43K original mile LGT Manual Wagon...what's it worth?

Hi all,

 

I have a bit of a mongrel on my hands......I've come here to seek any advice I may potentially be able to get.

 

Here's the story:

 

I currently have a manual 2005 Legacy GT Limited Wagon (BSM/Black leather). I've had the car three years, two of which it has not moved. Less than six months into ownership, I was diagnosed with ringland failure, likely due to a bad tune and garbage side feed injectors that were installed before I bought the car (little did I know). I bought the car from a dealer in IL, who I later went to court with and LOST due to an incredibly shitty IL law that protects shady dealers like the one I purchased the car from. It's a long story I'd rather not get into on a forum post, but if you'd like to learn more, PM me and I'd be happy to recount my unpleasant experience. In any case, I want this thing out of my life.

 

 

Here's where I'm at today: I have what I believe is the lowest mile LGT manual wagon. The car has now been sitting for two years- it ran when parked since I installed stock injectors, and I had actually just driven the car 600 miles from MI to CT on the bad motor.

 

I'm trying to wrap my head around what a car like this is worth and what I should do with it. Would it be better to:

 

A. Sell as is

B. Put a used motor in

C. Put a new (built?) motor in

D. Buy a car with an already built motor to swap in

 

At this point, I'm looking for the most cost effective way of dealing with this situation. And if you've read this far, thank you

 

Cheers,

ekimp

Edited August 12, 2019 by ekimp

The big thing is going to be condition of the body. You’re mentioning a lot of rust belt states in your post. Low mileage doesn’t necessary mean a clean car coming out of IL.

 

 

The car is maybe worth 3k with a bad motor. Any used motor is probably going to have more than 43k miles on it, so that doesn’t make much sense. A full rebuild is probably 6k. If the car is super clean with a good fresh rebuild it might be worth just over 10k, assuming it’s all stock. The only way to really get your money out of it is it rebuild it and drive it for the next 5+ years. If not, just sell it as is and cut your losses.

The big thing is going to be condition of the body. You’re mentioning a lot of rust belt states in your post. Low mileage doesn’t necessary mean a clean car coming out of IL.

 

 

The car is maybe worth 3k with a bad motor. Any used motor is probably going to have more than 43k miles on it, so that doesn’t make much sense. A full rebuild is probably 6k. If the car is super clean with a good fresh rebuild it might be worth just over 10k, assuming it’s all stock. The only way to really get your money out of it is it rebuild it and drive it for the next 5+ years. If not, just sell it as is and cut your losses.

 

Before me, the car was owned by a collector and I believe it only sat outside in my ownership and was under a weather proof cover- it is NOT a bucket.

 

I agree with you on the current value, but I think you could be off on rebuild value. The reason I ask about the rebuild at all is because I've been seeing stuff like this cross Bring a Trailer with low miles go well into the 20s (see: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2008-subaru-forester-sports-xt-3/ ). I know these are not the same cars, but both were made in similar numbers for the US market. I'm not claiming equal value here on my car, but definitely more than $10K.

Edited August 12, 2019 by ekimp

can you post a photo of the wagon?

I don't have anything current unfortunately- I live 3000 miles away from the car now. But here are a few older ones:

 

When I bought it (interior didn't change much over 8K miles):

Edited August 12, 2019 by ekimp

did the forester come in world rally blue?? Is that a custom paint job?

Read my click here link in my sig. Good info on doing it right the first time.

 

Put a new ej257 short bock in after having the heads checked by a good machine shop. Talk with a good Tuner, there are two we recommend to have the car run reliable for many years.

do you want to sell or keep the car?

If the car is in as good a shape as the photos suggest, order up a new OEM shortblock from Heubergers Subaru in Colorado, $1800 shipped to your door, have the heads checked and cleaned, and then keep or sell for most likely a pretty good price. Your color and trim package is certainly a sought after combo but it’s worth keeping in mind that the size of the market seeking these cars is pretty small. For the right buyer with fresh mechanicals, I would think you’d do ok if you don’t want to keep it

Is it me or is that wagon lowered ?

 

If you buy a ej257, get the engine gasket set for your year car.

 

Make sure the oil pan is cleaned as well as the valve covers by the machine shop in they hot tank.

