luvmylegacy98 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 i currently drive a 98 legacy gt and love it to death. im looking to get into something nicer cause im getting a little older. i think i wanna stay with subaru and an sti i like is waayyy out of my budget. looking for a 4th gen legacy for around 7-9k. car has to be a manual trans, preferably black on black but thats not as important to me. and it MUST be turbo. i've seen the gt limited has a turbo but does the normal gt has a turbo motor? a spec-b is way over budget as well. how long will these cars stack up miles for? and how is maintainance costs? they arent bad on my 98 so i figure it wouldnt be too bad for an 05 either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmx045 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 ALL 05+ U.S. legacy gt's are turbo, limited or unlimited matters it not. the maintenance costs are about the same as owning a bugatti veyron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users seabass07 Posted February 7, 2012 Mega Users Share Posted February 7, 2012 WTF kind of maintenance are you doing?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmx045 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 shortblocks, turbos, tunes, you know...the typical 05 LGT owner's driveway maintenance.....the cheap stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
__raj Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 In the $7-9k range you into a risky buy. The cars are fine if oil level is maintained, change regularly(3k-4k miles) with no lapses, and driven sanely. Take away any of the above or slight bad luck they have potential for expensive issues. Incredible car nevertheless, no regrets on ours with 125k miles mostly flawless except failed throw out bearing($850) & alternator($450). Lastly the only Subaru that falls into Consumer Reports used car to avoid list is Legacy turbo 05. Would I recommend buying to any friend used, likely no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS5689 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I certainly wouldn't want an LGT in the 7-9k price range. The vehicles in that range are going to be high mileage cars, and I would never consider purchasing a used turbo vehicle with high mileage. You'll just end up pouring maintenance money into it soon after buying it. For the record, I would never go near a used vehicle with more than 40,000 miles on, so you may take my advice with a grain of salt. Here's what a search on cars.com yielded for LGT results: link. Maintenance on these cars (or any turbo vehicle, for that matter) will be slightly higher than what you're used to. These cars need to follow a strict oil change interval of 2,500-3,000 miles, and that can add up if you drive a lot. Plus you need to factor in the potential of turbo failure and the associated damage it could cause. If you really want a Legacy, and you don't want to risk the potential headaches of a high mileage LGT in your price range, I'd look for a non-turbo model. Personally I find them painfully slow, but you may end up liking one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berzerklo Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Maintenance will be significantly higher for a 2.5 turbo compared to your car... especially one in the price range you mentioned. The early LGT's had a lot turbo system design flaws that were fixed in 07+ LGT's - Namely the banjo bolt on the turbo oil line and the catted up pipe on the exhaust side. LGT's can get high miles on them, but you have to be very diligent on your research before you buy it. Otherwise you could be dropping $4-6k for a new shortblock in no time. I am not trying to scare you off (I love my car), but the Gen 4 LGT's are a completely different beast than your '98. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users seabass07 Posted February 7, 2012 Mega Users Share Posted February 7, 2012 Service history is very important! It will give you an idea of how well it's been taken care of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvmylegacy98 Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 so what i'm gathering from everyone here is that without going over my budget i wont be able to find a good, reliable lgt. one of the biggest reasons i wanted one was cause my '98 is far too slow. i want to stay with subaru because of the awd system and i live in cleveland and our winters here are normally pretty bad. but i might just decide to fix all the things that are wrong with my legacy and keep it. its got a lot of time in the garage as it is and im getting tired of fixing my car every weekend. it is my winter car so i might sell it this summer and put that towards a new car. idk what my plans are yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 cleveland, it's flat out there. What do you need AWD for. Like others said, these cars need lots of TLC. My 05 has 150,000 miles on the orginal engine. New turbo last Aug. Used rear diff last May. Replaced intkae o-rings last May. Rebuilt the 5mt again last June. (5th time the tranny's been out of the car) Had fix wires on the hatch last Feb New starter last Feb. Front left wheel bearing last Jan Engine drinks oil like a fish loves water. The thing runs great. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmx045 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 cleveland, it's flat out there. What do you need AWD for. Like others said, these cars need lots of TLC. My 05 has 150,000 miles on the orginal engine. New turbo last Aug. Used rear diff last May. Replaced intkae o-rings last May. Rebuilt the 5mt again last June. (5th time the tranny's been out of the car) Had fix wires on the hatch last Feb New starter last Feb. Front left wheel bearing last Jan Engine drinks oil like a fish loves water. The thing runs great. it's something called "snow" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrw Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 it's something called "snow" You don't NEED awd for snow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmx045 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 well the op apparently DOES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 IMO in his area FWD with good all season's is all he needs, as long as he knows how to drive. I drove the civic to VT every winter weekend for years with just good all seasons. It's more about knowing how to drive in the conditions. Even my 98 and 00 GT's didn't have snow tires. I have also put the all season's back on my 05 allready. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS5689 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Why must so many threads turn into a debate over the necessity or desire to have AWD? The OP wants an AWD vehicle, and that's all that matters. I drove a slammed FWD GTI through a Maine winter and had no problem. I decided I wanted AWD, though, and I bought my Subaru. My next vehicle will probably end up being RWD. FWD, AWD, RWD -- whatever acronym drives your wheels doesn't matter, what matters is we're all here because we like/love/want an AWD Subaru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adreyna Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I'm in this with berzerklo and some of the guys they are expensive to maintains and repair. I've dumped almost $10k in service and repairs: 105k service with timing belt, water pump, tensioner, and thermo, tires, rear bearing, all need disk brakes and pads, new turbo, and, a new rebiuld engine with new ej257. All with in 10 months! Yes maybe I'm stupid for blowing my engine ($5k) but still these cars cost a lot! But I wouldn't change her for anything except a newer sti or and and Evo x! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 well the op apparently DOES I was just questioning, just to make sure the OP is positive he needs AWD. My GF's son thinks he needs a 4x4 truck instead of a car, because of the snow we get. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvmylegacy98 Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 i dont NEED awd. i just prefer it. this time last year i was driving a 96 accord and we had much much much much more snow than we do now. its been a pretty brown winter so far. but prefer awd just cause of the ease when it does snow or if i need to drive through some mud or dirt. it also can powerslide without using the handbrake which is one reason i LOVE my legacy. plus i see no reason to but a fwd car when its only a winter time car anyway. i have a 96 trans am ws6 i drive in the summers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Good to hear. Keep your eye on the for sale forum here for a good car...may be. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob-2 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Keep driving your car and save more money. <$10K cars are typically trouble, and now someone will jump in claiming some amazing deal, but the fact is it's cheaper for a reason. In 2-3 years get a low mileage 07 for $12-14. You know, that lady should just drove it on the weekends. With 7-9K I would buy the best Civic I could find and pray that it was as well built as the rest of the honda's on the market. I WOULD NOT touch a Subaru for that price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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