Urgent advice needed -- 2010 Legacy Limited

Hi folks,

 

I'm in the process of purchasing a 2010 Legacy Limited to replace my 2009 SE that was totaled last Friday. The 2010 is a Ruby Red Pearl with leather interior and pretty much has every feature a Subaru could have ... even has the Subaru remote starter. However, it has 59,000 miles.

 

The car is absolutely immaculate -- no dings, perfect inside and out. The dealer is selling it as a Subaru Certified Vehicle for $19,500 and is selling me the Extended Gold Plus warranty out to 2016/100,000 miles (zero deductible) for an additional $990.

 

According to Edmunds, $21,500 is the expected price for a certified vehicle with these miles.

 

I'm starting to feel queasy about this purchase -- should I be worried about the miles on this car? It looks like the previous owner did a lot of highway driving and he or she must have really loved the car, based on the way it looks.

 

It drives really well. I just woke up with severe anxiety about it -- something that happens to me with every purchase. I just never bought a car with this many miles on it for this much before -- I realize it was probably close to $30,000 new.

 

Also -- can the dealer sell me the Extended Gold Plus plan at 59,000 miles? I kind of remembered it as being something you had to buy within 3 years/36000 miles.

 

Thanks,

John

Assuming its a non-turbo, you shouldnt have anything to worry about... the 5th gen N/A is proving to just as reliable if not moreso than the 4th gen N/A.

 

Heck, even the turbo'ed ones dont seem to have a lot of reliability issues.

 

Just make sure it doesnt have the shimmy at highway speeds and make sure you have the maintenance records.

Thanks -- it is a non-turbo.

 

I'm just getting a little freaked out about the miles. From what I can tell on Carfax, the previous owner spent time in San Antonio (where I live) and Alabama, so a lot of driving back and forth.

 

I don't think it has the shimmy -- what's the best way to test for that?

 

Do you know if they can sell that Extended Gold Plus plan to me for a car with 59,000 miles? With my last used Subaru, I think I remember that only being an option in the 3 year/36000 mile window. I'll ask the dealer today to be certain on that.

at 60-70mph, if your steering wheel does not vibrate, then you should be fine.

I would not worry about the miles as much, especially with the extended warranty. Me personally I would try and shave another grand off. MY 11 3.6r just rolled 50k yesterday. Depending on how much you drive, just plan on doing the T-belt in 40k.

Well, I got the chance to drive some highway speeds on the way to work with it today ... there is something going on around 65-70 mph. I don't actually see any movement in the steering wheel if I take my hands off of it, but it feels like a slightly out-of-balance tire. It's very slight -- I would probably not have noticed it for awhile if I were not looking for it. If it is the shimmy ... is there a fix for it?

If I recall from previous reading the shimmy is pretty noticeable. From what it sounds that is not your case, but I am not sure. Also from what I have read there is not a complete fix of the issue.

wait it's certified pre-owned and the dealer is trying to sell you another warranty?

 

when a car is CPO, it comes with a 7 year/100k mile powertrain warranty right off the bat. the extended gold to replace other possible faults on a car 2010 or newer would be a waste of money IMO

wait it's certified pre-owned and the dealer is trying to sell you another warranty?

 

when a car is CPO, it comes with a 7 year/100k mile powertrain warranty right off the bat. the extended gold to replace other possible faults on a car 2010 or newer would be a waste of money IMO

 

Good catch:lol:, unless maybe the warranty they are trying sell him is bumper to bumper, but I doubt it. Even so, probably not worth the extra $1000.

From what I know, you aren't eligible to purchase the extended warranty after 36k miles.

Thanks everyone. It apparently wasn't the Extended Gold coverage, but some other 100,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty "wrap" they can sell in addition to the Subaru Certified warranty. He was showing me the brochure for the Extended Gold though. I'm pretty sure the car had the shimmy -- I drove it to work this morning and then returned it.

Just bought my 2010 lgt with 70k on the odo. Do it!!!

I feel like this it appears that you were very nervous from the beginning about this purchase. Usually that leads to buyers remorse, rather then put yourself through a stressful situation walk away. No matter what we say or how we say it, we aren't the ones that have to live with the purchase, you do. I'm not trying to sound mean but I can't tell you how many times I listened to people who say I knew I shouldn't have purchased that. Don't be one of those people.

Yep, coppertone, that's what drove my decision to take it back. I didn't want to be second-guessing myself later.

 

The car was just beautiful, and in perfect physical condition as far as I could tell, but that little vibration at highway speeds was going to annoy me. There were just too many little questions about it nagging at me -- I've never bought a car with that many miles for that much money. I know it was an awesome deal -- the car literally had EVERY option possible for a 2010 2.5i Limited. Navigation, backup camera, remote start, puddle lights, fog lamps ... you name it.

 

It was already well into its second set of tires, and when I pulled maintenance records from the local dealership, I found that the previous owner had taken it in for "possible bent rims" with nothing found. I didn't have time to wrangle with a dealer service shop over the shimmy, if that's what its problem was.

 

It also had an odd ownership history -- the first owner put 51,000 miles on it in three years, then someone bought it in 12/12, put 8,000 miles on it in two months, and traded it back in at the same dealership in early March.

 

I went ahead and purchased a 2013 Limited in Venetian Red Pearl with far fewer features. It's my first new car purchase in many years.

Glad to hear you picked one up! Sounds like you feel better with the choice of going new. Enjoy the car. Did you go 2.5i or 3.6?

Just 2.5i ... the 3.6 is a bit out of my price range, and would just get me into trouble anyway