Subaru Legacy GX opinions?

[carlo]

Evening all, despite my unhealthy love for all things Peugeot and especially 405, I've always had a bit of a secret crush on the Subaru Legacy saloons from 1999 - 2004, I remember reading the Autocar test which raved about the car and its ride/handling and general dynamics.

 

Well, this has turned up about 2 miles away at a dealer and I'm more than sorely tempted:

 

 

2000 Legacy 2.5 GX Automatic, 57,000 miles and looked pretty mint inside and out. They want £2000 for it which is a bit strong but about right I suppose for a good forecourt car in this condition. Can anyone advise as to the worst or most likely problems with one of these, and are they as good as that Autocar road test maintained?

[scooters]

2000 is a bit salty depending on the condition.

 

We have a 2000 Legacy Quad Cam GLX 2.5 Estate with a 2.0 engine fitted in it. We paid £500 for ours with 160k on the clock but the engine has only done 60k - our one is in fair to middling condition with some external farm scrapes but mechanically tight and very high spec:

 

twin sunroof

leather

cruise

climate

all the lights

low ratio box

extra special shocks

 

These are great cars BUT they are quite agricultural - by that I mean that the design is not as sophisticated as a mainstream car builder...here's what to check for:

 

Engine: OIL LEAKS!!! The boxer engine is notorious for developing annoying if not fatal oil leaks - this is because oil pools at the rocker cover gaskets which start to disintegrate after about 10 years or 60k...oil then drips onto the exhaust manifolds and then endup smiking when the car heats up- they all do this after a while it can be bodged by adding washers to all the rocker cover bolts to squeeze the gasket closer but new gaskedts can be bought.

 

crankcase seal leaks are also common as are crankshaft both at the crank case end and the gear box end.

 

Clutches are an engine out job so check it carefully

 

timing belt is improtant as it is a snakey convoluted thing and tricky to replace but not for the reaons you might think - access is good as it is at the front of the engine BUT it snakes round several tensioners etc and is tricky to align properly - get onto youtube and look up one of the many subaru servce videos - can be from an Impreza as they are all very similar and share a lot of gear.

 

Shocks and Springs - check these CAREFULLY - some drivers think they are Colin MacCrae (Mrs Scooters for example) and trash the bejesus out of them. These bits are not cheap - think £70 a corner for springs and about the same PER SHOCK and that is before labour.

 

Being an import all parts have a cost to them - this isn't running a Nissan...I've worked out parts are about 30% more expensive than say, PSA or Nissan parts - even at after market producers

 

Bodywork - the underside ofd a Subaru is a dogs dinner design - this is what I mean about 'agricultural - its as if somone has just bolted things on without thinking about the rust trap consequences - a real issue can be the rear sunroof drains which exit behind the trim behind the rear wheel arch - a great place to get blocked with mud - they will then divery their water into the jack wells on either side - these wells have NO DRAIN HOLE and will happily take 8-10 lts of water each which will get into the spare well and slosh about and condense in the car etc.

 

Check behind the body kit - rust is common and use it as a negotiator as it is pretty universal. Many scoobs spent a long time sitting on dock sides after being imported - salty air- with the holes where things like handbrake cables go exposed to the elements as many parts were not added until arrival in the UK - all these areas will usually have rust either on non galvanised fastners or on the car itself...really, comparing the underside of the Legacy to the BX is like comparing a cart to a spaceship in terms of technology of design in lilmiting trap areas.

 

Inside - you need to make sure that the door rubber seals are supple and give themm a weekly skoosh of silicon spray - other than that they are simple enough cars - tough, easy to work on, like a drink, handle really well due to the low slung engine but they do need attention and it is easy to end up out of pocket due to the cost of parts especially if you allow a mechanic to source them for you £70 for OEM air filter anyone? Unipart do one for a tenner..

 

good luck - £2k is salty unless it is a minter

[dollywobbler]

I'd say £2k is VERY salty for a saloon. You'll find it almost impossible to sell when you want shot of it. They are quite thirsty (my 2-litre would never better 27mpg, though it never seemed to do worse either) and rot can be an issue. I think £2k could get you something much better, or something much more shite and a lot of fuel money!

[scooters]

I'd say £2k is VERY salty for a saloon. You'll find it almost impossible to sell when you want shot of it. They are quite thirsty (my 2-litre would never better 27mpg, though it never seemed to do worse either) and rot can be an issue. I think £2k could get you something much better, or something much more shite and a lot of fuel money!

 

our last one the KILLER MURDERING BASTARD was a 2.5 Quad Cam GLX Auto and it was VERY QUICK and drank an AWFUL LOT OF PETROL

[barefoot]

I'm drinking a very nice Midsomer Merlot and I'm fucked if I know who killed who.

 

But having read all the comments above,

I suggest nipping over tomorrow & offering £800 in a big fat wad of cash.

 

What's the worst they can say?

[carlo]

Cheers for the info. A big decision I fear ..

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I agree that it's wildly overpriced. Was looking at various cars for a non-shitist friend, and you can get some GR9 stuff on 53-04 plates for just over a bag. Unless we're talking about a mega-rare/exclusive job, any 12-year-old car should be completely depreciated.

[504GL]

Well overpriced. The other week a 3l Mk4 estate went for 2500, so that should tell you something.

 

We're considering buying an auto 3l Mk4 estate at the moment. Sure you'll struggle to get any economy out of it but the wife is driving a mile and a half to work so it doesn't really matter.

 

Whilst prices are high for parts, we paid £160 for a speedo sensor just the other week, most of the running gear is shared with most of the 90's Subaru range so second hand spares are readily available on ebay rather cheaply. I won a pair of suspension arms for 99p + shipping when i was rebushing the front of the car.

[Cavcraft]

As above two large is stupid money and you'll do a hell of a lot better than that.