Looking at an '03 with 97K miles...Red/Silver. Am I guaranteed head gaskets issues? ie...I also have an '05 with 99K miles in my area for $2k more...but if it saves me the head gasket repairs...might be worth it!
Thoughts, opinions please!
Would you buy an '03?
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TastyHuman
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Re: Would you buy an '03?
I have an 03 with 98k miles which is starting to seep at the head gaskets.
I love the car so will just get it fixed, and while they're in there I'll have all the other wear items replaced. I knew about the problem before buying the car so it was a planned expense.
Whether you will have head gasket problems depends, are you sure they haven't been done yet?
Some cars don't seem to have head gasket problems either.
I love the car so will just get it fixed, and while they're in there I'll have all the other wear items replaced. I knew about the problem before buying the car so it was a planned expense.
Whether you will have head gasket problems depends, are you sure they haven't been done yet?
Some cars don't seem to have head gasket problems either.
Re: Would you buy an '03?
I have no way to know...I don't know the history of the car at all...as you can imagine, I don't want to buy the car, and 2 weeks later have a $2k repair bill, if the '05-'06's have eliminated this issue, I might be money ahead to look for those specific model years.
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Guacamole
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Re: Would you buy an '03?
If you're not comfortable with the car, don't buy it. Back when I was looking for a baja, I drove 2 hours to go see a silver 03 with only 60k-some miles on it. Was dissapointed to see that half the engine looked like it had been recently replaced, the tachometer was spooling up to 2k rpm during idle & 5k at 30mph acceleration, & the AC didn't work, so I kept waiting for a better one (ended up getting an 06 with 150k miles- granted, I overpayed by about 3k & am at 1.3k into repairs).
I almost bought an 03 at an estate auction back in September (mainly for parts) but the opening bid was double my limit- no info on the vehicle at all other than what I can see under the hood.
P.S Odometer just passed 160k today!
I almost bought an 03 at an estate auction back in September (mainly for parts) but the opening bid was double my limit- no info on the vehicle at all other than what I can see under the hood.
P.S Odometer just passed 160k today!
Re: Would you buy an '03?
Well, to be honest, since its 350 miles away, I have no idea whether I'm comfortable or not...I guess I'm wondering if I pay more for an '06, does that 'buy' me out of HG issues, or is it only just a matter of time for all of them?
Appreciate everyone's thoughts on it...
Appreciate everyone's thoughts on it...
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Guacamole
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Re: Would you buy an '03?
I drove from Cambridge MD to Philly PA to get my 06 (roughly 150 miles) which took about 2 hours- my travel limit before I start going crazy from boredom. If 350 miles isn't the closest one to you, maybe find another one 
To answer the question about the gaskets- from what I've read, it seems like Subaru did fix the gasket issue, & they didn't fix it. Digging around before I bought the baja I've read in several places (both Subi forums/blogs & general mechanic websites) that the early 2000s EJ25 engines report less head gasket failure than previous years. I've seen some state the good ones are 2002+, 2003+, 2004+, heck even so far as 2010+. By this point I'm inclined to say it's pretty much a crapshoot given the multitude of unknown factors for used cars. Personally I opted to go for the later baja models for the extra base ride height & the lack of recalls (06s have only 2 general recalls & aren't affected by the Takata airbag recall- in fact most organizations seem to think the 06s don't exist!). Though I'll admit, I was initially bias (& still kinda-sorta am) towards getting later models from rumors that the 03s were notorious for head gasket issues. So honestly, who knows?
To answer the question about the gaskets- from what I've read, it seems like Subaru did fix the gasket issue, & they didn't fix it. Digging around before I bought the baja I've read in several places (both Subi forums/blogs & general mechanic websites) that the early 2000s EJ25 engines report less head gasket failure than previous years. I've seen some state the good ones are 2002+, 2003+, 2004+, heck even so far as 2010+. By this point I'm inclined to say it's pretty much a crapshoot given the multitude of unknown factors for used cars. Personally I opted to go for the later baja models for the extra base ride height & the lack of recalls (06s have only 2 general recalls & aren't affected by the Takata airbag recall- in fact most organizations seem to think the 06s don't exist!). Though I'll admit, I was initially bias (& still kinda-sorta am) towards getting later models from rumors that the 03s were notorious for head gasket issues. So honestly, who knows?
Re: Would you buy an '03?
Found an '05 Turbo on Cars.com...that I think is likely a better option...
Re: Would you buy an '03?
And...that one's gone...looking like I'll pick up this '03, dealer is standing behind it, so we'll see!