YACT: I'm going to put a deposit down today

[Pliablemoose]

jumpr, sorry man, I really like to dicker prices, some folks don't.

I don't percieve lowballing the price an insult, it's just a tactic. I've never had luck with offering a price & sticking with it...

Definitely fun a CarFax on any used car, I've been burned once & wife has been burned once, sucks majorly...

 

[Jejunum]

hey definately check the oil for anysigns of coolant. let it run and see if there are any obvious coolant leaks..

u are looking for the signs of a blow head gasket:
Also, once the radiator is full as well as the overflow (to the lines) check the overflow bottle while the engine is hot and running.

If you see bubbles in the tank (with the cap off) you, my friend, have blown a set of headgaskets (join the friggin club)


Ways to tell if your HG is gone (car does NOT have to show any more than ONE of these):

1. You are loosing coolant somewhere and there are no visible leaks at the hoses.

2. You are loosing an excessive amount of oil and it is not leaking out on the ground (also a sign of bad rings and many other things).

3. Your car gets really hot (not neccessarily overheating) when run. (This was my first sign for those that remember... but it was because my coolant was low).

4. You have water [coolant] mixed in with your oil.

5. You have exhaust gases coming out of your cooling system (overflow bottle or radiator).

6. You have condensed coolant at your exhaust tip (mine had it... weird to see green back there).

 

Originally posted by: freebee

Originally posted by: jumpr
Also, there is still another year of the 5-year, 60,000 mile powertrain warranty on the vehicle, FYI.

Make sure you get the coolant additive to get your warranty extended to 8 years/100k miles (for external headgaskets)......the 2.5 overall is an ok engine, but some of the mechanical troubles are disturbing.

At least the legacy doesnt suffer from wheel bearing probs of many other subies, though the center diff is just as weak....remember not to do handbrake turns in an awd car unless you can release the center diff, I fried mine trying to do rally car impressions.

All of these issues were fixed with newer generation 2.5h subaru engines. But yes the 2000's still had the HG problem.

 

[LAUST]

Originally posted by: flot
It all depends on whether or not their "asking price" of $11,990 is reasonable or not. Also where you found the asking price - was that online or was that the first number the salesguy said to you?

The price on the window of the last used car I bought was (I think) $17,900. The price listed on the internet "that's as low as we can possibly go" was $16,500.

I bought it for $15,200. Let them know you're interested, let them know you're serious, and then make an offer that is reasonable for the vehicle. Don't be afraid to walk away if they want too much.

Listen to this man... you can do MUCH better then $900 off, I don't care if the car is spotless, they bought that car from some poor sap for $5000 less then that sticker easily, I know I worked for a dealership for a short time (built their network)

 

[RossMAN]

Wow 32k miles for a 4 year old car is nice.

I agree with the others LOW BALL them, as long as you can go (without blatantly insulting them).

 

[Antisocial Virge]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: ElFenix
have you taken it to a decent mechanic and had it looked at?

I was planning on running a CarFax...but do you think this is an imperative step, considering the mileage?

Last car we got for the wife, the dealership ran one when we were standing there. Didn't even have to ask.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Antisocial-Virge

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: ElFenix
have you taken it to a decent mechanic and had it looked at?

I was planning on running a CarFax...but do you think this is an imperative step, considering the mileage?

Last car we got for the wife, the dealership ran one when we were standing there. Didn't even have to ask.

Oh I misread earlier. Having a mechanic check it out is not necessarily imperative, but a carfax is, especially since it's only $20-25.