 

new oil pump and maybe oil cooler. That cooler for $235. is cheap insurance over the long run.

 

I have over 125,000 trouble free miles on my ej257.

I personally think the car could be worth as much as $4-5k in its current condition but only if you can find the right buyer. These cars are hard to find and yours is very clean. It depends on how quickly you want to sell.

 

Sure it has ringland failure but it still runs so the existing motor may be worth something to part out or rebuild for the right person. So that holds decent value, even in its current condition, as the person who buys it has something to build from or to sell to help fund their build.

 

The rest of it looks damn near immaculate. The interior is pristine, the exterior looks great. I can't imagine it is rotten underneath.

 

There is a lot of peace of mind to know that you can do the motor work and the car is ready to go...

 

As far as rebuild value it is hard to say. The problem you run into is that everyone has their own vision. If you rebuild to stock and then try to sell for 10-12k, the guy who wants to put a built motor in it is no longer interested for that price. If you build it and try to sell for 15-18k, the guy who is afraid of aftermarket reliability or wants an OEM collector item is off the table.

 

Those are some of the numbers I would put on a car like this though. Whether or not you find a buyer with those numbers is another story. Again, it depends on how quickly you are looking to offload it.

 

Thats just my opinion though. I have seen these cars in the 10-20k range with 60-80k miles depending on what is under the hood. Whether or not they sell at those prices I don't know. I bought mine for just over $4k with 145k in running and driving condition but the body has some rust. 5k later it needs a motor.

 

I would pay $3k for yours for sure. More if I was actually looking for one and in a better position to buy.

thanks for the quick response on the clean photos.

 

decide on an asking price.

 

good luck on your decision.

Thank you all for the responses- I greatly appreciate it.

 

At this point I have no interest in keeping the car- damn shame, because if I lived in any other state other than CA I wouldn't even think about it. But I don't even want to begin to think about getting this thing to pass smog. Not to mention, I also already have three temperamental BMWs and one Mercedes to deal with.

 

The car is currently in CT and I will probably have a friend go over soon and try to clean the car up and get it out of its dormant state. Perhaps you'll see it up here for sale soon.

 

PS: To whoever asked- yes, the car is lowered on KW coils (I believe V1s). The thing was a monster handler in it's prime, truly fantastic car to drive.

Edited August 12, 2019 by ekimp

The body and interior look to be in really good shape. But low mileage or not, it's got a bad engine and has been sitting for 2 years. I'm not trying to knock your car it is nice and all please don't think I'm talking crap, but even if kept in a garage who knows what else is wrong with it after 2 years. Bushings could be dried out, tires could have flat spots, brakes sticking, mouse nests, etc. Yeah that's impressively low mileage, but realistically I'd rather have a well maintained car with 85k on it and still in good shape than a slightly lower mileage one that's just been sitting there. We're not talking the difference between 200k and 10k here, sure your car has very low mileage, but you can still find these things well under 100k, it's not that impressive. I bet you can still get a decent amount for it because "wow low miles" is a huge selling point to some people, but realistically it's a car with a bad engine that's been sitting. You can certainly get a few grand for it, but it's not like collector car status, don't start seeing dollar signs just yet. If your friend is able to go through it and make sure there's no gremlins left from sitting it will be worth more, but at the end of the day the engine is still blown.

 

If you want to put $3-5k+ into it to fix/replace the engine properly you'll get a little more profit, but is it worth your time? If you sell it for $3-4k the way it sits, or if you put $4k into it and sell it for $8-9k, is all that time and effort really worth it for an extra grand? You said it yourself you just want to get rid of it and move on, go ahead and sell the car as it sits and just be done with it.

 

At the end of the day it's really up to you, but seeing how the car is clear across the country, it really seems easier to just take what you can get and walk away.

If i weren't so wrapped up in my current build, I would definitely toss you 2-3k for it as is. Basically the car is a paper weight without a healthy motor... the motor is probably worth more than the car. You can get these cars with blown motors for 1.5k+, and a complete working used motor is worth around 3k+. That's your real dilemma, the most valuable part of the car is shot. The bigger thing is who would do the work, if you have to pay a premium for labor, it makes no sense to fix it and sell it. Edited August 13, 2019 by Tehnation

Bad motor is definitely a problem. With car that sat 2 years without moving you are likely looking at dealing with brakes too. So the 43K mileage is a good news for body and interior in this case, tranny too.

