05LGT 5sp w/ replaced turbo

Let's make a long story short:

 

2005 Legacy GT

5 speed

68,xxx mi

 

I am debating whether to test drive this car and actually consider buying it for a few reasons. I LOVE my old legacy and I want another, my old one was a 05 LGT 5sp as well. However, 2 problems.

 

1) The GM of the dealer told me the turbo was smoking when he bought the car, so they replaced it with a brand new OEM one. Awesome how it has a new turbo, but can a smoking turbo hurt the motor? My assumption is just as long as it was smoke and not metal pieces coming out, its perfectly fine.

2) The woman who was test driving it when I got to the dealer had a CEL thrown on her while driving which was for the cam position sensor, which the mechanic said just likely went bad during the test drive. I mean a sensor can die really at any time, doesnt necessarily mean the motor is bad.

 

I'm scared to purchase because what if the car is a lemon and it keeps having problems? It's only had 2 owners both having it for 2-3 years each so I'm guessing not. Clean carfax, and the asking price is under $12k!

 

That's right, asking price from the deal is < $12,000! :wub:That's why I'm so interested, I might be able to talk them down to $10k. However, is it worth the potential problems???

 

HELP! I've been out of the subie game for a while.

 

Z

walk away

you never know how bad the original turbo was....if it was bad enough- shards of metal from the fins could have been blown into the engine, you may not find out the damage to the engine until much after the fact.

You are not considering purchasing a problematic car that a dealer is trying to convince you is ok are you? Run, run away fast unless they will give you an extended warranty at no charge and you think the warranty will actually cover the potential damage. (They often do not/require a long battle without a running car).

 

Good luck finding your dream car! I am afraid this might not be it.

Like he ^ said, if they give you a Extended warrenty that covers the powertrain and driveline than go ahead.

 

Some will say the P0011 or P0021 Cam postion sensors can be fixed by flushing the engine and making sure the banjo filter is removed.

You can do better with your money. Those codes are also thrown from a spun bearing resulting in blocked oil flow to those sensors and turbo.

Walk, that sounds either abused, lemon fresh or both.

If you can afford to piss away $12k, then yes.

 

Edit: implied was; if not, then no.

Basically, it comes down to what the dealer would cover with a powertrain warranty. Blown turbos will occasionally cause significant engine damage (new shortblock), due to blade shrapnel entering the cylinders.

 

Also, many turbo failures are caused by clogged banjo bolt filters in the turbo oil line. If the clogged filter is not replaced, a replacement turbo will fail shortly after the install.

 

Assuming the dealer has done an appropriate fix, and you can drive a fully working car, I see nothing wrong with it. Especially, if they are willing to provide ~5k powertrain warranty.

 

Do not even consider a vehicle with a newly replaced turbo that still is throwing CELs. Until the CELs are completely cleared and resolved, there is the potential for needing a new engine.

Just remember, that even with a warranty, there may be a significant period of time that the car will be unavailible to you in the shop if there are problems and the dealer covers it under warranty.

 

At the very least I'd say you want to take the car to another shop to have it looked over. Just to see how they react. If they assure you they have checked it out over and over and try to tell you that they can't let the car off the lot for that long or other bs, you know it's cooked and they are just hiding it. I'd get very familiar with your state laws concerning auto sales prior to pulling the trigger on this one.

 

If your looking to "go big" and are going to build a shortblock anyway, low ball them with somewhere between salvage and wholesale. Keep at them, if it's the car you want. As time goes on, if they don't sell they will have to roll the car over in a public or dealer auction. They may take a known offer, even if it means losing money on it. Paying auction fees to have it trip a code in the lane and then losing money might be their other option.