Stevo F Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 I saw an ad for this SUS locally and am tempted to look at it, but thinking it may have too much wrong with it to be worth it. https://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/cto/d/1999-subaru-legacy-sus/6595878291.html The good- Car is super clean looking and rust free. The owner sounds competent and it looks it's been ell taken care of The bad- beginning of head gasket leak (although the silver lining would be the car hasn't overheating so little chance of internal engine damage or warpage). The owner said head gaskets and other engine gaskets were replaced last at 125K miles. The owner is getting a P0720 code (for speed sensor) and a transmission code of 33. He thinks it just needs a speed sensor replacement, but I'm wondering if it could be other transmission issues. The other downside is that with 250K miles on the clock, is really worth putting any significant amounts of money into the car? I don't think I couold handle headgaskets on my own, so might need to pay to have that done. Darn, that's the cleanest SUS I've seen advertised and just a few minutes form me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublechaz Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 It's pretty, but if it were mine I wouldn't drive it with the bubbling. I'm kinda weird about what I will and won't do, so that might not be a great data point. But I want it, even though I can't reasonably have it. Must be about 2000 miles from me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 It's pretty, but if it were mine I wouldn't drive it with the bubbling. I'm kinda weird about what I will and won't do, so that might not be a great data point. But I want it, even though I can't reasonably have it. Must be about 2000 miles from me... I wouldn't drive it very far because I'd be afraid of it overheating and damaging the engine. It looks like a straightforward headgasket replacement for those that can do it. My mechanic once said he could do headgaskets/ timing belt for around $800- $900, but that would double my investment in the car right there. I wouldn't want to invest much more than $2,000 in a car that old (at least the initial investment to get it roadworthy). Also, the speed sensor codes could be something simple like the sensor itself or a damaged wire or maybe something more serious? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublechaz Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Yes, you don't know what all is up with it. My thoughts on it are that if you love that kind of car and you can do much to nearly all of your own work it's worth it even though you'd spend a deal more than initial purchase. If you don't have that love, or if you would have to pay out for the repairs then you've gone over into territory that is hard to justify. Also, I value cars differently than most. 'Book' means very little to me. Utility and reliability mixed with how much is it costing me compared to payments on a new one. If I'm spending money maintaining, and it pretty much doesn't leave me stranded, then that money, spread over the time involved, only has to come in under new price payments for me to say worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setnev Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 The parts alone are worth the asking price. I'd have no qualms about spending that for a clean SUS even with head gasket issues. Knowing me though, I'd hit him with a $750 offer because it'll cost me $250 to go through the engine and do it right and then I'd sell it for $2000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Das Ninjabot Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 If you've got the time and money, grab it, do the head gaskets and a timing belt and turn it around for double what you have in it. That thing is cleaner than anything you'd see up here, might be able to get 3K for it in the rust belt or the frozen plains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo F Posted May 24, 2018 Author Share Posted May 24, 2018 Yes, you don't know what all is up with it. My thoughts on it are that if you love that kind of car and you can do much to nearly all of your own work it's worth it even though you'd spend a deal more than initial purchase. If you don't have that love, or if you would have to pay out for the repairs then you've gone over into territory that is hard to justify. Also, I value cars differently than most. 'Book' means very little to me. Utility and reliability mixed with how much is it costing me compared to payments on a new one. If I'm spending money maintaining, and it pretty much doesn't leave me stranded, then that money, spread over the time involved, only has to come in under new price payments for me to say worth it. I totally agree with the above. I decided to pass as I felt like I would have pay a mechanics for the engine work (I also located a couple low mileage EJ22's from a junkyard and priced out what getting it swapped would cost). Actually the owner really wanted ot sell it to me because he kew I love these cars and was willing to come down quite a bit on price, but in the end I passed on it. It actually was sold to a family of Subaru enthusiasts that traveled out of state to get it (and had been looking for a clean SUS for a couple of years) so a happy ending for the car. I am thinking an SUS, or 3rd gen Outback sedan would be a cool find. I like the GT sedans a lot, and this would had the Outback ride height and paint scheme, which I also like. Also, I really need to wait until our sons have moved out and taken some of the cars with them so there would be more room for additional cars here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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