station wagon (subaru legacy replacment)

My dad has a 96 legacy outback 2.2, and its getting kinda worn out with close to 300k miles. The older legacys all are getting pretty worn out as well, and the legacys new enough to be after the 2.5s with headgasket problems are still close to $20k. Probably the closest to a reasonable replacement would be a 97-99 (not sure when the body style changed) base legacy with a phase II 2.2. He uses it for delivering bread though, and im pretty sure the springs in a base lagacy are too soft to carry enough weight. Are there any other good choices for a durable wagon that can carry that much stuff for under $7500? I cant really think of any.

Volvo of some sort?

Thats, what I said too, but my dad hates volvos. lol

Look around for an Outback/Legacy. They're out there with little miles, but its going to take a while.

Otherwise, Volvo or an SUV.

I would say Volvo too like an older V70. How about a E34 touring?

$7500 should buy a lot of used Legacy wagon. I wouldn't worry about weight issues if he's been successfully delivering in a '96 Outback. '01 and later 2.5s really aren't too bad.

The adult me says "fix the '96 and bank the rest of the money." Few are as reliable as an EJ22.

can you swap an OBD1 EJ22 inplace of an OBDII one and have everything work and look stock (im in california)? The engine in the car is ok, but has alot of miles on it. The only stuff thats really wrong with it is that clutch and timing belt need to be done. I have driven a base model, and the stock springs are so soggy i dont think it would hold enough weight, the outback does ok though. You can get a 02 outback with 150k miles for $7k here, anything beyond that starts getting expensive.

On the mid sized wagon trend, the Mazda 6 was offered in wagon form for a few years. It only cam with a V6 but it is a nice overall package. They could even be had with a V6 and manual trans.

If more MPG is important, Ford Focus wagons are supprisingly bigger than they might first appear. Good mpg too.

Personally, I DD a '95 Volvo 850 with a manual trans and really like it.

740, 940, 525 estate, Mazda 6 wagon etc...

Forester? I picked up a 98 with just over 100K for 3200. Timing belt and head gaskets are already done.

I think a Focus wagon is probably a good bet. The one big downside is some of the suspension bits don't fit it. This might be a curveball or big enough but what about a Malibu Maxx or a Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix. The second one can be had with a manual trans and you can get the Vibe GT/Matrix XRS with a 6 speed and the more racy engine.

If you're worried about soft springs, I bought a set of flea bay coil overs for an 02 WRX for $150. They went right on my 92 Legacy FWD sedan no problem, and solved most of the handling issues right there. The car rides a little harder,but it no longer lifts the inside drvie wheel when accelerating.

Mid 90's Camry/Corolla wagon? Accord wagon of the same vintage? Realistically if all he's worried about is the car being tired, replace what needs to be replaced and rock with it. You shouldn't ever have to worry about rot being in CA, so drivetrain mileage is the important thing.

dxman92 wrote: I think a Focus wagon is probably a good bet.

Don't do it! I picked up a focus wagon a few months ago instead of a Forester because my business takes me to truck repair shops and I thought it would be good to have a 'merican car build by UAW folks. Well, that turn left me stranded on the highway twice in 5 weeks. It was a low mileage example with a repair history. What a turd!!! Do yourself a favor, avoid the focus like the plague.
I sold that turd, picked up a Forester and couldn't be happier.

the rear of the Forester is probably smaller than the Legacy. I think the Focus wagon would be a good bet or the Vibe/Matrix.

Yeah, the rear of the Forester is shorter, but taller than a Legacy. It's comparable to the focus, but the Forester will actually get you home. That's a pretty big "plus" in my book.

This might be a little down on power but put the right springs in it and an Escort Wagon might be up to the task. Certainly can be cheap enough and I heard they can haul alot of crap around (I had a hatch flavor of Escort and can attest to it!).

The Escort would be a good choice, those things are indestructible. I wish I had another one.

In reply to Travis_K: Saab 9-5 2.3T wagon. Just bought an '02 5m w/72k for under $6,000. Returns 31 mpg on the highway with 2 Labradors and packed with stuff, 25 mpg in town communting to work. Runs good on 89 octane. Only 2 areas of concern for the 2.3T are engine sludge and crud in the oil pickup screen. Drop the pan, clean any sludge, clean the oil pickup, replace pickup o-ring, and drive for years. Lots of chassis upgrades are available and there are some nice power upgrades for reasonable, too. Best wishes to you.

