I was thinking of of purchasing one of these. I know they aren't very powerful, but the handling is there. Basically looking for a good winter car for my long (50min) commute to work. Anyone know about anything I should look out for?

 

Well, look for low mileage. And if it is near 100K, they should have changed the timing belt.

As far as bad, 2002 is better. Before that, head gasket issues seemed to come up. You should be able to find one with good service records.

 

use it for a commuter for a while then STi swap it.

 

Haha that would be great, but if I get one I don't think I'll mod it too much. Probably just some bolt-ons and handling stuff. I think the one I was looking at is sold already as the guy still hasn't e-mailed me back. Might have to consider looking for an 02. The thing is I can't find any. All I find is a lot of legacy L's and wagons.

This is the one I was looking at yesterday: http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/1289117698.html

I really like these cars.

 

^ Why is it freshly painted? Kind of curious why someone would spend all that money (assuming it wasn't an insurance claim - which I'd wonder about) and then turn around and sell it? Usually people don't put too much money into a car they know they are going to get rid of in the very near future. Might not always be a red flag, but I'd be questioning that and looking for proof to back up his reasoning (ie: no accidents).

 

Solid cars, the auto-transmissions can be at risk of letting go after 100K miles or so. I would also look for an '02.

 

Good point. I would run a carfax anyways if I were to buy it. My boss has a 96 legacy in red and the paint looks like shit, badly faded.

 

I think that's what I'm gonna do. The problem is finding these is like looking for a needle in a hay stack for some reason. Same with trying to find a VW Golf TDi. I keep getting tons of Jettas and then when one finally pops up, it ends up being all beat up. I'm torn between getting a really fuel efficient car and getting one that's good in the snow/rain/ice ect. I think I'd have more fun in a legacy or an Impreza, but would appreciate the fuel savings of a Golf TDi.

 

Stick with the Subarus. Look at it this way; a Sube would be great 365 days a year no matter what the weather, but most of the satisfaction from owning the TDi would be figuring out your mileage after each fill-up. Subes are more reliable too, which could easily erase any mileage $$$ advantage the VW would give you over the long run.

All it would take is one extra $1,500 Jetta repair bill to wipe out 3 years of TDi fuel mileage savings.......

-Mirror

 

I would add that if you go to a Subaru dealer, they get trade ins, and most are older Subarus. Give t a shot and see if they have any that are in good shape.

A High School friend of mine sells them in upstate NY. I can always drop her a line and have her look. And that dealer sells a lot of them.