Shold I buy it?

I'm looking at a 05 LGT and it has 90,000 miles and a 5 speed. They are asking $12k and will not come down on the price at all. It has a few dings and dents (expected from 90k miles) and the interior is in rough shape. 5 owners and it started out as a "corporate car". The under body looks decent (rust free) and the engine bay had no oil stains and looked pretty clean as well (under body and engine bay were my biggest concern). The NADA value was $10.5k so I'm wondering if $12k is pretty reasonable, or if the dealer is asking too much. It's also at the local subaru stealership, so its not a used car lot.

 

Just looking for some insight from people who know their stuff since all my friends are ignorant dsm fanboys.

Make sure there is a lot of service records. These cars will last a while, but need to be taken care of. 12k seems very high for the condition you described. I wouldn't pay anymore than 10k assuming it is mechanically sound and never modded.

It looked to be pretty sound, except it had a slight ticking noise. To me it seemed like a lazy lifter and it comes from both sides of the motor. I'm not too familiar with boxers though.

 

Also I may have been a little harsh describing it. It just looks like they had kids so the back seats have a few stains and when I looked at it, it wasn't detailed and they just got it out of the shop. It had no mods though which was a big plus and the reason I'm looking at LGT's and FXT's instead of WRX's and STI's.

5 owners!? WTF!

 

I would definitely scrutinize service records and look at the clutch

+1 on the service records. Timing belt maintenance?

12k on 90k miles? that's about right. Be sure to take to a different shop for the PPI. The dealership will not give you a fair record of work to be done. Also, have the dealership pull all the work done (it comes from a national db, or at least it should). If nothing else, get the records from previous owner if possible.

 

for 12k, you should require them to do the timing belt. If not, you;ll want to get it done right away (5 owners would suggest heavily thrashed).

Keep looking. Your cosmetic description would put that car in a $8k range. The condition doesn't match the mileage. If they couldn't be bother to take car of the cosmetics how do often do you think they changed the oil. I would much rather buy a higher mile LGT in great condition for under 10k than the car you liked at.

I agree with $8,000 value. F the dealership, they are all crooks. I would pass and wait.