is this beyond economic repair

http://greenville.craigslist.org/cto/4430688348.html

98 impreza beat all to hell, blown head gasket (he says). Autotragic trans

Autotragic, blown head gasket if not damaged head, 95% rust. If I were paying scrap value for it I'd scrap it.

Maybe if you fix the headgasket yourself (assuming it doesn't have other damage from something like coolant where there should only be oil) and then drive it into the ground, it could make sense as a cheap beater. Barely.

I seriously think I'd have to pay someone to buy that. I can't believe he's asking more than $100.00

Maybe for the Back 40 racing that someone on here does...

In reply to sethmeister4:

If it were running.

rallycross?

That's an EJ22, so it's not one of the engines that has chronic head gasket problems (and is in fact quite burly). It's possible it's another problem that they're reading as head gaskets because OMGSUBARUHEADGASKETS.

It's also possible that they know it's head gaskets because they overheated the poor little guy to death.

While the front bumper cover is missing, the bumper beam doesn't look terrible... probably whatever front impacts it's been subjected to haven't been bad enough to warp the weld-in radiator support (despite the rope - probably the plastic tabs on the top of the radiator endtanks have broken).

A pressure washer and an interior cleaning might well turn that car into a better deal. Then again, I tend to view 93-01 Imprezas as pound puppies.

From a worst-case "break it for parts" situation: The hood is worth maybe $100 on its own, clear-look headlights are maybe another $100 as a pair (so $50 since the passenger side is sorta gone, along with the pricey corner markers). Front fenders are maybe $40 a pop assuming they're not caved in. Auto transmissions with working duty solenoids might be in demand, as is the driveshaft, rear diff and axles.

Kinda wonder what happened to the (expensive) MAF and intake tube though.

I dunno, if you wanted to negotiate with a product of incest and have a vibrant Subaru enthusiast market in the area it might not be that bad of an idea assuming your expectations are low and you can get it running quickly. I used to daily drive a '97 shell with much worse rust.

Sounds like scrap to me.

I have bought running, driving Subaru's that were $500 and $750, respectively. I wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot pole for $340.

Trying to get it for next to nothing.