Potentially getting back in the 4th gen LGT game.

-updated pics in post #18

 

9 years ago, I helped my Uncle buy for his son(my cousin) a 05 OBP LGT Non-Limited 5eat sedan. Is was the car my cousin took to college, and then the car my other 2 cousins(his brothers) used from time to time. It ended up being the spare family car for the most part.

 

Flash forward to today, and they attempted to trade it in as part of a new car purchase for my aunt. The dealer low-balled them hard on its value so my uncle decided to not trade it in and keep it. So he has now asked me, considering my familiarity with the 4th gen GT, to see if can maybe sell it, though considering the number the dealer gave him, i may buy it from him for myself as a 3rd car depending on whats up with it.

 

things i know about the car, though i have not seen it yet in its current state...

05 OBP Non-limited LGT sedan 5eat. (cloth seats, no sunroof)

Car is BONE stock with less than 70K miles on it.

Turbo was replaced 4 years ago (this worries me, but the car has been running fine since, so maybe it doesnt NANSB by default)

Currently has a CEL, but running fine.

was in 1 front end accident 4 years ago i think, but covered by insurance and repaired and running good since.

 

My cousins are the kind of guys who are not in to cars, so i dont think it was abused too much, but it probably was not cared for they way LGTs demand.

 

Again at this point, i have not seen the car yet. Ill get my hands on it tomorrow and have a look. I'm hoping its a diamond in the rough, waiting to be brought back to life.

 

What is the fastest way to determine that it wont NANSB if kept? Compression test, oil analysis, and banjo bolt screen inspection are the 3 things that come to mind.

take those three and add a leakdown test.

You could also pull the oil filter & cut it open. Look for "gold" & "silver" flakes.

would they be there after 2-3 yrs of operation since turbo replacement? id look in the pan for that, but pulling the pan is not a fast check.

No they shouldn't be, but a filter check is quick. And tell you about the current health of the motor & turbo. Other then that, you could drop the DP & check turbo for shaft play.

Also ask for maintenance records.

No they shouldn't be, but a filter check is quick. And tell you about the current health of the motor & turbo. Other then that, you could drop the DP & check turbo for shaft play.

Also ask for maintenance records.

 

 

That and see what the CEL is for.

 

But if it's running well I doubt there is any reason to worry about metal in the oil. That assuming they have been driving it the past 2-3 years since the turbo was replaced.

 

Or is it, oh since replacing the turbo we don't drive it, sorry we thought you knew that, before you bought it?

No, they have been driving it. So thats a good sign. Step 1 is gonna be that banjo bolt and maybe shaft play check. Ill be stoked if all i have to worry about is a suspension bushing and brakes refresh.

So the plot thickens. My uncle was gonna bring the car to me today, but dead battery. According to him, battery was replaced at the beginning of the year, and car had only sat for 4 days. He says car starts fine if driven daily. so unless the battery is having trouble maintaining charge, i may be looking at a parasitic draw. Im hoping its just a dome light left on.

Do the 05's have that awkwardly placed parking light switch on the steering column? That's a pretty common cause of dead batteries in the 08-09's.

Didn't you used to be a Subaru tech?

Is there a light in the trunk ? I bitched at my wagon all last winter because the rear dome light didn't work. When it warmed up in April I took the bulb out to replaced it and realized I had turned it off last Fall when I had the hatch open for a day. LOL

 

May be the light is left on.

 

Oh, Battery's don't last forever, someone else here had a 1y/o battery fail too.

Didn't you used to be a Subaru tech?

 

Yes. Subaru/Lincoln/Mercury, emphasis on Lincoln/mercury. I got out of the game in 2005 before i got much experience on the EJ25T motors and their issues over the long term. I know the chassis like the back of my hand though. Most of the block failures iver only read or experienced second hand, and i dont have the facilities to do a rebuild personally. Thats why im hoping the block/turbo are sound. i can deal with everything else in an afternoon.

Is there a light in the trunk ? I bitched at my wagon all last winter because the rear dome light didn't work. When it warmed up in April I took the bulb out to replaced it and realized I had turned it off last Fall when I had the hatch open for a day. LOL

 

May be the light is left on.

 

Oh, Battery's don't last forever, someone else here had a 1y/o battery fail too.

 

i hope its not a draw. I really hate pulling fuses and blowing out my multimeter. Still have yet to see the car. i should get my first look on Thursday now.

I would send an oil sample to an oil analysis company to check for metal. That will answer the big question. 70K? Record low around here?? Glad to hear its still in the fam.

^definitely will be doing that. yeah, im told its around 67k miles.

If it's been through few teens, they may have added some gizmos to it that run directly from battery. Had to clean up tons of bad wiring from 93 Camry I bought from a college kid a while back...

^that has not happened. car is Bone stock

OK. got my first look at the car. Body is very rough to say the least. Pics are posted below. No CEL since the battery drain had cleared the ECU. Luckily the cause of the drain was just both map lights being on.

 

Engine and transmission feel good. Brakes are shot and there is wheel bearing noise. Interior is ok with a couple issues like the front cloth seats being stained and missing cup holder in the rear. Everything works otherwise.

 

I wonder what this car is actually worth if it can be brought up to snuff mechanically.

Yeah, that looks pretty rough around the edges. How many miles are on it?

67,1xx mi

very low miles.

I can see why a dealer would have "low balled" him. Maybe it was a very reasonable price based on the condition of the car.

 

So what are you thinking now for your plans on this, help fix it up and sell or buy it for your own use? Do you think you'd daily drive?

 

Engine might not need work. But that's a lot of investment needed to fix up the body work.

for sure. the dealer lowball was $2k. as a kept DD, its worth more than that. Even as a parts car its worth more than 2k.

 

Im not sure what the plan is. Thats whay im posting. To get feedback.

That's low mileage for sure. Body's in rough shape, but if the internals/tranny are still fine, with a precautionary check on the banjo bolts filters + compression test, it wouldn't take much to get it up to speed mechanically with new pads, rotors, and bearings. It'd be a fun ride to keep around, and you could slowly replace the busted body with parts from you-picks.

 

It also depends on how much they're trying to sell for.

Is there any rust? I have seen worse for Jersey. That looks pretty straight to me. Sure it has battle scars but nothing too bad. I would buy it.

What's the realistic figure that your uncle wants to sell it for to a private party if you don't end up buying it?

 

How much would he sell it to you for?

 

IF the mechanical stuff checks out fine and the price is right, so you can take care of the body work, I don't see why you shouldn't buy it. The question would then be, do you want to deal with the body work.