Yo, Braintrust! 95 Subie Legacy

http://jackson.craigslist.org/cto/2903315995.html

1995 Subie Legacy Wagon. 177k Pros? Cons?

I know zero about 'em. My wife is smitten, but always a wary shopper. What should I ask about to avoid looking silly?

Aren't the automatics in those kinda not that great? My dad has a 1996 with 400k miles on it (we swapped the engine at about 350k because it was burning too much oil). Parts for them aren't really all that cheap, especially if you want to use oem quality parts ($500 for a fuel pump, etc)

I would assume it has the EJ22. If it does I wuld buy it. Suuuuuper easy to work on but, like Travis said, the parts can hurt a bit in the hind end on occasion.

But the 2.2 rarely needs parts, so it's not much of an issue. Also, salvage yards are plenty full of them. The autobox kills the fun, but aside from that they are pretty decent. Do the timing belt so it doesn't leave you stranded and keep an ear on the wheel bearings.

Check for leaks around the head gaskets, and ask if they have been replaced recently. They aren't as prone to leakage as the 2.5s of the era, but it can happen -- it's also a sign that it may have suffered some abuse, as, like I said, the 2.2 rarely has head gasket leaks. Also check the boots on both ends of the front axles. If they are torn (which is not uncommon), plan to spend either a few hundred $ getting them replaced at the dealer, or about $100 per side and a long Saturday doing it yourself. Make sure there's no water in the spare tire well (rotten tail light gaskets). +1 on doing the timing belt, it's a pretty quick job and save a lot pain later. Luckily, the heads on the 2.2 are non-interference, so if it goes you won't have bent valves, you'll just be stuck on the side of the road. Other than that, just check for normal wear and tear items like any other car. The automatics on these cars are great for the 2.2, people really only run into trouble when they try to put a bunch of boost behind them. All-in-all they are very user friendly and, as mentioned, finding parts for them in the junk yard is very straightforward (almost all parts from other Subarus of the era will swap right over) and because they rarely have any real mechanical issues, it's not often that you have to shell out for new, expensive factory parts.

Easy enough to find a rusted out manual transmission model for a transmission swap if that is desired. Swap in some heated seats if you want your wife to absolutely love you.

DustoffDave wrote: Luckily, the heads on the 2.2 are non-interference

... Only through '96. Tuck that info away for a rainy day. +1 on everything else you said. Fantastic daily driver that won't often rape your wallet dry. Best sampled with a 5 speed.

love mine ('95 Impreza) might as well be the same car ... the AT seems to run hot ( 320K mi) but hasn't given any problems in the 5 - 6 yrs I've had it ( ~ 30K mi) .. fluid changed every 30 - 40K mi ( just what will drain with the plug removed )

the plastic radiator has been replaced ... and the cam seals tend to be a weak spot , but with as many miles as that one they should have been replaced by now

ddavidv wrote: The autobox kills the fun

That's not entirely true:

2nd gear in the 4EAT is more or less 2nd gear in a normal manual transmission, and it locks in 2nd gear with the shifter in "2". It actually made for a pretty competent H stock car.