'03 Legacy wagon or '05 Tribute?

My auto ADD has reared it's head again and I am looking at wagons. I know somewhat the pros and cons of each of these 2, but would like to hear from others here.

Legacy is an automatic equipped "multi-owner" car with 60K on it and will probably need the head gaskets done in a year, maybe 2, is there any other maintenance job that is best combined with this repair? Best brand of gaskets for the heads?

Tribute is also AWD, it's powered by the 3 liter V6 so it has the 4 speed automatic. CarFax says it's a one owner with mileage about 52K at present. It will gulp down more gas than the Legacy, but since the Legacy will need those pesky heads looked into, it's almost a toss-up.

Prices? The older Legacy is about $2K cheaper than the Tribute and I'd be leaning to the Subie if it wasn't painted that medium green that 99% of Legacy wagons (seem to have been, or) were painted 10 years ago...yeah, dumb reason.

Ideally, I would go for a smallish to medium sized wagon SUV / CUV with a manual trans. if they weren't so hard to find. I tell myself that these / either one, would be easier to "dump" with their more popular automatics when I tire of them.

do not overestimate the MPG of the sube. likewise, do not underestimate the MPG of the tribute.

sube has lower ride height, and is a car-like car. tribute wants to be an SUV, so step-in is higher and ride is choppier.

integraguy wrote: Ideally, I would go for a smallish to medium sized wagon SUV / CUV with a manual trans. if they weren't so hard to find. I tell myself that these / either one, would be easier to "dump" with their more popular automatics when I tire of them.

I just bought a manual trans '03 Saturn Vue. Details in here.

From '02 through '07 Saturn made the plastic paneled Vue with a 2.2L 4cyl and an available 5 speed. They are surprisingly readily available. Samples near you from a very quick CL search.
http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/cto/3983995913.html
http://daytona.craigslist.org/cto/3990483255.html
http://daytona.craigslist.org/cto/3987338167.html
http://staugustine.craigslist.org/cto/3969293403.html
http://daytona.craigslist.org/cto/3927582043.html
http://daytona.craigslist.org/cto/3945108786.html

Here is what you need to know:
All manual trans cars are fwd only.

In '02 and '03 the 2.2L engine has a known issue of bad chain guides and chain tensioner. If oil change intervals are neglected, sludge will clog the small openings and the chain will get oil starved. If the chain breaks, it is an interference design. By '04, this issue was resolved. My advise is to avoid an '02 and '03 unless you can confirm the engine has been replaced with '04 or newer. There is a kit so that you can proactively correct the issues in an early engine if you wish.

From '02 till '05, all 4cyl automatics were a CVT. This was a GM experiment that failed. The trans will fail. All you can do is replace it with the same design that will fail too. Used units are $2k, just for the parts! As such, Junk Yards are filled with auto trans cars waiting to donate good body and interior parts.
For '06 and '07 the 4 cyl auto became a reliable 4 speed unit used also in the Cobalt/Malibu/Alero, etc.

From '02 to '03 the 6 cyl is an 3.0L Opel design that has a bad reputation. All are automatics.
From '04 to '07 the 6 cyl is a 3.5L Honda design but can suffer from auto trans issues like the Odessey.

In short, '04 through '07 can be the best choices for 4 cyl manual. The '04 and '05 have an older looking interior. Major update for '06 and '07.

The Vue is a simple car that is not as glamorous or luxurious as its competitors but it will be priced much lower too. I have only had mine for two weeks and I was gone (not driving it) for a week. It seems that 26 mpg combined is realistic.
They sell real slow. That can help you get the price down to where you want to buy but it also may mean tough to unload if you want out. The secret seems to be to buy it as low as possible.
As an example, just look at how old some of the CL listings are.

In my research phase, I enjoyed reading and gained knowledge from this guy's post on the Saturn Forum. http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179381

It will gulp down more gas than the Legacy, but since the Legacy will need those pesky heads looked into, it's almost a toss-up.

IIRC isnt the tribute just as likely to snap a trans pump shaft, or strip the converter splines, or E36 M3 out the converter seal, as the suby is to blow headgaskets? That's a bigger deal, in my mind.

SIL had an Escape, functionally the same truck as a tribute. It was a nice little trucklet.... If that was my bag I'd not mind one.

JohnRW1621,

Thanks for all the info. I do notice Vues every now and then and figured they were being driven by folks who got tricked into buying an SUV at a killer price but then found out the low price didn't make the Vue into a bargain.

I keep going back and forth between buying as new as possible and just finding something that is going to be driveable for a few years without bankrupting me.

IF, if, I thought I was going to buy a Vue, the "logical" but GRM part of me says look for a RedLine. I've actually seen a GreenLine, or two in the last few months but think that the 4 cylinder manual route is the best (and it appeals to the desire in me to go for the oddball answer).

I have found a Forester or 2 but I'm going to check out at least a few of these Vues, first.

i bought my 02 legacy 2.5gt wagon as a one owner car with decent maintenance recoreds at 99k. the head gaskets were weeping a little then (externally).

now, at 152k, i STILL havent done them, and they have not chanegd teh level of weeping.

it gets 20-23mpg no matter how its driven, or what fuel is in it.

id buy another one in a skinny minute.

michael

I have an '01 Outback, which is the same as an '03 Legacy wagon, but with a 1" body lift. Mine needed head gaskets at 125k when I bought it. I replaced them and did the clutch and timing belt at the same time. I'm now at something like 189k and it hasn't needed anything except CV boots and a wheel bearing (presumably my fault for not torquing the axle nut all the way).

Gas mileage sucks though. 20 - 24 mpg. It did a little better without my roof basket on it.

Tons of fun at track days, autoX and rallyX, despite being bone stock.

Unfortunately a slushbox is going to hurt your gas mileage and fun factor...

id rather have a VUE than either one of those.

theres a gazzillion escapes at the auction every week. lots of bad transmissions, not that its there only weakness.

i feel the subarus are overpriced for what you get. mileage isnt much better, price is higher, and i see plenty of them well and truely broken too.