Advice! Sell? Repair?

General talk about the Subaru Baja.

Moderator: mikenmel08

Post Reply
jriedel
Scoobytruck Lurker
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue May 28, 2019 5:55 pm

Advice! Sell? Repair?

Post by jriedel »

Unfortunately I’ve come to a crossroads with my beloved dream car ’06 Baja Turbo 5 speed. After about 130,000 miles, cylinder 4 is dead and there are some other minor repairs needed. I’ve kept up on other maintenance very well.

After many headaches of troubleshooting and a few shops telling me the bad news, I may have to forget my dreams of having the ultimate off road custom vehicle.

I’m looking for advice. My instinct is to sell it and move on, but I’d like to find a decent home for her (Betty). I wish I was able to repair it myself, but I don’t have the space at my house and I don’t really have the time in this era of my life.

Clean title. Minor accidents not at fault, but no frame damage. Other minor cosmetic damage (hail dents, scratches on the middle plastic container). Repaired the dreaded driver's seat crack with new leather and more cushion. New timing belt, new and improved clutch, well maintained, ARE topper, bed extender, and hitch.

I’m in Georgia. Please could anyone reach out if you have any advice on how to sell or what to do? Thanks!
Attachments
tempImageoZq3b4.gif
tempImageoZq3b4.gif (4.45 MiB) Viewed 2093 times
tempImageRYd05v.gif
tempImageRYd05v.gif (5.33 MiB) Viewed 2093 times
IMG_2538.jpg
IMG_2538.jpg (2.01 MiB) Viewed 2093 times
Festoon
Scoobytruck Lurker
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2022 1:02 pm

Re: Advice! Sell? Repair?

Post by Festoon »

My advice would be to repair. A brand new EJ255 short-block costs around $2500.
A good independent shop with Subaru experience would be able to do the replacement and refresh any other gaskets, seals, timing set, 'while we're in there' stuff for about $6k total.
I have already decided that I'm going this route when my 05 turbo MT needs a new powerplant.

Any newer truck is either going to be:
Freaking huge
Auto/CVT
No boxer rumble
Mess around with a touchscreen for 30 seconds to turn the AC on

I would think that if you sell it you'll look back in a few years and wonder what you were thinking.
Then again, your mileage may vary. Maybe someone else will take up the torch and get Betty back on the road.
Maybe a garbage truck will t-bone mine tomorrow and I'll be heading to GA with a trailer...
cl350rr
Scoobytruck Lurker
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2022 4:08 pm

Re: Advice! Sell? Repair?

Post by cl350rr »

I agree, I would scout around for a reputable shop to put another engine in or rebuild the engine in it, they aren't going to make any more Bajas and if they recycle the name on some new vehicle it will be nothing like the original: My $0.02
User avatar
theluckyone17
Scoobytruck Master
Posts: 101
Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 9:20 am
Location: Rexford, NY

Re: Advice! Sell? Repair?

Post by theluckyone17 »

My vote is to repair. I've got an '06 NA MT that is succumbing to rust, here in Upstate NY. Long story short, I bought her from a guy in WA years ago, traded her in on a Tacoma, then bought her back when a headgasket went. I should've done better at preventing the rust when I first bought her; the owner in between didn't do any better than me.

As a result, she's in bad shape underneath. I'm debating whether to drop the rear bits with all the suffering involved, and see if I can get the rot cut out and new metal in place... or just simply replace the chassis. Got plenty of bits to swap into a "new" Baja. Running across a body in good condition but with a failed engine, cheap & located outside the rust belt, would be ideal if I take that latter option. That basically puts me in your position.

I've looked at modern replacements for the Baja, and none check my boxes like the Baja.
Onyx: 2006 Baja Sport
Post Reply