Looks like a granny paint job to me.

AKA garaged it's entire life.

 

KBB is not accurate on these cars. Last I checked they say like $6-7k is accurate, but these regularly sell for $10-12k in good condition with moderate mileage.

-Check the brakes.
- Check the TMIC pips.
- CHeck for cracks in the radiator.
- Check that they have performed the pulley/timing belt change.
- Regular oil changes are key in these cars.
- Check the transmission for leaks.
- Get under the car and look for rust - seriously. It's a Subaru.
- Check for weird tire wear.
- Check the suspension bits for bends/stress fractures/rust.
- Check the interior for random things that don't fit right. Could indicate a collision.
- Check the turbo for oil leaks.
- White smoke coming from the engine bay on a cold start could indicate a bad valve cover gasket/leaky turbo.

I love my FXT. I've put 9k on it since I bought mine with 120k on it (at 129k now) and it's awesome. Fast, fun, pulls hard, handles well (I've done some work to it) and has plenty of storage space.

 

This thing has been for sale for quite some time. Since I bought mine from Steven's Creek Subaru back in August '12. Be careful.

 

Ask her what grade of fuel she's been using. I know quite a few of local FXT owners around here who are not "car people" and think it's ok to feed their XTs a steady diet of regular gas because it saves them a buck or two on a fill-up. It does sound like this particular car has generally been well taken care of, though. Not too many would make it to that mileage on the original engine if there was neglect involved, but nonetheless it may be a good idea to take it to a shop for a compression test before purchase.

BTW, my 04 XT has 181k miles and has been the most dependable vehicle I've ever owned.

 

Who would I trust? Some douchebag who doesn't know what an FXT is, or someone who has owned one since it was brand new off the delivery truck, who is an administrator of one of the largest Forester forums in the world, and spends at least 30 hours per week discussing the subject?

Do the math, then buy the Forester.

 

this was extremely helpful, thank you!! good to hear from actual forester owners. I'm gonna do a thorough inspection of all those things, unfortunately my schedule only allows me to see the car on Sunday... can't take it to a shop.
it's my understanding however that were there to be any compression issues the CEL would show that, right? I say this because I've looked at lots of cars and when I ask shops to check compression they always say if the CEL isn't on then there shouldn't be any issues with that.
can someone clarify this for me?


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Well put. I really appreciate the advice.



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If you aren't on SubaruForester.org yet, go. It has been vital to installations and maintenance on my FXT.

Roo knows what he's talking about.

 

thanks! if I end up getting the car I'll be sure to check that out.


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Subarus lose compression and more so on the leakdown and never throw a code. On the new ones you'll have broken ringlands and still have no idiot light on.

 

Just kinda curious as to why it's got two different license plates. The one on the back was out of state and the front was a Cali plate

 

Subarus lose compression and more so on the leakdown and never throw a code. On the new ones you'll have broken ringlands and still have no idiot light on. [/quote]


very helpful, thanks for explaining that heedz .I'll have both a compression and leakdown run before I buy the car. tomorrow will be my visual inspection.





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the owner lived in new Mexico for a while before moving to Cali , I checked up on all that. good eye though



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