Thinking about buying a Legacy gt spec b

So I'm in the hunt for a Legacy Gt.

I found on NASIOC a Legacy GT Spec B.

However, there are some things that I am little hesitant about.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2330501

theres the link

Price is $10,500 and it will need tires as well.

What are you guys opinions?

Thanks,

Steven

I would want to see all receipts for motor and turbo work. You would want to make sure everything was done right and where the motor came from. Was it from another car that had the motor blown and then the motor rebuilt?

I would be wary. At that price it is probably a good deal as long as you can get it checked out by a third party mechanic and do compression, leak-down, etc.

GLWSearch

Welcome to the forum!

I would want to see all receipts for motor and turbo work. You would want to make sure everything was done right and where the motor came from. Was it from another car that had the motor blown and then the motor rebuilt?

 

I would be wary. At that price it is probably a good deal as long as you can get it checked out by a third party mechanic and do compression, leak-down, etc.

 

GLWSearch

 

Welcome to the forum!

I think it says that it was another OEM motor, but he also has all the receipts so I will definitively look into that.

However, Im not too familiar with the Legacy GT, I had been looking for a wrx for the past 6 months and realized how hard it was to find a mint one. So I stumbled upon a Legacy GT and fell in love. Mature, yet powerful. Classy, yet childish.

But I digress, what are some key trouble areas with these vehicles?

It says that it was replaced with a motor that had 2k miles less than his (which I believe was around 79k?). I would turbo for play, check for signs of extensive modding, check for signs of neglect, etc.

Oil is a huge thing for these cars, as it is for most subaru's I believe. Service records prior to and after the motor swap are a big plus if he has them.

Check the oil to see if you see any metal flakes in it. Check the fluids to see how new they look. They should all be pretty much new if he says the car has 81k and the motor was swapped at 79k.

That ad was first posted in March, 2012.

So obv the miles have gone up. And as far as extensive modding goes, I think it is pretty much complete stock.

It varies due to many, many, many factors.

Try jumping around in the tuning thread and see what peoples experiences were. Should give you a pretty good ball park idea.

Well I went to check out the spec B today.

The car was prob a 7.7/10 condition wise. He had been away so he hadnt had a chance to detail it before I looked at it. However, I didnt see any dents. The only cosmetic things I saw that was wrong was a little paint mark on the back right part of the bumper. I looked at it though and it looks like it could be easily removed with a clay bar and elbow grease. He also said he would bring it to a guy who details cars.

I was a bit skeptical about this but he mentioned it cost $200 and Im hoping its someone who knows what their doing.

Anyways, he popped the hood and there were leaves in it haha. Which to me says that he really isnt a car guy. It was clean and no rust or anything. I ask him about what happened to the turbo and the engine and he told me something along the lines of (i dont remember exactly) "the way the bolt inside the turbo is positioned it doesnt something somthing somthing...."

He said he called Subaru and they couldnt figure out what happened. So he said screw them, then he called his family mechanic and they ended up buying a new turbo that fabricates the turbo so that (again, forgot what he said) "the bolt is positioned in a different position. But this position allows more oil to come out so you prob will smell a little oil"

He showed the papers and he's going to email me them. And ill post them up here, but I saw that he got atleast a turbo and a shortblock.

We went on a test drive, (he drove because Im not confident with my manual transmission driving. Im decent, I just didnt want to crack under pressure and stall or watever haha) So he drove and the way he drove was to my liking. He did a quick pull to show me how quick the car accelerates, but when he was driving normally he shifted pretty quick and didnt really let it get to high rpm wise. So I dont think he really beat on it.

We were on the drive and I say that its a shame this car doesnt have the brembo brakes. He says Im pretty sure it does. And the only thing different from this car and the sti is the body. HAHA hes def not a car guy. I told him that for one, this engine has a short block and the sti has a long block.

But anyways, he has a lein on the car so we have to talk it out with the banks. He is asking for $10,500 but it also needs new tires. But the retail for that is like over 14k! I have like 11k-12k but the less I spend the more I can have for maintenance and mods. Also he says that he replaced everything like 10k miles ago. All the belts, including timing belt and everything.

Im having him bring it to my mechanic who knows Subaru's. And if he says it checks out okay, then I will be the owner of a 2006 Subaru Legacy GT Spec B.

Although the 06 is a limited edition....the 07 and newer has the 6 speed, heavy duty rear end and some other Aluminum underneath (all stuff that is not on the 06).......since the motor has been replaced the 1 of 500 thing becomes a little less special.....I'd use that to work him down a bit....that said you would have a LGT that can run on 18s (and keep the speedo correct) and is a VF 52 turbo, panel, down pipe, and a tune short of 270 WHP (about 2 K total).....Tire rack has some goodyear F1s on sale for 150 a piece....I have run them on my spec B and they are a great all around (all season) tire.......you are also getting the Billstiens which are about an 1200 bucks to get upgraded......good luck on the purchase

Please edit and use only one period per sentence. I cannot understand whether your talking about the 07 or 06.

Point I was trying make was that the 06 is just slightly more car then the LGT. Therefore treat it like a LGT. Sorry about the extra periods......it's a

"style" thing for me......

 

"the way the bolt inside the turbo is positioned it doesnt something somthing somthing...."

He could have been talking about the banjo bolt that is in the oil supply line to the turbo. I've read on the LGT's the turbo's were a bit oil starved and a lot of people replaced the banjo bolt and oil supply line with a larger one. Not sure if this was the same on SpecB's?? When I bought my 05 LGT, thats the first thing my tech told me to do for precautionary measures.

But this position allows more oil to come out so you prob sill smell a little oil"

To me thats a red flag. I never want to smell a little oil

but when he was driving normally he shifted pretty quick and didnt really let it get to high rpm wise. So I dont think he really beat on it.

