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Swap the wagon for a "high mileage" newer spec b?


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I just want some more opinions on this, as I feel like I am over thinking:

 

I have an 05 LGT wagon with 98k (for sale), in hopes of picking up an 08-09 spec b. I am willing to travel to pick one up. Since they are pretty hard to come by, I find that the price of them are all over the map.

 

From what I've seen, an 08 with 50-75k miles are for sale around 20-25k. Ones with over 100k are below 14k, on average.

 

Will I be okay having an 08 spec b with over 115k as my daily? With that mileage, it has seen 25-28k miles per year since new. I am planning on 15k max a year, and keeping the car for a long time. I would not have to take out a loan for a high milege spec b. Is the amount I save worth the potential maintenance over the next 5 years? I think it is, but would love to hear from others.

 

Thanks

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I just want some more opinions on this, as I feel like I am over thinking:

 

I have an 05 LGT wagon with 98k (for sale), in hopes of picking up an 08-09 spec b. I am willing to travel to pick one up. Since they are pretty hard to come by, I find that the price of them are all over the map.

 

From what I've seen, an 08 with 50-75k miles are for sale around 20-25k. Ones with over 100k are below 14k, on average.

 

Will I be okay having an 08 spec b with over 115k as my daily? With that mileage, it has seen 25-28k miles per year since new. I am planning on 15k max a year, and keeping the car for a long time. I would not have to take out a loan for a high milege spec b. Is the amount I save worth the potential maintenance over the next 5 years? I think it is, but would love to hear from others.

 

Thanks

 

Depends on a few things...

 

Is the difference between an LGT wagon and a Spec B worth the premium you'd pay to sell the wagon and buy the Spec B? It's easy to make an LGT wagon perform like a stock Spec B if you really wanted to. At that point, I guess the difference would come down to aesthetics and interiors.

 

IMHO, the age of a car is determined a lot more by how it was cared for even than the number of miles it was driven or how old it is. Yes, you could buy a Spec B that's three or four years younger than your wagon... but if the previous owner ragged on it and trashed it, those three years don't mean a whole lot anymore - in fact, the Spec B might now be a worse purchase than the wagon because it's been trashed.

 

If the wagon is in good condition and runs fine, I say keep it. If you want Spec B performance, mod it (if you haven't already lol).

 

Now, if you can get a killer warranty on the B (from a reliable source such as SOA), that might change some things. However, the likelihood of that goes down when you're buying a high-miler (of course).

 

I dunno, that's just my opinion.

 

EDIT: Just saw that your wagon is a 5EAT... if you're itching for a manual, Spec B might be a good idea. Although nobody's ever tried a 5EAT --> 6MT swap before to my knowledge... so there's that... ;)

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Put Koni's and epic springs on the wagon. Get a tune and be done with it.

 

 

Save you money for a new short block and turbo in the future.

 

I enjoy my Spec B but use the wagon as my DD.

 

Having talked to the guy that swapped a 5mt into his 5eat car, he could never figure out how to get CC to work.

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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Having talked to the guy that swapped a 5mt into his 5eat car, he could never figure out how to get CC to work.

 

Did anything else not work, or was the cruise control it?

 

Hoping to one day swap the 4EAT in my 2004 Outback H6 for a 6MT, soooo.... :spin:

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Dave Brady at ESP

 

EnhancedStreetPerformance.com is the one who did the swap.

 

Try and give him a email.

305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD).  CHECK your oil, these cars use it.

 

Engine Build - Click Here

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if you're itching for a manual, Spec B might be a good idea

 

This. My Wagon is in great shape....never been touched other than routine maintenance. I miss having a manual a lot. I have a Jeep wrangler that's a manual, but would be selling this as well with the Spec B being my only car. I do not want to take a loan out, hence looking for higher mileage Spec B.

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Well at that point it kind of comes down to personal preference....

 

I want a manual in my auto Subie wagon too; only difference is I'm opting for a swap (although that's partially due to me wanting to keep the H6). It definitely makes more sense to pick up a car that has a manual from the factory, so for you the Spec B might actually be a good idea.

 

Also, considering condition and mileage, I think you might be able to raise your asking price a bit on your ad. IDK, $8,900 (??) seems a bit low for a car that looks that good, especially OBO. Although I'm sure the prospective buyers disagree with me on this point hahaha

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Haha I agree also. I have not had a single person contact me through here, craigslist or cars.com

 

If I hear nothing soon, I will take it to a consignment lot which I know it would sell at, just a pita for me to drop it off.

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Haha I agree also. I have not had a single person contact me through here, craigslist or cars.com

 

If I hear nothing soon, I will take it to a consignment lot which I know it would sell at, just a pita for me to drop it off.

 

Well it hasn't been up that long...

 

I'd try to sell to that one guy, Gregorious. He was looking for a wagon exactly like this for a family car.

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So I test drove a spec b and it looked/ drove like it was in great shape. But with high mileage, how can I be sure? Has anyone performed a leakdown/compression test before purchasing a car at a shop near the sellers location?
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The thing is you cant be sure EVER eben with a low mileage LGT. Higher miles doenst equal problematic vehicle. Ive looked at LGT's with 78K on the clock with shaft play and shot brakes. My Legacy is a 09 with 130K but you couldnt tell by driving or looking.

 

On my search I think about what I would maintain on my own car and look for in the LGT im thinking about buying.

 

Whit that said a leak and comp test are great insurances to the larger investment of the car itself. If I bought a 100K+ miles LGT/Spec.B and the P/S pump went out I woulndt be upset or feel like i got duped. I know I over maintain my car (plugs twice a year, oil every 3500, gearbox fluid every 20k, etc) So I know that the LGT/Spec.b i buy might have OEM diff fluid and and a set of plugs with 50K on them etc.

 

Just check the major stuff upon purchase and plan to baseline all the items you want to maintain soon after that you you have a known wear schedule and piece of mind.

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The thing is you cant be sure EVER eben with a low mileage LGT. Higher miles doenst equal problematic vehicle. Ive looked at LGT's with 78K on the clock with shaft play and shot brakes. My Legacy is a 09 with 130K but you couldnt tell by driving or looking.

 

On my search I think about what I would maintain on my own car and look for in the LGT im thinking about buying.

 

Whit that said a leak and comp test are great insurances to the larger investment of the car itself. If I bought a 100K+ miles LGT/Spec.B and the P/S pump went out I woulndt be upset or feel like i got duped. I know I over maintain my car (plugs twice a year, oil every 3500, gearbox fluid every 20k, etc) So I know that the LGT/Spec.b i buy might have OEM diff fluid and and a set of plugs with 50K on them etc.

 

Just check the major stuff upon purchase and plan to baseline all the items you want to maintain soon after that you you have a known wear schedule and piece of mind.

 

Thanks a lot for your insight! The car has had its first owner until this year, the guy selling it bought it with a bad turbo and replaced it along with rotors, turbo hoses etc and has the paperwork. The carfax shows that the original owner kept up with regular maintenance. I would be fine with small things needing to be fixed after purchase, but a bad engine within 6 months would be a real disappointment

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