HipsterDoofus Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 So, Ive bought my first Subaru. Used. 98 Legacy GT. It is a LOT of fun to drive! I'm the first to admit, I don't know shit about shit when it comes to engines and overall...car knowledge. I just know what I like. I took my brother in law with me, who's supposed to know a lot about what I dont know, as he finished mechanic school and so on and so forth....fast forward, after looking at and driving the car, I ask him "Would you buy this car, is it in good shape?" he says "yes." So, I buy it. Get it home. Roll down the passenger window, it doesn't roll back up. Damn. I call my OTHER brother in law who knows even more and he swipes a new window motor thing from the salvage yard he works at, fixes it. Now, the car is parked as I haven had time to register it, so last night, I just sit in it, relish in the Subaru goodness, I decide to start her up. HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM. Loud as HELL. I pop the hood and start it up again. I notice a wheel where the belt is in front, moving back and forth. The noise eventually goes away after a few moments, but periodically comes back as the wheel thing moves back and forth. A harmonic something or other? Regardless, call brother in law up (the smart one) and he says hell get the part for me and fix it this weekend. We also noticed upon a closer inspection that the ABS line is cut and there is some oil on the motor. Head gasket leak perhaps? Oh and he only had snow tires on it, so now I gotta buy some new tires too. So understandably, I'm getting kind of annoyed. I talked the guy down he wanted $3950, I got him to $3500, but now it looks like with the work I have to put into it, I erased my profit margin. Plus, he says he didn't change the belts the 2 years he had the car. Its at 127K. Did I mess up? Luckily my smart brother in law can fix most, if not all of this for me, and Im gonna help as I feel as a owner of this car, I should have an intimate knowledge of her. But seriously, whats your take? Lemon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeislord Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vduber Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I wouldnt say it's a lemon or that you are a sucker but do understand you bought a car with almost 130K miles for $3500 don't expect it to be in tip top shape. That being said some things you are saying like belts & tires is normal maintainence, the more miles you put on her the more stuff is gonna break just common sense! -Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShrinerMonkey Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 That is why if you don't know anything about cars, you should take a used car to someone who does like a reliable mechanic before buying. ABS line is cut? You mean the electrical wires or brake lines? Well, if it were me, I wouldn't have bought the car. It sounds like you have the hook-up as far as parts and mechanical knowledge go so at least it shouldn't cost you too much. However, your brother in law doesn't sound like the greatest mechanic if he missed all of these obvious problems and told you the car was in good shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipsterDoofus Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 I wouldnt say it's a lemon or that you are a sucker but do understand you bought a car with almost 130K miles for $3500 don't expect it to be in tip top shape. That being said some things you are saying like belts & tires is normal maintainence, the more miles you put on her the more stuff is gonna break just common sense! -Good luck Definitely understandable. I think what initially annoyed me was the fact that my brother in law, who i brought along to catch stuff like this, didn't catch it. And The ad I responded to, mentioned nothing of any of these problems. All in all though, im not going to let this ruin the experience for me. In terms of the money vs mileage thing though, I had looked on KBB and saw for what it was, I was actually getting a deal (not counting trade in value). I know in essence my problems are minor, but I think when I noticed all these things at once when i got her home, i became a bit more irate then perhaps I should have been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipsterDoofus Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 That is why if you don't know anything about cars, you should take a used car to someone who does like a reliable mechanic before buying. ABS line is cut? You mean the electrical wires or brake lines? Well, if it were me, I wouldn't have bought the car. It sounds like you have the hook-up as far as parts and mechanical knowledge go so at least it shouldn't cost you too much. However, your brother in law doesn't sound like the greatest mechanic if he missed all of these obvious problems and told you the car was in good shape. Im sorry, I got confusing for a moment. Theres two brother in laws I'm dealing with, the initial one obviously let me down, kind of. The other one, who's hooking me up with the parts and labor knows a lot about a lot of different cars, should have taken him with me in the first place. When I say ABS, I meant the electrical wires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoopMan Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I wouldnt say it's a lemon or that you are a sucker but do understand you bought a car with almost 130K miles for $3500 don't expect it to be in tip top shape. That being said some things you are saying like belts & tires is normal maintainence, the more miles you put on her the more stuff is gonna break just common sense! -Good luck +1 It's 12 years old too. You have to expect some maintenance issues. Better have your smarter bil check and/or replace belts, hoses, filters, battery, and vital bodily fluids (the car's not yours)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipsterDoofus Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 +1 It's 12 years old too. You have to expect some maintenance issues. Better have your smarter bil check and/or replace belts, hoses, filters, battery, and vital bodily fluids (the car's not yours)! Thats