1-2 years with no service?

[SirPete]

Hi all,

I'm in the market for a 3.0R Spec.B wagon. I saw a few different 3rb's over the weekend and came across one which was in decent condition, or would be after a detail, except that the car hadn't been serviced since 2012. The servicing was on time up until that point and they're the original owner of the car. Apparently the owner purchased another car and so the 3rb has sat in the garage only getting occasional use. From what I can remember it's done about 8,000kms in that time, so that seems to match his story. Engine oil was good - not dirty - but I'm wondering if no servicing since 2012 means I should walk away? I know these engines like their servicing, especially oil changes...

Thanks

[zch91]

No one can ever be certain when it comes to these things.. It could run for a further 200,000km's without skipping a beat, or in the contrary you could buy a similar car with full history and have the engine fail driving it out the driveway ..

Gut feeling is obvious here as to walking away, but I would definitely be getting it checked over by a reputable Subaru mechanic and go from there..

Does the price reflect the fact it may have been neglected?

[BillyCorgi]

My thoughts are that if it has only done 8,000km since the last service then the possibility of damage is low.
Then, if any real damage has been done it would have been done already?
What is in a service for a 3.0R-B?
Oil - Filters and a check of everything. Throw in some upper cylinder cleaner and a bottle of engine additive?

Have you got a carsales link or other to the car?
If it was a good price, and in good condition, then I would probably snatch it up.
If not, time to say goodbye.

If I were pick it up then I would give an immediate change to DELVAC 5W40 or other high quality synthetic diesel oil to clean up any residual deposits the rich running 3.0R engine is known for.
At the end, it is your call. I took about 8-9 months watching the market before buying mine.
Cheers!

[SirPete]

The price is an interesting question. I can only go by what people are advertising on carsales - it's the cheapest one that meets my criteria, after this one it jumps up by about $3k. I'm not sure if that's because this is cheap or if the rest of them are asking too much. The price of the libs that suit my criteria varies from $18k to $24k. That seems like a large variance. Mind you, in saying that, there is one big difference - pre vs post facelift. I'm assuming post FL = more $$$. Although there is one pre FL asking for more than some post FLs. I'm not too phased about pre vs post - pre = better seats, post = better looking. I could live with either.

What should I expect to pay for a decent 2006(ish) manual 3rb wagon?

Re the link - excuse my noob-ness but is it ok to post the carsales link of a car that I'm not selling?

[BillyCorgi]

I had a look at the Sydney cars on Carsales just now.
There is a 200,000 high kilometre 2005 MY06 for $15,800 and a 122,000 mid kilometre 2006 MY06 for $18,250
The first one is past the consideration point. The second one is too much.

I waited and studied the market for 9 months before picking up a one mature owner, well maintained, 2005 MY05 last June with 114,000km for under $12,000.

For me, the pick of the bunch on Carsales at the moment is the 2008 model at Regents Park/Auburn for $21,000. (not too far away from my place, either)
But for my liking I would not pay more than $18,000 for it.

Good luck with your purchase
Cheers!

[SirPete]

Thanks Billy!

Glad to hear I'm not going crazy. At risk of insulting some of the Sydney members who might be selling their cars on carsales right now - I thought the cars on there were overpriced. I know there was a, what seemed to be, very good condition 2006 MY07 3rb manual wagon on carsales that went for a bit less than $18k recently. That seems a lot more reasonable. I'll keep looking...

[patrickbateman]

My experience when shopping for mine (2005 r-b) was that people seem to have inflated expectations to the tune of $2-4k. A few people I spoke to about their cars were looking sad and muttering about a lack of interest, so I would suggest you should play (very) hard ball in terms of offering significantly less based on kms or service history.