Buying used Legacy GT!

[D_Sp8s]

Okay, here's the situation. I am looking at buying this 2005 Subaru Legacy GT Limited w/ 105,000 miles new timing belt (and all tensioner pulley's), water pump & spark plugs, and new tires with 1,000 miles on them (Continental Extreme DWS), and new radiator.

There are, however, 2 problems with the car:
-Damage to the right front quarterpanel
-"4th cylinder misfire" code showed up recently after a rough idle and "check engine" light. I checked up on this, and it looks like it needs a new fuel injector.

Everything else looks like it's in good condition.
I am going to have my mechanic check it out on Monday.

He is asking $10,000 as is.


From KBB.com:
Condition Value
Excellent - $12,360
Good - $11,510
Fair - $10,110

What do you think, good deal? Bad deal? Go for it!? Run Away?

[Foolds]

I have a 2005 legacy gt with 79k miles on it and love it. But I have had some problems too. I have a rough idle and miss fire on #2 that turned out to be a bad piston.. they had a large batch of bad pistons in the 2005 model year. I would pay a bit extra to have them do a compression test on the motor when you take it in to have it looked at.. that will tell you alot. Anything else been done to it performance wise?

Im not sure what kinda life guys are getting out of turbos but I know older turbos were good for about 100k miles then needing replacement. Let me know if you have any other questions.



I run the same tires as that car and they are great!

I think hes a High on his price thought with those two issues..

[Pharmgirl]

Don't trust Subaru boxer engines, especially if they have been running synthetic. I would totally pass on anything with a "misfire" Major red flag.

[Foolds]

Don't trust Subaru boxer engines, especially if they have been running synthetic. I would totally pass on anything with a "misfire" Major red flag.

Odd I had 3 subarus 2 of the 3 have run synthetic oil.. the first on Synthetic just went 268k miles before some lady made a left turn infront of one of my employees and smashed it..

Ps My First Subie has 170k Miles on it and I beat the HELL out of it and it still runs great!

[Foolds]

http://www.subaruofkeene.com/synthetic-oil.htm

Subaru is now requiring it in 2011 turbos

[brennahm]

Expect head gaskets...

[Foolds]

Expect head gaskets...

Subaru got most of those issues worked out in 2003 I think.. I havnt heard about alot of lgt's losing head gaskets

[Zach929rr]

I'd offer 9, draw the line at 10, maybe 10.5.

[drago52]

Expect head gaskets...

yep. I had a forester with head gasket issues.

[King Nothing]

No wagon. No care.

[Wrider]

If it's the 4 it's especially bad with head gaskets. Personally I'd take it over to Summit Auto up in Denver.
http://www.summitauto.us/ Note: website has music in it
These guys ONLY do Subies and they fucking rock to work with.

[madvlad]

Check for head gasket issues, valve cover gaskets, check the plugs to see if they have oil and I they do the valve cover gromets are done too which are quite common for subarus. If there's a cylinder misfire check compression for sure but I would most likely walk away from it right meow! Lol subarus after 80k start asking for some $$$$. My friend had the same issue on his 07 non turbo legacy and they had to put a new block in (thankfully he was under warranty)

[Pharmgirl]

We put a 2.5 STI engine in our 04 WRX after the engine went about 2 years ago for a spun bearing. Full synthetic (Mobil 1) got so thin, we almost burned the new engine up. Super Rupair in Boulder has said that Subaru will not acknowledge not to put synthetic in the high compression, but they are no longer using synthetic and we have changed back to regular. It was a fun surprise almost losing that second engine. Just a heads up. It may only apply to the turbo'd engines.

[fasterlaster]

We put a 2.5 STI engine in our 04 WRX after the engine went about 2 years ago for a spun bearing. Full synthetic (Mobil 1) got so thin, we almost burned the new engine up. Super Rupair in Boulder has said that Subaru will not acknowledge not to put synthetic in the high compression, but they are no longer using synthetic and we have changed back to regular. It was a fun surprise almost losing that second engine. Just a heads up. It may only apply to the turbo'd engines.

If the synthetic got so thin then there is something in the recommended weight of the oil that is incorrect. Synthetic is much much better at keeping the correct viscosity than dyno oil. The dyno oil is multi-weighted only because of additives which break down over time and heat. Unless the oil was sent to a lab for testing and it proved to be a faulty batch I would suspect something else cause that problem.

[Foolds]

We put a 2.5 STI engine in our 04 WRX after the engine went about 2 years ago for a spun bearing. Full synthetic (Mobil 1) got so thin, we almost burned the new engine up. Super Rupair in Boulder has said that Subaru will not acknowledge not to put synthetic in the high compression, but they are no longer using synthetic and we have changed back to regular. It was a fun surprise almost losing that second engine. Just a heads up. It may only apply to the turbo'd engines.

You didnt read my posting.. Subaru is now Requiring in 2011+ turbos and recommending in Turbo's below that.

