About to purchase: '05 Legacy 137k

I just want to make sure this is a good price for this car. I also want to make sure this is a car that will last many years at the rate I drive.

It is being sold by a local dealership and is very clean, dent free, & rust free.

2005 Subaru Legacy AWD, A/T, 137k

Water pump & timing belt replaced

90% tire tread

100% rust free

"full service done"

power everything, cruise control, sunroof, alloy wheels, heated leather seats

Asking price is $4800 from a local dealership.

My driving habits are about 300 city/100 hwy miles per week. I currently have an '05 Civic with 108k engine miles, 211k miles on the rest. The body and interior is rough but she is pretty reliable. I am looking to change vehicles to something just as reliable but much cleaner and nicer looking (sexy regal blue!). I would be trading in my Civic towards the $4800 asking price of this car. Does all of this seem logical or am I just jumping the gun eager to buy a new car?

Thanks everyone for the help

Edit:

is it a GT? I think that's a little steep for a 2.5i. Or I hope it is haha. I just traded in my 2.5i 06 with 172K for $1800.

It seems to me you're just trading one similarly used car for another....

That's a typical dealership price for a 2.5i of that age and mileage. I don't think it's necessary very high.

I'd be willing to bet that the 2.5i would need a new head gasket in the next year. That's a $1500-2000 repair. I've seen plenty of 2.5i's of that age that need them as they approach 150k miles.

You drive a lot so fuel economy is important. The fuel economy of the 2.5i is quite a bit worse (especially in the city). You can expect to see 20mpg or less but obviously that depends on how much stop-and-go your city is.

In my opinion, if you don't need AWD then don't buy the Subaru. It's generally less reliable than a Civic of that era. Overall cost of ownership is likely to be higher (fuel and repairs).

Thanks for the advice guys.

It is not a GT. I was told by others the 2005 Legacys were fine and it was the 2006 that would have common head gasket problems. Is this one still going to be a $1-2k repair in a few months?

Like I said I drive on average 300 (up to 500) city miles per week; sun, rain, snow, ice. What qualifies as "need AWD".

One more thing, I've posted this prompt on 3 other forums and have gotten quite different responses. I think because I accidentally posted in a GT forum? Would that explain the different responses I'm getting?

Others have said this is too good to be true, and searching cars.com and autotrader nation wide doesn't bring up anything nearly as good as this deal. Again, did I make the mistake when I posted in the GT forums?

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

It is not a GT. I was told by others the 2005 Legacys were fine and it was the 2006 that would have common head gasket problems. Is this one still going to be a $1-2k repair in a few months?

 

Like I said I drive on average 300 (up to 500) city miles per week; sun, rain, snow, ice. What qualifies as "need AWD".

All 4th Gen ('05-'09) Legacy 2.5i's are primarily the same motor and head gasket (EJ253 motor). I don't think you'll see anything different between an '05 and '06 for maintenance and repair costs. The biggest potential common repair is a head gasket, and the SOHC 2.5i typically leaks externally. With an external head gasket leak, you can see the coolant and oil seep out from where the heads meet the block. The type of head gasket leak typically allows you to drive one for quite a while before repairing it. If the car doesn't have a leak now, I'd expect at least a good year of driving before running into a head gasket issue. It doesn't tend to happen overnight. I'm sure some people have gone 175k+ without a head gasket repair on this engine so who knows. The 2.5i in the 05 Legacy is far superior in terms of head gaskets than the older 2.5i from the late 90's.

Well, I guess nobody really "needs AWD" but it is a nice luxury. It makes winter driving fun, and you won't have to worry about spinning tires in the rain. You never mentioned where you lived so if it was in the southern US, it may not be worth AWD (lower fuel economy and more parts to break) on a low powered commuter vehicle.

One more thing, I've posted this prompt on 3 other forums and have gotten quite different responses. I think because I accidentally posted in a GT forum? Would that explain the different responses I'm getting?

 

Others have said this is too good to be true, and searching cars.com and autotrader nation wide doesn't bring up anything nearly as good as this deal. Again, did I make the mistake when I posted in the GT forums?

I think $4.8k is more in-line with private sales in my area so it's low for a dealer. It's hard to know the condition of the vehicle without seeing it and that can certainly impact cost by $1-2k. It might be a great deal but dealers usually have a pretty good understanding of market values.

Where I live, GT's of that year/mileage/features usually go for $6-7k private sale and $7.5-9k dealer sale.