Thanks to the admin for approving my request. I’m asking all the kind hearts/Subaru loving people of Minnesota to hear my cousin’s problem. Most of them is my fault. My cousin moved from Los Angeles to St. Cloud to attend college. We figured that it would be nice that if she has her own car to drive around town. So I tried helping her and went to look at MN Craigslist. There I found a '98 Subaru Outback for $1500. I spoke to the owner by phone and I WAS convinced that the car was in good condition mechanically. In short, i trusted a stranger even though i haven't inspected the car in person. I told my cousin that it was ok to buy the car. Big mistake. Well, it drove from the airport to St. Cloud and told her to get it to a shop to get it tuned up and oil changed. I went to Yelp and looked for a mechanic to check her car. Then that's when the mechanic discovered the car is terminally done. literally, the mechanic doesn't want to touch it because it wasn't worth it. the mechanic stated there was a rod bearing problem, misfire in no.2, rod knock. Now, I felt guilty that i put my 20 yr old cousin to that position. I still believe that there are good people everywhere. I trusted someone but fell victim that others are just plain crooks. That leaves my cousin with a time bomb. I'm thousand miles away doing whatever i can to help her, but im asking the subaru community in Minnesota if they can lend a hand. I doubt that the previous owner would extend his help, so im rolling the dice that maybe we get lucky that someone would help us. Thanks for reading.
hmmm, I'm in the STC area for school and work as well. What color is it? I may have seen it around. as far as the engine issue goes, which mechanic did they take it to? It's probably a 2.2L engine which could be inexpensive to swap a new motor in assuming you could find a decent motor in the area. but for $1500 they might be better off finding a new car. Someone else might have a better price estimate but I would imagine after sourcing an engine, parts and fluid (with free labor) would still out value the car. alternatively they could buy something like this (with help verifying correct engine, etc.) and swap in everything at once http://stcloud.craigslist.org/cto/5208939513.html
