About to buy a MY07 Spec B wagon

[SpoolKing]

Hi everyone,

I'm about to purchase a spec b and wondering what I should look out for, it's totally stock I think, it does have screens on the back of front headrests that I don't think are stock, it has 157'000km, seems to drive well, but has some kinda oil leak onto the exhaust at the front of the engine, they say that it is going to get fixed tomorrow, not sure if the timing belt has been done and therefore don't know if the good head gaskets have been put on. Any input will be welcome. Looking forward to being part of your club

[Stifull]

They don't do head gaskets when they do the timing belt service. They are done when they fail and they often fail in those 2.5t engines. Mine had the head gaskets etc done not long before I bought it. You need to evidence that the head gaskets have been done. If they haven't then that may be a nasty surprise for the new owner as it is expensive job.. Engine out etc,etc .. The timing belt, spark plugs etc service is every 100,000klm or 5 years but often the 5 year option is ignored and it is done by the KLM.. You should probably get it inspected unless you are familiar with subarus. The oil leak could be a cracked rubber boot on the front drive shaft spiting out grease onto the exhaust. The burning grease will smell,smoke and make a mess. They are about $150-200 per side (one for each front wheel) to have boot replaced and the universal joint inside disassembled, cleaned and degreased. If all the stuff I am saying is not familiar to you, get the car inspected by someone that is recommended on here. DO NOT take it to Subaru. If you are in brisbane, take it to Subievolution. They ONLY do subarus and know them inside and out and use genuine Subaru parts if required.

[SpoolKing]

Thank you so much, seems like you have all the answers. is the only way to tell if the head gasket has been done is by being in the log book or the owner knowing?
I'm living at the Sunshine Coast hinterland and the car is at Caloundra, do you know of any one around here that can give it a proper look over, I am going to go to the Subaru wreckers at Beerwah this arvo and have a chat to them there I assume they will have seen everything that goes wrong with them there. Thanks again for the wealth of information.

Ps, I have moderate knowledge of engines, I have worked on my camry myself over the past 5 years, but do not know about turbos or boxster engines as of yet.

[Yowie]

Your best bet will be to arrange for a local (eg Caloundra or close enough to it) Subaru mechanic to look over the car ("pre-purchase inspection"). Obviously you'll need to make arrangements with the Seller to borrow the car for this purpose.

[subyroo]

When I lived in Buderim and then Caloundra, I used to drive to Brendale to Boxer Service to have my 2003 XS Forester serviced and maintained. Boxer Service is 2.3kms from Subie Evolution. The mechanics at Boxer Service are all (well used to be) Subaru trained, I cannot vouch for that today though.

I cannot see the owner let you take it to Brendale for an inspection though. Not unless he goes with you.
I used to see a lot of cars driving around Caloundra with Revolution Auto Care stickers on them, they were either good or cheap, saw a Subie or two with the sticker on as well, they might be another possible choice for you.

[SpoolKing]

Cheers for all the thoughts, remembered I've got a mate tat works occasionally at the Beerwah Subaru wreckers, gonna get the them to give it a good old looking over, the owner has offered to drive it out and wait while Wayne has a look. I assume a Subaru wreckers will know all the things that can go wrong with them, plus he is only charging me 55 bucks to have a look around. Really hope it's in good nick, it's such a nice car to drive

[Stifull]

We take ours to Subievolution at Brendale.. They verified that the head gaskets had been replaced on mine because they could tell by the sealant that had been used on the engine when it was reassembled .. Kris and Wendy at Sunspares have a lot of 2nd hand Subi parts and is good to deal with.

[SpoolKing]

So Wayne had a look, and he reckons it's not worth it, as the bilstein shocks at the front have been replaced with pedders, plus there is still a oil leak at the crank shaft, plus the log book is not detailed enough, and is unsure if the timing belt has been done let alone spark plugs, hoses and all the rest. Such a shame, was looking forward to getting myself a fast wagon

[Yowie]

Depends how much of a "fixer upper" project you want versus something fairly reliable & inexpensive from the get-go. Eg if you like the rest of the car and the engine is the only real question mark your wrecker mate could give you a cost estimate for an "A grade" replacement wrecker engine and a mechanic could quote installing it (including refreshing various consumables).

Unfortunately it seems to be a Seller's market for 2nd hand cars (and real property for that matter) so trying to bring the price down on account of "question mark" items will probably only get you so far.