 

 

I'd say you will need to look for a proper buyer to get some good money for it.

Gee what town in CT ?

 

If I was looking for a project...but at my old age, not sure I want one.

lol, all this talk about wagons, makes me want to get one. But I need to actually finish my 1st project before taking on another paper weight... I can't have two useless cars in my driveway...

 

you're never to old... just will it!

perhaps jay leno will come around ....hihihi!

Gee what town in CT ?

 

If I was looking for a project...but at my old age, not sure I want one.

 

 

I'll go halfsies with you.

 

 

OP, pictures of the undercarriage eventually will help as well. That interior looks pristine, btw.

Edited August 14, 2019 by Enlight

Before me, the car was owned by a collector and I believe it only sat outside in my ownership and was under a weather proof cover- it is NOT a bucket.

 

I agree with you on the current value, but I think you could be off on rebuild value. The reason I ask about the rebuild at all is because I've been seeing stuff like this cross Bring a Trailer with low miles go well into the 20s (see: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2008-subaru-forester-sports-xt-3/ ). I know these are not the same cars, but both were made in similar numbers for the US market. I'm not claiming equal value here on my car, but definitely more than $10K.

 

1 of 240 for the FXT 5MT is a lot different than 1 of 1500 for the 2005. (That car has a bunch of mods) Even though many refer to the 4th Gen LGT Wagon 5MT as unicorn, it is not really that rare in term of Subaru productions numbers. Spec B are rarer (last year 113) , 2007 LGT wagon are rarer (161), FXT 5MT are rarer, the 5th Gen GT are rarer (last year 227). Even the 2009 LGT are rare even when combining automatic and manuals (832).

 

There was a 2005 LGT 5MT that sold a few years ago with a little over 10k miles, so I doubt yours is the lowest.

 

The under carriage picture will help determine if it has seen winters. Seller lie all the time (especially dealers will tell you anything), I have seen owners claim 100% rust free and they are only talking about the top side body panels. I inquired about a 30K mileage OBXT, it turned it out was only driven winters and the owner drove his Porsche's the rest of the year. It was a rust bucket underneath, it was stored outside on the side his garage for rest of the year. The cover will help the paint, but it will also trap moisture under the vehicle. Hopefully it was stored on pavement.

 

A clean example of 2005 Legacy GT Wagon 5MT could bring over 10k, but the condition has to match the mileage. Sitting can ruin the brakes, tires and dry up seals. IMO I doubt it would bring more than 15k even if it was immaculate.

Subscribed. Interested in how this goes.

1500 5mt wagons at the beginning. An awful lot have been parted and crushed. Some of the rare combos are probably in the single digits at this point.

For what it's worth I just bought mine with 56k original miles on it for a little over $11k from a reputable dealer. They put 3K into repairing it (what it would have cost an average joe for repairs done) prior to purchase. Mine's also in (what I consider) excellent shape - garage kept, meticulously maintained (3 page carfax), two small dings on pass door, 1 small accident in the pass front which was repaired and disclosed on CarFax, cosmetic, no structural damage, airbags didn't deploy. It's an auto, limited model, leather, no cracks in upholstery. I'm new to turbo subarus but I'd agree with SageAbkatsor, $4-5k if you're lucky and someone's willing to pay that. If it had a new motor, definitely more, but I wouldn't say much more than $10k. When I bought mine it booked around $7k with mileage and condition - but I also beat out 4-5 other people wanting to buy it and another salesman walking in the door with a customer on the phone trying to get a deposit down on the car to reserve it, with my salesguy waiting on a call back for a deposit. I'm sure there were some salty people that day, lol.

There's still people who want these cars, but with it needing a new motor, it's going to be someone who's willing to put in the work (or pay for it), and that'll narrow down the field of perspective buyers if someone's just looking for a reliable daily. Maybe try $4-5k OBO...if it's around $6k for a new motor install you're right at $10k which is a good deal for a good, reliable car that's easy to work on that'll put a smile on your face every time you get behind the wheel. Eat that, Audi. LOL.