[D_Sp8s]

I did a TON of research, read and considered all of your comments.....AND.....

BOUGHT IT!

I took it to my girlfriend's dad, who owns his own mechanics shop in Arvada...

ALL JAPANESE REPAIR - 3034566494 - Off of 55th and Wadsworth.

...he checked the compression, determined it needed a new fuel injector, replaced it as well as a couple other minor things. Now it's running very smoothly.

I've only had it for a day but I really like it! Leather seats, steering wheel & shifter, heated seats, front & side air bags, dual auto climate control, power seats, 6 CD, symmetrical AWD, etc......and oh yeah.....a 250 horse, 250ft-lb, 2.5L turbo Subaru boxer engine!

Anyways, thanks for all the help!

[fasterlaster]

I've only had it for a day but I really like it!

And that's all that really matters. Congrats.

[Ghost]

And that's all that really matters. Congrats.

Yep. Enjoy it! I expect you'll love it--in the winter, yes, but all-around the legacy is a fantastic car, even in the dry (especially in the canyons).

As to the synthetic concerns, I'm on my 7th Subaru, I used to work at a dealership, and then moved to corporate, I've run all 4 of my turbos on synthetic and never had any issues with any of them and SOA is (finally) supporting it officially.

Injectors do lose efficiency with age/deposits etc, it's just how it goes. Replacing them around 100k miles isn't uncommon.

Turbos last as long as they've been well-maintained--I've seen them go at 30k from abuse and oil starvation, and I saw an 04 FXT with 212k miles on an all-original engine/turbo (though it was mostly highway since the guy was a sales rep--and he ran synthetic oil fwiw).

Head Gaskets are less of a problem for most 2004+ Subarus, though the nature and placement of the engine does make them prone to failure with excessive mileage and age (especially if you don't regularly service your coolant system).

T-belts are "wear" items, and are designed to be replaced.



Also, check out www.awdpirates.net (local AWD/Subaru forums) and www.NASIOC.com (national Subaru forums) and www.legacygt.com (national legacy forums)

Any of them have their share of assholes, but overall they can be very helpful to Subaru owners with questions of any/all kinds.

Anyway, I hope you love it!

[Foolds]

Im on legacy GT.. I have a Open Source tuning laptop and one of the guys on Legacy gt does E-tunes that are very good.. Hit me up if you want to use any of my stuff or got questions.

[D_Sp8s]

Yep. Enjoy it! I expect you'll love it--in the winter, yes, but all-around the legacy is a fantastic car, even in the dry (especially in the canyons).

As to the synthetic concerns, I'm on my 7th Subaru, I used to work at a dealership, and then moved to corporate, I've run all 4 of my turbos on synthetic and never had any issues with any of them and SOA is (finally) supporting it officially.

Injectors do lose efficiency with age/deposits etc, it's just how it goes. Replacing them around 100k miles isn't uncommon.

Turbos last as long as they've been well-maintained--I've seen them go at 30k from abuse and oil starvation, and I saw an 04 FXT with 212k miles on an all-original engine/turbo (though it was mostly highway since the guy was a sales rep--and he ran synthetic oil fwiw).

Head Gaskets are less of a problem for most 2004+ Subarus, though the nature and placement of the engine does make them prone to failure with excessive mileage and age (especially if you don't regularly service your coolant system).

T-belts are "wear" items, and are designed to be replaced.



Also, check out www.awdpirates.net (local AWD/Subaru forums) and www.NASIOC.com (national Subaru forums) and www.legacygt.com (national legacy forums)

Any of them have their share of assholes, but overall they can be very helpful to Subaru owners with questions of any/all kinds.

Anyway, I hope you love it!

Thanks for the good info. I have been on legacygt.com but not the others. I'll check them out!

[D_Sp8s]

Im on legacy GT.. I have a Open Source tuning laptop and one of the guys on Legacy gt does E-tunes that are very good.. Hit me up if you want to use any of my stuff or got questions.

I'm not too familiar with any of that...what can you get out of your laptop/E-tunes. (Is that the same as iTunes?)

[sag]

theres quite a bit of power to be had out of reflashing the ecu. especially when combined with a turboback exhaust. but yeah subarus are hard on their oils and mobil 1 is garbage for subarus. thought everyone knew that. go with rotella synthetic.

[Foolds]

I did a Stage 1 was able to up the boost from 11 to 15.4lbs all that requires is a Cat back exhaust I think.. Read up on it on Legacygt the tuner I used was Infamous tuning

[kbahus]

Don't open source it, buy a Cobb Accessport and be done. You can switch maps, go back to stock easily, clear/check codes, and use it as a gauge pack. I highly recommend Shell Rotella 5W-40 synthetic or Motul 5W-40 only in the turbo boxer with 3-4k intervals. Oiling issues are the number one cause of dead Subaru engines followed by bad tunes. Also the turbo motors do NOT have common head gasket issues like all of the other n/a boxers. Enjoy the new ride!