Feelsbadman.jpg

"Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder" (pabuuu4)
11/23/2013 at 19:39 • Filed to: subaru leone

Today my father and I went to look at the Subaru I asked you guys some questions about. It did not work out as I'd hoped....

First let me tell you how it went.

In around november 2012 the car, an ad for a 1986 Subaru Leone 1600 , gets uploaded on a unpopular secondhand site. The few photos of it looked promising. It was close by, and the car, because it is more than 25+ years, is considered an oldtimer and we don't have to pay road taxes for it. That made the car very appealing for us because I am getting my license, and want to learn to work on cars, and my family doesn't mind cheap transport.

So we exchanged a few e mails about the car, just for info, nothing serious.

silence for about 6 months...

Two months or so back, I emailed him if he still had the car, and he did. (ad was removed)

Then we kinda lost contact again. Until he emailed a week ago, that we could get the car for any offer and that he really wants it gone and he asked us to please respond.

We made an appointment to come and see the car.

It was in an industrial area, near a big city.

When we met the guy, he said he did not drive the car much and had not driven it for a while. (1 or 2 months)

When we walked around the corner with the guy, the car immediately caught my eye. It looked prettier than the pictures in the ad. We walked around the car, and I only noticed one small rust spot. The rest of the car was super clean. He opened the door, Interior is super clean and is beautiful. no tears or stains on the seats, dashboard was pretty, manual was in the glovebox. we tried to start the car, but it didn't work. The guy got some jumper cables and then the car did start and run. Had some trouble starting, but it ran okay after.

He said that we must go out for a drive, to really feel how great the car was.

We drove around the industrial area, and slalomed a bit to see if anything weird came up.

Nothing wrong there. Only when driving on cobblestone road, we noticed a sound in the rear, but the car drove well.

So far, the only possible problems are :

-The small rust spot on the right rear wheel arch, near a structural point.

- the noise when driving on slightly bumpy roads

- The timing belt shouldve been replaced at 60.000 km, the car is on 80.000 km without a new timing belt.

At this point, I was still optimistic and exited about the car.

When the guy came back and asked my father, my father said ''no, too much work''.

I was shocked.

The guy even offered to do a safety inspection before the sale.

Now the car is going to be scrapped, because of a change in law he has to pay 25% of the taxess he normally had to pay. The guy doesn't want to pay this, so he is going to scrap it.

I feel terrible.

I can't change it, I can't buy it because of age and no license, I can't do a thing.

Here are some pictures, dedice for yourself:

I am sad now.

Feelsbadman.jpg

Edit: Guys, I will try again tomorrow with my father,(2:23 am, still reading your comments, regaining my hope) I hope it is not too late, wish me luck!

DISCUSSION (14)

Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
11/23/2013 at 19:41

THIS IS BLASPHEMY. LET'S START A PETITION AND SHOW IT TO YO DADDY

ddavidn > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
11/23/2013 at 19:45

booooooooooo that should NEVER be scrapped.

nippon > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
11/23/2013 at 19:45

What's the price on the car?
It looks super clean on the pictures... I mean, even in my shitty country where people usually are assholes you can negotiate a price thats okay for both parties...

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > nippon
11/23/2013 at 19:47

He said any reasonable offer would be fine, the last price in the ad was 1060 euro, but now I think he'd be happy with 300-400 or something.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
11/23/2013 at 19:48

Whoa that interior is actually awesome!

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > E30Joe drives a Subaru
11/23/2013 at 19:51

Only the headliner came down a bit in the middle, but the rest was great.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
11/23/2013 at 19:51

My father is the same with a MX-6 I want to buy, he keeps saying it's too much work for me, and that I'm too immature to drive by myself. (Hello! Mechanically inclined person here!) I was the one who did most of the work changing the brakes on his Bimmer, as well as the power steering reservoir, I kept advising him on where a safe place to put the stands to keep the car up were.

All the thing needs is a new thermostat and brakes.

nippon > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
11/23/2013 at 19:53

Well, 1060 euro is a bit much yes.
But, he will probably get nothing when he scrapes it, or something like 40 cents per kg.

Go talk to your dad, it's not that big of a deal, offer the guy something like 400 euros and see how it goes. You and your dad have nothing to lose.
Rust can easily be repaired(hell, even someone who never done it can do it), timing belt too. And by the looks of it, it would already pass technical inspection with flying colors.

Clutchman83 > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
11/23/2013 at 20:01

Did your dad explain why it was too much work? That car looks super clean and belts are pretty dang cheap.

Clutchman83 > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
11/23/2013 at 20:01

Did your dad explain why it was too much work? That car looks super clean and belts are pretty dang cheap.

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > nippon
11/23/2013 at 20:05

The rust is in a structural spot, you can almost see it in the last picture, at the bottom of the wheel arch.

The wipers need to be replaced, and these cannot be found easily.

I know the car looks great on the outside, but it does need work. Not much, and I reallly want to do it, but my father doesn't trust this car. especially with the wierd noise in the back.

Also, he doesn't trust this car , wich may not pass inspection , an obstacle in front of the house, because nobody wants it.

I've tried convincing him that people on subaru forums would buy this car.

To wich he replied ''Why didn't they buy it already then?''

I think the reason this car isn't sold yet is that it hasn't been advertised on any bigger sites that are more well known.

Aaron James > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
11/23/2013 at 20:11

Does anyone live close to this young man that can help him change the timing belt?

I'd do it if he were here. If you could find someone to show you how to do the belt for no charge or a reasonable amount, that might help sway your dads opinion. I can guarantee you won't find a car for that price that is aesthetically as nice or needs as little work. My only other suggestion is call a few shops and see what they would charge for the timing belt and present that to your father. The banging in the rear end is most likely the exhaust or a strut, both easy repairs.

davedave1111 > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
11/23/2013 at 21:21

As well as having another go at explaining to your dad how you feel, it's probably worth talking to the owner if he really doesn't want to see it go to scrap. Hopefully he'll accept a bit over scrap value for it, so you're not looking at more than a few hundred €. If you're really lucky, he'll have some labouring/yardwork/car cleaning for you to do instead of paying him in cash.

Nibby > Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur
12/15/2013 at 18:44

Let's make sure we turn this thread NSFW for Papa Pabuuu