Why did I buy a used Subaru?

Umm, yeah, being upset with the dealer was kinda the point of the original post.

I have learned the same lesson with my first Subaru: Never EVER buy a used Subaru. Usually someone milked one for good and dumped it onto someone else to pay for expensive repairs.

Hi,

Sorry your experience hasn't been good, but one must remember used cars are a "buyer beware" item. Some states' laws may require disclosure of "known" problems, but that's not universal practice.

Probably the most important question I ask when looking at a used car is "Why did the previous owner want to replace it?"

With luck, these problems will soon be resolved and you'll become a happier Subie owner.

Rick

Thanks for the response. I certainly hope it gets better, because the car itself, when it works, is awesome. Stable, responsive, a pleasure to drive.

In my case, the car I bought was billed by the dealer as "a trade that the previous Owner made to buy a new Outback. We usually don't sell high mileage cars, but this one was exceptionally clean....all the maintenance has been done." Buyer beware, I know. On one hand, I am thankful I bought from a dealer because, in an effort to keep their reputation intact, they performed some extensive repairs that they had not counted on; if I had bought privately, I would be SOL. On the other hand, I question whether they bought a piece of junk, couldn't figure that out or knew it and then tried to pass it off onto the next buyer.

I'll have to look into the disclosure laws, and at the very least, will be writing a terse letter to the dealer.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. It should be said that any used car in general, let it be BMW, Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Ferrari, you need to be weary of it's condition, past maintenance history, etc.

Rick Courtright wrote:

Other than the HG, which Soobs of that model range are known to occasinally have problems with, I don't think your experience is unique either to the car or the dealership. I could argue that it would've been nice to know if the TB was seviced on schedule and if the clutch was original - but really, you could substitute the word toyota, or mazda or Ford for subaru in your story and I bet it has happened a dozen times to someone else. I think also, because folks tend to keep their Soobs around longer, even dealerships are so hungry to be able to offer used models they tend to keep cars that, if a similar condition used Ford showed up, they would send it to the wholesaler. I must say though, it seems your dealership was fair. Ask questions here, look around at

Carl

There is no difference between Subies and any other make. LOTS of consumers simply dispose of their vehicles after 2 to 3 years. Doesn't matter what is the mileage, low or high. Doesn't matter what is the condition, good or bad. They've been taught or somehow contrued that after a few years that they should get a brand new car because the old one will start having problems soon, whether or not it shows any problems at all when they decide to get rid of it. It's their form of preventative maintenance provided they can afford to lose all that depreciation in the car's value over the front-end heavily weighted reduction period. Also, many can afford their whim of getting a new car because they are simply bored with the old one, like folks that buy different clothes on each shopping spree. That's great for the rest of us that like those dupes to eat up the most depreciation of the vehicle and do all the initial repairs and tweaks for new cars.

Regardless of what the dealer says, even if they claim to have ASE certified mechanics, I still take the prospective purchase to my own auto shop which also employs ASE mechanics (and ALL of them at the auto shop are also master mechanics). If I genuinely am interested in a particular car, I take it in to pay the $100, or so, to have it fully inspected. That doesn't guarantee that all hidden problems become revealed just because the dealer's and auto shop's mechanics all inspected it but it gives an assurance level for the condition of the vehicle.

On 2006-09-12, penned:

Because people buying new cars are not necessarily making a logical decision. Because people buying new cars may have more money than you, and therefore aren't as concerned with that dollar difference. Because people buying new cars are often buying them for the perceived features (bigger engine, better AWD, etc), not because there's anything objectively "wrong" with their old car. Because people have different priorities, and some people may put "shiny new car" at a higher priority than you do.

In short, because there's a lot more to a purchase than pure logic, as car dealers and any other salespeople have known since roughly the dawn of time.

Many suckers will pay like new prices for a used car. I have kept my last two new cars for eight years and enjoyed years of payment free driving. However when a huge repair hit is on the horizon I dump the car and buy a new one. I would like to keep my 04 OBW for 200k miles but if I see a yellow 4 door Wrangler the subie may have to go sooner.

M> On 2006-09-12, penned:

I bought outback zerosport 2005 solely because of the terrible reliability with 92 legacy. I loved 92 legacy and hated it's reliability. I hate 05 obs but like it's reliability (heck, I still have 20k+ miles of warranty left, so it'd better behave). I won't buy a used Evo (or any other half decent car for that matter) used though either. If I need to save money on a used car I'd buy some used docile piece of shit that deprecated to the point where it's a "good value". Like Taurus or 500 and have it inspected to make sure the owner was about to die of boredom rather than of a heart attach after seeing a quote for a repair bill. Why buy an old used complex car like Outback? It will fall apart in expensive ways.

Right. A lot more. In my case stupidity was a big part of it.

I disagree. I have traded in used cars while buying a new car three times. Two out of the three times, the car was in perfect working order. I traded because my needs had changed and the car I was trading still retained some value which could be applied to a new car.

In this case, I started my own business last year. I am an architectural consultant, and occasionally need to carry ladders and other testing equipment which do not go in and out of a sedan easily. Furthermore, while business has been successful beyond my expectations, I did not feel that it would be financially responsible to spend $20-25,000 on a new vehicle in the business' name. I also have a newborn son, and so a pickup truck in which he couldn't fit is not an option.

If you're like me, you do some research on the make, model and year of any car before buying. In my case, that included talking to my mechanic, doing a carfax search for the VIN and looking at the consumer reports data (which gave generally very good reports on most major systems for this model and year). Seriously, are you going to go into google groups and type the make, model, year and every single issue that could eventually arise, from brakes to engine to gasket, to other things. Before last week I had never even heard of the term "tensioning wheel."

On the eurojunk comment, I have two VWs, a 99 Jetta and an 02 Passat with a combined 190,000 miles on them. 11 years+ of ownership and not a single significant problem. Normal wear and tear, brakes, tires and such, that's it. Perhaps my experience is not typical.

Just to follow up on my original post, in case anyone is interested.

Late yesterday I spoke to my sales rep, who referred my call to the dealership's general manager this morning. The dealership is concerned about my dissatisfaction and has asked for an opportunity to look over the car once more, have their service manager drive it, etc., and then work either towards another repair or to "get me into a comparable vehicle." There is a long way to go between here and there, but at this point, it is the best I can hope for.

Again, it has been a bad experience, but I am so thankful that at least I am working with a dealer, and that the dealer has been cooperative in attempting to address my concerns.

Yeah, I bought a car for my daughter that was treaded in because a school teacher was being given a new car for xmas by her husband. Not all cars traded in have issues. And many that do, are easily repaired. Some folks just get int eh mindset "Ugh, the CEL light came on TWICE this year! We better dump this car!" And maybe it just needs a front O2 sensor and a new evap system vacuum line or something.

Carl

I don't know what you expected buying a car with that many miles on it.