Impreza Wagon Opinions?

Going to look at a 2002 Impreza Wagon tomorrow. The car has 166,000 miles and an autotragic transmission. Body looks good from the picture he sent me. He said it needs a wheel bearing which i understand is pretty common on these cars. Also said it has some light body damage, we'll see what that means.

He's looking for $2500, which seems really cheap. Said he was going to trade it in towards a new car but would sell it for that instead (im assuming trade in price must be pretty crappy). I'd be using it as a people mover and part time paper delivery car.

What's the GRM opinion?

thanks!

Jacques

Wheel bearings were more common on the older cars but should be OK by 2002, though with 166k on the clock it could have earned a bad WB by now.

I had a 110k 2.2-powered '98 which was replaced by a 70k 2.5-powered '02. In both cases the automatics seem solid and shift fine, even though they may not be engineering's gift to automatics. The naturally aspirated 2.5 is a much better match to an autobox than it is to the WRX's turbo 2.0. You won't have any driveability worries as a DD. One thing to look for is the AT Temp light being on - that can indicated non-cheap repairs to the transfer case clutch packs are required.

The '02 has a Gen II 2.5 which may still get headgasket issues but they are popularly held to be a small external leak rather than the large internal one in the older 2.5s. The Subaru TSB calls for a can of dealer-issue sealer/conditioner to cure the problem. At 70k mine does not seem to have the problem (yet?).

Overall it is a decent, highly functional little runabout that should last you a while. Mine is a TS wagon I bought for my daughter as a daily but I drive it sometimes just for a switch.

These things hold their value but $2500 seems a little rich for a car on the high side of 150k. Lower mileage will cost more but maybe you can jack him down a little.

As the semi-proud owner of a '02 Impreza TS, I must say that I flat out like the 2.2 powered cars better. As a driver, the 2.5TS is just fine, but doesn't wear it's weight well. Good all around car, an absolute snow warrior, easy to fix, rarely needs much work, reasonable gas mileage. Here in New England we're absolutely drowning in Subarus, and that price would be $800-1000 high.

ValuePack wrote: Here in New England we're absolutely drowning in Subarus, and that price would be $800-1000 high.

Ship some my way please!! Reasonably priced Subarus simply don't exist here. The only other one in my price range in the area posted in the past 3 weeks had a pretty horrific noise coming from the transmission when i checked it out.

For whatever reason if wagon and/or AWD are involved it makes for a pricey car around here.

thanks!

Jacques

That doesn't seem cheap to me either. That's a lot of miles for any car.

I disagree on the price thing. Maybe it's where you're standing vs the supply. I had very little trouble selling our 217,000 mile basic 1996 Impreza sedan for $2500. The sample car above would probably bring $3500 around here no problem.

If you don't mind a drive to philly, I know one that I believe is still for sale, its a 95, 2.2 motor with 5 speed, for $500...

Andrew

Ok, just got back from a test drive. Overall the car seemed pretty nice, but there were a few problems.

1. Check engine light is on.

2. Small oil leak.

3. The most worrisome, i don't think the wheel bearing is the problem. Rather than the buzzing noise i associate with a wheel bearing, i got more of a clunk sometimes when turning and a slightly wobbly steering wheel at freeway speeds. I'm thinking ball joint/tie rod, any other opinions? It "clunked" (more felt than heard) when i turned full lock the couple times it did. Also, any ideas what a shop might charge to replace? I don't have the time, space, or tools to do so myself should i even decide to buy it.

thanks!

Jacques

See if you can pull the code from the CEL. Mine is showing a code calling for replacement of the knock sensor. It's a $70 part.

My dad has a 96 legacy, and the check engine light comes on often for various things, usually once you clear it it doesnt do it again for the same thing, at least for quite a while. Around here that would be a decent price too, you dont really get below $2k for a running one here until you get back to the early 90s no matter what the mileage.

They seem to be expensive in the SF bay area too.

My wife has a 2000 2.2L 5-speed Impreza Outback wagon and aside from what appears to be an engineering problem with their clutch/flywheel warping it's been completely reliable for over 80,000 miles.

If you want access to a ridiculous amount of relevant information, check out NASIOC - North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club

Read, read, read!

Good luck.

Cheers, WW

My dads legacy has about 330k miles on it and its finally starting to get tired. The clutch is almost completely gone, and the engine is starting to sound bad, but other than needing a new cat and a new speed sensor (and like 4 replacement kragens alternators in 2 years) it has been pretty good.

Well i offered $2200 and he accepted. Local mechanic quoted $325 for outer tie rod and ball joint replacement. We'll see how this goes.

thanks all!

Jacques

DIY will save you more than half that $325.

i second this 'DIY' thing you speak of.... sounds familiar somehow..

SoFla- Subarus bring higher prices than BMWs.

Sounds like somebody, or a syndicate of like-minded somebodys, could make extra cash doing Subaru arbitrage. How hard is it down there to import cars from one state to another on a semi-regular basis? Do you have to pay everybody's tax man, or what?

Miata's are like that too: it wouldn't be hard to make money selling southern Miata's in Canada....

i've been thinking something similar, but between pittsburgh area and NYC to philly corridor. You can find lots of 4x4 f250 trucks in pittsburgh, and none in my area, philly. And no audi's or bmw's in pittsburgh, lol. I think its like that in alot of areas across the country.

Andrew

The suspension stuff is easy to fix. Just don't snap off the upper pinch bolt for that ball joint.