redpill66 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 I have never bought a used turbo car. They sound more prone to damage from neglect/abuse. If I get an 05 I am looking at 30k+ miles on the car when I get it. If the previous owner ran it low on oil, or ran the turbo hard on a cold engine, will it significantly reduce the life of the car? Will the problems show on the test drive, or will I have a catastophic failure a year down the road? I'm just worried that the first owner will have damaged the turbo, but I won't be able to diagnose that from a 10 minute test drive. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rao Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 The short answer is that if the turbo isn't making any obvious noises then the odds are that there is nothing wrong with it. On the other hand, it is possible for a perfectly fine sounding turbo (meaningone that doesn't make any funny sounds) will fail, just like any of the other thousands of parts in the car. If the turbo does fail it can be replaced fairly easily - figure $1,000 to $1,500 at a dealer. It takes about 4 hours of labor plus parts. It is also fairy easy to do yourself if you have some experience. Find a car you like and buy it. That's what warranties are for. Rob IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 I've read very very few issues with our turbo's failing. You'll be fine. Like rao said....any part can fail at any given time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wukindada Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Welcome!!!! Is the car @ a dealer or is it a private party sale? What part of the country are you in? Smell the oil...... As Rao mentioned, a turbo is not a huge cost especially if you turn the wrench yourself & if you do that go with a larger turbo;) Toyota 6EATS .........SUCK!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redpill66 Posted January 3, 2007 Author Share Posted January 3, 2007 The car I am looking at is at a dealer with 30,000 miles. I would assume it is still under the powertrain warranty, and the dealer offers and additional year and 12,000 miles on the bumper-to-bumper. Not sure if they will still have it once I am ready to buy, though. I guess a grand isnt too bad to have a turbo replaced... hopefully, when I start test driving them, it will be obvious which have been abused. Thanks for the quick responses. **edit** Wukindada, I am in Colorado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 No worries. Go for it. People tend to think about turbos like we were in 1970s... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWP-LegacyGT Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Just don't mine... I didn't break it in properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondas123 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Turbo is covered for 60k isn't it????? <<< Goes to check - The Mortgage Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 yeah, pt warranty... 60k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdefabri Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 All, I am a noob as well - looking a a 2005 Limited, 5-spd with 54K miles. Car drove great and they are "asking" 18K. I think I can get them down to 16.5 - 17K, but had some questions. First, the brakes felt spongy. I checked the brake fluid, it looked fine. When I pressed them hard, they gripped, as did the e-brake. Is this a normal characteristic of the Legacy? Also, what is the view on quality? I am also looking at a GS400/430, no issues or problems there. I've owned Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissans, but never a Subie. Most data supports that they are well built, but since I commute 90+ miles round trip, the quality is urgent. I need to keep the car for 4-5 years. Thanks in advance for any info/help for either me or RedPill! __________________________________________________ '72 240Z, numbers matching, 5spd, 4.11 R180 '66 Jaguar XKE FHC, numbers matching, 4spd '67 Honda CL77 305 Scrambler, 8,000 original miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Yeah, stock pads suck. Just replace pads you'll be okay. 54k miles, you should get for no more than 16k IMHO. Subbies run forever... I can't get over the number of 1st gen Legacies I see all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdefabri Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Cool thanks! The dealer implied that he'd go to low 17's, but I suspect I could squeeze more. The car is clean, but they tried to say the car has good resale - . I think you are right - if the guy told me $16K, I'd have bought it on the spot. Whereabouts in NJ are you? __________________________________________________ '72 240Z, numbers matching, 5spd, 4.11 R180 '66 Jaguar XKE FHC, numbers matching, 4spd '67 Honda CL77 305 Scrambler, 8,000 original miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 On second thought, I think it should go for less than $16k.... only recently a guy in NJ had trouble selling his 05 LGT wagon w/MT with 44k miles for ~$14.5... Last May when I bought mine (new leftover), I could have bought an MT LGT wagon for $19k (asking price!) with only 15k miles.... See, 50 something kmiles is close to the end of powertrain warranty... bargain harder, or find a lower mileage one for the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondas123 Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I agree....at 54K I wouldn't pay over 16k for it. The stock brakes do take some getting used to. Definetly a spongy feel to them, compared to the Hondas I've owned. This is also my first Subaru, I would rank it up there with Honda and Toyota as far as quality and reliability. - The Mortgage Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Manstrong Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I bought my '05 LGT (not Limited) with 27k miles for $17,400. You should easily be able to get lower than that. I'd say ask $14,500 and take $16,000 if you have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdefabri Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 This is good info - which is why I like being part of the forum. Thanks to all for the data. Seeing that most suggest LESS than 16K, I will offer much lower. Otherwise, I'll continue to look. If anyone knows of a 2.5 Limited Sedan with MT in NJ at less than 15K, LET ME KNOW...PLEEEASE __________________ '72 240Z HLS30-73667 (mfg. 3/72), numbers matching, 5spd, 4.11 R180 '66 Jaguar XKE FHC, numbers matching, 4spd '67 Honda CL77 305 Scrambler, 8,000 original miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I should have said all prices I quoted were for unlimited cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdefabri Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I'd probably be ok with that - budget first, luxury second! __________________ '72 240Z HLS30-73667 (mfg. 3/72), numbers matching, 5spd, 4.11 R180 '66 Jaguar XKE FHC, numbers matching, 4spd '67 Honda CL77 305 Scrambler, 8,000 original miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Luxury meh. Sliding around in leather ain't luxury to me! But that's MHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdefabri Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Well my '00 Maxima SE was "base" - cloth interior, etc. so you know where my allegiances are. So if an "un" limited is ~$15K, what would a Limted be? Car is very clean, no signs of external abuse. Would 16K be reasonable? __________________________________________________ '72 240Z, numbers matching, 5spd, 4.11 R180 '66 Jaguar XKE FHC, numbers matching, 4spd '67 Honda CL77 305 Scrambler, 8,000 original miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bergs Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 If anyone knows of a 2.5 Limited Sedan with MT in NJ at less than 15K, LET ME KNOW...PLEEEASE 2200 miles....paint should buff out just fine.....it's in Iowa though FWIW: Me = '05 Limited wagon 5mt 19k unclemat-I wasn't a big fan of leather initially...but now I'm a believer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Bergs, where did you get your wagon? Dealer? How many miles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdefabri Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Bergs, Yep, I saw that. I won't buy another damaged vehicle...I have a beat-up Corolla that I got for a song...biggest mistake ever. Plus, shipping from Iowa adds to the cost - I shipped my Jag from Ohio, adds another $500 to the price. What makes this difficult is the depreciation on these things - it's really high...so it's hard to gauge what's appropriate. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bergs Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 unclemat- I found it at a Land Rover Stealership in Bedford, NH. They had gotten it on trade about 4 days before I saw it on autotrader.com. 33k miles--this car is MINT! I got lucky because I was about to ride out to NY to look at a blue one. rdefabri- Try searching autotrader.com....I had really good luck with that site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 What was the asking price? I might have seen it on autotrader as well, methinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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