98 Legacy GT Wagon - Good buy ? ?

Newbie and glad to be here.

Looking to purchase, super clean inside and out. Defintely a garaged car.

182K

Just had complete tune up, valve adjustment, new battery, head gasket, water pump, timing belt, crank pulley tensioners and main seals. New brake pads and rotors. Tires are like new. Runs and drives great.

He's looking for 3,800.00.

Thoughts and opinions please.

http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b413/RUQKNUF/SubaruII_zps7378ae9c.jpg

Pretty nice, not a bad price for the mileage and looks prime...if it runs as good as it looks why not, try to find out if its headgaskets had been replaced.

Yeah - head gaskets done. Runs great. It really is clean. My mechanic is wanting to get rid of it - he did all the work i listed with the intent to keep it - times ar tough, he needs it gone.

Oh duh, did I even read your post? Lol...looks good I would say get it and sell me the sideskirts ...sounds like a really sweet deal you know much about them?

Subaru's ? - none. Was into the Honda scene back in the day - Euro's mostly now - have a couple of BMW's. Why ? Advise ?

Yeah me too with the hondas, they are pretty cool go carts. What are your plans with this wagon? I can tell you that these motors love upgrades to the ignition intake and exhaust (as do most cars) but satisfaction is big in those areas for subarus. By nature they have a lot of friction and its best to run a heavier oil especially in the summer.

Definitely planned. Where's the best site to go for aftermarket parts ?

There is a lot of them, as there is a lot of vendors on this site too...spend some time cruising around..I like boxer 4, and rallitek..there are some vendors that have shops in and around your area...fortunately for where you live you have a lot of options.

 

Check out all the stickies that zues marine and broknindarkagain have written up at the top of the second gen. forum.

Could be a good buy. Be nice to know which head gaskets he used though and if he had the heads resurfaced to the correct RA which is a measurment for smoothness of the finish. Just cause he is a mechanic doesnt mean it was done right either. I also like to replace the head bolts I know some people dont do that but with tty bolts I always replace them.

Cool - thanks for the vendor info. Head gaskets - yeah, I've known my tech for just shy of 20 years - never done me wrong - I will ask him though. I'm just wanting to get some Subaru owners opinions, and input on whether or not 3800 seems farily reasonable. Is the GT Wagon Limited rare or hard to come by ?

In that condition that car is pretty rare where I'm from, there's are a few people here that have them. The limited has the leather and sound package right? 3800 imo is a great deal. Reason the headgasket issues are brought up is because there were a couple of changes in those years because they were failing and unfortunately these motor must come out to be serviced. Which if you can't diy them it can be a pricey fix. Not done properly is more of a headache just like most re-work.

 

The outlook on these cars are great, kind of a timeless bodystyle and mechanically easy to work on as far as routine and preventive maintenance. Its fun to tinker with, and you can gain a few horses and mpg's with simple upgrades. Japanese body style upgrade sare absolutely the best thing you can do for the aesthetics and if you can't tell by looking at some of the cars in members rides that we like to stay pure with Subaru parts...

If that was a limited the gfx should be body color also.

No leather, not sure on the Sound Package. Didn't care to pay attention to that much on my test drive. Too concerned with how machanically sound the car was. My bank pulled the VIN up and said same: Legacy GT LTD Wagon.

Sorry, GFX ?

No leather, not sure on the Sound Package. Didn't care to pay attention to that much on my test drive. Too concerned with how machanically sound the car was. My bank pulled the VIN up and said same: Legacy GT LTD Wagon.

Sorry, GFX ?

gfx=ground effects

They are black on that car the limiteds got body colored gfx. The limited cars did not come with a manual trans though at least in 98. There was a few in 99 I think.

No leather = Non-limited. Side skirt would be color-matched if limited. Do an initial CarFax on the VIN and see if it still registers as Limited.

FWIW - a non-limited with that mileage on it is ~$1800.00 private party, $2600 dealer retail.

KBB says 4k in good condition when I check private party. NADA says clean retail is 3,700

I always use Edmunds True Market Value. KBB and NADA are swags at pricing IME. TMV puts the vehicle right in the cross-hairs of it's "true" value relative to the other pricing formulas. If it was a limited, with additional options, then TMV would adjust accordingly, to factor in the additions, but since it's not, then the price is what it is.

It's an auto. I haven't owned an auto for many years, buying this car primarly to commute into DC. I'll double check the carfax and call the dealer and have them run it to see if it comes up LTD.

Without leather, it is NOT a "Limited"

No way that car is only worth 1800 though. At least where I live I never seen one go that cheap unless it was listed with mechanical issues. I find KBB is usually what they go for and for trade in the dealer usually offers KKB fair price. If that was true I should of got my car for 1k since it needed quite a few things when I got it. Im sure 80% of them need head gaskets though so maybe 2k would be average haha.

KBB / NADA can be irrelevant with cars like this. In places like the PNW an old Subaru brings crazy money but in other places they're worth way less. When it's 15 year old car with known quirks, you kind of have to think about what it will need, how much use you'll get out of it, and how much that's worth to you personally rather than the stat that a book decides it should be worth.

 

In my personal opinion, it looks great and could be fun but the 180k+ would make me keep looking. It does look like it was really well taken care of, but even babied cars can still have expensive problems show up this late in their lives.

A "clean" not perfect, 98 LGT non-limited wagon with 180K+ miles, 4EAT and keyless entry, specs out at 1731.00 for private party, and $2713.00 for a dealer sale. Again, KBB and NADA are "suggested prices". TMV is what people are actually paying. Would I offer $2800.00 for a clean, well-maintained 98 BG GT, probably... but definitely not over $3K out the door.

A "clean" not perfect, 98 LGT non-limited wagon with 180K+ miles, 4EAT and keyless entry, specs out at 1731.00 for private party, and $2713.00 for a dealer sale. Again, KBB and NADA are "suggested prices". TMV is what people are actually paying.

 

Thats a steal then wish I could of found one for that price.

those pricing sites are all wrong. they report what they think a vehicle should be worth, but dont take into account what the local markets are really doing. my civic is a pile compared to most cars, listed as worth 2200 max for most of those sites. it would sell for 3k easy here in az. personally i wouldnt have paid more than 1500 for it, and i didnt. i picked it up for 1200 before the compact econobox explosion happened. now you cant find a decent running vehicle for less than 2500. kind of sucky. i also paid 2000 for my 96 legacy GT a couple weeks ago, despite the fact that tmv said its worth 1700 or so. kbb listed it as 3200 and a country-wide search reveals that there are none for sale under 4000. i think i got a decent vehicle for that 2000 bones.