Yes daily driver i use mine all the time. First make sure they have documentation of all work done and dont be afraid to call the shop where it was done and ask if they have any concerns with the car. 4.5 is a little high in my opinion but ill bet they will haggle. If they dont have proof of head gasket repair at that price walk away. Post pics hope you get it.

Cheers

 

Thanks...and if the head gasket has not been done...how much does that run to get fixed? Should I negotiate it down more and then get it done right away...or just walk away? Also...what price would you pay for the car?

 

Just remember that when a car has that many miles on it the reputation of the brand & model don't mean much. The history of that specific car matters more.

A proper head gasket job should run around $1550 in most US cities. Adjust for local situation. Not every car requires this- wait for the symptoms before spending the money, because it isn't a showstopper in the 2000-2009 cars. (It is in the earlier DOHC models)

Price sounds a bit high to me but some markets are hotter than others.

I've never owned a car less than 4 years old or with fewer than 80k miles. You can save a lot of money by letting somebody else pay for that depreciation, but it isn't without risk. Good luck!

 

If the seller is the original owner I would be looking for stacks of service records to support the asking price. I wouldn't pay much over $3k for it.

In answer to your question, no, buying a 13 year old vehicle with 161,000 miles as my daily driver is not something I would do.

 

I think it's worth investigating.

you could locate a good shop with soob-experience near you to do a pre-purchase inspection - might be worth $75-$100 to either avoid a BIG $$$$ headache, or, get a few items documented to use for 'haggling'.

IMHO it's critical to know what belt and parts were used in the timing belt service.

 

IF there is proof of the servicing and it passes a basic mechanical inspection, I'd be fine with it. Price is a little high for my area but not terrible. Also, make sure if got more than just a new belt slapped on. If the idlers etc were not replaced, gonna need to do it again.

No records provided = service has not been done. Budget accordingly.

For the record, our daily drivers are listed in my sig. 13 years old with 160K and 14 years old with 107K. Both have constant lists of minor repairs needed (like any car that is going on a decade and a half) but they are both paid off and some of us can't afford the debt of something newer. Cheaper to keep the old cars running as long as they can.

 

Unless it is spotless and there is a mountain of service records, No way would I go near a car that old with that many miles at that price unless it is pristine with documentation of EVERY service.

I also don't buy used cars without having a mechanic I trust do an inspection on the car. Costs about $200 around here for a full inspection, you get an itemized list of stuff that needs to be fixed in order to negotiate.

 

OP, You describe the exact car I just bought over the summer for MY daily driver. Get the Car Fax so you can rule out any major accidents or damage. I paid $4000 and the tires were only five days old and he had paid $510 for them. The car had 161500 miles on it and now has almost 164000 miles. I would consider the interior to be a 7 out of 10 and the exterior to be about the same. No rust at all on the body and no rips or stains on the seats and minimal staining on the carpet. Mine is the Base model with MT.

I'll be the third owner and there wasn't much in the way of service receipts. The previous owner could not confirm if there had ever been any HG work but no issues so far. I have bought a Gates kit and will install it in a few weeks when the weather gets cooler(low to mid 90's this week and next). The suspension needed work so I have put on KYB struts, mounts, top hats - frt and back, rear sway bay links and bushings and that helped a whole bunch - it rides like an almost new car. Since I do all my own work I feel I can justify doing some extras that someone paying shop labor wouldn't be able to do right away so I replaced ball joints and the lower control arm rear bushings (Febest - I'll check them in a year).

My car is a daily driver and I put about 40 miles of 95% highway miles 5 days per week and shorter trips on the weekend. So far I've been very happy with my purchase and this is my third Subaru.

 

helps to know your area - if you're in CO or PNW, subaru prices are high there. hot car season now and for a few months so prices are becoming less flexible.

headgaskets - inspect them now. Look for prior replacement and current leakage.
The original OEM headgaskets leak externally and are very easy to spot. Find the common leak points and check there.
Original OEM HG's also get worse slowly - they can be driven 50,000 miles after they first start leaking.
All that also means - preemptive replacement is rather pointless and so is negotating price on a 15 year old vehicle for an unknown without a compelling reason.
I generally see *any* cooling system replacement as a red flag to dig deeper. When was that water pump replaced and why? If there's any possibility it was an attempt to relieve overheating (or hoses, clamps, thermostat, radiator cap, fans, radiator) - then you need to dig deeper.

How many "new radiator", "new water pump", "recent flush", "caps/thermostat" subaru's have i seen that were really attempts to thwart an ominous headgasket? I have no idea - but a lot.

Timing belt/water pump - the pulleys/tensioner should be replaced before the water pump.
water pump failure is rare, pulley/tensioner failures far exceeed water pump failures - and what's more is water pump failures causing timing belt issues is nearly non-existent. a water pump just leaks, no big deal, just replace it. tensioner/bearing failures cause valve damage $$$$ most of the time.

it only takes 2 hours to replace the tensioners/pulleys but you have to find someone willing to do it at a reasonable price.

 

More specific answer, yes that's a reasonable car if the price reflects other local prices/condition - here's what I would do for another 100,000 mile reliability:

Very soon (these are common, expensive damage/repairs):
timing pulleys and tensioner ($200 - $400)
Personally I would also replace the cam seals and reseal the oil pump (seal, oring, tighten backing plate screws)
change coolant and add coolant conditioner ($100)
front diff fluid ($50)
ATF fluid ($100)

In the next year or two, these are more maintenance items that may strand you so I like to do them soon after getting a new to me Subaru:
Plugs, wire, PCV valve
Clean and regrease all the brake caliper pins with Sil Glyde or equivalent high grade grease
(replace any pads as necessary after looking at them during the pin cleaning)

Other than that most things should not leave you stranded outside an odd failure.

Alernators and fuel pumps are high mileage/age wear items but few people replace those preventatively as it's costly to buy OEM Subaru units and aftermarkets suck in long term reliability. But I generally try to replace those between 150k-200k so I can plan on 300k reliably.

 

Every car I've owned I bought with 120K miles. Not my favourite number, hehe. It's just that they were cheap and not trash. Honda, toyota, subaru. All daily drivers, and I went on extended road trips up to 4000 km with no problems. Not to say ownership was problem free, as all had head gasket problems! I only paid to change it on the Toyota, as others were/are slow external leaks. Promptly crashed the Toyota after that expensive repair. In my view it's fine to daily drive a high mileage Japanese car if you stick with it long enough to enjoy the investment on the big repairs. Assuming you started with something that was well maintained.

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