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Comments
Jon
You may have to chase this one to the wholesaler's lot, if they have one. Sounds like it's not something the dealer wants to retail.
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I gotta figure the dealer has in and around the high $14's in it, then with a this and a that they are probably coming too the table at $15ish .. see if you can buy it at $17, then deduct the trade ..
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We're in the high $15's right now and aren't getting any lower after nearly a month of playing cat and mouse, so I think it's time to shake hands and cut a check. Don't think I will do much better around here on an Outback this clean unless it's dead of winter and nobody's buying, but I can't wait that long! The car was bought/serviced/traded here too, so the dealer offered to pull it's service history for me. They're also taking care of a couple minor complaints I had about the car. I just can't find any compelling reasons not to buy this vehicle and believe me, I've been looking real hard!
BTW, thanks for your referral Steve! Terry's response was very informative.
You may want to consider new, actually. I've seen prices on fitzmall.com right around $20k, an extra year of payments is worth 3 years of warranty IMO. These things really hold their value.
-juice
Last year I added 6yr/80k/$0 ded Gold plan for around $700 off the internet. That would really help make your used car feel like new!!
Steve
-juice
I just looked at this:
1995 Legacy Wagon (built 7/94) auto AWD in no-sale green w/ 221k miles.
No major leaks, maybe a little seepage around the heads, but no spots on ground. Runs fine, AC blew a couple months ago, they said. Heat works, though.
A sound from the pass rear side: fwap fwap fwap... goes with wheel speed. A little bit of a metallic clunk mixed in. NO change in sound when doing slow figure-eight's in the parking lot. I'm a little worried about it -- It's nothing obvious like a torn boot or anything like that.
The driver seat has almost completely collapsed; I can drive it, my 5'3" wife wouldn't see over the steering wheel. Pillow? :-)
No rust, a little dent and scratch here and there, interior worn but not too bad for a high-mileage car. Tires Ok.
No records to speak of; a couple recalls, oil change, serpentine belt, that sort of stuff.. all around 210k. No record of the timing belts -- are these interference engines? And do those belts break?
Offer of $1k was refused; strong indication $1,4-1,500 would suffice (asked $2). What say you? Run don't walk -- or the ultimate winter beater?
Awaiting your counsel, I remain
-Mathias
East Lansing, MI
Parts can add up, but it's not hard to fix yourself. I would not consider it safe to drive around with bad bearings, at some point they'll fail completely.
Get prices on those parts first, so you know what it'll really cost you.
With that mileage and no service records, though, the price seems high.
-juice
That's a dealer price with labor.
-juice
Steve
At some level, looking a junkers is an education. I should also mention that my transportation "needs" are taken care of...
Thanks again,
-Mathias
I have the Saris Bat Rack for four bikes. It has the 2" hitch, and I do use an adapter to fit the 1-1/4" receiver on my OB. I have not noticed unacceptable sway (although I have only used it so far with two bikes). One advantage is that the adapter extends the rack out far enough that the hatch clears the rack without even tilting it.
I got the rack three years ago for my Sienna minivan, and installed a 2" hitch. I got the Bat Rack because I needed a four-bike rack and I wanted the versatility of different sized and type frames -- road bikes, mountain bikes, kids' smaller frames, and one buddy with a radical dual-suspension Klein.
It is unlikely that I will ever need to put four bikes onto the rack when attached to the OB. If I have four bikes to haul, we will be in the Sienna.
Good luck with your search!
--K9Leader
Mathias: the used car market is depressed right now. Try low-balling someone, then walk. Don't make a 2nd offer. Then hope they call you back, if no other buyers show up.
You can do this with a couple of cars you like. I'm sure you'll find one.
-juice
I had to replace the one on the OBW last winter as it cracked, but I think it was related to an ice chunk hit from a truck. The deflector may have given its life so that my hood could live on!
Steve
I purchased a Saris BAT rack, model 999Q, this past weekend. It fits a 1 1/4" receiver, hold 3 bikes and is upgradeable to a 4 bike capacity. I've used it twice so far. It's a great rack and the hitch-tite feature of the rack really secures the whole rack. I decided to purchase the Saris rack after speaking with a couple of people at a local bike shop who race their bikes and have Saris racks.
Neil
I never purchase extended warranties but I do nearly all of the work on my cars at home, which saves big $$$. I'm just not particularly fond of having mechanics work on my cars. Besides, there is some of the Subaru bumper-to-bumper warranty left on this car, and plenty left on the powertrain warranty if I get in a jam. I'm really only concerned about making it through the next few months without any major blow-ups, until I can become more familiar with the car. I'll probably be looking, listening, and poking around inside, outside, and underneath it every weekend for the rest of the summer. Once I'm out in the garage with my toolbox and a couple of beers, the wife won't be able to get me in for dinner! I know it's only a station wagon, but I can't help it - I simply have an appreciation for all things mechanical...
-juice
Steve
Jon
-juice
lol .. and I don't know about the rest of you outback owners, but I don't feel like it's JUST a station wagon!
Greg
BTW, don't worry about giving me a hard time, I can take it. I just figured it was an initiation to the "club"!
-juice
Also, sometimes they spend part of it on advertising, to bring in more customers.
-juice
Hope this helps!
Ken in (unbelievably hot and dry) Seattle
Revka
Thanks
-Steven
You may also want to check out the Subaru Crew-Meet the Members topic (link above the Chat banner or here: /direct/view/.eea1a91 )
-Brian
I drove both a sedan & wagon version of the '03 L-SE A/T when I was shopping last July / August. The L-SE is an excellent value but I ended up buying an '03 Base Outback A/T wagon. While the OBW was approx. $1800 more, I wanted the standard OB features (All Weather Pkg (Heated Seats, Mirrors, Wiper area), power seat w/ manual lumbar, cargo tray, larger tires, rear LSD, higher ground clearance, larger front disc brakes, etc.) and didn't really care about the L-SE extra (moonroof (dual on wagons)). FYI - I traded in a '96 Outback that I drove for 6.5 years and 128k miles.
DaveM
We have a 2002 L and we like it. We had a moonroof and aftermarket alloys put on after the fact, so it's pretty similar to the new L/SE (we even added plood). I like the range, the fuel efficiency and power balance, the huge cargo floor space, the incredible value for the money.
The front seats could be better, I prefer my Forester's bigger side bolsters. Overall, for the price, they can't be beat. They are competitive with FWD prices, so AWD is just gravy.
Brian: on that A/C, the trick is to find out why you had the leak in the first place. You could re-charge, but then it would just leak again. The lines are cheap to fix, but if it's the condenser be ready to fork out some bucks.
-juice
Thanks.
-juice
I have not tried a VDC. I did try an LL Bean and did notice it has more of a FWD feel than my viscous-coupling equipped Forester (50/50). But you barely notice.
IMO the Bean is a better value. You can even get the H6 in a cloth model with no moonroof now, if you just wanted the engine.
-juice