RE: Subaru Legacy 3.0R | Shed of the Week

[SidewaysSi]

Etypephil said:

yonex said:

Etypephil said:

Having spent a lifetime of weekends racing, and weekdays buying, selling, and fixing cars, I know a little about chassis dynamics, what goes wrong most frequently, and how expensively; post mid 1990s BMWs (like many other marques) live on a reputation sadly no longer deserved.

Mine have been pretty good, must be pure luck. I wouldn’t base opinions on a couple of notoriously expensive to maintain models, what did you expect from a 750i exactly

Not to mention M5.

I was rather hoping for much the same as I got from my previous 735s, and B9 635Csi, all of which were superb.

Err....isn't it fairly well know some particular models of some marques aren't particularly reliable? E60 M5?

Don't think you can then tar everything they make with the same brush and band it around as fact.

[Etypephil]

SidewaysSi said:

Err....isn't it fairly well know some particular models of some marques aren't particularly reliable? E60 M5?

Don't think you can then tar everything they make with the same brush and band it around as fact.

To be frank, I don't expect any cars in that price range, performance or otherwise, to eat engines at 40,000 miles, nor did I expect my last 7 series to be so troublesome.
I doubt that buyers of their more mundane offerings expected timing chain failure, gearbox failure, or oil consumption typical of pre WW2 cars. Of course, many owners haven't suffered any of these, but far too many have.

[anonymous-user]

Etypephil said:

Not to mention M5.

I was rather hoping for much the same as I got from my previous 735s, and B9 635Csi, all of which were superb.

It’s hardly fair comparing a 635 to an M5, slightly different technology. And as has been said, but a good one, with the known issues taken care of and they’re still going to cost some money, nature of the beast.

[SidewaysSi]

Etypephil said:

SidewaysSi said:

Err....isn't it fairly well know some particular models of some marques aren't particularly reliable? E60 M5?

Don't think you can then tar everything they make with the same brush and band it around as fact.

To be frank, I don't expect any cars in that price range, performance or otherwise, to eat engines at 40,000 miles, nor did I expect my last 7 series to be so troublesome.
I doubt that buyers of their more mundane offerings expected timing chain failure, gearbox failure, or oil consumption typical of pre WW2 cars. Of course, many owners haven't suffered any of these, but far too many have.

As you said above, same as many marques. It's the tech in general that's a problem.

I don't buy models with significant known issues and have had zero big failures in my driving career. And that's across many cars and brands.

[Legend04]

Had one for a while, the 'rear exhaust issue' isn't really an issue and if it is corroded wouldn't be too much concern to me as ebay offers some cheap stainless steel options if you are happy to bolt it on. The real issue is the front portion of the exhaust, it has 3 cats fitted (only 2 are plugged in via O2 sensors) so if that portion is corroded you are in for a crazy bill if you go for OEM parts, two of the cats are actually connected to each other on the passengers side of the engine and if one cat is damaged both will need to be replaced, this is far more important to check than the rear part every review mentions. I'd hate to think of someone looking over a 3.0R and seeing a brand new stainless exhaust on the rear and thinking they had got a winner when the cats are rotten through due to lack of use over the last 16 years.

Replacement 02 sensors can cost a couple of hundred, i'm sure Subaru quoted 270 at one place for a front bank 1 sensor. Some come with Tokico brakes and other Akibono (I believe?), there is quite a price difference between them, Halfords can do all pads for around £180 on the cheaper calipers which I think are Tokico.

The 3.0R and the 3.0R Spec B Auto have the same power output but with the R you can avoid the future cost of bilstein strut replacement, that may mean something to some people.

Over all a nice car, but a generic Lexus from the early 00's may be quicker (although without AWD) and parts may be easier to come by outside of dealerships and DIY stuff.

[ericmcn]

Legend04 said:

Had one for a while, the 'rear exhaust issue' isn't really an issue and if it is corroded wouldn't be too much concern to me as ebay offers some cheap stainless steel options if you are happy to bolt it on. The real issue is the front portion of the exhaust, it has 3 cats fitted (only 2 are plugged in via O2 sensors) so if that portion is corroded you are in for a crazy bill if you go for OEM parts, two of the cats are actually connected to each other on the passengers side of the engine and if one cat is damaged both will need to be replaced, this is far more important to check than the rear part every review mentions. I'd hate to think of someone looking over a 3.0R and seeing a brand new stainless exhaust on the rear and thinking they had got a winner when the cats are rotten through due to lack of use over the last 16 years.

Replacement 02 sensors can cost a couple of hundred, i'm sure Subaru quoted 270 at one place for a front bank 1 sensor. Some come with Tokico brakes and other Akibono (I believe?), there is quite a price difference between them, Halfords can do all pads for around £180 on the cheaper calipers which I think are Tokico.

The 3.0R and the 3.0R Spec B Auto have the same power output but with the R you can avoid the future cost of bilstein strut replacement, that may mean something to some people.

Over all a nice car, but a generic Lexus from the early 00's may be quicker (although without AWD) and parts may be easier to come by outside of dealerships and DIY stuff.

