I have $1000 to spend on an old beater.

gibhunter · Post by **gibhunter** » Tue Aug 05, 2003 7:35 pm

I'm thinking of a 5spd naturaly aspirated legacy. Don't get me wrong, if I find a turbo 5spd AWD for a $1000 I'll buy it, but if I don't, I'm not gonna go out of my way to get one.

What I mostly care about is 5spd and AWD. How hard are those to find, and how well do they hold up?

When I find one, what should I look for? Besides the common things with used cars, is there some problems commonly associated with teh AWD system or the boxer engine?

Ps. What gas do the NA Legacies use?

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Tue Aug 05, 2003 7:49 pm

A 5 speed NA legacy is a great car! 1000$ might be hard to find, look for something with 180k+ miles. Collision damage could help too (not severe though). I got a 91LSI for 700 1ith near 150k miles.

Expect to pay 800$+ for repairs, after that you should have a good car. It will probably need some seals replaced, you might as well do timing belt and pumps at the same time.

Check for timing belt replacement. Look for leaking oil from timing belt cover. See if the sunroof has been leaking (moldy carpet under seat). make sure the key works in the drivers door (doesnt spin). Fill the air in the tires to spec and go for a drive taking some long turns listening for bad wheel bearings. Try to start it while cold and watch the idle, see if it bounces after letting off the throttle.

gibhunter · Post by **gibhunter** » Tue Aug 05, 2003 8:07 pm

ciper wrote:A 5 speed NA legacy is a great car! 1000$ might be hard to find,

I said $1000, but I have up to $1500 to spend. Still either it's the AWD 5spd or a FWD 5spd Honda. I want something that will last me at least through the winter:D

Dr Nick · Post by **Dr Nick** » Tue Aug 05, 2003 8:37 pm

I can highly recommend the Suby. I had a Honda Accord a few years back and it literally fell to pieces around me! (I bought it in the dark, in the rain. You live and learn...)

My Suby has over 180,000 miles on it and still drives really well. I'd happily buy another (having had 24 different cars in 17 years I'd say that's a recommendation!) My uncle bought an '90 2.2 estate about 5 years ago and is now on his fourth (an Outback).

I would say that it's not a car that you jump into and think "wow! this is cool!" - it takes a bit of time to grow on you.

Just my views, but I don't think you'd regret buying one.

Cheers

Rob

entirelyturbo · Post by **entirelyturbo** » Tue Aug 05, 2003 9:10 pm

Dr Nick wrote:I would say that it's not a car that you jump into and think "wow! this is cool!" - it takes a bit of time to grow on you.

I second that. Would you believe I almost DISLIKED my car when I first got it??

Now look at me...

evolutionmovement · Post by **evolutionmovement** » Tue Aug 05, 2003 11:50 pm

I felt the same about my car at first. I was used to a 240, 260Z, and two '84 GLs so the power steering and huge (to me) size put me off, but I wanted a MT wagon and when I saw the dark blue color...

A set of decent wheels, a smaller steering wheel, and a painted wood shift knob (Home Depot furniture knob ~$1) transformed this car for me. GR-2 struts just made it even better. It's not fast, but I regularly outhandle Hondas and even BMWs. The best was the done-up Integra on the Pacific Coast Highway a few years back... I'll stop now.

222K mi and counting.

Steve

gibhunter · Post by **gibhunter** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 1:42 am

What is the availability of parts? Are they readily available, or do I need to order from a dealer? What about pricing? Within norm of say Honda, Mitsubishi, Mazda or more like Audi, BMW or Mercedes? You guys have got me almost convinced, but after owning a 1993 Audi 90 for which a head gasket set was $300 and only available from a dealer, I'm a bit weary of niche, foreign brands.

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 3:33 am

Parts are available. The only item that cant be found is sun visors, a weak point on the car. Ordering parts from one of the online dealers can save you some money.

I wouldnt worry about that side, cost of ownership for legacy has to be among the lowest. Far better than the random assortment of cars I have had.

Brat4by4 · Post by **Brat4by4** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 3:50 am

A mass array of parts are readily available for just about every part of the car. You see, Subaru has only really made like 7 different cars and about 4 engines for the USDM. Everything is just variations on a theme. The chassis has been relatively the same since 1990 and that goes for the engine, too. Major revisions to the actual underpinnings of the car have only been made around '80, '90, & '98. The engine hasn't changed externally since '90. Therefore tons of stuff will fit Legacy's that come straight off of a WRX, or Forester, etc.... It is actually rare to find something that is very model specific, say for instance my Turbo rear rotors

. Basically all other rear rotors are the same and will interchange just fine, bar a few models. I'm oversimplifying but I think you get the point. Parts interchange between differnt models better than even Hondas, you just don't have quite as many parts compared to Honda parts because they sell so many of those things. But a little dilligent searching usually overcomes that.

magicmike · Post by **magicmike** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 1:44 pm

I have a 87 gl 5sp 2wd wagon I'm selling for $800. I'm in Rhode Island. Everything has been done to it mechanically. and it has awesome toyo tires on it that cost me $500 alone. The body is rough and the interior is clean but a little torn up. it has about 180K ish, I'll have to double check. But its my winter beater. This car runs awesome honestly.

Mike

gibhunter · Post by **gibhunter** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 6:03 pm

Had it been AWD I would've been interested. Again, the only way I'm going to buy a Subaru, is if it comes with AWD. Aesthetically I'm really into other cars, but the promise of AWD is enough to sway me to buy a car you have to grow into

91White-T · Post by **91White-T** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 8:41 pm

Hey! Someone else from CT
Welcome and good luck on your search.

gibhunter · Post by **gibhunter** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 9:20 pm

Thanks. I've found one, but am waiting till my car is sold first. Technically it's sold, but I'm waiting untill the buyer's bank comes through with the rest rest of the payoff amount. Once it's complete, then my search will begin in earnest

91White-T · Post by **91White-T** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 9:41 pm

You probably already know this, but try www.bargainnews.com theres probably a few legacys there.

gibhunter · Post by **gibhunter** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 10:38 pm

yeah, that's where I found it. Unfortunately, only one is 5spd manual, the rest are automatics.

Ebay doesn't even have one that's 5spd. Well, not for my budget anyways.

gibhunter · Post by **gibhunter** » Sat Aug 09, 2003 10:50 pm

So, I needed a car for Tuesday and started finally looking at cars today. Unfortunately the subarus I found either were auto or had over 200K miles. The only one I found that was what I wanted, had a gas tank leak where the pipe in which you pour gas was rusted and if you filled it up, it would leak gas from the tank, there was also something wrong with the front end and the exhaust was making all kinds of noises. With 190K miles, I decided to pass on it. I later went to see a 1990 Prelude SI and it was in almost perfect shape with the only problem being some rust around the rear wheel wells, so I bought that for $1500. Drove it for half an hour on back roads and highway and it was perfect. So sorry, but no Subaru for me...for now.

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I have $1000 to spend on an old beater.

I have $1000 to spend on an old beater.