You'll love the STI suspension compared to the FXT squishy mess.

That they are.

But they are not taped to a cat.

AWD, Auto, Reliable - XJ Cherokee. 10-13k will buy you the nicest one on earth, with enough $$$ left over for heated leather dickwarmers, a 12" lift kit/44s and a Monster Energy vinyl wrap, or to create an all around zombie-apocalypse vehicle.

I have one and its great. Same color as this, wanting a similar mild lift.

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_...0007_large.jpg

>dat billy crystal whip

jeep. 10mpg

15/20 for a 90' Cherokee I6 5 speed, 15/19 for the same except with a 4 speed auto.

15....ouch

He could do better with the I4, but not much, that's why I didn't suggest it to begin with.

What's that truck that viperormiata has that has awd and gets 30mpg (iirc)? Nissan something I think...
Maybe a Ford Ranger or Mazda B3000, theres also a small Chevy that may work, but 4WD and snow tires are necessary with a truck in the snow.

Thanks for all the suggestions! :bigtu:

I don't want a truck cause we have 4 of them at the shop I could use if I needed to (GMC Sierra's with 454/4 speeds).

Looking to stay away from gas guzzling V8's and baby pussy N/A 4cyl's. If its a turbo 4cyl or V6 then I'm game.

I could always throw snow tires on the Taurus and get myself around just fine, but due to the reliability issues I feel that wouldn't be the best idea. Not to mention I'm trying to get something AWD particularly so she could take it to work on snow days. Its not so much for me.

I keep bumping into this same 2006 Legacy GT wagon and a 4Motion Passat wagon. I don't know much about VW's except for what I've read online, so I don't know if I should stay away from it or not. The Subaru keeps calling my name though, like its almost inevitable that I'll end up in one.

It's all going to come down to what I can find for the right price really. I have my wants, but my need is really just to get something ASAP that fits the bill in the title of the thread. Heated seats would just be nice to have again. :cry:

If you get a passat I'm going to start a "broken daily donation fund" for you.

This statement doesn't make sense. Either you haven't read anything online about them, or you know you shouldn't buy one.

I guess you can say deep down I know to stay away from them from what I've read online. lol

90% sure I found my car. 2005 Legacy GT Limited wagon in black.

If all goes according to plan, I hope to go test drive it this week and buy it if I like it in person.

Of course, here I sit on google looking up aftermarket shit for LGT's. :facepalm:

Holy rare car batman.
Good luck with it, they are super sexy

This. If you care about reliability at all, DO NOT GET AN AUDI/VW

Things that have broken on my 2.7t in the last year:
-Drivers side door twice, window twice.
-Turbos are blown at 115k miles
-Horn sounds like a fucking mariachi-mobile
-Cam plugs
-MAF sensor
-Tens of electrical issues
-Subwoofer (stereo at the same time, but it fixed itself)
-Driver HUD
-Temp gauge

And a ton of minor stuff. Things are breaking all the time, little stupid shit, and it's only at 115k miles. It's probably in the shop once or twice every 2 months.

Well I found a nice Legacy GT wagon in black with only 30K miles on it and was going to shoot up to check it out, only to call and find out it's already under deposit. :cry:

I found 2 more that I like. Please tell me what you think, mainly concerning the mileage. I'm not sure if 136xxx on the clock is still ok or more worth passing. Vlad, looking for you to chime in esp.

http://tinyurl.com/89aqqd4

http://tinyurl.com/7nmsczz

I like the blue sedan and its a one owner car, VS the silver wagon which has higher mileage but may be better suited for carrying all the random shit I drop off at UPS/FedEx.

I'll be able to put money down on something as soon as next week (assuming I get paid that fast), so I'd like to really find something ASAP and get a deposit on it. Snow is right around the corner and I live on the top of a fucking mountain. lol

Make sure any LegGT you check out doesn't have the wet pax footwell problem. Mine did and I ended up taking a lot of dash parts off to get to the AC condensor box, seal that up, and put everything back together. Not to mention drying out the footwell and getting the musty smell out.

On LegacyGT.com you can search for Water in Passenger footwell thread.

Nice wagon. I would buy either. I bought my 2004 FXT with 100K miles for 10K.

Make sure timing belt and maintenance has been done. Tbelt is apparently no fun and it needs to be done because it's an interference motor.

That's what I get with lockers 33's, bumper, winch, and armor. It's pushed through snow up to the headlights. That mpg also includes lots of idling and working in 4low. It'd take a lot of fuel to make up for the 2500 dollar price tag you can get a decent stock xj for.