For cargo area, the Legacy and the Forester aren't much different. The Legacy gains most of it's marginal additional size between the wheels, not in the rear overhang. Foresters are easy to de-SUV back to a car with Impreza suspension parts.

I can't believe anyone would consider a Escort in the same breath as any Subaru. I'm a Ford guy, but seriously...Escorts are a cheaply made car from another time in history.

We considered the Focus but after having worked on one my neighbor owns and replacing two window regulators which were made of FAIL I can see they are built to a price. The driving position in those is just odd too.

We looked at the Saabs and liked them quite a bit but the reliability questions coupled with a poor aftermarket and dealer support (and possibly the whole company going tits-up) turned me off. They are a lot of bang for the used car buck though.

Volvos just didn't feel right. Most of their best models are only available with autotragics.

Too bad Hyundai didn't make a good wagon other than the hideous older Elantra.

Looked at the Suzuki Forenza, but too flimsy and underpowered.

Given my absolute freedom of choice I'd have bought a BMW wagon, but they were still about twice what we found good used Foresters for.

Sounds like Forester FTW

In reply to DrBoost:

The problem with a Forester is the 2.5l. 98 had the DOHC time bomb and afterward up to at least 2005 have headgaskets with external leaks. I vote for the Focus wagon, Escort Wagon or the Saab 9-5 if you want all the lux. The Fords are incrediblely cheap to buy and parts are way cheap too. You can get a good Escort wagon for well under $1000 and put 40k miles on it easy. Common issues are rusted/broken rear springs, rust rockers and wheel bearings. They are noisy and crude but are low cost.

Aspen wrote: In reply to DrBoost: The problem with a Forester is the 2.5l. 98 had the DOHC time bomb and afterward up to at least 2005 have headgaskets with external leaks. I vote for the Focus wagon, Escort Wagon or the Saab 9-5 if you want all the lux. The Fords are incrediblely cheap to buy and parts are way cheap too. You can get a good Escort wagon for well under $1000 and put 40k miles on it easy. Common issues are rusted/broken rear springs, rust rockers and wheel bearings. They are noisy and crude but are low cost.

Well, oddly enough I was just in the exact same boat as the OP. I needed a smallish wagon and I decided on the focus because it's from an American manufacturer and I think it looks decent. The one I got had just over 100K on it, and had tons and tons of maintenance receipts going back almost till day one. It had been well maintained. Then I got it. In 5 weeks it left me (well, me once, my wife once) stranded on the highway. That is totally unacceptable! The first issue was way to early, the second was such a pita to repair because of the moronic Ford engineers. You should not have to remove a shock and disassemble the rear brake assembly just to remove the drum. If they are that moronic about that, what else is in store for me. I did some body work on it (rust repair) and was consistantly blown away by how obvious it was that this turd was built to a price point. Every plastic clip and do-dad under the hood, or in the cargo area snapped if I just looked at it wrong. And yes I did use the proper trim panel removal tools.
I will never own another Ford product save for a classic mustang. As far as an Escort, well, it's an escort. There are some cars I just can't see myself driving, and that's one of them. And, how do I know the same pea-brained folks that designed the Focus to fail didn't do the same to the excort?
Now, I almost got a Saab. Me likes them! The problem was, in my price range they were all used up. I was afraid of the spotty reliability rating, but not scared enough not to drive 1/2 a dozen or so.
Now about the 2.5 in the Subie. Most of these have already had the timing belts and head gaskets replaced by the 100K mark.

I actually look for Subie's with HG issues. I've made thousands fixing and reselling them the last few years.

Seriously, just have a mechanic check the Subie out or get under it and look for a leaker. If it still bothers you get one with the work already and drive the tar out of it.

Foresters and Legacy wagons hold about the same amount of stuff. I could fit 20 cases of #10 envelopes (50,000!) in both of them. I'll take a picture the next time I have it loaded LOL.

I just never cared for the seats in the Focus wagon so I'd never considered buying one.

My votes for the OP are a '00 or newer Outback Wagon (my current ride) or a '99 or newer Forester.

how about just look for a different legecy of the same years and keep an out for one and pounce it it or just redo the spring and the motor in his and be done with it.....