More generally, I suspect it's going to be hard to find fast wagons (Lib GTs, Legnums, Stageas, Commodore SS and dare I say it SH Forester XTs) for a reasonable price that have no black holes in their service history, no indicia of work-to-do etc. More powerful cars (even in stock trim/tune) tend to put more wear & tear on everything, so your days of Camry-like reliability are probably behind you if you're getting something hotter. It's worth it though

[SpoolKing]

So the saga continues, the owner of the car says he is going to fix the cam cover leak and while doing so change the timing belt at the same time, also he is going to fix the busted pedders shock that got busted up on the front right, but only putting pedders in, not doing the bilstein's.
Still not sure if it's the right move to make, they are asking 18500 for the car, which is seems reasonable to me, but just not sure if it's a smart idea in as there was so much stuff they said they didn't know was wrong with it. Also the owner and Wayne the Subaru wreckers had a bit of spat so the owner will definitely not want to take the car there again to get it looked over after he has done what he is saying he will do. Plus I have access to imprezza for a yeah while my folks go around Australia for a year. Do I just wait and see if another one pops up in a year's time?....... I just don't know, to many variables, will the market go down? Or will fast wagons stay high. Are they actually going to fix everything or try to pull a swiffty on me. I'll send a link to the car sales add to help you guys get a better idea.....
P. s. thanks for the help guys, it's really doing my head in at the moment

[SpoolKing]

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2006-subaru-liberty-gt-spec-b-4gen-manual-awd-my07/SSE-AD-12197087/

[Yowie]

A load of waffle follows, not necessarily helpful.

I'm Qld based and I was looking for a Gen 4 GT wagon for ages up to about 2015 - to the point of trying to get an interstate purchase to work. I ended up grabbing a Forester XT. Gen 4 Liberty GT prices seemed high to me in 2015 and this $18,500-$20k example indicates we're still in the same ballpark (or more expensive) for a car that is 7 years older now.

For reference, I got the 2009 Forester XT for the $13,000-$14,000 bracket (can't remember) in 2015. It has taken more work to get it fast & reasonable-handling but it's a fast, fun wagon and I've enjoyed turning up the wick on it. Hotting it up is not cheaper than getting something fast to begin with, but at least you get to spread the expense over time.

Likewise there are a few more WRX wagons/hatchbacks about than there are Liberty GT wagons, so don't rule them out.

You've probably been searching carsales more recently for this so you would have an idea of rarity, average price etc. and the likelihood of another one popping up in your acceptable search timeframe. You mention 12 months, which is a usefully long time to be looking. TBA on whether "covid tax" goes away in that time or if 2nd hand car prices remain high.

If you've fallen in love with the Gen 4 Liberty GT thing (I understand!) you probably need to weigh up the cost of work you might need to do (presumably not all immediately).

People carry on about timing belt jobs (and sell cars out of fear of dealing with it) but it is just a job and an expense. If $18,500 is all the money you have, it's a different set of decision factors than if you have some extra disposable income.

If this car is worth it for you - personally I would try to talk the seller down on price then do any important work yourself rather than have him claim to have done work, but with re-inspection more difficult. It's human nature to do the minimum when you are tarting something up for a sale.

Alternatively, move on and be patient for the next hot wagon that fits your criteria.

[SpoolKing]

Thank you for you load of waffle, it has helped.

The money is definitely on the stretch side of my budget, but not crippling. But want something reliable and that I can add on to in the future. But I'm starting to think it's best to borrow my family car and just keep an eye out for some good deals. I can't help but think I'll miss out though, it's my favourite model of liberty and it has the right amount of power,and in the colour I like, not to mention it's a wagon. But that's my heart talking and my head is saying you don't need something that expensive, just wait and see what the market does. Maybe I'll just get an outback from the same year and eventually put some turbo on it......

[subyroo]

So the saga continues, the owner of the car says he is going to fix the cam cover leak and while doing so change the timing belt at the same time, also he is going to fix the busted pedders shock that got busted up on the front right, but only putting pedders in, not doing the bilstein's.

If the owner is that keen to fix those items why didn't he do it before putting it up for sale?
I would using your parents Imprezza and biding my time, it sounds like your gut is also telling you the same thing.

[SpoolKing]

Yeah I'm thinking the same thing, and the fact that the leak he said he was going to fix didn't end up being fixed, and now he saying he's going to fix it all, but he doesn't want to bring it to my guy......... it's all kinda sus