LGT without the rear spoiler...nice. I like that one. I forwarded the add to my wife too ;)

It would be smart to do a compression check but that will be difficult unless you know the trick to removing the coil packs. My one owner '05 OBXT had 93xxx miles and was meticulously maintained by the dealer and the owner but still had a cracked exhaust valve, but my brothers '05 LGT with 140k miles and lots of owners and a shady past is fine.

Timing belt isn't any more difficult than a miata. It's significantly easier than most cars. I recommend an OEM timing belt cause there's lines on the belt corresponding to each timing mark that make aligning it super simple, 1 person job. Well worth whatever extra the belt may cost. Otherwise it's a multi-person job to keep all 4 cams from rotating as you try to keep them where they need to be as you wrap the belt around all the different idlers, and no doubt 1 pulley will be off a tooth causing you to redo it all over again, and again...

Don't be a bitch!! :vash:

Yeah, I actually prefer the look of the LGT's without the rear spoiler.

Id say either one is fine. They're both over 100k so I don't see paying a grand more for 30k miles.
What DOES matter is the overall condition of each, and most importantly compression test results (like mentioned above). Maintenance paperwork is a big plus of course, and hopefully the 105k has been done on them, cause if not you need to factor at least 500-600 for that service (doing it yourself btw, cause stealer would want way more than that for it).

If you have a ton of shit to lug around, I'd definitely be more interested in teh wagon, because despite the sedan having a big trunk (much larger than the imprezas) its still a trunk, vs a BIG ASS amount of space in the wagon which is awesome.

I paid 1800 for my 1998 :p. 5spd ftw!

I'm doing 18/22 or so for mileage and did 16 towing a full dual axle open trailer and track car.

Vlad - So then I shouldn't be deterred by the 100k+ mileage? Whereas an American car, anything over 100k is almost an immediate no go.

The blue sedan seems to have all the paperwork of the required maintenance and was a 1 owner car to boot.

The silver wagon is more of what I'm looking for, but it has the higher mileage and not such a stellar record from what I can tell.

Either way I'm hoping to go look at both of them this weekend. Possibly drop a deposit if it seems good to go.

I have a compression tester, but would they actually let me start wrenching away under the hood to check?

Thank you for the tip! By 200K miles I will probably have replaced it with something more practical. Like a porsche cayenne with a cummins in it.

Yes chipmunk slayer, 100k is fine.

I dunno if they'll let you do the compression check on the spot, its not exactly your typical 5 minute job on a subaru. Would be great if they did, that's the ej255's biggest problem: shitty ringland faeflora.

the 1-owner w/ all documentation car sounds like a winner to me, but I'd still check out both. Just keep a few hundo aside for random bs, because my buddy just bought an 05 LGT w/ 96k miles in great shape from original owner a few months ago, I even inspected it for him and it looked like a champ, then about 2-3 months later the damn thing gets a rip in teh turbo inlet. We were both like "WTF". I replaced it for him though. He paid 11k for his. LOVES IT!!

find out EXACTLY what was done to each maintenance wise. try to get as much history on both as possible (obviously the 1-owner is going to have a spotless history IMO)

take each for a test drive. go from there.
both look like decent deals considering its middle of winter

Good to know.

I'd rather spend $10k than up it to $15k just to find one with 60k-80k miles.

The more I save on the initial purchase price the more money I can put into it. lol

Although I doubt I'd do any more than tint, wheels, and proper suspension.

Thanks for the info Vlad. I consider you the forum's Subie dude. :bigtu:

The ONLY thing I don't like about the sedan is the color. That dark blue isn't my favorite, but I guess I cant be picky when there isn't a hell of a lot to choose from. At least its not the gay light atlantic blue color, that shit is just 100% lesbo car color.

I wish I had got on the ball sooner, but I was unsure of work throughout the winter so I had to wait. Now that I have more lined up than I can handle I should be just fine.

The place with the blue sedan called back and said that the car is out having the turbo replaced. I asked him why and he said the car wasn't making boost.

I'm guessing this isn't necessarily a bad thing?? Considering the old turbo was 100k miles old (assuming it was the original).

He said he'll give me a call next week when they get it back. What do you think bout that?

I'd have a mechanic check it out fo sho. I had a miata checked out before I bought mine. Turns out it was leaking oil, but it couldn't be seen except on the undercarriage of the car.

well the upside is that assuming everything else is in good shape you get a brand new turbo.
the downside is the turbos on these cars don't "just" go out, or at least not very often.
now since its an auto legacy sedan w/ 1 owner Im doubtful it was beaten to shit, but you never know.

tell em you'll put a deposit down if they do a compression test on it "while its in the shop".

ps: my buddies "made no boost" as well, til I looked at the TB-to-tmic house clamps, which were literally just hanging there lol
Tightened the clamps and he's like "HOLY SHIT MY CAR GAINED LIKE 50HP, WHAT DID YOU DO"

lol

I've been our acting mechanic for awhile now, so I guess I'll be alright checking it out myself. lol

So long as the guys in the know tell me what to look out for (like they have been), I'll check it out properly.