This is the front of the exhaust you refer to, it can be pricey for sure to replace but in almost 4 years of ownership i only ever replaced the Y section so got a SS Cat back fitted for £600 which was cheap compared to what Subaru would fit, plus it sounds great. Having had a V6 IS250, my Subaru is far quicker and the older 2.0 Lexus from the 00s is even slower and is far off a 150+ mph limit. Bilstein struts can be had for a good price also if you know where to go. The key thing for a 3.0SpecB is to check its service history, i change oil every 8k miles or so - probably conservative but its better than forking out on a new engine.

[ericmcn]

Mr Tidy said:

ericmcn said:

Its good to see the OP enyoying the Subaru and he will get far more useful support on some other website and not here, this place is sometimes a sad excuse for a motoring forum unfortunately

https://youtu.be/9ghuwb1yXS4

Nevertheless it is still a pleasure to see Eric visiting here when he could tear himself away from a Subaru love-fest - even if it was to support the gutless 3.0 Legacy.

Hope the buyer is enjoying his Subaru, in this horrid weather no better car to be in - your 6 pot BMW, as awesome as it, has about the same performance as a SpecB, when its wet you would be last also - as hard as that may be to deal with on a daily basis.

Love the way all the fanboys are bashing the Subaru - it might be a good idea to get checked over at Specsavers, that was a 40 zone where that stty 2 litre BMW sped off at lights, not everyone drives like a tt, but it’s a common recurrence for BMW morons in cities and towns it seems

All the dislikes on the videos must be from the sheep on pH...:

https://youtu.be/EtfWEMUUWhw

[SidewaysSi]

You are back!! And with a video - oh goody.

I will sit down with the family and put it on the big screen later.

[Gojira]

SidewaysSi said:

You are back!! And with a video - oh goody.

I will sit down with the family and put it on the big screen later.

Don't bother... It looks like someone has bought him a copy of "My First Video Editor"

By the time the BM caught up with him, I was getting sea-sick

[cerb4.5lee]

SidewaysSi said:

You are back!! And with a video - oh goody.

I will sit down with the family and put it on the big screen later.

Friday nights won't get much better than that for sure!

[monzaxjr]

ericmcn said:

Hope the buyer is enjoying his Subaru, in this horrid weather no better car to be in - your 6 pot BMW, as awesome as it, has about the same performance as a SpecB, when its wet you would be last also - as hard as that may be to deal with on a daily basis.

Love the way all the fanboys are bashing the Subaru - it might be a good idea to get checked over at Specsavers, that was a 40 zone where that stty 2 litre BMW sped off at lights, not everyone drives like a tt, but it’s a common recurrence for BMW morons in cities and towns it seems

All the dislikes on the videos must be from the sheep on pH...:

https://youtu.be/EtfWEMUUWhw

You really are a sad festering knacker. I'd assume most PHers actually like Subarus. It's just you they don't like.

[largespiced]

Legend04 said:

Had one for a while, the 'rear exhaust issue' isn't really an issue and if it is corroded wouldn't be too much concern to me as ebay offers some cheap stainless steel options if you are happy to bolt it on. The real issue is the front portion of the exhaust, it has 3 cats fitted (only 2 are plugged in via O2 sensors) so if that portion is corroded you are in for a crazy bill if you go for OEM parts, two of the cats are actually connected to each other on the passengers side of the engine and if one cat is damaged both will need to be replaced, this is far more important to check than the rear part every review mentions. I'd hate to think of someone looking over a 3.0R and seeing a brand new stainless exhaust on the rear and thinking they had got a winner when the cats are rotten through due to lack of use over the last 16 years.

Replacement 02 sensors can cost a couple of hundred, i'm sure Subaru quoted 270 at one place for a front bank 1 sensor. Some come with Tokico brakes and other Akibono (I believe?), there is quite a price difference between them, Halfords can do all pads for around £180 on the cheaper calipers which I think are Tokico.

The 3.0R and the 3.0R Spec B Auto have the same power output but with the R you can avoid the future cost of bilstein strut replacement, that may mean something to some people.

Over all a nice car, but a generic Lexus from the early 00's may be quicker (although without AWD) and parts may be easier to come by outside of dealerships and DIY stuff.

I had my front and rear section replaced. Rear section was indeed the Y section gone. Subaru replaced this, £600! Then shortly after engine management light come on. Another trip to Subaru and suspected cat failure. They were unable to tell me which one though. They didn’t even quote! He was however talking about it being enough to write the car off. I went to a local exhaust place that makes exhausts. With a heat gun he was able to tell me what cats had failed and come up with a plan!

I now have brand new cats and removed the 3rd. He assures me it will still pass emissions. Not had this tested yet but they are a well-established place, I have no doubt he is right. £500 total cost. Kept it on the road for a little longer

[SidewaysSi]

cerb4.5lee said:

SidewaysSi said:

You are back!! And with a video - oh goody.

I will sit down with the family and put it on the big screen later.

Friday nights won't get much better than that for sure!

Maybe open a nice bottle of wine, sit back and relax with the family.

I am sure my 3 year old will find it thoroughly entertaining...

[monzaxjr]

ericmcn said:

Hope the buyer is enjoying his Subaru, in this horrid weather no better car to be in - your 6 pot BMW, as awesome as it, has about the same performance as a SpecB, when its wet you would be last also - as hard as that may be to deal with on a daily basis.

Mr Tidy might actually be able to drive though. I've seen a guy with prosthetic legs change gear and control the throttle better than you.