High Mileage Baja?

[jdamb89]

So I've been in the market for a Baja for several months now and I've been researching here and on NASIOC to learn more about the car and Subarus in general. Right now I'm kind of stuck; I've test driven the Baja and I've really fallen in love with it and ideally I'd like to get one with under or around 50,000 miles. However, my ideal price is $13,000, which obviously won't fetch me such a low mileage car. Have those people that have purchased a Baja with high mileage had any problems? Do you regret your decision, or do you think you made the right choice?

I'm not asking anyone here to decide if I should buy a high mileage Baja for me, but like any patient and rational person, I'm seeking out the opinions and experiences of knowledgable and trustworthy people.

[WillGT]

Alright so heres my take on this. I am on my 2nd baja now.
The first one had almost 50,000 miles on it, but needed a lot of work most minor except for the head gaskets and timing belt. I bought it at a dealer for 9500 after taxes. It was an 03 auto. Ended up selling it for a $500 loss, but quickly found another 03 with 120,000 miles on it manual. After talking with the previous owner he sold it to me for $5000 and it needed almost no major work. I had the 120,000 mile service done and a new center differential for $1500. Not bad?

It all comes down to research, talking with the owners, making sure the records and carfax are good. If you buy from a dealer they will def charge more with almost no records. You also have to remember the 03's seem to be more common and its a 7 year old car now. Higher mileage usually indicated highway driven which is better in my opinion.

Just take the time and do the research and check to see what service has been done on it

[offroadohio]

I have 178000 on my 03. I have a ton of records as it was always serviced at the dealership I got it from. I paid 7000 out the door for it with 175000 miles on it. It is now throwing a catalyst efficiency code and a bank 1 02 sensor code. If the 02 is the cuase of both codes its a $100 fix. if the converter is the issue its a $200 fix. $300 tops if I have to fix both. Its still well under anything else ive seen within 200 miles forsale. The miles dont scare me as I service an outback with 350,000 on it at work regularly.

[jdamb89]

Interesting feedback. Thanks it helps to put things in perspective. I can't believe you found a Baja with 50,000 miles on it for 9500 WillGt. It seems like everything I've looked at in the range is at least 15000 if not more.

[Khratox]

I got my '04 Baja Turbo for $13700 with 77000 miles, from a guy with no paperwork tho(i thought it was a good price considering the dealer in my city was selling an 03 non-turbo for $18!)...I had it inspected before hand and it seemed it just needed some minor fixes. When I got it back to my province and had the OOP inspection by Subaru they said it was in amazing condition for the year. I actually had a bunch of the service techs really excited and they were all asking me if they could test drive it (there aren't very many turbos up here Anyways I guess my point was I took a risk and it paid off very well...when spending that kind of money a thorough inspection is a must.

[WillGT]

you just have to know what to look for.
the 50,000 one was at a dealer, little tip I learned
If you go to carfax.com and search classifieds you can view cars as they are checked in at the dealer. I litterally called the dealer an hour after they had it on the lot. It scared them a bit since they hadn't even posted anything online yet

The reason it was so low at the dealership which was a mazda one
1) The sales manager hated the car
2) Carfax showed an odometer mismatch at 6,000 miles. I was able to tell off the bat that it was a dealer typo, but b/c of this they were forced to sell it below value
3) It needed tires

only other downside was the dealer taxes.

user this website I use a lot
searchtempest.com

its a craigslist search engine, you can search various craigslists for various mile radius

[kman.45]

Not that it won't come with some drawbacks, but I posted my truck for sale on Autotrader and at the same indicated I was looking for a Baja. I got a call from a dealer about 1.5 hrs away the day they listed it. I drove down the next day unannounced and had to wait like an hour before it got back from the detailer shop. 2006 with 52K miles, turbo leather package, just installed Baja light kits, and I got most of the tonneau cover from P.O. too (numbnuts lost some of the parts/keys). Was too damn much money, but it did come with about 2 pages of services (everything under the 60K service, plus some stuff like brake pads and such that prolly didn't really need replacing).

Anyway, turns out the Autotrader "want" list worked out well for me. Took a while to get off the friggin notification list of dealers that had Baja and those that wanted me to trade my F150.

[jdamb89]

Interesting. I didn't know you could post a wanted ad on autotrader. Do you have to have a car to sell/trade or can you just post a wanted ad by itself?

[Cowboy88]

I bought an 05 turbo Baja with 202k on it for 5800. It was once owned by a tire shop, then bought by one of the employees. All highway miles. didn't get many records with it, but i know the mechanic that worked on it. I blew the turbo after 2 weeks of owning it, but i found a new one off a wrx for $50 and put it in myself. Other than that, I love it. I would say don't worry about the mileage if the vehicle looks and feels good.