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Need help - value of my '08 LGT 5speed for potential sale


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Hi all,

 

My wife and I are considering swapping our 08 LGT for either another car or getting into an 05 LGT 5-speed or possibly an OBXT 5-speed. She absolutely loves this car and refuses to drive a non-manual trans car :)

 

Anywho, I need some quick help valuing my current ride for private party sale on here/elsewhere. Here's the layout:

 

2008 Legacy GT 5-speed (no automatic, no navigation)

91,000 miles

Single Owner

White Pearl Exterior / Tan Leather interior

Full maintenance records kept by me since brand new

 

Interior: 9.0-9.5/10 - no real stains, discoloration, or wear. Driven by a 115 pound female since brand new, so even the driver's seat has retained it's tight fit.

 

Exterior Body: 8.5/10 - Paint is clayed/polished/sealed 1-2x per year by me and is in outstanding shape. There are a handful of hard to see dings on the car. All PDR is they were to bother someone. Handful of rock chips (surprisingly few given the mileage due to my wife's commute being all back-roads - no one in front of her)

 

Wheels/tires 7.0/10: Wheels are OEM wheels and have some rash on them. What's really annoying though is that shortly after getting the car corrosion started spreading out from the center caps. Subaru said they were going to fix it, but didn't, and I just didn't feel like fighting it. Tires are michelin pilot exalto a/s in 225/45/17 - probably 25,000 miles left on the tread.

 

Accidents: None. However, the car had hail damage ~60k miles ago. It was fully fixed by paintless dent removal but was claimed on insurance. I have the paperwork on the dent removal since it was on ~6 body panels.

 

Modifications:

 

Cobb Short Shifter

Cobb Sway Bars

Kartboy Endlinks

Whiteline Sway Bushings

Koni Inserts (Installed by AZP Installs)

Whiteline LCA Bushings (Installed by AZP Installs)

20% tint on side windows, 35% tint on rear window - blends beautifully and gives more visibility out the back at night

 

Repairs of note/existing problems:

 

Car has been almost miraculously reliable. Around 40k miles, there was a problem with the pass airbag sensing system connected to the overhead light cluster and warning message system. It was replaced and fixed.

 

No wheel bearings, sensors, suspension, steering, axle, or drivetrain issues whatsoever. No other electrical issues. Original clutch. TOB makes noise in very cold/very wet start-ups and maybe a few miles; has been doing it for 60-70k miles now. I have tested and confirmed the clutch holds HARD in every gear from very low rpms (i.e. 5th gear uphill at 2000 rpms) to high rpm shifts.

 

........

 

Any advice on what I could reasonably get for this car private party on here is welcome. It's been an absolute gem and I am, quite frankly, scared to get rid of it.

 

Thanks all,

 

Joe

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If you are going to get another LGT, you should probably go back to stock and move over the parts to the new ride. Just a thought. Keep in mind that you're timing belt service is less than 15k miles away and any buyer with reasonable negotiating skills is going to want a bit of a price reduction for that.

"Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>>

 

Not currently in stock :(

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KBB says $11.7-$13.4. I find them to be pretty poor when it comes to enthusiast vehicles overall. They do things like subtract value for manual transmissions because the auto transmission added to the MSRP - but for enthusiast vehicles, most of the time the auto transmission is worth a bit less in the resale market.

 

Anyway, I'm looking for independent guidance here. I go on the private sale forums here and I see 08 LGT 5-speeds going for $12-18k depending on mileage and condition. And that's list price.

 

I think I've got a few things going for me. I'm trying to assess the impact of those things (single owner, female driven, all maintenance records, some modifications that tend to enhance desirability and take care of a few maintenance items).

 

BarManBean - You are right. A really hardcore negotiator could say something like "Well in 15,000 miles I'll need to spend $400 on a maintenance piece."

 

To which I might reply, "Yep, everything else is taken care of for you. I'll have a fresh oil change in there with rotella 5w40. Brakes are good. LCA bushings are fresh, as are the struts (saving you maybe $1000?). And isn't it nice to do the major engine-threatening maintenance yourself to know it was done and done right?"

 

:)

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If you are going to get another LGT, you should probably go back to stock and move over the parts to the new ride.

 

That's fair. I'm looking at an LGT wagon 5-speed right now. It's modestly modified. I might swap over the shifter; otherwise I'd leave everything else.

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I'm just telling you right now that no one is going to want to pay for "good brakes, fresh bushings, and upgraded struts". I've watched the FS threads and in general it just doesn't work that way. Great that you have them, but no one is going to want to pay for them on top of the general value of the vehicle. Just my opinion though.

 

That KBB estimate is crap as far as I'm concerned. If you want to sell the car for that, definitely send me a PM :lol: Also, the timing belt + water pump + other crap and installation will likely be more than $400, no?

 

Biggest thing you have going is the full maintenance records. Anyone who knows what they are buying in regards to a turbo Subaru knows that those are worth their weight in gold.

"Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>>

 

Not currently in stock :(

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I hear you: it was more my response in terms of your negotiation. I could see someone negotiating on the price of the timing belt if I was at 105k miles, but trying to take stuff off for something that's 14k miles away....hehehe :)

 

I have spoken to a local subaru master tech that does some off-hours work and he quoted me $400-450 for the timing belt and water pump including parts. I figure it's $250 if you do it yourself, maybe $550-700 normal?

