legacy

cantdecide

a mate is thinking of buying a '98 legacy saloon 2.5 manual. does anyone out there in boardland have any knowledge of these cars? is there any known faults or isms to worry about?

junkyard

They're great cars you can't go far wrong with one of them. They tend to be a bit bland inside but very reliable and nice to drive too.

bo-bo

they really are good cars, bags of power, very good handling - but their residual value isnt as strong as their younger brothers ,the impreza

C_Breeze

and u need to own shares in shell to run one

TomMc

A friend of mine has a 2005 one and loves it. The older model is not in the same league as the current one, but still a very competent car. Considering they sell in relatively small numbers (as no diesel option) you still see a fair few of them (of all ages) about. The Subaru AWD is a better system and more reliable than Audi's Quattro.

All I would say is, an original Irish car would be a much safer proposition than a Jap import. New owners tend to keep their Legacy's longer than usual, so finding a 1/2 owner ('98) car with a comprehensive service history, is by no means impossible.

cantdecide

i'm not losing interest but losing confidence.
i'm hearing a lot about gearbox failures and juddering clutches and the like. went to see a '00 and was very disappointed that it hadn't held up that well. it was overheating and had a clutch shudder which wasn't very confidence inspiring. these were among a very long list of problems.

any more words of wisdom?

TomMc

cantdecide wrote:

i'm not losing interest but losing confidence.
i'm hearing a lot about gearbox failures and juddering clutches and the like. went to see a '00 and was very disappointed that it hadn't held up that well. it was overheating and had a clutch shudder which wasn't very confidence inspiring. these were among a very long list of problems.

any more words of wisdom?

Try Subaru dealers in Dublin, HB Dennis, Carroll & Roche, or Finegan's in Longford etc. I would only buy a used one from there unless a private owner had a full & comprehensive service history. They are not the type of car dealers would be unwilling to haggle on. The problem been the 2.5 is more likely to have led a hard life as opposed to a 2.0L. If they are at Subaru dealers they are more likely to have had more sympathetic previous owners .. i.e. most likely main dealer servicing and replaced with the newer model (owner confidence).

Another good car I have had in the past are Mitsubishi Galants (two of them) ... both were 2.0 Tiptronics (not manuals). Never gave any trouble whatsoever (70,000+ miles each). The 2001 model on with facelift would be the best option (IMO). The Galant is more suited to the main roads, motorway etc. than back roads if that is your thing. Dealers ask silly money but again haggle, haggle, haggle. I would still buy another ... if I was looking for something, which would not break the bank.

cantdecide

subaru deales are few and far between. called to eddie garry's in waterford and he had nothing. he barely has any subarus at all.
gallant is a very nice car. only problem is the big swing between the rep-spec and the like of the VR4, which would appeal to me far more. i'm also very much pro-auto/ tip. if i were going for a gallant non VR4, a diesel would be best for me but i'm not sure if you'll get a diesel tiptronic too often.

TomMc

cantdecide wrote:

subaru deales are few and far between. called to eddie garry's in waterford and he had nothing. he barely has any subarus at all.
gallant is a very nice car. only problem is the big swing between the rep-spec and the like of the VR4, which would appeal to me far more. i'm also very much pro-auto/ tip. if i were going for a gallant non VR4, a diesel would be best for me but i'm not sure if you'll get a diesel tiptronic too often.

They stopped importing the diesel version of Galant, a few years ago. They were also manual only .. as is the case today with the Grandis. Bolands use to have loads of them along with their sister garages .. autoboland, t & c, John Kelly etc. They supplied Hertz with a big fleet of same year in, year out. Only for their No 1 club members, rather than the day to day / mass hire fleet .. so the two I bought were never abused, always well serviced and ran like clockwork .. to high mileage, as mentioned previously. Only problem they usually had some cosmetic (paint) repairs, here and there .. nothing serious. There is one or two nice looking ones on Carzone .. Kerry & Galway (I think). The one in Tipp would need closer inspection, for my liking. All the best !

Interceptor

The Legacy is a great car and apart from the metallic piss coloured '00 model they look well too. I've driven several and found them more comfortable than many similar sized saloons. My parents have a 2.5 auto and it has been reasonably reliable but needed work on the diff (mother probably trying to drift it...). I've heard several people in the trade say that both the Legacy and Impreza can blow head gaskets and it is an epic to replace. If you are in the market, give Phil Kirwan in Duncormick Co. Wexford a bell (051 563214) as he tends to have an odd one and will do you a good deal.


'cptr

Dilbert75

cantdecide wrote:

called to eddie garry's in waterford and he had nothing. he barely has any subarus at all.

Did you try Phil Kirwan in Duncormick in Wexford? In the middle of nowhere but supposed to be decent to deal with.