A general question about low mileage legacys

[lawl]

So we found an older legacy, it's a 99 with 20k miles. 20,000. it was owned by a grandmother who barely drove it, so i assume all fluids are original fluids. there is a decent amount of rust on the undercarriage near the brakes from being parked outside a little (it was a Massachusetts car)

 

if we were to purchase said car what would you guys recommend be changed, maintained, etc?

 

the brakes feel awful and need to be pressed down all the way to get any feedback, so here's my short list so far. (for some reason the clutch was replaced recently)

 

differential fluids

tranny fluid

brake line flush/bleed

engine oil

tires

 

anything else i've missed? if i took it to a mechanic would they know what to check?

 

thanks in advance!

[whitetiger]

older car that sat around alot and have little milage tend to suffer from rust in the brakes and supension. Water also tends to accumulate in the brake fluid. the good thing is that the engines and trans should be still in good shape. aside from all the fluid changes you listed, check for dry rot on the vacuum and coolant hoses from it sitting around. the slide bolts on the brake calipers may need to be lubed or replaced. maybe new rotors and pads due to rust pitting the rotors and contaminating the pads. make sure all suspenison joints and bushings allow proper suspension movement and that nothing has seized or broken. sway bars in particular. YOu may also want to clean out the intake to the a/c blower motor. stuff like to get stuck in there if the car was parked under a tree for a while in the Fall.

[pillboy]

Flexible brake hoses, accessory drive belts, check the bottom edges of the doors for rust, timing belt (from an age standpoint ??), power steering fluid, check under the battery to see if it has been leaking and corroding the inner fender (yes, I know they had a plactic tray to sit on), and don't forget to replace the old air in the spare tire.

[trailblaze]

umm, wow.....$20,000 for a 99 legacy with 20k miles is way to freaking much!!!

 

i paid 14.5k for my 05 LGT with 36k

 

keep on looking!!

[lawl]

umm, wow.....$20,000 for a 99 legacy with 20k miles is way to freaking much!!!

 

i paid 14.5k for my 05 LGT with 36k

 

keep on looking!!

 

 

no no lol

 

20,000 miles. to clarify that it was 20k miles and not 200,000

[Bdubs]

All the engine/tranny seals are more likely to wear a lot faster when a car sits.

Especially that dreaded rear main seal. When I had my 95, the original owner just let the car sit for a decent period of time. I changed all the fluids in the car when I got it, yet only a few thousand miles later the tranny seal started leaking, the front cam seals leaked, and the rear main seal seeped.

A lot of people say that if you change fluids in a car that has been sitting for a while, new fluids will damage the already rotted seals really quick.

 

I also wouldn't buy a phase I ej25. Low mileage is good, but those headgaskets....time bomb.

[lawl]

haha its actually an impreza. 2.2L

 

same criteria apply though i think.

 

thanks for all the help!