Although I should be kicked in the face for the POS I got last year that I thought I checked out properly. Fuck me. :vash:

Great idea! While its at the shop I'll see if they'll do that! Fucking good thinking broham. :bigtu:

EDIT: Just called and the guy says "there's nothing wrong with the compression" soon as I asked. I told him that I'd be willing to come up and put a deposit on it if he was willing to check the compression while its being worked on. He eventually agreed, but insisted the car is fine and that I'LL LOVE IT. lol

Fucking used car salesman are THE WORST.

Try to be sure they don't somehow squirt a bunch of oil in the holes before the compression check.

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be there. I guess I'll have to go off the carfox and take his word as far as the compression results.

I'm def not going to jump on it just for the sake of jumping on it. Still a little time before winter to find the right LGT for me. :) Nonetheless though, I'm going to go check it out and test drive it.

You probably do like the rest of us 90% and get excited when your about to make a purchase which makes you blind till you get it home.

I remember you saying you were sleeping on friends couches right now... Will you be able to sing the added loan of the 10-13k for this car or will you be giving it back to the bank in a year?

That was only because the storm fucked our shit up and we were without power for 10 days. We're both back home now and I'm no longer on couches. lol

Working for myself I have no cap. If things keep going they way they are I'm hopefully that I may be able to pay the whole thing off in a year. I just don't want to go overboard on anything right now so $10k-$13k is a nice range to work with.

So I found another one for $2k less than what I was expecting to pay. I have it setup to go see it this week but I want to run a carfax on it. I did have a pretty slick method of getting free reports through eBay, but they have since changed their fee structure so it no longer works.

If anyone on here could hook me up with a report that would be awesome! If you have the means please just shoot me a PM and I'll give you the vin.

I'm pretty excited!!

Officially going to see the car on Saturday.

Here's the carfox the guy sent me. I told him that if he paid for the report and I ended up buying the car that I'd reimburse him for it. I figured that was fair.

http://www.carfax.com/cfm/FSBO.cfm?r...#DetailSection

What do you think about the report?

He also gave me a FYI that both registered owners are him. 1st it was a company vehicle which was eventually transferred to him as his personal vehicle. So its still a 1 owner like advertised.

KKB says in very good condition the car is valued at $12,500. I wont tell what I paid until I either buy it or walk away from it. ;)

Anything else I should ask between now and when I actually go see the car? Such as speicifc maintanence performed? Seeing that the report can be rather vauge at times.

Went and saw the LGT this morning! :)

He had all the maintenance records with him and within the last year it had the major timing belt service done, so I was happy to see that. Car was clean inside and out and drove like a champ.

Now I just need to get my finances in order this week and hopefully I'll be buying it. I do understand that if someone beats me to it that he'll sell, so I'm hoping this doesn't take too long.

This thread is now about turbo Subarus, mainly wagons.

For those of you with Foresters, Legacy and/or Outback wagons: if you had it to do over again, what year and model would you buy? Assume it must have an available stick-shift manual gearbox.

Volvo S60R, Volvo S40R, Volvo V70R, Mazdaspeed6

combo breaker?

Being in my 30's now, the '05 factory turbo & 5speed is nice, especially in "limited" aka leather and huge moonroof. Seems like a car for a more mature person. My older '98 outback sport was more fun once I added a GT2560R. The impreza chassis is much more flickable & responsive IMHO. I could throw whatever inside and park whereever and not worry about a thing, I could go offroading and not care much about mud and busted CV boots. With this newer car...it's worth more and is nicer so I can't have as much fun with it.

If I were to do it again, I'd find another ~'98 era wagon and do a full 2.5l drivetrain swap.

If I did it all over, I'd:

GET EXACTLY THE SAME THING AND DO EXACTLY THE SAME MODS TO IT AND LOVE THE OUT OF IT LIKE I DO NOW:D

2008 Forester XT Sport in World Rally Blue
5mt
td06 fp20g 8cm turbo
sti tmic
ID1000 injectors
gm 3port
custom catted tbe
kartboy shifter/bushings
STi suspension/sways/arms
17x7.5 rota tarmac with 225/50/17 tires
sti seats
aem uego/dbg
custom tuned of course

321/320 wheel and 360+ come spring and e85 switch.
simple setup. very powerful, very responsive, looks great, sounds great, handles like a dream yet comfy and roomy enough for long trips. HUUUUGE moonroof.

Lovin it.