 

We were on the drive and I say that its a shame this car doesnt have the brembo brakes. He says Im pretty sure it does. And the only thing different from this car and the sti is the body. .

Remember he is trying to sell you his car, so he may have known that but was trying to sell you on it. I'd also assume he'd drive mildly and talk the car up as much as possible.

Like you said get it thoroughly checked out first top to bottom. I had a full pre-purchase inspection done on my car (usually around $120-150) first by a Subaru only shop and found out a couple large issues that the seller said he had no idea about. He had no problem at all letting me have the car checked out so I trust he really didn't know about the issues. This resulted in me getting it for a very low price, but also quite a bit of work needing to go into it. This seller seems to be willing to show proof of work and let it get checked out so that's a good sign. Good luck!

whether its a gt or a spec.b - that's a great price for an 06 lgt.

The motor thing would concern me. If it was a new motor and turbo, i would feel better. But who knows what's going on with used parts. The paper trail can only tell so much. You can always ask for a sample of his oil and send it to Blackstone labs. They are pretty good and quick.

If your still not 100% confident in the car, Im sure if you called one of the shops up near worcester, they would liekly take a thorough look at this car for you for a small fee. May be worth the small investment.

If mechanically sound, this car is certainly worth $10,500.

The other poster is correct, 07 did get some more goodies! However, you're not going to find an 07 in good condition with 80k on the clock for anywhere close to $10,500...

Well I went to check out the spec B today.

 

The car was prob a 7.7/10 condition wise. He had been away so he hadnt had a chance to detail it before I looked at it. However, I didnt see any dents. The only cosmetic things I saw that was wrong was a little paint mark on the back right part of the bumper. I looked at it though and it looks like it could be easily removed with a clay bar and elbow grease. He also said he would bring it to a guy who details cars.

 

I was a bit skeptical about this but he mentioned it cost $200 and Im hoping its someone who knows what their doing.

 

Anyways, he popped the hood and there were leaves in it haha. Which to me says that he really isnt a car guy. It was clean and no rust or anything. I ask him about what happened to the turbo and the engine and he told me something along the lines of (i dont remember exactly) "the way the bolt inside the turbo is positioned it doesnt something somthing somthing...."

 

He said he called Subaru and they couldnt figure out what happened. So he said screw them, then he called his family mechanic and they ended up buying a new turbo that fabricates the turbo so that (again, forgot what he said) "the bolt is positioned in a different position. But this position allows more oil to come out so you prob will smell a little oil"

 

He showed the papers and he's going to email me them. And ill post them up here, but I saw that he got atleast a turbo and a shortblock.

 

We went on a test drive, (he drove because Im not confident with my manual transmission driving. Im decent, I just didnt want to crack under pressure and stall or watever haha) So he drove and the way he drove was to my liking. He did a quick pull to show me how quick the car accelerates, but when he was driving normally he shifted pretty quick and didnt really let it get to high rpm wise. So I dont think he really beat on it.

 

We were on the drive and I say that its a shame this car doesnt have the brembo brakes. He says Im pretty sure it does. And the only thing different from this car and the sti is the body. HAHA hes def not a car guy. I told him that for one, this engine has a short block and the sti has a long block.

 

But anyways, he has a lein on the car so we have to talk it out with the banks. He is asking for $10,500 but it also needs new tires. But the retail for that is like over 14k! I have like 11k-12k but the less I spend the more I can have for maintenance and mods. Also he says that he replaced everything like 10k miles ago. All the belts, including timing belt and everything.

 

Im having him bring it to my mechanic who knows Subaru's. And if he says it checks out okay, then I will be the owner of a 2006 Subaru Legacy GT Spec B.

what the fuck does that even mean

Although the 06 is a limited edition....the 07 and newer has the 6 speed, heavy duty rear end and some other Aluminum underneath (all stuff that is not on the 06)

you are also getting the Billstiens which are about an 1200 bucks to get upgraded...

Brakes are the same as the LGT, 2006 has the same 5MT as the LGT, and 07-09 have the 6MT (not the same as the STi) with the R180 Torsen rear diff, and seats that fold down in the rear that are clad with Alcantra inserts vs. the Brick Red perforated leather in the 2006 spec.B. 2007 also got he ability to have an AUX input in the factory head unit.

Point I was trying make was that the 06 is just slightly more car then the LGT. Therefore treat it like a LGT. Sorry about the extra periods......it's a

"style" thing for me......

Are you saying that it is ONLY slightly different than an LGT? Therefore its not something special? Or are you saying that it is different than the LGT?

Why you no speak real inglish? :lol:

Compared to the later model spec's it is only slightly different than the regular LGT.

Mostly because it has the same 5MT as a regular LGT. 07+ has the 6MT. Also SI Drive came after 06 too.

I am having it THOROUGHLY checked on thursday. I pointed out some real minor things that i am almost 95% sure will come out with a clay bar and some compound.

Also the car needs tires.

He said that the price is kind of negotiable and Im confident I can probably get this car for less than $10,500. Will definitely get it less than that if there are some issues.

And to let you all know I am in no way a gear head. I just started to learn about cars (more specifically my car) when I first got it when I was 16. It was a 2002 2.2 L ecotec and right now its currently in my garage halfway done a cylinder head removal because I suspect a cracked head.

Ill talk about that when I get this car and post in the Newbie Section.

For now Im too excited about getting this car.

If anything ends up happening to this car right after I buy it, Im sure I could fix it up and then resell it for more than I payed for. But for now I really would like this car.

Also, I have heard that the brakes on the LGT are, lack of a better word "garbage".

Was there any upgrades for the brake system in the spec b?

And overall how are the brakes on the spec b? compared to the lgt?

The brakes on the spec.b are the same as the brakes on the LGT.