 

Barman - I was actually thinking within that KBB range, so your reaction leads me to believe more than that is where my car will sell in a reasonable period of time. This is why I'm seeking guidance man :)

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(single owner, female driven, all maintenance records, some modifications that tend to enhance desirability and take care of a few maintenance items).

 

 

That's gonna cost you $5k :lol:

 

 

It was a joke, my 2009 2.5i is worth so little it would be a joke to sell it EVER :eek:

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I hear you: it was more my response in terms of your negotiation. I could see someone negotiating on the price of the timing belt if I was at 105k miles, but trying to take stuff off for something that's 14k miles away....hehehe :)

 

I have spoken to a local subaru master tech that does some off-hours work and he quoted me $400-450 for the timing belt and water pump including parts. I figure it's $250 if you do it yourself, maybe $550-700 normal?

 

Barman - I was actually thinking within that KBB range, so your reaction leads me to believe more than that is where my car will sell in a reasonable period of time. This is why I'm seeking guidance man :)

 

 

This is tough as well b/c some people will use the old "its gotta have tires to roll" approach to recognizing maintenance. The TB is a particularly good service b/c these EJ's go to shit once it snaps. The main item on my LGT check list as I look is how well was the engine maintained. I think most buyrs will look over a ding and fabric tear is the engine and gearbox are in top shape, I know I would.

 

KBB saddens me every time I look b/c my car declines in value as if it were produced by the millions and sold for $5000 new :redface:

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Hehehe, yeah, KBB is not my best friend. I've got a sub-5-year old LGT with 91k miles on it facing a TB service in probably another year. That TB is fine, and the engine/gearbox have been meticulously maintained.

 

One thing I was hoping for in this thread that I'm not yet seeing is what people would expect this car to go for, or even a range. Just trying to get a sense for planning purposes.

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If you just want a number, I would say that you could very easily sell it for $14k. I would never expect it to sell for much over $17k.

 

Just FYI, this is only my opinion, but it's likely a good ballpark for budgeting for the new-to-you car.

"Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>>

 

Not currently in stock :(

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If I was negotiating to buy that car, the bargaining chip of the timing belt would be secondary to the point that it's probably going to need a clutch in the not too distant future. I bought mine with 96K, never modded and the clutch held great during the few hard releases I did on the test drive. That didn't stop the throwout bearing from seizing a few months later and upon inspection it didn't look like the clutch disc was long for this world either. These cars just don't get Honda/Toyota-like longevity out of the clutch, nature of the beast.

 

Stock 05s with similar miles are around $11K plus or minus a little, so $12-14K seems reasonable for an 08. FWIW I found Edmunds to be slightly more realistic than KBB. I never gave a serious look at 08s because I confined myself to a slightly lower budget.

 

Is there a specific reason you'd be looking at an 05 to replace your 08?

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Just another data point for you:

 

In around August, I sold my '05 LGT with 72,000 miles for 11,500. It took me a few months of advertising here and elsewhere to finally find a buyer (after a lot of tire kickers). Like you, I maintained the car well inside and out... the guy that bought it said it was actually in better condition than his old '08 GT that got totaled.

 

KBB, Edmunds and multiple other places quoted ~13k for the car. The dealer quoted me 9500 on trade in. It took me a long time to sell and I was happy to eventually get my selling price.

 

The bottom line is that it's tough to get a private party to come up with 10k+ of cash to buy a car. Either they don't have the money or don't want to deal with financing on their own or can't get financing...

 

I believe I only sold my car b/c I found a niche: someone with insurance cash to buy another car AND someone who knew what a great car the LGT was. (it's a niche market to begin with, barring the small market, the financing is the second most difficult item to overcome)

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Thanks guys. I wasn't clear: I'm talking with a forum member about purchasing his 05 LGT WAGON 5-speed....my wife wants a wagon and wants a 5-speed and wants to loveit as much as her 08 LGT...so...

 

I've sold 2 cars this year private party - for $7250 and $9150. Both went flawlessly, but you are right that going up another ~$5k enters into a different market and this car is a more limited market possibly.

 

ScottFW - I disagree on the clutch, though TO bearings are a different matter. There are members on here with clutches that have gone 125-150k and beyond. For the most part, you see clutches going out due to TO bearings, hard-driving, abuse, or just someone not knowing how to drive this particular car.

 

I think that's where the ownership really comes into play. I can honestly say that in 91k miles the clutch has never been dropped. It has never been launched. It has never been powershifted. I, nor my wife, have never ONCE smelled clutch on this car.

 

I could have 50k miles on it but not be able to say all that, and I'd agree with you. But with what I've said, I'm willing to bet the clutch itself will go to 150k or beyond.

 

That being said, the TO bearing is a wild card.

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Financing is pretty easy if you have access to a credit union and are paying around book value for a car. Where it gets difficult is when sellers want more than book value due to mods. The number that my credit union had in their system compared to what I paid was pretty generous and I was approved over the phone in less than 15 minutes. (this was a year ago)

"Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>>

 

Not currently in stock :(

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