Potential 07 Spec.B lemon

Alright fellas, here's the issue (cliff notes below). I found an 07 Spec.B for sale through a dealer. Low miles. Appears to be stock and in good condition. I talked to the dealer and they said they performed minor maintenance during their inspection when they got it (tires, air filter, oil/filter change, battery).

I then reached out to the local Subaru dealer whom I had been told performed most of the maintenance on the car prior to being traded-in. They informed me it's a lemon (unbeknownst to the dealer selling the car I assume). I guess the car was bought for a young man by his dad. There are records of proper maintenance up until about 20k miles. After that the car went off the grid for 2 years. No oil changes. No tires. No brakes. Nothing. The Subaru dealer got it back fried. Metal shavings in the oil pan and in the turbo. They were told to patch it up and make it drive able. Unfortunately for the dealer it was traded in to, they have no idea what is in their hands.

Clearly the motor is done for. And I can only imagine what else will need replacing eventually (clutch, suspension, brakes, etc). How do I approach the dealer selling this car about this? I'd consider rebuilding for the right price. Aside from the motor I'd eventually upgrade everything at some point anyways. What would you offer? Any other thoughts?

Cliffs: Dad bought Spec.B for dumb kid. Dumb kid didn't change the oil for 2 years. Motor/turbo fuct. Unicorn blood fried. Patched up by Subaru dealer to make it drive able then owner traded-in to another dealer. Current dealer has no idea. Considering rebuild. Thoughts?

Something isn't adding up in this situation. Lemon refers to a car that has had the same problem fixed multiple times. A car can go " off the grid" as you are calling it because the owner decides not to have any work done from a Subaru dealership, there is nothing specifically wrong with that. If the previous dealer said that the car had metal shavings in it I would be concerned of course. Also what are you meaning by low miles? It sounds like you have not driven the car either if you are assuming it needs a bunch of parts, without driving it and finding out how things hold up, it's tough to assume it needs things like a clutch and so on.

Well I can tell you from my personal experience it's gonna be anywhere from $5.5k to $7k to rebuild the engine (upgraded internal or new ej257) with labor. On top on that add a turbo (1200 from subaru or what ever one you want). So your looking at about $7,000 to get it back to new. . . .

Someone else can chip in.

Walk away.

The current seller will probably not be willing to accept a price that you would want give that history. They will just try to sell it to someone who didn't do as much homework. Probably with a slight discount to get it off the lot faster.

Also, please post up the VIN here so others know to stay away.

"lemon" was just a term I was using. What I meant is that it is potentially a car with major problems that the dealer either doesn't know or isn't disclosing.

My point is that the Subaru dealer told me point blank that this car needs a new engine. The previous owner neglected to take care of the car as it should have been. I'm not entirely sure the extent of the damage they found, but I heard enough to be convinced.

The car has just over 43k miles. Low miles for a 2007 IMO.

I have not driven the car as it is 1,400 miles away from me. However, I have someone taking a look at it for me today.

As for things like the clutch, I am making assumptions that the kid most likely drove it like he stole it based on his lack of proper care. I could be wrong. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

Assuming the dealer were able to sell this thing to an unknowing consumer and it were to blow up (again)... Wouldn't they be responsible for fixing it? Or would the consumer be bent over?

Don't bother with this one. You'll never get it for what it is worth in that condition, or buy a super-duper-warranty coverage extra cause you'll need it!

yeah, id get the dealer to put a big warranty on it if you are considering it.

Originally Posted by whitetiger

yeah, id get the dealer to put a big warranty on it if you are considering it.

If the dealer is 1400 miles away, what's the point?

ah, missed that little detail.

Originally Posted by evildriver

Assuming the dealer were able to sell this thing to an unknowing consumer and it were to blow up (again)... Wouldn't they be responsible for fixing it? Or would the consumer be bent over?

Probably the latter. Unless its still got a Subaru warranty (unlikely), the car would most likely be sold "as-is". In California, the only required protection would be a 2-day, 250 mi cooling off period. If the engine blows up a month later, that's on customer. You might be able to get something from them if it didn't last a week.

just find another specb.

Poor Legacy, if all else fails the Dealership will probably sell it As is at an Auction.

No way they're asking less than 7 for it so I'd say skip it.