price. It looked nice and felt very clean. There was no service record so I decided to take it to a local mechanic who found it it has 3 pending codes: P0174 (Bank 2 lean), P0171 (Bank 1 lean) and P0420 for a catalytic converter. The mechanic said the exhaust was in rough shape and the P0420 code meant it was a bad catalytic converter. The seller said it was not a big deal and since the codes were pending they didn't mean anything and would disappear. I got cold feet and walked away from the car. My question is: could it be true its not necessarily a bad catalytic converter? Research on the internet seems so varied and its hard to get a sense whether it is a big repair or not. If all I needed to do was put in a little money I'd be ok with that but the thought of replacing both a catalytic converter and exhaust is not too appealing. Any insight would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relative4 Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 No matter what the actual problem is, you made the right call. Somebody will get screwed on that car, but it won't be you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTBwrench Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 I think walking away is a good idea on that one. Issues like that really take a lot away from the value of a vehicle. Significantly more than the cost to repair. If the dealer wasn't bothered enough to fix it, either the dealer themselves is not wroth shopping with or the underlying issue is far more significant. You did right in saving yourself the headaches. MTBwrench's Stage 3 5EAT #racewagon 266awhp/255awtq @17.5psi, Tuned By Graham of Boosted Performance Everyone knows what I taste like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrpvd Posted November 19, 2017 Author Share Posted November 19, 2017 Thanks, I'm feeling better about my decision now. Sometimes you see something you like and you're blinded by some of the shortcomings. I'll just be patient and keep on looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttnio Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Keep on shopping for the car of your want... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgemoulic Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Just got lucky with my purchase, the same car your looking on, my luck is no codes showing it is just some cosmetic damage and big scratch on the bumper, Engine is still fine, owner sell it because of the binding problem which she don’t want to spend with it and got luck with my solution, car now runs great with no problems. Sometimes it is hard to fight the excitement than disappointment but as many said it is a great decision by you. Btw I did a 2 year research with this car before I dig in. Good Luck to your search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Good that you found what you wanted. Pending codes means that the codes were cleared and then are coming back so that dealer is trying to cheat people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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