Looking at an '06 GT - Things to note?

I've been looking at a 2006 Legacy at a fairly good dealership where I live. My last 2 vehicles have been Subarus, and I'm familiar with the engine, and what to look out for on N/A models, and I just have a few questions being new to the turbo Subarus.

 

Info about the car:

 

Listing: http://corwintoyota.net/Fargo-North-Dakota/For-Sale/Used/Subaru/Legacy-Sedan/2006-2-5GT-Black-Car/21587777/

 

97.5k miles

Body in good shape - a crack in the grill plastic with chrome damage, and the driver side door base trim hangs about an inch below the body.

 

Carfax history is clean of accidents, and a few services records are recorded, but mainly the last thing on the list is concerning:

 

This dealership took in the car on 7/29 and performed a maintenance inspection and an engine check at 97,478 miles. SOP. However on 9/7 they show the mileage at 97,482, and the following service notes:

 

Maintenance inspection completed

Two wheel alignment performed

Engine replaced

Front strut(s) replaced

 

Apart from that, the interior is decent, some heavy steering wheel wear, but nothing else major.

 

I plan on giving it a heavier going over when I actually take it out to note any other damage.

 

I'm taking it for a test drive later and want to know what to look for, or recommendations on whether I should avoid it.

 

They have it listed at $13k.

Welcome to the site.

 

Moved to pre-purchase sub-forum where you'll likely get timely responses.

Took the Test Drive, and have some updates:

 

It's a 5 speed manual, clutch seems good, doesn't pop out of gear.

 

Engine seems alright, didn't hear any tick, whine, or knock at idle. Did notice every so often that it seemed to drop a cylinder at idle, but not under power. Possibly related to them using 87 Octane gas for the test drives. Turbo also seemed good, started to kick in at about 2.5k and had decent boost. Didn't have any whine or hiss with it either.

 

Frame seems good, no bolts or frame holes seem to be worn so the Engine replacement doesn't seem to be related to damage. They did try to get me to believe that the engine was replaced due to damage caused by the previous owner driving with bad struts.

 

Body is mostly alright, apart from that hanging door trim, and a largish scratch in the rear passenger door, and a broken windshield.

 

Interior is mostly good. It might have been me focusing on driving, but the climate control didn't want to exit auto fan for some reason, until I turned it off then back on. Other than that, A/C worked, it seemed to vary in intensity though. Heat was good and fan worked. Other electronics seemed good as well. Steering wheel was worn. Mirror adjustment knob was broken into the dash, but functional once I pulled it back out.

 

Brakes tested well, tires had no unusual wear and decent treads.

 

So I guess now my only concerns are the minor cosmetic damage, broken windshield, and replaced engine.

 

NADA has retail book at $11,500. KBB $19,380.

 

On Monday I initially offered $10k and they said no, they had other buyers interested. They texted me today asking if I was still interested. I said possibly if they would back down from $13, and they said they would work something out.

 

I want $10,500 TT&L, but would come up to $11,250. Is this a reasonable offer?

That engine replacement would scare me away most likely. I'd also request some receipts for the replacement to know what it was replaced with, new or used.

Since this dealership did the work, they had the service record, and it was a re-manufactured engine. Struts were new aftermarket. They didn't seem to really know why the engine was replaced, but gave me the story of bad struts damaging the engine.

So this is a Subaru dealership and the engine is a Subaru OEM "remanufacture", not just another company's remanufacture? An actual Subaru remanufacture is the only thing I'd accept because it comes with a 12mo/12K miles warranty - would hope it would last longer than that - so if it breaks, labor and materials is covered to fix it.

 

I'd also want to know why the previous engine was bad and had to be replaced. Bad bearings, speaks to low oil and that speaks to bad turbo, which then speaks to the whole oil system being corrupted, including the oil pump, oil cooler, and banjo bolt filters.

 

And why not put on Subaru struts/shocks? Again, should be Subaru parts from a dealership.

 

This sounds like it's had a sketchy past at best... I'd be offering less than $10K TTL, if at all, or just walk away.

It's actually at a Toyota dealership, not a Subaru dealer. I'll make sure that it was a Subaru reman before actually laying money down.

Frankly, I'd walk away from it then. Unless they took it to Subaru to do the work. This car just doesn't sound right. Your money, and if it's the only thing that will scratch the itch, YMMV.

Will do. It's hard to come by 4th Gen GT's in the upper midwest though.

See my 2006 LGT Spec-B in the for-sale section. My car is in Chicago and I am the original owner. My car is in much better condition that the one you are describing.

Here is the link. My mileage is a bit higher but my car comes with a second set of Winter wheels & tires and is already at Stage 2. The price is a little higher but you get what you pay for.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/fs-il-skokie-2006-subaru-legacy-gt-spec-b-sedan-210835.html

Yeah, I'd buy that ^ one..

The price is the same as what this dealer is asking, and I'd love to get it, but you're about 650 miles away.

 

So dealer called me yesterday and wanted to deal...

 

They updated the info they gave me before (reman engine) with, it a used one...but it has less miles! They also couldn't give me a reason for the swap other than, it just wasn't running right. They came down to $12,500 with me paying TTL, and showed me blue book which is almost $10k above the average of NADA and Edmunds. I have no idea what's up with KBB there.

 

I walked away, and I don't think anyone will come near it at that price. Hopefully if someone is looking to buy this car they know what they're doing and will knock them down a bit.

 

This was supposed to be a replacement for my wife's '99 Impreza Outback Sport that needs a piston ring change, and recently the center diff started knocking around corners. I just put a new cat, front o2, timing belt, water pump and both HGs. Didn't feel like tearing into it again to replace rings urgently at 202k. Maybe over the winter while it sits in the garage I'll refurb it, but she needs a DD. I was going to take this new Legacy for my DD/Toy, she would take my '09 Legacy SE. Ended up buying a '06 Mitsubishi Galant ES for her.

 

For those wondering, I put the listing in the OP.

 

Thanks for the help.

Probably the smart thing to do.. I would have walked away.

Me too. On the OBS, is this Auto or MT?

4eat

Unless there's a seriously "broke" piece in the tranny, there's a fluid "fix" for the center diff issues on the 4EAT. I'll try to find my documentation on it.