We have 2 kids in college…one is in a large city OOS and is graduating this year…she didn’t have a car at college and didn’t miss it. The other is a sophomore who’s at the state university that’s approx. a 3 hour drive away. He’s been without a car the first two years but for a variety of reasons, he is likely going to need a car next year.
So we’re looking for something inexpensive and very dependable. A guy on our Next Door site posted the following: “Green 2005 Subaru Forester with only 55,000 miles. New transmission last year. Great condition. Dark green with beige cloth interior. Car was owned by my grandparents for many years and then my weekend errand car. Good value with that low of mileage.” He’s asking $6000 and I’m going to look at it tomorrow…
I’ve never owned a Subaru but I always imagined it as a car that i would like. Assuming the car checks out, does it feel like a good deal? (I was thinking of offering more like 5k)
Have you checked kelly blue book? https://www.kbb.com/subaru/forester/2005/
Also, get the VIN and do a search. You can buy a CarFax report to see if there are any red flags.
I love my Subaru. I drive one, my d, my dil, my nephew all have them. All bought new though so I don’t have any idea about used but they hold their value so I suspect they hold up well.
I’m giving my D my 2009 Forester this summer so she’ll have a car when she moves off campus next year. Mine has 165K miles. My first Forester was a 1999 that had 240K miles when I finally let it go. I’m planning to lease a new Forester in the next month or two. I love the idea of a low mileage car in good shape at a good price! Hope it turns out well for you!!
We have a couple of old Forester’s. Both are quite a bit younger than 2005 and both have over 100,00 miles on them. They burn a bit of oil, although I don’t need to add it all that often. Old Foresters are known for burning oil. Other than that they are quite good and quite reliable. I like them and would probably purchase another if and when I need another car.
The Consumer Reports car issue came out just a couple of weeks ago. You might want to take a look at it.
The older Subarus often had problems with the head gaskets. That causes oil leaking and burning and it is an expensive thing to fix… they have to remove a lot of the engine in order to do it.
I have a 2014 Forester with about 80,000. I like to think I’ll be able to double that - at least. Love the car and if I had to replace I’d replace it with - another one.
No oil issues with mine. My brother has a 2015 that has leaked a bit but that knew that from the get go -purchased it used - they just keep oil on hand and add it as needed and haven’t had any issues for 2 years.
No car is perfect. And when you’re buying used (and older) you never know what you’ll get - so just leave yourself a little $$ padding in case you have to do some repairs.
I literally used to own that car (year, color, etc). And yes, it had head gasket issues at about 120K miles, which Subaru covered half the cost of because I could prove I’d done all the expected maintenance with receipts (even though it was out of warranty). I sold it to the kid across the street for ~$2500 when it had about 165K on it, and I know he drove it for a few years after that (might still be going, I moved after that and never heard more). D2 misses that car, still pines for it.
In general, I like Subarus. D2 now drives my 2009 Outback with 165K on it, and I have a 2017 Crosstrek that I adore.
I’d definitely go look at it, ask the guy if he can provide maintenance records for oil changes & 15K checkups. And I’d offer Bluebook if you decide to purchase, assuming it is under his price.
One other thing to note is tires. Subarus have finicky AWD systems when it comes to tires. If you get a flat that can’t be repaired, you sometimes have to get all new tires because you’ll ruin your drivetrain if you have different model tires or different amounts of tread wear. Just happened with D2 — we were lucky because the tires had less than 10K on them and met the Subaru specifications for replacement of the one, and we could get that tire. But I’ve had the other situation happen twice in 15 years of Subaru driving where I did have to replace the tires.
DW has been driving Subarus for about 25 years and we’ve found them to be GREAT in the snow, reliable and relatively cheap and easy to maintain. It’s hard to find a used Subaru with low miles. It seems like a good deal to me.
Do you have a mechanic? Every time we have purchased a used car…and that includes from dealers, we have asked if we could have our own mechanic check it out.
Is it a standard transmission? What exactly was replaced?
Well, that’s a good question. Why would a transmission need to be replaced after 55,000 miles? It’s an automatic so it’s not an issue of someone not knowing how to use stick shift. I’ll ask him in person tomorrow but what are theories?
New transmission at 55,000 miles could mean severe service driving (e.g. lots of city driving or off-road driving) that makes a lot of wear with relatively few miles on the odometer. Or abuse (maybe a 16 year old kid doing neutral drops).
One month access to Carfax is the best investment for used car buying…ESPECIALLY with the massive flooding, fires etc nationwide. Carfax will give you its historical roadmap so to speak.
We spent a lot of time looking for a good deal on a reliable older used car for D.
I was driving a beater myself (Subaru!) and was aware of how much money major repairs could cost on an older car, and then there was the unease with taking the car on any long road trips.
We ended up getting her a basic newer used Honda Civic. We spent more than we intended, but we got so much more for the money (age of car & low miles). We knew she could drive that car a long time, with confidence.
It felt kind of weird with the kid having the newer-nicer-more reliable car…but it seemed like the right decision for us.
Ask to take it to a mechanic, and make sure to get a detailed history (any accidents? why did it need a new transmission so soon?) Assuming it checks out, 6k is an incredible deal, but of course there is no harm in negotiating. My family has a '96 subaru and an '08 subaru that both run great with well over 100k miles. Good luck!
ooh also! LOOK UNDER THE HOOD. I cannot stress this enough. Probably just a common sense thing, but if the vehicle was driven in particularly harsh climates it could have extensive rusting.
My Camry went through two engines and a transmission before it hit 60k. (We think the first engine issue damaged the transmission as well, and it wasn’t picked up when the engine was replaced. The transmission then failed catastrophically, taking the second engine with it.) Not a single problem between then and when I traded in at 190k.
I would not buy a Subaru because they aren’t common in my area, and there’s only one dealership within reasonable driving distance, and that dealer carries Subarus as a sideline to the main make the dealership sells. Family members who live where Subaru dealerships are plentiful love theirs.
^^^The CarFax report will disclose the locations the car has been registered in as well as some, but not all, of the service history, accidents, etc. But I’d advise putting it on a lift and checking the catalytic converter/exhaust/muffler, since this part of the car is usually the first to go in bad climates. And if it looks brand new, then that’s a clear sign as well.
While a vehicle history search can reveal problems undisclosed by (or unknown to) the seller, data sources may vary by state (for example, some states have frequent emissions or safety checks, while others do not), so the absence of anything bad on a vehicle history search does not necessarily mean that nothing bad occurred.