Sh*t dood, you're @ 320 and you haven't even switched to E85 yet.

Me thinks I will be copying you're set-up once I can steal away the XT from the wifeys. You have ported STi manifolds, pipes right? I think I would be very, very happy with 300/300 at the wheels for a DD XT.

See, if I got a forrester, the only mod would be springs to drop it.

I prefer a DD that's close to stock and has warrenties.

Agree on the springs. My first mod will be some struts and springs for a slight drop. You would want to reflash the car though, the stock tune is almost dangerous. Subaru's closed loop to open loop transition tuning philosophy isn't what I would call...good.

Of course, I have almost no idea what I'm talking about so 18psi would have to comment.

Thanks.
I actually removed the pnp STi manifolds and grimmspeed x-pipe for a couple reasons:
1) there was a tiny exhaust leak at the xpipe despite replacing gaskets twice
2) there was not enough power gain to justify the price tag and effort, and what gains had were made up top where I don't really need em.
3) I wanted maximum torque/response as soon in the rev range as possible due to the now installed 20g, and the stocker is best for that.

Warranties implies new car from the stealership and I'd never buy a brand new car.

....Too much other in the world to pointlessly lose money on lol

no you're right: subaru stock mapping is crap.
I gained something like 20wtq with a very simple and conservative stage1 map.

But seriously its just too easy to make power and torque with these things to keep it stock. And reliability doesn't really suffer (to a certain point of course). Full exhaust, good tune, and you've gained something like 30whp and 60wtq. Couple more bolt ons and you're at 320 like me:D

you honestly think I'd buy anything new? I still prefer an unmolested car for a DD. I'll dump my money into the miata and always have one running/reliable car.

I should rephrase my question, I guess. I'm much more inline with :brain: on this one.

If you were going with a turbo Forester, are there any major advantages or disadvantages to different model years? For example, I think 2007 had some minor exterior changes but I'm not sure about anything mechanical.

Are you running the stock X-pipe or the grimmspeed? If I remember your sf.org post correctly you weren't very fond of the stock x-pipe and seemed to be full of praise for the grimmspeed unit.

I wish I could afford to get my wife a newer car so I could inherit the FXT...

There are a bunch of differences:
the 04-05 had an EJ257 (lower compression STi motor) with catted uppipe
the 06-08 had the EJ255 (higher compression 06+ wrx motor) with catless uppipe and aux pump
bunch of other little things here and there, but mostly cosmetic and optional stuff.
Yes, I think its tiny and can't imagine it flowing very well at all.

However, what It looks like and how it performs are different things, and while it doesn't have the topend flow that I imagine the GS one to have, it provides a ton of velocity at off boost/pre-spool driving. This provides more torque down low, better response, and faster spoolup. IMO

The lowdown torque is more important to me since its a daily, so I went back to all stock manis/xpipe, sacrificed 15hp on the topend for a good chunk of torque and response down low. On the 20g I have plenty of topend as is lol.

I wish you could feel this thing right now, it HONESTLY feels like a v8.
Gobs of AVCS advance down low, agressive wastegate duty cycles down low, 35*-48* worth of ignition advance at cruise = doesn't feel like a 4 cylinder at all. In a good way:)

I wouldn't be opposed to a reflash and I know I could have Andrewtech/TurboXS do it here, probably for free.

WRX, LGT, Forrester are definitly on my list, but gotta buy a garage first this summer.

What are your MPGs like with your current set up and tune?

I'm buying the DP that sixshooter is selling so it looks like I'm on my way...time to get a tactrix cable and learn to tune...

As of last week, 21mpg mixed driving about 80% city 20% hwy.
Stretching a gear or two @WOT every couple days.
If I stayed out of boost itd be 23 I'm sure. All highway would probably net 26-27.
When it was stg1 I consistently got 23 city and 26 hwy so I'm pretty happy considering it now has 100hp/tq more.

Me thinks we need a thread where we post up our subaru maps. I'm running a slightly modified map I got off romraider's forum, a few years old.

Posting maps? Not sure how that will help since each of us runs completely different roms/setups/amount of modification.
Discussing opensource tuning strategies and sharing info? For sure.

And you're a smart man if you frequent the romraider forums: tons and tons of good info and base maps to learn from. I think I used some of those maps when starting out and never had issues. Load up, log, tweak to your cars' specific needs = profit.

Best part is many of them come with a list of what was tweaked, and some even come with a complete explanation of why said things were tweaked.
I don't think there is an easier and more helpful way to learn than that.

Awesome; thanks for the feedback.

For someone considering picking one up to use as a daily driver/infrequent tow vehicle, do you prefer the '06 - '08? The car would probably never see more than a spring and damper swap and maybe some minor exhaust work with a tune.