Nah, small ads are nearer the mark at £4K.
It isn't mint by any means. There's some rust bubbling up around the windscreen that I've argued with the Subaru dealer about, and the door handle on the inside has gone squidgy in an unpleasant way (it was like that when we got the car, though - I think someone was wearing gloves with a chemical on).
The rust? Well, it's not through. I don't know if Subaru galvanise the roof or not and it's not crunchy. Maybe a respray is needed and it was just paint reaction. However, it is factory paint, and having it sorted would cost a few hundred. Better to sell as a cheap car, than mess around fixing that sort of thing.
The real problem is, dealers advertising them for £6K or not, is the fact that in MAY when I went to trade it in, the Experian system some dealers use to value a car said £2,375. Against a new car (so, £400 allowance for most dealers). 'Small" traders were pitching in with offers of £1,300 and £1,800.
The words "F*ck" and "That" were rapidly followed by "Get" and "Lost". However, there is the true barometer of a car's worth.
Except, it that's the sort of pittance I can expect, I'll stick with it. I've put new front tyres on, new front disks and pads, I know it had a clutch at 71K (never used it for towing since 45K, but I think it was used before), FSH from a main dealer (though that's out the window now), new cambelt just done (£500 service!), and it is still an astonishing vehicle to drive - feels dog slow at 60, feels 'right' at 80 (on NSL backroads), feels like you're just getting into it at around 100, and yet it has reasonable ground clearance, tolerable ability off road (low-range box, jacked up suspension), and loads of space inside.
To give you an idea of how the Outback handles; I think Imprezas and Foresters are sloppy and understeer too much in comparison. However, I haven't driven a fast one, just the cooking models of each.
Loads of six year old cars have a little bit of rust showing now. It's just that they weren't £26K new (actually, that's not true - my gf's Scorpio has some bits on the rear arches and driver's door).
Richard