The AUSubaru.com.au Forums

Hi all

I have been reading up on here for the last couple of weeks as I am in the market for a second car and I am seriously considering a GEN 3 outback.

I (and my wife ) currently drive a new WRX, so we are fans of Subaru's already. We are after a second car that we can tow a trailer ( building a house so lots of trips to collect soil,wood and other stuff ) a car that we can throw stuff in a large boot and no have to worry about staining the leather in our good car. I also ride mountain bikes, so it would be great to have a car I can take onto dirt roads and not have to worry about doing a little damage to the paint work etc ( and possiblity going on a trip to some interesting parts of Australia that I have never been to )

So, I am thinking about a gen 3 outback.

Just wondering what other people have paid for one recently or what you guys think I should pay?

I am ideally looking for a white one ( I love them ) I don't really mind if it's a manual or auto ( is there a reibability issue with eaither one/ ) and would perfer that it had a two bar already fitted. I am looking for a complete service history but as I am trying to spend as little as possible dont mind higher kms (200,000kms plus)

there seems to be two brackets, cars that have done 220,000 plus kms and are between 6 - 8k and cars that are around 170,000 kms that are 8 -11k I figure I would rather one that has had the 200,000km service and was a little cheaper than a more expensive car that required it within a year or two of me buying it.

I have read about the head gasket issues - a couple of people I have contacted about their cars ( 240,000kms ish ) said that they have not had to replace anything major.... is this a good sign - what else should I be looking for/

Idealy I am looking at spending around 6k - is that dreaming or should I spend a little more and get a "better car"..... maybe get a gen 4?

any advice would be great.

Hopefully I get one soonish and I can become an active member here

You should be able to get a high mileage (>250ks) for around $5k. Don't worry about the mileage - Subies are well built and don't show their age. And if it does turn out to be a bit too tired you can then justify a V3 STi turbo conversion
Keep your eye on ebay - lots of bargains - just get the car checked over before you bid.

I love white ones too

what engine are you looking for? Flat4 or
Flat6?

Cheers,
Sam

H-top wrote:I love white ones too

what engine are you looking for? Flat4 or
Flat6?

Cheers,
Sam

probably just a flat 4 simply because there are more of them around. Saying that if I saw a H6 for the right price I would snap it up ( i LOVE the momo wheel that comes with them as well )

lucky for me there seems to be a lot of white ones out there. There is a greem model that is for sale ( 5mins from me ) that is perfect, 160,000kms and serviced at the local place I would go to.... it's green tho - it's killing me

What about a nice Gen 2 GT wagon in Blue - low k's and in good cond for $5k : http://www.rslibertyclub.org/forums/sho ... hp?t=92502

remember the 2.5 have head gasket issues

I have owned a H6 from new ( now sold ) possably the best car I have ever owned.

The Gen2 Outback and RX liberties with the DOHC 2.5 NA engines were the ones with the head gasket issues.

I paid $10,000 for my Gen3 2.5 Limited (leather, sunroofs, 6 stacker) about 18 months ago with 170,000kms on the clock. At the time, they were going in dealerships for around the $14,000 mark.

I'd look at - besides the usual tyres, oil/coolant leaks etc;
* DMF (Dual Mass Flywheel) - they squeak and induce clutch shudder. A new DMF is $1880, or a conversion kit (solid flywheel and clutch kit to suit) is $1k from Subaru.
* Head Gaskets - yes the earlier DOHC are more common to blow, but they do still go on those motors, climb under the car and see if oil is pissing out of them.
* Centre diff - go for a decent drive (15 mins minimum), put it in reverse and turn the wheel full lock (like you going to swing it in to park somewhere), if its stuffed it will bind up, clunk around and not really want to go backwards, about $1500 to replace.

And FWIW, I paid $10k for mine about 4 yrs ago, had nearly 200k on it and I've since had to do all 3 of the above.

yep best test drive technique is to put the car through a hard slog
When my sister in law looked at the suzuki swift sport the other day we rocked it up a local stretch of race way to me, 60kmh to 110 country roads, off onto some dirt roads (dealer wasnt too happy about having to detail the car again) basically fun rally run which is what the car would be used for

thanks for the reply's guys - much appreciated.

I have just started looking so I will see what comes up. I have noticed some high km Gen 4's getting around for around 13k - 14k - if I could get them down a little more they could also been an option for me... what to do, what to do

This could be an absolute bargain, comes up on Thurs, low K's, full service history, lots of rego, tow bar, good tyres, all keys, it's a bit scruffy but it's only going to be a work horse so who cares. And it might go for around the 3g mark.....or less but the wrong colour.

http://www.pickles.com.au/cars/vehicle/ ... -402110669

d_generate wrote:This could be an absolute bargain, comes up on Thurs, low K's, full service history, lots of rego, tow bar, good tyres, all keys, it's a bit scruffy but it's only going to be a work horse so who cares. And it might go for around the 3g mark.....or less but the wrong colour.

http://www.pickles.com.au/cars/vehicle/ ... -402110669

do you really think it could go for that cheap? 3k?