OT: 1999 Subaru Legacy Outback

[Kirk Pacenti]

Just picked this little gem up this morning. One owner, 14 years old and less than 28K miles. Should last another 200K, easy!

[christian]

Respect. That's a great find.

[azrider]

200K easy. Nice find.

[AngryScientist]

full tank too!

good work.

i've gotten over the ease of buying new cars, finding gems like this is the way to go.

auto or manual ??

[ckamp]

Best part.. A full bike can fit easy in the back!

Love my subaru.. its a bit newer though..;)

[Mr Cabletwitch]

Should run forever just keep an eye out for loosing coolant. Those motors have a tendency to need head gaskets frequently. Not really that big of a job a good indi mechanic can do it for around 600 bucks. They need loving care and maintenance kinda like a euro car, but last forever if treated right.

[mhespenheide]

Ooh. Nice. :banana:

I bought a '96 used at 48k, ran it up to 218k, sold it to a friend, and bought another '96 at 143k to replace it. If I found one with only 28k miles, I'd be on it in a heartbeat if it was a manual.

With the 2.2l engine, manual, and conservative driving, 30mpg highway and enough dirt-road capability to get most anywhere. And even my 63cm frames fit in the back without taking off any wheels!

Awesome cars.

[xjoex]

Should run forever just keep an eye out for loosing coolant. Those motors have a tendency to need head gaskets frequently. Not really that big of a job a good indi mechanic can do it for around 600 bucks. They need loving care and maintenance kinda like a euro car, but last forever if treated right.

Very true, once it overheats you are in for $3k repair. My 98 had that problem. Subies are great otherwise, my wife has a 2010 forester, had a 2006 imprezza before that.

-Joe

[Kirk Pacenti]

full tank too!

good work.

i've gotten over the ease of buying new cars, finding gems like this is the way to go.

auto or manual ??

Agreed. The depreciation on new cars is not worth the 'convenience' and just too much for me to accept.


It's an automatic.


There's a great Indi Subaru Specialist (http://sixstarsvc.com/index.htm) just outside Atlanta that does a fantastic job.

[SpokeValley]

Should run forever just keep an eye out for loosing coolant. Those motors have a tendency to need head gaskets frequently. Not really that big of a job a good indi mechanic can do it for around 600 bucks. They need loving care and maintenance kinda like a euro car, but last forever if treated right.

Ditto that. Watch for water in the crankcase when you check it. We had one head gasket go at about 80k on our 2002 Outback.

Also check your owner's manual or with your wrench: timing chains/gears are recommended to be changed somewhere around 70k.

My repair guy convinced me to change the water pump and timing gear/chain while the engine was out. He did mine for about $850 (as I remember). Worth it.

Great car and I haul my bike in the back frequently.

[tuxbailey]

you sure the odometer had not rolled back?

j/k

These are great cars.

[rice rocket]

Should run forever just keep an eye out for loosing coolant. Those motors have a tendency to need head gaskets frequently. Not really that big of a job a good indi mechanic can do it for around 600 bucks. They need loving care and maintenance kinda like a euro car, but last forever if treated right.

Headgaskets were revised in 2002 (2003?), and the newer ones should be much more reliable. So it shouldn't be "frequent", it should be just once and you're good.

Also, timing belts are easy on these motors, they're right in the front. You might need to pull the A/C compressor/alternator off to reach the belt covers, I forget. Get a service manual and save yourself some bucks.

[Mr Cabletwitch]

Headgaskets were revised in 2002 (2003?), and the newer ones should be much more reliable. So it shouldn't be "frequent", it should be just once and you're good.

Also, timing belts are easy on these motors, they're right in the front. You might need to pull the A/C compressor/alternator off to reach the belt covers, I forget. Get a service manual and save yourself some bucks.


I would consider replacing the headgaskets at least twice times over the life of the car pretty frequent. and the revised head gaskets really are only slightly better not really a permanent fix. Since this car is as old as it is and with the low miles I'm guessing it hasn't been done yet and will need it sooner than later. I forget at what year but they did eventually re design the actual head so that the gasket fits into a groove instead of just sitting on the head, those newer ones should only need replacing once but that wasn't until much later. Its really not a huge job to do and any experienced subaru guy has done it 100 times anyway. And your right the timing belt is really easy I think my sister in law had hers done for around $250 bucks including parts.

