benefits of buying 2001 Outback

I bought an '04 obw NEW for $19 and change in 1/04. Why not pony up a few more $$$ and get a new one? Used car buyers puzzle me. Who would pay that much for a daily driver with NO warranty, no guarantee and an unknown history? I bet you could find an 05 OB basic for $20k or so. Why buy another person's trouble. For $15-20k there are many vehicles you can buy new and have peace of mind!!

John

And new car buyers puzzle me: the moment you leave the dealer parking lot you throw away about $3,000.

Why not let someone else throw away his $3000, and buy a 2-3 year old car instead? If you inspect it beforehand, there will quite likely be nothing wrong with it, and you'll be able to use it for another 10 years with little problems.

Huh? Last I checked the Subaru warranty lasted for 3 years/36K miles and powertrain for 5 years/60K.

When you buy a new car, you may worry about it being stolen or scratched. With a used car I have a much better peace of mind :-)

Cheers,

When I bought my '01 OBW I saved $10,000 over a new one. There were 2 years/24,000 miles left on the powertrain warranty. The dealer's warranty was only 4 months but, bumper to bumper, that means it's been gone over. The car was in pristine condition. I think I got a good deal.

A nice thing about an '01 is it was the second year of production of that model design, so bugs had been worked out. 2004 was the last year of production of that design, so more bugs will have been worked out.

I wish I had gotten an '02 since:

- it has variable speed intermittent wipers, laughably trivial unless you live in the Pacific Northwest

- it has a couple other very small electrical thingies - ignition key light etc.

I'm glad I didn't get an '02 since:

it has the radio antenna in the windshield which, while slicker than a wire antenna, doesn't pull in stations as well. I like to look around for distant stations when on the road.

I'm glad I didn't get an '03 or '04 since:

they took out the cassette player, leaving only the CD. I have a big collection of cassettes from back in the day, and they and the car are perfect for each other: fidelity is fine for the car and they're easy to handle. I have mostly vinyl for home listening since I think it sounds better. So the cassette bookshelf is right by the front door.

I'm glad I didn't get an '05 for the 03/04 reason plus the interior really isn't as nice. More hip maybe, but not as nice for my taste.

Conclusion to all this: YMMV.

It's a great car.

t has the radio antenna in the windshield which, while slicker than a wire antenna, doesn't pull in stations as well. I like to look around for distant stations when on the road.>they took out the cassette player, leaving only the CD. I have a big collection of cassettes from back in the day, and they and the car are perfect for each other: fidelity is fine for the car and they're easy to handle. I have mostly vinyl for home listening since I think it sounds better

Where? That's an abnormally low price, or you got creamed on a trade-in.

Barry

lot you throw away about $3,000. <

Thats total BS to get suckers to buy USED cars. MY 04 OBW had a sticker of $25,500 . I paid $19,xxx. If it was totalled or stolen the day I bought it I'd make money. Dealers love to sell used since they make more money. In central NJ dealers mark up used cars $4k over what they give as trade. New cars arent as profitable when people research invoice cost etc and only pay a few hundred over invoice. Except for my first car I've only bought new and definite.y gotten my money's worth with careful maintenance and purchase of quality cars.

You've got my interest.

I challenge you to the following:

1.) Scan your sales slip. 2.) Black out your personal data, like name, address, VIN, phone numbers, marker plate number, lien holder and signature. Leave all price and model info, and anything preprinted on the form. 3.) Post it. Don't want to post a binary? I'll offer up web space.

We have two long time family friends that own _chains_ of dealerships, representing 22 brands. If you can prove your purchase, I bow to a master.

Barry

If you buy new, smart, you can do pretty well. I bought a car with a list price of $27,500 for $21,950 A brand new 6 cylinder Outback leftover. Great car and a great price.

A 2-year old vehicle can be had at a good price, but I wouldn't buy any vehicle older than that unless I planned on putting more money into it for brakes, and other normal wear and tear items, etc.

I'll work on that later or tomorrow. Ask your friends about the "ad Car" . Most dealers will get people to pay more or come up with some fine print. Those who stick firm get a great deal. You don't pick the color or options though. I got a silver OBW when I wanted grren but they come w/ everything I want anyway.

I agree. I usually buy new and drive them 9-10 years. If I'm in a car that long, I want the exact car I want. I did pretty good on my '01 OBW, considering I had to have a blue 5 speed and they aren't anywhere near as common as automatics. Unfortunately, the 01' is now for sale, as I really need a truck, my wife won't part with her '99 Wrangler,and I've got a Toyota Tacoma on the way.

Model year leftovers are usually another story for two reasons:

1.) They are a year old the day you buy them.

2.) The dealer often receives incentives from the factory to clear the old stock. This is the same as any other retail business that deals in years and seasons.

As long as the above is kept in mind, and the dealer will play along, a leftover can be an excellent purchase.

Barry

I'm not throwing any money away. I bought a new car, guaranteed to be in new condition. If I buy it used, I take the risk that the former owner got in an accident or had some substandard work done that he's not going to tell me about. That's BS man. Not for a $50,000 CAD car..

Please. With a Subaru WRX or STi, the stolen worry is the same regardless of whether it's new or not. You're willing to take the risk that some n00b diddled with the turbo just to save a couple percent in the cost?

He doesn't seem to have ponied that up yet.

Must be busy.

But it doesn't really matter, does it?

Assume that:

- the 04 OBW had a $25,500 sticker

- that he bought it in late 2004 (after the 05s came out),

- that it was a "only one at this price" ad car, and perhaps had 1K miles on it,

- that he paid $19,999 for it.

That's not so unbelievable, is it?

I still wonder whether my claim of "you loose $3K the moment you drive a new car off the lot" is complete BS (as he claimed) or not.

For example, did anyone have a new car totaled within (say) a month of purchase, and if so, how much did it really cost (out of pocket, i.e. including deductibles).

My experience (with fairly old cars, two of my own, my mother's and friend's) has been that the insurance pays about $1-2K less than it would *really* cost to replace. In other words, I get a check from insurance for: $N (real cost to buy the same car) - $500 (deductible) - $1500 (insurance cheat?)

Cheers,

I think a 2 year old car is great buy.... especially on a Volvo or Subaru.

If I were graphing it, between 2-4 seems prime.