Looking at two imprezas. Help with which one!

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Hi guys,

I'm looking at two older Subaru imprezas and need some advice.

Car 1:

2004 impreza 2.5TS Auto air, pretty basic. 60k miles and in decent shape body wise.

The car is getting its valve cover gasket done, and has had its head gasket done. Drives great! The dealer is willing to do the timing belt included in the $7500

Car 2 Impreza outback sport. 5 Spd air, heated seats.

95k miles great shape with a very small rust spot on the drivers quarter. It needs a timing belt and has a small seepage from the drivers head gasket.

The dealer has said he'd give me a powertrain warranty that he's had good feeback on that covers gaskets and seals for two years, for an extra 1k and will also do the timing belt on it. for $6700 I could probably get him to nick the rust spot before delivery.

Which would you guys lean towards? either, neither? lol

Both drive well, although I prefer the outback with the stick, the k's on the TS are excellent.

Thanks for any votes.
 
If I were to go from either one of the two, I would go with the first one. The second one will cost $200 more right off the bat with the warranty, not including the cost of the timing chain.. Plus you need to account for the mileage difference IMO. Personally for me, I hate driving stick in traffic sometimes, but you may not have to worry about that up there.
 
Are both cars available with a warranty? Does the warranty only cover gaskets and seals? If so for $1,000 that's kinda stupid.

I'd go for car #1, it's got 35k miles less, already has the head gasket changed and the timing belt and sounds like it won't be a rust bucket as soon as the other.
 
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Originally Posted By: NeilR
I'd get the one with the manual, especially if the HG can be replaced for free.
It's not necessarily free if he has to pay for the warranty to get it done
spankme2.gif
. I heard of too many horror stories with those types of warranties and people ending up paying out of pocket regardless. But hey, maybe his area is better with their warranties.
 
Never ever buy a a car with visible body rust unless you are shopping for a demolition derby entrant. Rust on a car is cancer and what you can see is usually just the tip of the iceberg. Don't do it. Period end of story.
 
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Tough call. Auto is a deal-breaker IMO, but so is a known-faulty head gasket.
frown.gif


Does it have to be one of these two cars? If so, can you weasel a head gasket replacement for the 5-speed? Make sure it's both sides, not just the one that's visibly failing.
 
60k and already a head gasket replaced? Is that normal? If possible check color of tranny fluid and try to take a peek under valve cover gasket to see if lack of maintance was present. Hard to see why a head gasket went unless someone ran it hot; its a Subaru and should run forever.
 
Subaru weepy head gaskets are the norm on these years,even my '95 legacy wagon (119k) weeps,and despite that uses no noticeable oil between oci's.It's got nothing to do with lack of maintenance ,just the H-4 design i guess.I'm not gonna even worry about mine. it's a work beater that's all.
 
Originally Posted By: lugNutz
Originally Posted By: NeilR
I'd get the one with the manual, especially if the HG can be replaced for free.
It's not necessarily free if he has to pay for the warranty to get it done
spankme2.gif
. I heard of too many horror stories with those types of warranties and people ending up paying out of pocket regardless. But hey, maybe his area is better with their warranties.


Thanks guys, I'd forgotten how much I like this site, a quick question and two pages of responses the next morning. Sorry I've been a fair weather friend, it's been an interesting year for us!

That was actually my worry with this type of warranty.

Both are '04's and now theres a new player in the mix. It's an '03 with 100k 4800 no rust, timing belt done and dry as a bone. It's also a 2.5TS but with a 5 spd.

If it's as clean as she says, we may have a winner.

Thanks for the input guys, I'll let you know how things pan out.

Ryan
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Tough call. Auto is a deal-breaker IMO, but so is a known-faulty head gasket.
frown.gif


Does it have to be one of these two cars? If so, can you weasel a head gasket replacement for the 5-speed? Make sure it's both sides, not just the one that's visibly failing.


Doodfood, haven't been on in a while, and noticed your current ride. I sat in an R3 a couple of years ago. Really nice RX8 those seats are insane!
 
The first car would be the one to buy of these two.
The automatic is pretty unbreakable and probably even has a drain plug and a spin-on filter.
This is not a sporty, fast shifting tranny, but it'll last the life of the car with no problem.
 
Originally Posted By: ryan2022
Originally Posted By: lugNutz
Originally Posted By: NeilR
I'd get the one with the manual, especially if the HG can be replaced for free.
It's not necessarily free if he has to pay for the warranty to get it done
spankme2.gif
. I heard of too many horror stories with those types of warranties and people ending up paying out of pocket regardless. But hey, maybe his area is better with their warranties.


Thanks guys, I'd forgotten how much I like this site, a quick question and two pages of responses the next morning. Sorry I've been a fair weather friend, it's been an interesting year for us!

That was actually my worry with this type of warranty.

Both are '04's and now theres a new player in the mix. It's an '03 with 100k 4800 no rust, timing belt done and dry as a bone. It's also a 2.5TS but with a 5 spd.

If it's as clean as she says, we may have a winner.

Thanks for the input guys, I'll let you know how things pan out.

Ryan


Good luck! But I'd still count on a head gasket in the near future if it hasn't been done before. Sounds nice otherwise.
thumbsup2.gif
 
Thanks guys, if this white one doesn't fly, I'm leaning towards the red one. It's not a rocket, but I don't really want it to be with all the ways we have in the west to get a ticket!

I'll keep you posted!
 
Be aware that on some subarus it's common to have the clutch throw out bearing/release bearing go bad before 100k, and to replace it you basicaly have to complete clutch job which is more expensive on subarus. I'd go to a impreza forum and see if this is true for the years you're looking at.
 
Originally Posted By: sxg6
Be aware that on some subarus it's common to have the clutch throw out bearing/release bearing go bad before 100k, and to replace it you basicaly have to complete clutch job which is more expensive on subarus. I'd go to a impreza forum and see if this is true for the years you're looking at.


I too would avoid a higher mileage, unknown care Subaru 5spd. I'd try for a 2.0 over the 2.5L, a 4EAT AT, and one thing I don't see being addressed here is the wonderful rear subframe. Body panel rust can be just the tip of the iceberg with Soobies. If the body is rough, the rear subframe is probably Swiss cheese. They're totally replaceable, but not without some cursing, knuckle-busting and $$$.
 
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