And so it ends.

[DrD123]

Well - few weeks ago got nailed by someone trying to make a u-turn from the right lane across the left lane where I was driving – the hit was square on the passenger side front corner - caught the impact beam a little, but most of the damage was on the outside of the frame rail - damage estimate was pretty high at over $10k when they seemed to have stopped counting (or at least when I was looking at the car, there were things broken that were not in that initial estimate).  Insurance deemed it a total loss, which sucks.  I really loved this car - bought it new to replace my old bugeye WRX (which I also purchased new) and been tweaking it here and there for the past 12 years.  It was immaculate inside and pretty great outside, too.  Only 89k miles on the clock (I basically drive it to and from work - for other stuff, we tend to take our van). 

Not pleased when looking for a new vehicle - no manual at all for the legacy, and I couldn't sell myself or the wife on the WRX (rear is too small for our needs, and I really don't like cladding... at all... not even a little…) - not a fan of screens high on the dash, so ruled out the Camry/Accord, and decided to stick with a Legacy.  Trim levels are weird – the sport is now what it should be with the 2.4T engine.  Drove one the other day - really nice ride - very comfortable - the 2.4T seems to be a solid engine, and the car seemed very stable.  Don't have the time to order something this time around, so it’s not the exact color I want, but c'est la vie.  (couldn't find much looking as far as Houston or Las Vegas or up through Colorado).  I have never been a huge fan of leather seats, so I was glad I didn't have to go to a touring XT to get the engine I wanted.  About the only things the touring has that I would want are the butt coolers and the power folding mirrors...  Took the new car home today.

It was very sad going to the body shop and pulling off parts/replacing them with stock before it got hauled away by the insurance company - unfortunately, my favorite upgrade (the Koni's) will go to the grave with the car (one was damaged, anyway) - most of the rest came with me.

I’m pretty bummed I'll be driving an automatic now.  I’ve been driving a standard for nearly 40 years!  There are a crapload more safety features in newer vehicles which I imagine will take some getting used to, as well as so much stuff being controlled via a screen instead of physical buttons.

One thing to be aware of - as a relatively rare car, there are basically no comparables for them to draw from when estimating the value of a 5th gen 2.5GT - I saw a few on cars.com with way more mileage and from 10-11, so not of much use.  Was able to negotiate them up a bunch with some other similar vehicles on dealer lots around here and on carmax, but less than what I thought it was worth – probably better than private party value, though.  (they have rules on what they can/can't use for comparables - probably varies from company to company)

I’ll likely have a for-sale thread soon with stuff that’s shippable (custom gauge pod, defi boost gauge, emergency brake relocation kit, etc.)

Edited December 29, 2023 by DrD123

[Scubaboo]

That was sad to hear. 

The new Legacy sounds like a good car and hopefully a fitting replacement for your 5th gen.

[creep_nu]

ah jeez, that's so sad.  glad you're safe and have a comfy new ride.  Comes a time for everyone to move on to something different whether by accident or by choice, but either way it happens, it's never easy.  good luck with the new ride, and don't forget about us little folks with the old cars!

[silverton]

I had a MINTY 1987 Nissan 200SX SE-V6, bought from the original owner with 113k on the odo in Feb '11.  They made just 10,000 of these with the vg30 in it so they could rally it.  Something similar happened to me 9 months later, this idiot needed the exit on a two lane road from the left lane for some reason.  Long story short the insurance company hugely low balled me by price comparing it to the only 200sx's they could find, the base model.

I spent a day crawling the united states most populous cities craigslists to find all the SE-V6's I could.  I came up with three that were close but not quite like condition.  I replied to that email with a "that's offensive for this rare of a car, try again" and the links to the three cars I could find. They upped their offer by 2.5x and I was happy.

Edited December 29, 2023 by silverton

[Falcor]

Sorry to hear. It's hard when you don't get to make the decision to move on. I drove a '24 Outback XT last weekend and it has some pep, so at least you have a good starting point. Good news is this year Cobb will finally be supporting the 2.4 in the Outback and I would think Legacy as well.

[DrD123]

On 12/29/2023 at 8:47 AM, creep_nu said:

don't forget about us little folks with the old cars!

Man - if I could have bought another new 12 LGT, I almost certainly would have - really enjoyed that car!  Going to miss the manual.

12 hours ago, Falcor said:

It's hard when you don't get to make the decision to move on. I drove a '24 Outback XT last weekend and it has some pep, so at least you have a good starting point. Good news is this year Cobb will finally be supporting the 2.4 in the Outback and I would think Legacy as well.

