2008 Spec B as a Daily Driver

[mjwdoran]

Hi Guys,

 

So over the last few weeks, I began a search for a new used vehicle

for myself and my wife. I quickly honed in on a Legacy as a fantastic combination of being large enough to be practical for myself, my wife and our future family, but also being enough fun that I satisfy that little adrenaline junky inside. I hadn't planned on shopping for anything very high end when I started, but I've been surprised how limiting it has been insisting that I drive a manual.

 

I stumbled across a listing for a 2008 Subaru Legacy Spec B with 120,000 Km (Approx 75,000 miles) on it that is within my budget. We took it for a test drive and man, that can is amazing - even my wife fell in love with the car when we test drove it. My question to you guys is:

 

Am I insane for looking at a Spec B when really all I need is a 2.5 Limited?

 

Other than the additional fuel consumption from the turbo, are there any other surprises in store for me when I'm considering this Spec B vs a different Legacy with a similar mileage? I don't claim to be a gearhead, as I've spent my youth on computers instead of cars, but as the son of a gearhead, I'm willing to learn. I've been devouring the information on these forums since I first found them, but I can't say that I'm ready right now to do much in the way of repairs myself, beyond changing my own oil.

 

I'm currently in the process of lining up a 3rd party mechanic to inspect the car, but I've got this nagging feeling that I might be just lining myself up for trouble by looking at this car. Help! Am I crazy?

[bmx045]

get a compression test, other than that you should be fine with that mileage! spark plugs should've been done at around 60k, try to get the maintenance records...check for burning oil, blue smoke on startup out of the pipes. since you love the power and the manual tranny, you can look for a regular legacy gt 5mt too.....

[SneakyFast]

You're not crazy. The SpecB is a great car.

[brewhaha]

I would agree with the above. Its feels sooo nice. I am on my 4th subaru and I say I love this one because it has all the previous 3 qualities in 1.

[gotsugg]

Buy it!!! You will love it.

[dmanaenk]

If I'm reading what you wrote correctly - I wouldn't buy it, unless it came with 100k subaru gold warranty (or at least a powertrain one) and there were zero signs of engine modifications (and you'll need someone knowledgeable to look for these).

 

It seems that you're looking for a reliable DD, that will be the only car in the family, know next to nothing about turbo-subarus and just happened to bump into spec.b accidentally. Sounds like a recipe for trouble.

 

Just buy 2.5i, keep reading the forums, educating yourself, and then, when you feel like you can get a second car, buy a funner car for yourself.

[mjwdoran]

@bmx045 - A compression test was on the list, as I wanted to get any information I could on the status of the head gasket. Unfortunately, the car is being sold by a non-Subaru dealership, who has no maintenance record for the vehicle behind the standard carfax/carproof records. I AM attempting to find out what I can via the research on the VIN# to see if I can track down any records of the vehicle being serviced at a Subaru dealership, but I'll just have to see how that goes. There was no blue smoke on a cold start when I drove it on Saturday.

 

@dmanaenk - You're right to some degree. I did not start this car search looking for a turbo subaru, and I'm worried that I am in over my head. But do you have any experience or information to say that a spec-B is going to be less reliable than a regular GT? Or would you caution against any Subaru with a turbo in general? Obviously, adding a turbo to just about any engine is going to create another potential point of failure, but it seems like Subaru turbos have a pretty good reputation as far as these things go.

 

Thanks again for the feedback

[Tide]

spec.B for sure, its just that extra bit of polish on the ride that makes it worth the price

[doccrowley]

don't be afaid of the car if it passes with flying colors the mechanical inspection. Just make sure your inspector is familiar with subie turbo charged cars.

 

If it's not clean, negotiate for mechanical fixes and make it clean, IF you get the right deal.

[dmanaenk]

But do you have any experience or information to say that a spec-B is going to be less reliable than a regular GT? Or would you caution against any Subaru with a turbo in general?

 

I would caution against a higher-mileage turbo car of unknown history as the only car in the family of size >=2 (which sounds like what you're gonna have). Don't get me wrong, I love my 08 spec.b, but you have to specifically shop for those to buy a decent one, not just the first one you ran into and liked during a short test-drive. For example, did you already read about stop-sale VIN range for catastrophic engine failures? Even at that mileage you might run into a problematic car, that just wasn't driven hard enough to fail.

[doccrowley]

^^ agreed with above.

 

Remember, it is a buyers market for cars right now. However, winter time Subies carry a premium price in snowy markets.

 

We just picked up an '09 Leg 2.5i for $5,000 below book value for my wife. 18,000 miles.

[lfjchau]

consider if it has involved in any accident??

2-3 yrs old car with with 120k seems high...

what made it use up so high milage.

[mjwdoran]

Alright, so it looks like I have some bad news from further research. I contacted Subaru Canada, found out which dealership sold the Spec B and then contact their service department and managed to speak to a technician who was willing to discuss some service records off the books.

 

His general opinion of the service record was that it showed a lack of regular maintenance. Now this may have just been that he was having service done elsewhere, but....

 

At 60,000 miles there was check engine light noted for cam shaft position timing-over advanced. (My research has lead me to believe this is associated with problems with high wear& tear, perhaps caused by not regular oil maintenance?)

 

And at only 30,000 miles the front wheel bearing and front brakes were replaced.

 

This doesn't sound like a car that has been babied does it? *sigh*

[bmx045]

That doesn't necessarily mean it's a beaten car. A lot of times I take note of the condition of the interior (cracks, scratches etc) and that usually gives me an idea of how the car was taken care of. Unfortunately wheel bearings can go prematurely on ANY car, regardless of driving habits. When the bearing goes, usually the brakes get messed up too- so that's probably why those were replaced. By the way the wheel bearings on subaru's have a warranty of their own, don't remember but it's a long time.

 

The camshaft position sensor is also not related to maintenance, that's one of those freaky things that can happen on any car as well. I don't believe oil changing has any effect on that sensor. If the car drives nice, smooth, quiet, no weird noises, I'd say it's a safe buy. HOWEVER, if at all possible, test drive another legacy GT to compare it to. You never really know how good that particular car is until you compare it to another. I test drove 3 LGT's before buying mine, I knew the minute I drove it that it was ten times better than the previous.