which car is the better buy a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT sedan auto 130K miles ($6,000) or a 2016 Mazda 3 iSport sedan auto 90K miles ($8,900)?
Love the helpful advice I've gotten from the channel. I know you have said in the past you aren't a fan of either brands I'm deciding between but I was wondering which car would be over all better for the long-term? Considering the Subaru is from a mechanic that works mainly on Subaru's and is giving the car new tires, while the Mazda is from a private seller and needs about $1,000 in repairs on top of their $8,900 asking price. Both vehicles have been inspected. the Subaru seems more attractive to me since I live in a snow state and it's cheaper. Thank you in advance.
If I am assuming correctly that the Subaru Legacy is turbocharged and the Mazda 3 is naturally aspirated then I would go with the Mazda 3.
Sounds like a lot of money for a 16-year-old Subaru. If the head gaskets have not already been replaced I'd run away from it. I think in 2005 Subaru was still using a rubber timing belt? You'd want that to be recent as well. Being in a snow state you also need to be careful of rust. Automatic transmission would also be a concern at that mileage if so equipped.
If it checks out and your own mechanic says it's OK I'd try to get it cheaper.
I'm less familiar with the Mazda but note that it's a decade newer and substantially fewer miles. What kind of repairs does it need at only 5 years old? Will the seller negotiate on price?
I have seen that there is a lot that can go bad with 4th gen legacy's. Since I am getting it from a mechanic who is currently working on it, I assume he will take care of anything it needs before selling the car if not then ill do as you say and run away from it.
the Mazda used to be a rental vehicle. seller is firm on the price and the car needs standard 50,000-100,000 mileage maintenance within the year including new serpentine belt, brake and coolant fluid flush, new front break pads, new cabin and engine air filters, and a new set of tires.
@chucktobias No, 2005 was the year that Subaru swiched the Legacy and Outbak to a timing chain.
OK, I wasn't sure when they did that. The only Subarus I've worked on myself are the really old ones with pushrod boxer engines or two-cylinder air-cooled 2-stroke engines.
The Subaru's price is double what I would pay for it, the head gaskets were troublesome back then, the automatic transmissions were made by Jatco, and its old.
Mazda partnered with Toyota in 2015, and their best years are from 2014-2017 where they used their own engines and transmissions, no cylinder deactivation turbos CVTs anything of that non sense. The price is also good.
Between those two, its definitely the Mazda. BUT, you say it needs $1000 in repairs. What do you mean? Is it major or simple? If the car wasn't cared for I would walk from both. If its just routine maintenance, then thats not a problem.
Winter tires are more effective than AWD, but if you want AWD keep looking because this Subaru isn't a good buy.
Rental vehicles are disputed here. They usually are weared out beyond comprehension. Sometimes you can get lucky, like our 12 year old car is a former rental car and its still running fine. If I were in your situation, I would look for a Mazda in the 2014-2017 years for a similar price, clean title, but not a rental, and get it inspected, and on the side look for cheap <$3500 Subarus. Good luck!
Thank you for the response I might end up walking away from both.
Your welcome, I would definitely be wary of a rental car that hasn't got its maintenance up to date.
I sold a 2005 Legacy GT in February for 1200 bucks. All it needed was catalytic converters. The Mazda is overpriced to, especially needing 1000 in repairs.
Well that doesn't sound very good for the Subaru's case considering if I got it for 6000 It would be difficult to sell over $2000 at least if I bought the Mazda and did the standard maintenance it needs I could pass it down to my brother when he needs a car. also its hard to find a used car that is not ridiculously overpriced where I live. thank you for the advice regardless.
Lookup edmunds and KBB value. If it’s totaled the insurance company will pay you whichever is least usually. I don’t pay more for a car than I’m gonna get out of it in case some idiot hits me on the road. There’s always deals to be found if you don’t have to finance.
I wouldn’t get either. Are these your only options?
I would prefer a Honda or a Toyota of a similar class but finding a reasonable example of a Camry or a Civic that isn't ridiculously priced where I live is like finding a needle in a haystack. At this point I'm leaning towards closing the deal on the Mazda as I've knocked the owners price down by half of what the repairs would cost. If there is there a reason you would avoid the Mazda entirely I'm all ears.
It’s a rental. That’s a major red flag for me. Rental cars are usually driven extremely hard & hardly ever cared for. As a result, they tend to have premature part failures which may not necessarily happen in regular owner driven vehicles. Here’s Scotty’s opinion -
I would honestly rather take the risk with it being a previous rental as I've had it inspected rather then going the route of a dealership that is charging 2x more for a comparable car that they don't know the full back story on. Buying from car lot isn't appealing either as they almost are all rebuilt titles and money pits from auction.
No worries at all, as long as you’re aware of the risks. Have you already got a repair quote from your independent mechanic for the claimed $1000 of work?
If you want a Honda, then look for Saturn Vue's, 2004-2007 with the V6 in FWD or AWD, they’re a GM body on a Honda 3.5L drivetrain. I’m selling a 2004 right now AWD for 3k with 134k in miles. Long as their maintained they hold up good.
maybe look at a jeep liberty or something, I mean if you live in a snow state you really only need fwd unless you're not used to driving in snow, but a liberty has a decent reliability (for a chrysler product.) and keeps 4wd and a good list of other features. you may also want to look at chevy impalas, or toyota camrys as they're both fwd and they both have good reliability.
The only Jeep Liberty I would even consider would be a 2008-2012 model and only if it had the 4.0 Liter. The 3.7 liters and their trans are junk. And you’re still gonna have eletrical issues. The ECM supplies power to the O2 sensor heaters. And when you start getting codes on all four sensors plan on replacing the ECM at least once.