That's for sure - not a great way to prep for the holidays, either.  I think the sport is going to be a pretty fun car once it's broken in - funny thing about Cobb - I poked at them to see if they would be supporting the FA24T in the Legacy/Outback/Ascent and whomever has been responding to me about the topic is pretty oblivious about the fact that the FA24T is even a thing in other vehicles - first said they don't tune NA vehicles (even though I pointed out it was a turbocharged vehicle, but used a different physical turbo than the wrx... then they were asking if I had a Legacy with a custom FA20 setup...  I gave up, explained one more time, then referred them to www.subaru.com for more info.  I wouldn't be in the market until I am out of the powertrain warranty (basically what I did with my 12 LGT), so maybe some day...

[dgoodhue]

That sucks about your 2012 GT, I have been looking at buying a 2024 Legacy Sport as well. I will keep my 2012 GT for a while longer, it is just too much fun to drive for what it would sell for.

[Ray4406]

DrD123 did you ever really find the cause of your low boost in 2019 ? my car did exactly yhe same thing today on the way home , a five hour drive -30c today. no codes no knock reported dam at 1

[Zee199969]

Good to hear you are safe, but it's a real bummer losing another OG in the 5th gen group. I've also been thinking about what new car I'd want and I keep going back to the new Acura Integra Type S. Only thing really holding me back is the hefty sticker and FWD.

[Syndicate]

...sorry to hear about the car man, but walking away from the accident is what really matters. I hope your new Legacy treats you well. I know the support may not really be there just yet, but the 2.4L turbo is a pretty solid engine, I really enjoy it in our Ascent.

[DrD123]

Just put a couple of for-sale posts for the interior and engine stuff - will shortly put up one for an Accessport and anything else I find around.

[DrD123]

On 1/12/2024 at 6:48 AM, Syndicate said:

I know the support may not really be there just yet, but the 2.4L turbo is a pretty solid engine, I really enjoy it in our Ascent.

I'm still in break-in mode, so taking it easy for now.  It seems like a good engine - weird thing is Cobb supports the engine in the Ascent, but not in the Legacy/Outback which I would think would be where most of them reside (or at least the ones where folks might be looking for an AP to boost power...)

[Falcor]

Support is coming this year.

[tysparks81]

Sorry to hear about your loss.  Glad everyone is safe and unhurt.  Sucks to be in a Automatic after driving a manual for so long but you will probably get back into one down the road.  Most of us that drive a manual car get out for one reason or another and look for a reason to get back into a manual car at any chance we can get,  I feel like you fall into this category.

[DrD123]

On 1/10/2024 at 9:04 PM, Ray4406 said:

DrD123 did you ever really find the cause of your low boost in 2019 ? my car did exactly yhe same thing today on the way home , a five hour drive -30c today. no codes no knock reported dam at 1

Sorry - missed this - unfortunately no, I did not - they had it back in the shop for quite some time and when they fixed it said they weren't sure what the issue was - I will say that something seemed loose (was making a squeaking sound and everything) that we couldn't seem to find (wasn't the struts, wasn't the swaybar bushings or endlinks, etc.) but when they had fixed it, the sound was gone - so my guess was something wasn't tightened down when they put it all back together and maybe making intermittent contact or something like that...  everything was working fine, otherwise (they had tried just letting the car boost, and it held pressure fine, etc.)

[GTEASER]

Sorry to hear but glad you're okay. I do still miss mine. My eyes light up a little and I get nostalgic every time I see a 5th Gen in white.

[Falcor]

3 hours ago, GTEASER said:

Sorry to hear but glad you're okay. I do still miss mine. My eyes light up a little and I get nostalgic every time I see a 5th Gen in white.

Not to hijack a thread, but do you still have the BMW and Lexus?

[GTEASER]

20 minutes ago, Falcor said:

Not to hijack a thread, but do you still have the BMW and Lexus?

Hey! Yes, still have the E46 ZHP Sedan which I rarely drive and I'm actually considering selling to get an E91 (wagon) 6MT, preferably RWD, but XDrive would work as well.  The GX470 is my daily and it just turned over 216k miles.

[pinesol]

4 hours ago, GTEASER said:

Sorry to hear but glad you're okay. I do still miss mine. My eyes light up a little and I get nostalgic every time I see a 5th Gen in white.

Fwiw your Nameless downpipe and GFB BOV live on in my car.