[stien]

Wow. My '12 Impreza hatch has 18k miles.

How much was it?

[4Rings6Stars]

Nice find. I love me some subies.

First car was a 97 leggy gt sedan. Died at about 180k miles, but only because a 100 year old Oak tree fell across the hood during a storm (while parked in my driveway, nobody inside). At 200k I gave my next car, a 99 leggy gt to my brother. This was almost two years ago and it's still going strong (body is rusted to ***** though). Replaced it with a 2006 gt. Next car will likely be a ~1 year old 2014 Forester.

My dad, sister in law and both brothers all have them too... including an SVX, which very well might be the ugliest car produced I'm the 90s.

[rice rocket]

including an SVX, which very well might be the ugliest car produced I'm the 90s.

You mean heaviest.

I tried looking for the lead plates once, couldn't find them though.

[Wayne77]

I have a 99 Outback, going on 200K still running strong. Just needs new shocks (I take it off road a lot). No head gasket issues. I've replaced the clutch and the timing belt, that's about it. I love that car...

[alvinholbrook]

Another '99 Outback owner, mine looks just like yours Kirk!

I love mine, 180 k miles and it and it runs like a dream. Great road trip car, versatile enough to take 4 people and camping gear (and bikes!) comfortably on the freeway, and then up the road to the trail head.

Question for everyone though: my gas mileage is not great. I'm getting probably 280-300 miles out of a tank, is that out of the ordinary? I got my car at 123 k miles, but the gas mileage has ever so slightly taken a dip in fuel economy since I first got it. Ideas?

[Kirk Pacenti]

The best part of the buy might be what I found in the glove box...

A good deal of the major maintenance was just done in Feb '12 to the tune of $2,300.00 . Presumably because of the age of the vehicle, and not the mileage.

New timing belt, tensioner, water pump, thermostat, upper & lower radiator hoses, all new belts, new transmission filter kit, trans fluid, new wipers all around, brake pads, spark plugs and ignition wires.

This is one of those deals tat sounds to good to be true until you actually see the car. Literally driven by a little old man to and from the park and ride (train station) for a round trip distance of a few miles a day.

Really happy to have another Subaru!

[mhespenheide]

Alvin,

My '96es (and my earlier '86, for that matter) had awful gas tank sensors. I'm not sure that's what they're called, but mine regularly report that I'm near empty, but then I only need 9-10 gallons of gas. The tanks should hold 16 gallons. Reset your trip odometer when you fill up a tank, see how much gas you actually fill it up with, and divide miles/gallons. I suspect you'll get a different picture.

For the 1995-1999 series Outback wagon, the 2.2l engine should get in the high twenties (27-29mpg) while the 2.5l engine should get in the mid twenties (24-25mpg). That's dependent on your driving style, of course.

Question for everyone though: my gas mileage is not great. I'm getting probably 280-300 miles out of a tank, is that out of the ordinary? I got my car at 123 k miles, but the gas mileage has ever so slightly taken a dip in fuel economy since I first got it. Ideas?

[d_douglas]

That's a dream find. I love that stuff and love a good ol Subaru !

[YoKev]

Nice score!

With that year for the head gaskets, it's not a question of if, but when. It will definitely blow sometime. It will be an internal leak with that generation of 2.5L engine, so you may not even know until you're blowing smoke out the exhaust. I'd get a compression test for peace of mind.

I had a 2001, which had an updated 2.5L engine, but this generation had external leaks. I had gaskets replaced at 56K. I loved the car, but I t-boned someone with it at just shy of 130K.

Replaced the 2001 with a 2004. Head gasket replaced at 105K, and when I traded it in at just under 130K, I was getting that oh so familiar smell of burning coolant again. Good riddance.

I have a 2012 Impreza Sport now, 20K miles and so far so good.

[Mr Cabletwitch]

You mean heaviest.

I tried looking for the lead plates once, couldn't find them though.

I think heaviest might actually go to the awd twin turbo stealth from 91 sitting around waiting for me to get to rebuilding the tranny ...4400 lbs