1990 Subaru Legacy- worth fixing?

[Bill Johnston]

Hello,

A friend of mine has a 1990 Subaru Legacy L with 4WD and a 2.2 liter
engine. Unfortunately it has, among other things, shot wheel bearings
and CV joints and needs $800 or so in work. It runs good, doesnt have
much rust, and the engine seems to have good power and low oil
consumption. But...the car has over 300,000 miles on it, and my friend
is uncertain whether its worth fixing given the ultra-high mileage. My
opinion is that if the engine runs good and doesn't use much oil, the
miles its racked up dont matter much. What do you folks think? How
long can these babies last?

 

[KLS]

A friend of mine has a 1990 Subaru Legacy L with 4WD and a 2.2 liter
engine. Unfortunately it has, among other things, shot wheel bearings
and CV joints and needs $800 or so in work. It runs good, doesnt have
much rust, and the engine seems to have good power and low oil
consumption. But...the car has over 300,000 miles on it, and my friend
is uncertain whether its worth fixing given the ultra-high mileage. My
opinion is that if the engine runs good and doesn't use much oil, the
miles its racked up dont matter much. What do you folks think? How
long can these babies last?

If that car were mine and the engine really is as rock solid as it
seems to be, I'd fix the corners and keep the car on the road. You
can't beat the economics, and why spend $800 on someone else's mystery
car?

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

If that car were mine and the engine really is as rock solid as it
seems to be, I'd fix the corners and keep the car on the road. You
can't beat the economics, and why spend $800 on someone else's mystery
car?

Yep
$800 is like - what? 3 car payments? If you said $1800, well yeah, time
to retire it I guess.
Or find some college student who could fix it with the help of some
buddies to donate it to.

I dunno

Carl

 

[johninKY]

Just had to reply. Why not find in a wrecking yard a much newer model like
a 99 for example and just used all the parts you need form it? Fairly
certain just about any suspension component from 90 to 99 will
interchange. Just snatch the axles/hubs/brakes/etc and swap everything as
a unit. Could save buco money this way.

 

[Sheldon]

Hello,

A friend of mine has a 1990 Subaru Legacy L with 4WD and a 2.2 liter
engine. Unfortunately it has, among other things, shot wheel bearings
and CV joints and needs $800 or so in work. It runs good, doesnt have
much rust, and the engine seems to have good power and low oil
consumption. But...the car has over 300,000 miles on it, and my friend
is uncertain whether its worth fixing given the ultra-high mileage. My
opinion is that if the engine runs good and doesn't use much oil, the
miles its racked up dont matter much. What do you folks think? How
long can these babies last?

I had a '90 Loyale and sold it for $1500. Got a newer Outback to replace it
and dropped about a grand into it to make it right. But, the power
amenities made it worth it -- door locks, windows, AC, etc.

If your old Subie isn't burning or using oil, and still has plenty of pep,
it's probably worth keeping. See if you can barter the price down. Like
someone else said, there's nothing wrong with "good" used parts. You can
rebuilt the CV joints, but I'd use new wheel bearings.

As for the mileage: These things can go forever. It is a crapshoot,
however, given its age. "Things" are just going to start wearing out, and
keep an eye on all the rubber parts.