So I am looking at buying a 2002 Impreza 2.5rs. It has 105,600 miles on it and is at a small dealership. I test drove it and it ran very nice. It has nearly brand new Goodyear tires on it. The interior is flawless and looks new. The engine is pretty clean underneath the hood. I asked him to get information on the maintenance that has been done and he called me back the next day saying that at 100,000 miles the timing belt, spark plugs, and fluids were all done. I am going to try and get verification of this to make 100% sure, or some type of guarantee on this just in case. It was listed at $7,995 however after talking with him he quoted me a price of $6,950. How does this price sound, too high or just right? KBB retail is listed at like $8300, Private Party excellent $6,500, Private Party good $6,000. I ran a CarFax on it and it has had two owners. The first owner had it for 7 years and the second owner has had it for the last 7 months before trading it in. Should I be worried about the last owner only having it for half a year? The dealership just got it in a few weeks ago. I live about an hour from Rochester, in Winona, and do not know any mechanics in the area that could check it over. Is there anything else I should ask about or check into, maybe like the head gasket? This would be my first Subaru, and I love the look of them and how they drive. Dealer site link to car: http://www.invisionamerica.com/RouteDealer.cfm?sdealer=INVISION&dept=autodetail&gunique_id=501311035
Check for head gasket leaks, I promise they are leaking at that mileage if they havent been done yet.
both Bielke55 and AWDimprezal work at subaru dealer. and he probably entered the vin number to see if it was serviced last at a subaru dealer. looks like i failed
Thanks guys. I will definitely ask about where the service was supposedly done, if not by the owner. So, making sure the timing belt was actually replaced and no leaks around the headgasket are about all I would need to worry about? What are the chances that the owner who only had it 7 months started noticing leaks, then did the coolant conditioner fix, and then got rid of it before any major damage?
He emailed me today asking how it was going looking for financing options, because I was shopping around for loans. I then replied with my concerns about having proof of the service, and not showing up in Subaru service records. We will see if he emails me back or calls.
I (or should i say my wife) owns a '02 2.5rs. She loves it. We have had some issues though. We've already replaced the headgaskets at 60k miles (sti headgaskets are now in there) along with a really weird master brake cylinder issue. Ben and Brian (who are subaru mech's) said they've never seen that MBC issue on any other 2.5 bugeye before, so it was probably just one of those random things. Overall the car is great. As for the owner having it for only 7 months, I wouldn't lose sleep over it. I've owned a car for 9 months and sold it. Nothing wrong with the car, just didn't like it anymore. With these economic times it could be that the owner got in over their head and had to dump it. Just a few extra notes that I feel you should know about that '02 2.5. -The metal on the car is really thin. I'm talking paper thin. It's all subarus. Don't be surprised how easy you get door dings. -The MPG on those isn't the greatest, but it's AWD.. what do you expect? My wife gets around 24 or so in the summer, 18~20 in the winter. -The back seats don't fold down, only the center section. That's true of all sedans '02-'05 for sure, someone else will have to chime in about other years. Now if I was you, I'd have a subaru mech look over the car. If that means paying someone, then do it. You need to find out 100% or not if those headgaskets have been replaced. Overall my wife loves it and I don't think she's upset with the purchase at all. Best of luck, Ryan
Ryan - Thanks for the reply. He emailed me back today and said the place that did the timing belt, plugs, and fluids is located in LaCrosse, WI. (Sully's Auto) They are going to fax him an invoice of the service. As for the headgasket, I don't know of anyone in the area that could check it over.
All these things are true. I have an 02 with 111k, and I got it 15 months ago with 88k. It had a bad head gasket when I got it, but since hasn't needed anything that isn't routine. I had the 100k service done at 90k with the headgaskets. Since then I have only replaced brakes and struts, but that was to be expected with the mileage. It has been to and from Montana, through the Christmas snowstorm in the UP this year, and has overall been great to us.
Monticello is pretty far from Winona. Anyone that can do it for a similar price in Southeast, MN or near MPLS?
