My son is interested in buying his first car.
He’s now looking at a Subaru Impreza 2008.
It has 283K miles “on chassis” and had an “engine overhaul” 20K miles ago. Seller is asking $5.5K
What are some pros/cons ins/outs of buying such a car?
I’ve personally never had a car with such high miles.
I suppose there is more likelihood of chassis-related problems?
Find a Subaru shop and have them inspect it. Any idea what specifically went into the ‘overhaul’? Head gasket replacement is common on older Subarus, is that what they meant?
At 283k anything could fail, what kind of transmission does it have?
It has an auto trans. We’ll have to ask owner if any overhaul on trans has been done. Is there a ballpark lifetime for a trans on these Subes? Owner says he has docs on the overhaul but we haven’t seen them yet.
Any car brand’s automatic transmission is not expected to live a long life after 283k. Have you done a search on cars.com? I found 79 cars within 30 miles of me for $4000-$6000 with under 150k miles.
I would keep looking - rebuilt engine ( how well was it done ? ) - all wheel drive that requires matching tires at all four corners ( do you really need all wheel drive ? ) - really lots of miles .
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If this car came from a rust-belt state, walk away NOW. I don’t care if the engine is brand NEW, the scourge of hidden rust is likely.
Now “overhauled” means a LOT of different things to different people. If the engine was “remanufactured” meaning brand new wear components and machine work to properly clearance the parts, I’d tend to be happy with that. Especially since it ran another 20K. Any screw-ups on the rebuild are worked out by now.
But EVERYthing else that wears has 238K and 15 years on it. Stuff you’d never think of replacing may need it. Throttle pedal assembly, steering rack, ignition switch, door locks, the drivers seat track, the power mirrors… everything.
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I looked up this car’s value on edmunds.com. In clean condition with no problems this car is worth $2000 as a private sale. I don’t believe this overhauled engine is worth $3500 without an overhauled transmission too. Even then it’s iffy at 283,000 miles. Also, what does overhauled mean? If you and your son are still interested, then find out exactly what was done in the overhaul. Get a detailed list. If you are interested you can post it here and see what the folks here think.
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Engine overhaul had different meanings. An overhaul could be anything from a complete rebuild to a sloppy patch consisting of a valve job and new piston rings.
In my younger days, I bought a 1955 Pontiac which had an engine overhaul. I found out later that the overhaul was just athe “sloppy patch” overhaul. The hydraulic valve lifters weren’t replaced. The oil passages in the block hadn’t been cleaned out. I had problems with the car from day 1.
I bought the 1955 Pontiac from the local Rambler dealer whose service department had done the work. What saved the day for me was that my dad was buying a Rambler from the dealer. He had a 1954’Buick with 120,000 miles on the odometer and had never had any major engine work. He was offered more for my 1955 Pontiac on the trade than his 1954 Buick. I traded cars with my dad and drove the Buick to 160,000 miles with no engine problems.
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More can be bad with that many miles, I would pass.
+1
While I am a fan of Subarus and have had very few problems with mine as they aged, I would “pass” on a Subaru–or any other make–with close to 300k on the odometer. As was already noted, even if the engine has been overhauled, the automatic transmission is already well past its design life once it has gone beyond 200k. And then, there is the issue of all of the other components that are at the point of failure in the foreseeable future.
Would I buy this car (for the right price)? Absolutely. Since the engine was repaired or rebuilt 20,000 miles ago, that is more than enough time to assure that it’s going to run for a while. However, lots of other parts in this car–including the transmission–are past their intended design life, and can be expected to fail.
Which brings me to my next point. The seller is asking too much money for this car. With that kind of mileage, this is a $2000 to $2500 car at best. The seller is out of his mind if he thinks someone will pay $5500 for this. I would offer $2500 and explain that this is your last, best, and final offer, and that if the car languishes on the market (which it will) then here’s your number and call me when you’re ready to sell.
That is so very true… Some people call replacing a few parts an overhaul… Some online postings are putting fresh paint on and say it is rebuilt… haha
Me, if it has not been checked and decked, dipped and stripped etc etc at a machine shop or well equipped home garage with all new and or machined wear parts…
If it has just been taken apart and only the parts replaced are the damaged and eyecrometer measured parts that “look” bad and everything else is reused, that is not an overhaul…
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