Looking at 4th gen LGTs, and hoping for advice.

[ArtyJ]

Hello.  I've spent many days over the past few weeks poring over the pages of this forum, learning a lot about 4th gen LGTs in the process. I'm currently shopping around, and locally in my area, and I've got a couple strong candidates. I was hoping anyone might feel like giving me some insight into some of the listings I'm looking at in person this week. I have a good friend who's a hobby mechanic and owns a blobeye and a bugeye, and he's been a great source of knowledge too, but I figured there's no such thing as too much wisdom. 

I don't need a car, but I'm a little ready for something new, after driving my current 2003 Civic Ex around for the last 11 years and 90,000 miles. 

2005 LGT Wagon UL : https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2083579315340199/?ref=saved&referral_code=null

2005 LGT Wagon L: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/409038805444760/?ref=saved&referral_code=null

2008 LGT spec.B: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/791584402920672/?ref=saved&referral_code=null 

 

Hoping for any insights, including which of these look like the best value/least likely to cause me problems. Maybe that's none of them, which is also okay. I know all three are reasonably uncommon, which does make them all rather appealing.

[pleiadesfella]

I'd say all of these listings raise more questions than answers. I'll give my input on them separately:

1. black unlimited wagon: hard pass. dude's asking 7k for a car that's rustier than the other ones you listed, not to mention it's not necessarily low mileage. new shortblock should also raise some eyebrows, but that's just me being paranoid knowing how my rebuilt shortblock lgt was and seeing some modded customer cars at work that just can't stay away from our shop after a rebuild + performance mods like this car has. also just personal preference but it looks really ugly on the outback wheels and fat all season tires it has.

2. blue limited wagon: this seems like the best bang for the buck to me. it's the cheapest and doesn't seem too bad body wise (though the photo angles are also kinda shit so idk). if the seller is truthful about the only issues being the ac recharge and oil burning, it's fine as long as it's burning oil within expectation - which for our cars is 1 quart per 1000 miles iirc. the biggest problem with this listing is that there's a mention of a turbo back exhaust with no mention of a tune. it would be a safer buy once you verify that it's tuned properly for the high flow catted downpipe it has. it's also the lowest mileage of the bunch.

3. spec b: I own an 08 dgm spec b like this one, and my heart does sway towards it but knowing my experience with buying mine modded then having to undo the mods (check my most recent thread if you want), it may be much more hassle than it's worth. it's quite a high mileage car at 197k and it's tuned for 20psi (on stock tmic...) with several mods, so it's a huge gamble in terms of if it's gonna last or not. fuel economy is probably ass too, you might hate it after driving your civic for 11 years. the seller also mentions a grind going into 5th at high rpms, so it's likely not had an easy life- something to consider. the car does have lots of nice goodies though, I'd kill to have that front lip, skirts and jdm grille on my car lol.

I'm just an idiot on the internet and take everything I said with a grain of salt. please consult with your blob/bugeye hobby mechanic before coming to a full decision, and good luck  

[ArtyJ]

7 minutes ago, pleiadesfella said:

I'd say all of these listings raise more questions than answers. I'll give my input on them separately:

1. black unlimited wagon: hard pass. dude's asking 7k for a car that's rustier than the other ones you listed, not to mention it's not necessarily low mileage. new shortblock should also raise some eyebrows, but that's just me being paranoid knowing how my rebuilt shortblock lgt was and seeing some modded customer cars at work that just can't stay away from our shop after a rebuild + performance mods like this car has. also just personal preference but it looks really ugly on the outback wheels and fat all season tires it has.

2. blue limited wagon: this seems like the best bang for the buck to me. it's the cheapest and doesn't seem too bad body wise (though the photo angles are also kinda shit so idk). if the seller is truthful about the only issues being the ac recharge and oil burning, it's fine as long as it's burning oil within expectation - which for our cars is 1 quart per 1000 miles iirc. the biggest problem with this listing is that there's a mention of a turbo back exhaust with no mention of a tune. it would be a safer buy once you verify that it's tuned properly for the high flow catted downpipe it has. it's also the lowest mileage of the bunch.

3. spec b: I own an 08 dgm spec b like this one, and my heart does sway towards it but knowing my experience with buying mine modded then having to undo the mods (check my most recent thread if you want), it may be much more hassle than it's worth. it's quite a high mileage car at 197k and it's tuned for 20psi (on stock tmic...) with several mods, so it's a huge gamble in terms of if it's gonna last or not. fuel economy is probably ass too, you might hate it after driving your civic for 11 years. the seller also mentions a grind going into 5th at high rpms, so it's likely not had an easy life- something to consider. the car does have lots of nice goodies though, I'd kill to have that front lip, skirts and jdm grille on my car lol.

I'm just an idiot on the internet and take everything I said with a grain of salt. please consult with your blob/bugeye hobby mechanic before coming to a full decision, and good luck  

Your thinking lines up with mine pretty well, as well as what others have offered elsewhere. Blue certainly seems best value, but the guy told me via fb message after I reached out that the passenger side quarter panel is "pretty rough" and the car is "pretty beat up and not mint" which is weird because the photos look pretty clean. So I'll have to see what that is like in person, but I also wonder if the AC has bigger problems than needing a recharge. Black, I agree, hate the outback rims on it, and I wouldn't consider it at all if the guy were super firm on pricing. For the specB, you raise good points. The guy swears he gets 22-24 highway with it. He could be blowing smoke up my ass, of course, but that's what he says. I'm going to try to not get excited when I drive any and stay cool and stay my hand if I don't feel like it's the right move. I know more will come along eventually, and I don't *need* any of them (or so I keep having to remind myself). 

 

There is also this one that I was considering, but it needs a little work immediately, which was a bit of a turnoff. It's by far the most stock, though, and with the lowest miles. https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/csw/cto/d/watertown-2008-subaru-legacy-25gt/7775125970.html

[pleiadesfella]

On 8/26/2024 at 7:43 PM, ArtyJ said:

There is also this one that I was considering, but it needs a little work immediately, which was a bit of a turnoff. It's by far the most stock, though, and with the lowest miles. https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/csw/cto/d/watertown-2008-subaru-legacy-25gt/7775125970.html

I'd keep away from an accident car like that, you never know what's gonna pop up. and while that damage may look simple to fix, in reality its gonna cost you way more than its worth. you'd be better off getting a car that's already in one piece, like the ones you posted before. 

did you see any of the other cars yet?

[KZJonny]

Blue Car.

Manual wagon for the win. 

All day, every day.