the plan for this weekend. Putting it up on the lift and were gonna go over it thoroughly. I still have quite a bit of money left over from my insurance payout from my last car to cover most of what I might need to do. I'm gonna start to wonder when enough is enough though, but as of now, the only problems we have noticed are the ones I stated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onthewagon Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Don't worry, you didn't get ripped off. My wife and I were shopping for an older Legacy/Outback earlier this year, and in that price range the car will need some work. You would pay about twice as much to get the same car if it ran well and looked nice. You might want your brother-in-law to check the head gasket while he's working on it. That was a problem on some of the early 2.5L engines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtmenace Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 head gasket leaks are not out of the question for your model year & good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipsterDoofus Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 lol you guys keep saying good luck, it almost sounds ominous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkLegacy Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I had a '97 gt before I bought the '05... I paid 5k back in 2003... Soon after I had the car... the water pump went, then the head gaskets... the rear main seal... ect... Make sure that you keep an eye out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipsterDoofus Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 I had a '97 gt before I bought the '05... I paid 5k back in 2003... Soon after I had the car... the water pump went, then the head gaskets... the rear main seal... ect... Make sure that you keep an eye out. Thanks for the vote of confidence lol With all this said though, I mean, one reason why i was drawn to Subaru's was because of their excellent history. Its common to hear people, at least around here, talk of their older subarus theyve put 250k miles on, no problem. While Im sure you guys arnt saying that "YES JAKE YOUR CAR WILL FAIL!" I should be wary though? Was this a problematic model year)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkLegacy Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 It was for the head gaskets... Once I had that fixed the car ran like a dream... I felt like I could not break loose in snow or rain... and hey... I bought another lgt right after that one... So my experience was not that bad! But like you... I was not an experienced car buyer... I was 21 yrs old and I bought the car on ebay... by the time I got to the vehicles location it was 10 at night and I looking over the car in winter, at night, with snow on the ground was an overall fail... Any car can be fixed... Have your brother look at it... It will be fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipsterDoofus Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 It was for the head gaskets... Once I had that fixed the car ran like a dream... I felt like I could not break loose in snow or rain... and hey... I bought another lgt right after that one... So my experience was not that bad! But like you... I was not an experienced car buyer... I was 21 yrs old and I bought the car on ebay... by the time I got to the vehicles location it was 10 at night and I looking over the car in winter, at night, with snow on the ground was an overall fail... Any car can be fixed... Have your brother look at it... It will be fine Thanks dude, you just made me feel a lot better. Sometimes, my lack of car knowledge makes me feel I don't deserve my penis. If I felt that the seller was trying to screw me, Id probably be REALLY pissed. but I genuinely believe hes ignorant of what is wrong with the car. The guy kept immaculate records of everything HE fixed, added, what have you. Perhaps Im just naive...Whatever, im fixing the thing and im gonna have a blast doing it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 So, Ive bought my first Subaru. Used. 98 Legacy GT. It is a LOT of fun to drive! I'm the first to admit, I don't know shit about shit when it comes to engines and overall...car knowledge. I just know what I like. I took my brother in law with me, who's supposed to know a lot about what I dont know, as he finished mechanic school and so on and so forth....fast forward, after looking at and driving the car, I ask him "Would you buy this car, is it in good shape?" he says "yes." So, I buy it. Get it home. Roll down the passenger window, it doesn't roll back up. Damn. I call my OTHER brother in law who knows even more and he swipes a new window motor thing from the salvage yard he works at, fixes it. Now, the car is parked as I haven had time to register it, so last night, I just sit in it, relish in the Subaru goodness, I decide to start her up. HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM. Loud as HELL. I pop the hood and start it up again. I notice a wheel where the belt is in front, moving back and forth. The noise eventually goes away after a few moments, but periodically comes back as the wheel thing moves back and forth. A harmonic something or other? Regardless, call brother in law up (the smart one) and he says hell get the part for me and fix it this weekend. We also noticed upon a closer inspection that the ABS line is cut and there is some oil on the motor. Head gasket leak perhaps? Oh and he only had snow tires on it, so now I gotta buy some new tires too. So understandably, I'm getting kind of annoyed. I talked the guy down he wanted $3950, I got him to $3500, but now it looks like with the work I have to put into it, I erased my profit margin. Plus, he says he didn't change the belts the 2 years he had the car. Its at 127K. Did I mess up? Luckily my smart brother in law can fix most, if not all of this for me, and Im gonna help as I feel as a owner of this car, I should have an intimate knowledge of her. But seriously, whats your take? Lemon? The oil on the front of the motor could be coming from under the timing belt cover. The belts (Excluding the timing belt) are under $20 at an auto parts store, and should take less than 30 minutes for one of your mechanically inclined friends to install. For what you paid I wouldn't say it's a lemon. You just got a good car that needs a little work. The reason it's so cheap is probably because the person who was selling the car either didn't know about the car and didn't want to pay a lot of money to have someone fix the car, or he didn't have the time to do it himself... Or he just got a newer car and decided to sell the 98. The most difficult/expensive thing to repair from your post would be the oil leak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack ffr1846 Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Does CT have a lemon law for used cars? If you were my brother.....relying on my ability to take your $5500 car that you bought for $3500 and fix everything to bring it up to what a $5500 car would be, I'd be handing you a copy of the lemon law and sending you on your way. Cheap cars are cheap for a reason. Sorry....that's how I see it. jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipsterDoofus Posted July 25, 2009 Author Share Posted July 25, 2009 The oil on the front of the motor could be coming from under the timing belt cover. The belts (Excluding the timing belt) are under $20 at an auto parts store, and should take less than 30 minutes for one of your mechanically inclined friends to install. For what you paid I wouldn't say it's a lemon. You just got a good car that needs a little work. The reason it's so cheap is probably because the person who was selling the car either didn't know about the car and didn't want to pay a lot of money to have someone fix the car, or he didn't have the time to do it himself... Or he just got a newer car and decided to sell the 98. The most difficult/expensive thing to repair from your post would be the oil leak. You know, thats how Im looking at it. The more pessimistic I become, the less fun I'm gonna have. It got registered today and passed emissions (the passing emissions has gotta say something, right?). The car runs smooth and quiet and when the guy from the garage handed my keys back after the test he made it a point to tell me what a nice car he thought I had. That, was an awesome feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipsterDoofus Posted July 25, 2009 Author Share Posted July 25, 2009 Does CT have a lemon law for used cars? If you were my brother.....relying on my ability to take your $5500 car that you bought for $3500 and fix everything to bring it up to what a $5500 car would be, I'd be handing you a copy of the lemon law and sending you on your way. Cheap cars are cheap for a reason. Sorry....that's how I see it. jack Nah. A couple days ago Id have agreed with you. After being in it now and knowing that tomorrow everything is going to get fixed i feel as if hes a sucker for selling me that car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard B. Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 buy new kinda funny though. im sure you thought HE was the sucker at purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipsterDoofus Posted July 25, 2009 Author Share Posted July 25, 2009 buy new kinda funny though. im sure you thought HE was the sucker at purchase. Actually, no. I stand by what I said, he IS a sucker. I put it up on the lift this weekend and had everything inspected. The head gasket, water pump and my belts are all in perfect condition. Installed the new ABS sensor, put in a new harmonic flux capacitor and put on my new tires (set of Toyos, got em from my BIL for $250, brand new). So yeah, the car runs beautifully. Turns out the "leak" was no more then just a simple spill. And you know, not everyone has the luxury of just going out and buying a new car. Means, I live within mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest heightsgtltd Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 What happened to the noise you described in the first post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandman Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Thanks for the vote of confidence lol With all this said though, I mean, one reason why i was drawn to Subaru's was because of their excellent history. Its common to hear people, at least around here, talk of their older subarus theyve put 250k miles on, no problem.//Those were 2.2l's. The 2.5l Phase I engine that went into the GT and Outback has had a ton of head gasket problems. In addition, replacing water pumps, oil pump o-ring, camshaft seals and even main seals at something over 100K is common. Seals plus water pump is roughly $600. Head gaskets, roughly $1,200. Around here that car is worth $2,500 unless it had receipts for all this recent work. Who Dares Wins スバル Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipsterDoofus Posted July 25, 2009 Author Share Posted July 25, 2009 What happened to the noise you described in the first post? It was the harmonic balancer. switched it out for a new one. The rubber was all eaten away on the old one, belt was basically the only thing holding it on. Now shes running nice and quiet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipsterDoofus Posted July 25, 2009 Author Share Posted July 25, 2009 Those were 2.2l's. The 2.5l Phase I engine that went into the GT and Outback has had a ton of head gasket problems. In addition, replacing water pumps, oil pump o-ring, camshaft seals and even main seals at something over 100K is common. Seals plus water pump is roughly $600. Head gaskets, roughly $1,200. Around here that car is worth $2,500 unless it had receipts for all this recent work. Thats what all my research has also told me. The prior owner kept immaculate records and I inherited them when I purchased the car. Included was the FIRST owners records as well (I'm the third owner) and at 98,500 He had the head gasket, pump and belts replaced. My BIL is a mechanic, so I lucked out on the second round of inspection upon bringing it home. At this point though, like i said earlier today, shes running 100% I couldn't be happier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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