2006 Legacy GT spec B Sedan 4D for a first time (highschooler) car buyer

[XenoCyan]

Hey all, first timer on this forum. Just saw a 2006 Legacy GT spec B with 145k miles listed by a private seller and I had some questions about it. I'm mostly looking for something that I can drive for about 6 months before I get handed down another car, and go off to college. However, I will be borrowing money from a relative to buy this car, and will need to sell it at the end of the 6 months to repay the borrowed money.

First off, is the car reliable? I don't want to be spending hundreds/thousands on this car if I'm only gonna drive 6 months with it. What are some common problems? I've attached the recent repairs to the description but I do not know about the regular maintenance the car has gone through.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GTkWRfaeAHz67xZz9

https://photos.app.goo.gl/avybUvZpqAPBGT2s7

Second, is it easy to sell the GT spec B's? I'm worried that I wont be able to repay the borrowed money from a relative.

Lastly, is this a good first car? I'm not super handy and not looking for anything super "fun" in particular, just a reliable car with AWD.

Oh, and the title is rebuilt, please LMK if its even worth Carfaxing.

Thank you all!

[pleiadesfella]

how much is the car, and do you have any pictures? any descriptions off the ad? any modifications done to the car? it's hard to say whether it's gonna be reliable or not without us really seeing the car or knowing how the seller describes it. my 08 spec b has 147k mi right now and I'd say it's been reliable so far, but there's so much variance with used examples of these cars its really hard to tell how its gonna treat you in the long run.

the 06 spec b is arguably the rarest USDM legacy trim of all time, so you're likely not gonna have a hard time selling it if you list it here. from what I can tell you're in oregon so you should be able to find a buyer off here relatively easily. but take that with a grain of salt - check the used cars forum here to see how much people try to sell their lgts for and how much time the ads stay up.

as for the first car prospect, I'd definitely stay away from any sort of older turbo subaru platform if I were a broke highschooler. these cars aren't hondas, and if you miss maintenance or beat on it too much, it WILL let you down. and it WILL be expensive to repair. there's just no way around it. absolutely do not borrow money to buy a car like this without having your own stable income first. I also wouldn't buy something as rare and desirable as an 06 spec just for 6 months, just get a simple non turbo legacy at that point and call it a day.

I hope this didn't sound harsh, but as a 25yo with a job I still sometimes contemplate if it's really worth the cost to keep my spec b running. I wouldn't want to be in this situation if I were a highschooler with no job.

[KZJonny]

1 hour ago, pleiadesfella said:

how much is the car, and do you have any pictures? any descriptions off the ad? any modifications done to the car? it's hard to say whether it's gonna be reliable or not without us really seeing the car or knowing how the seller describes it. my 08 spec b has 147k mi right now and I'd say it's been reliable so far, but there's so much variance with used examples of these cars its really hard to tell how its gonna treat you in the long run.

the 06 spec b is arguably the rarest USDM legacy trim of all time, so you're likely not gonna have a hard time selling it if you list it here. from what I can tell you're in oregon so you should be able to find a buyer off here relatively easily. but take that with a grain of salt - check the used cars forum here to see how much people try to sell their lgts for and how much time the ads stay up.

as for the first car prospect, I'd definitely stay away from any sort of older turbo subaru platform if I were a broke highschooler. these cars aren't hondas, and if you miss maintenance or beat on it too much, it WILL let you down. and it WILL be expensive to repair. there's just no way around it. absolutely do not borrow money to buy a car like this without having your own stable income first. I also wouldn't buy something as rare and desirable as an 06 spec just for 6 months, just get a simple non turbo legacy at that point and call it a day.

I hope this didn't sound harsh, but as a 25yo with a job I still sometimes contemplate if it's really worth the cost to keep my spec b running. I wouldn't want to be in this situation if I were a highschooler with no job.

+1

If you just need a car for 6 months, buy something that won't cause you a hassle and you can get your money back out of when you sell it.

So: Toyota Yaris or Corolla or a Honda Civic. Seriously.

Do not buy a turbo Subaru (or pretty much any other turbo car) for a temporary thing and hope to have an easy sale when all is said and done.

[MoleMan]

Dude,

 

Unless it's cheap just pass on it.  As you said you will be borrowing money to buy this.  What happens when/if the turbo fails or other work needs to be done?  If it has a CEL light on and you live in an emissions state that will cost ya.  And that's not including the insurance costs which will not be the cheapest thanks to the wreck a WRX crowd.  Then you are throwing in a rebuilt title and that's something I personally would not touch.

You need a car for six months.  I would be looking at something cheap and needs little maintenance.  I myself drive a 8th gen Civic as a daily.   

Anyway it's your money. Good luck to you.