Some Pre Purchase Questions

[Quillbin]

Well my 2005 Prius (200k ish on the odo) has had it's second HV battery kick the bucket in 2 years and I'm facing a $2500 repair bill on a car that is not at all worth spending that kind of money on.

 

I am considering purchasing a 2011 Outback "premium" with about 150k on the odo and donating the Prius for the tax write off or selling it to the local junkyard)

 

I do have some questions though.

 

- What kind of common issues do these cars have?

 

- Is The stereo easy to put a double din headunit into? (one that i will be removing from my Prius before Kars For Kids/ Shorty's Junkyard comes to pick it up) As in does not require any custom fabrication?

 

- Any major "run if you see this" red flags beyond carfax issues and "obvious applies to any car issues" specific to the 5th gen Legacy to BOLO for? This car is at a Subaru dealer in a city 45 mins away.

 

Thanks.

[jrho]

Welcome and didn't know the batteries would fail that often on the Prius!

 

As for your questions, that generation Outback seem to be generally trouble free when I was looking into them before I got my 4th gen LGT wagon. I believe there are cases of the 2.5L and oil consumption so that's something to look out for but like all Subaru's, it's a good habit to keep an eye on the oil level.

 

Stereo wise you're in luck as the stereo is separate from the climate controls unlike the 4th gen Legacy or 3rd gen Outbacks with automatic climate control. You would just need to order a dash kit and the necessary wiring to put in your old headunit from the Prius

[Quillbin]

The Prius uses about 1/2 qt of oil between changes and that's normal. So that doesn't bother me.

[Pilot1226]

If you get a 2011, get the 3.6 engine. It has a solid transmission and engine combo.

 

The 2.5 2011 has a timing belt. The 3.6 has a chain.

 

The 2.5 has a CVT. The 3.6 has a 5EAT.

 

In 2013 they changed the 2.5 to the FB engine. The 3.6 has not changed.