Decisions, decisions....(advice please)
Discussion
Well I think I've found my new car, after spending most of the day cruising round dealers and testdriving.
found a '97 facelift Legacy TS-R with a certified 41,000 km on it for $10k, in basically showroom condition. 2.0 manual non turbo, but it really goes well, alot better than my current 2.0 Legacy, and to be honest it was a whole lot nicer to drive than the '95 GT I tested beforehand. not that much performance difference at legal speeds except on hills, but the TS-R handled better with less understeer (despite smaller tyres), had better body control and less roll, felt like it had better brakes, and a more useable powerband. it just felt **right**, I guess a much better power/grip/balance/feel equation and felt much more confidence inspiring than the GT (or my VZ for that matter).
and at only 41,000km now, resale value in a few years should still be pretty good compared the majority of Legacies around (which seem to be mostly around 100k km now) Its also got many more km's to go before its likely to need any serious work done.
being non-turbo should help me out a lot in insurance and fuel costs too, which is a nice bonus
havent actually bought it yet, but its on hold for me "subect to confirmation"
so whaddya think? oh and its silver, which is a nice non-attention seeking colour.
found a '97 facelift Legacy TS-R with a certified 41,000 km on it for $10k, in basically showroom condition. 2.0 manual non turbo, but it really goes well, alot better than my current 2.0 Legacy, and to be honest it was a whole lot nicer to drive than the '95 GT I tested beforehand. not that much performance difference at legal speeds except on hills, but the TS-R handled better with less understeer (despite smaller tyres), had better body control and less roll, felt like it had better brakes, and a more useable powerband. it just felt **right**, I guess a much better power/grip/balance/feel equation and felt much more confidence inspiring than the GT (or my VZ for that matter).
and at only 41,000km now, resale value in a few years should still be pretty good compared the majority of Legacies around (which seem to be mostly around 100k km now) Its also got many more km's to go before its likely to need any serious work done.
being non-turbo should help me out a lot in insurance and fuel costs too, which is a nice bonus
havent actually bought it yet, but its on hold for me "subect to confirmation"
so whaddya think? oh and its silver, which is a nice non-attention seeking colour.
Sounds like you may have found your new beastie. 
Note - One of those Legacy models (although I think it was earlier) had really bad A/C problems that would start as early as 10-15k. The whole thing was a mess but very easy to tell as the pulleys & belts would shudder and make a great racket around idle and slighly higher revs.
If you can get your head under the bonnet with the A/C on without being deafened then it's not that model.
Note - One of those Legacy models (although I think it was earlier) had really bad A/C problems that would start as early as 10-15k. The whole thing was a mess but very easy to tell as the pulleys & belts would shudder and make a great racket around idle and slighly higher revs.
If you can get your head under the bonnet with the A/C on without being deafened then it's not that model.
no probs with A/C on this one, thanks for warning.
speaking of show-off valves, the GT I drove this morning had a rather loud one, I entertained myself for a while putting foot flat at low speed in 5th, nothing much happens due to being too low in powerband, but boost builds up, then you take foot off gas and you get a really LOUD PPPSSSSHHHHHHHHH! but before long I got sick of it and starting to think everyone would be looking at me and saying "what a tool, going Psshhhh in a family wagon"
speaking of show-off valves, the GT I drove this morning had a rather loud one, I entertained myself for a while putting foot flat at low speed in 5th, nothing much happens due to being too low in powerband, but boost builds up, then you take foot off gas and you get a really LOUD PPPSSSSHHHHHHHHH! but before long I got sick of it and starting to think everyone would be looking at me and saying "what a tool, going Psshhhh in a family wagon"
Update: I've decided to go for this one, so will be picking it up (and paying for it) later this week, probably wed or thurs if they're open in the evenings, otherwise maybe not till saturday. photos will follow sometime after that.
this is it here www.southernmotorcourt.co.nz/index_usedcars.htm
ok so the link just takes you to their stock search page, click 'subaru' and its the only 1997 TS-R on the list.
>> Edited by GravelBen on Monday 13th February 02:35
this is it here www.southernmotorcourt.co.nz/index_usedcars.htm
ok so the link just takes you to their stock search page, click 'subaru' and its the only 1997 TS-R on the list.
>> Edited by GravelBen on Monday 13th February 02:35
Kiwi XTR2 said:
Looks good
It's the one to have compared to the '99 model :
- 2 years younger
- 67,000 more kms (108k Dangerzone)
- Auto
- $2,000 more expensive
Do they throw in a bootful of Speights ?
I didnt even consider the '99, to me auto = bargepole time.
bootfull of speights......I wish!
but they are switching the wheels for me with those off a '96 auto Legacy they have there, still subie factory mags but a different design (often found on '95/'96 GTs) which I prefer the look of. they also (coincidentally of course
) have tyres a fair bit newer on them 
they didn't want my car as a trade-in (well made a token $1k offer, then said they'd give me that much discount without trade-in instead) so now I just have to sell it to some newly arriving scarfie who wants a ski-wagon. should be able to get $1500 i reckon, hopefully soon so I dont need to put new tyres on it for next wof.
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