I'm looking at a 2008 Subaru Outback Sport, 133000 miles, automatic, 2.5L, AWD(of course). It has an aftermarket cold air intake, and everything is plain stock. I've been reading around and it says I should be fine without a tune. Just wanted to know if I needed to tune the car after I make a purchase, or even the cons of not making a tune to the car.
Again, @BruceREE is almost exactly right.
The only reason you would need a tune on just a cold air kit would be if it was one that changed the diameter of the MAF sensor. If so, the vehicle needs to be tuned for the extra airflow.
Otherwise, everything else was exactly right. Minimal gains with no other mods, etc. If it is an intake where the filter is exposed, it will actually suck in hot air from the engine compartment and you will lose power and experience higher IAT's (Intake Air Temperatures) which may lead to the vehicle running hot.
It's been proven multiple times that cold air intakes make negligible gains if any at all, due to a variety of things and reasons. The car might as well be stock, guess the last guy wanted to "hear" more of his car is the most common excuse lol, pretty much the same as them people who use K&N air filters lol. Nah man, you good not needing a tune. You only tune if you want specific things or a big overhaul to your engine like turbo or supercharger.
