Buying a Used Car...

"Frosted" (frostedbuns) 03/05/2014 at 16:41 • Filed to: None

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Well here's a topic thats been done to death.

As most of you know, I have a Subaru bug. My Volvo warranty is up in August. I'm thinking about putting up the for sale signs and moving on.

Trouble is, I'm not really rich. My budget is going to be limited to what I can get for my car, which I'm gonna say 6 grand (excellent condition, KBB lists for 6300).

I've been trolling around on the CL just to see what's out there. There's a lot of Subaru out there for 6 grand.

I've owned a lot of cars in my time. Most of them 4 cylinder. None of them had boxer engines though. I know what to look for in terms of body and interior (is the body straight/previous accidents and is the interior not all torn up/was the owner a dog person) . And I know to look at the head gaskets. But what else? What does a 6000 dollar Subaru usually look like? Obviously it won't be an STI. Nor will it be newer than MAYBE 06. I don't even know what would be better, an Impreza/Outback/Legacy/Impreza WRX?

Sigh, it's hard to find what you want when you don't even know what to look for. Normally I make a list of all of the cars I want to look at, look at a few and choose my favorite. But here I like all 3 and I don't know anything about the engine or drivetrain.

Why can't I just buy this for 6 grand and call it a day -

gawdzilla > Frosted 03/05/2014 at 16:47

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closest you'll get

http://www.rs25.com/forums/f171/t2…

Frosted > gawdzilla 03/05/2014 at 16:50

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Sigh, that's another problem I'm running into. Every WRX/STI has been molested by some tuner/kid. Not that that's a bad thing and that car looks fantastic but I don't want someone elses project/build. Really has me considering a basic Impreza. No one mods those.

N/A POWAAAHH > Frosted 03/05/2014 at 16:54

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You should be able to get an 07 atleast! I got an 08 for 8k, so it shouldn't be too hard

Frosted > N/A POWAAAHH 03/05/2014 at 16:56

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Really? That's not bad. My old Lancer GTS was an 08 that I got for 9k. Figured something that was AWD would be worth more. Plus I hear Subaru hold their value. I'm planning on taking a trip to a stealership to see what used Scoobys they have for various prices. Maybe take one for a test drive. Hell I've never even sat in a Subaru of any type.

gawdzilla > Frosted 03/05/2014 at 17:00

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thats probably as stock as you'll get

Frosted > gawdzilla 03/05/2014 at 17:03

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Yea, sadly. It's a bit too old for me currently now anyway. Really looking towards 04-06 models. Maybe an 07. One day I'll own a glorious 22B/GC8 though.

N/A POWAAAHH > Frosted 03/05/2014 at 17:12

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high mileage though, about 180k KMs. And a failing cat that was never mentioned to me. But fairly decent for a first car, and it gave me an excuse to buy UELs.

If you look at 08+, most people complain that the seats are ridiculously low to the floor, and I'll assume 02+ are the same way, since they have similar seats.

Frosted > N/A POWAAAHH 03/05/2014 at 17:16

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Hmmm high mileage might be discerning. I'd have to really look it over. Also I don't really mind low seats as much as some people seem to.

N/A POWAAAHH > Frosted 03/05/2014 at 17:30

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n/a subarus, if well maintained, can last up to 400k km territory no problem. Once you get into turbos, the major worry starts

jariten1781 > Frosted 03/05/2014 at 17:34

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You should be able to squeak into a Forester XT at that price. I'd go for that if you can find one. They're a lot less likely to be molested while still being q-car quick.

Frosted > jariten1781 03/05/2014 at 17:36

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I was actually looking at MY08 Forresters. I've always been against SUVs and Crossovers but those are pretty nice and a few simple mods make them look great.

Plus I hear STI parts can be used in the engine. That thought makes me smile.

jariten1781 > Frosted 03/05/2014 at 18:42

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Yeah, there's a guy in my work garage that has one that's all STi'd out. He's taken everything from the JDM Forester STi other than the six speed swap and the s-drive(or whatever the AWD system is called). Wasn't really ever on my radar before I wrode around in his, but it now occupies a spot on my weekly Craigslist search.

Frosted > jariten1781 03/05/2014 at 18:45

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Hmm if I find one at a dealer I may try to get a test drive in it. They seem like nice vehicles before all the JDM STI WRX USDM AEM OEM mods to start with.

Flat6ForLife, Drives a Flat4 > Frosted 03/05/2014 at 20:32

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Depends on what you want. If your looking for an older impreza such as the one pictured above, you can find good 2.5RS's for that money, or even some swapped older ones as well. If your after one of those, i would recommend looking at www.RS25.com . It specializes in the older ones like these and is good for learning the ins and outs of Imprezas.