Do any of these Subarus sound like a good buy?

Post by **TOONGA** » Tue Jul 05, 2011 11:47 am

I know where there is a 92 liberty that needs to be sold

TOONGA

2nd Hand Yank · Post by **2nd Hand Yank** » Tue Jul 05, 2011 11:54 pm

El_Freddo wrote: It's not about the model's "prowess" - its about the way you drive it

Cheers

Bennie

Thanks.

That makes sense.
I also heard part-time 4wd tends to get slightly better economy in 2wd mode vs. a full-time 4wd/AWD. More moving parts. Perhaps the part-time 4x4 would "wear better" with age, assuming only occaisionaly 4wd use.

But yeah, I could see someone roasting the centre diff on an AWD if they got bogged.

2nd Hand Yank · Post by **2nd Hand Yank** » Tue Jul 05, 2011 11:59 pm

guyph_01 wrote:Yes definitely, older subies are better off-road for the reasons you have described.
BUT, $4500 for a pretty much std L series is a lot of money, It must be the only above $4000 L series for sale in WA. For that amount of money Buy one with a blown engine for less than $1000 and drop a 2 inch lift and a ej22 in there with the extra $3000. Much better off-road car then.

OR, Buy the ebay one, drive it around for a while and then put a lift kit and a EJ20 or 22 and it will be a much better car for about $4500 total.

Not many of us would pay $4000 for that L seires. For what it is and what its got, its worth about $2500 max.

Mine started as a $100 car with a blown engine, non licensed, broken rear glass, trashed interior L series went i first got her:p

It's still a bargain compared to what "Travellers Auto Barn" is selling in Perth.

http://www.cars4backpackers.com.au/deta ... Perth/2929
http://www.cars4backpackers.com.au/deta ... Perth/2801

2nd Hand Yank · Post by **2nd Hand Yank** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:02 am

guyph_01 wrote:Lol good one....:mad::twisted:
I don't care, I love it:p

But, 2nd Hand Yank, Its all up to you. If your happy to spend the $4000 and think she is worth it and is the car for you then by all means buy it.

P.s, I wouldn't LOL:p

I don't feel like waiting a few weeks to find a great deal.
I have seen 4 subarus in the past 2 weeks and Car #1 seems best of the bunch.

2nd Hand Yank · Post by **2nd Hand Yank** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:06 am

niterida wrote:Yep - it was in the fine print. Its an auto though so you probably don't want it.

Depends. I like manual trannies, but autos can be good too.

2nd Hand Yank · Post by **2nd Hand Yank** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:16 am

TOONGA wrote:I know where there is a 92 liberty that needs to be sold

TOONGA

What's a Subaru Liberty like?
I want something that can fit a surfboard behind the front seats.
I'd prefer part-time 4wd if it's going to be expensive for its age.
Is it AWD or 4wd?

Where I'm from, a "Liberty" is a Jeep; a softroader/"crossover"

sublime · Post by **sublime** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:57 am

The Liberty is called Legacy overseas...

niterida · Post by **niterida** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 1:00 am

2nd Hand Yank wrote:Depends. I like manual trannies, but autos can be good too.

Autos are pretty darn good nowadays. Subaru didn't bother putting dual range autos in the Outback becuase the torque converter does just that and when it senses it is slipping or starting to bog it locks it up and a-w-a-y you go.

You know you want it :

guyph_01 · Post by **guyph_01** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 9:27 am

LOL, that white liberty is ChrSTIan ones. It was for sale for $7000 Two years ago buy that same dealer. It was only swap in for about $2500 i think or less. Good car, with 2 inch lift:)

Post by **TOONGA** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:32 pm

The liberty/legacy I know of is mine it is a GX auto and is stock standard with 175000 km on the clock.

TOONGA

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:53 pm

If you're looking at cars around $3-4000 then you're better off looking at Libertys/Legacy in my opinion. Every mod you would want do to an L series would basically be to make it like a Liberty anyway, except you need custom parts to make better suspension and brakes fit (which you'll source from a Liberty/WRX). And you will want to mod it because an L series go shit, handle shit, stop shit, are prone to rusting and not to mention the worst stud pattern i've ever come accross. A Liberty is atleast an average base to start with. A liberty you can bolt straight on a set of WRX, Brembo, or GTB brake and you'll be throwing unfastened passengers through the front window when you brake. You can bolt straight in a set Outback shocks if you want to lift it, or WRX/STI struts if you want to lower it. The EJ22 is a good reliable motor, and heaven forbin it shit itself they're very readily available second hand for decent prices. I've also never seen a rusty liberty, whereas with an L series you'll have a hard time finding one that isn't.

Been there and done it. My first subaru was an L series and i wish i went straight to a Liberty and saved myself some money, or spent the same amount on mods and had a much better car as a result.

I'd only buy an L series if i found a rust free el-cheapo (max $1000) and took the time to get it up to scratch myself on the cheapest possible budget.

taza · Post by **taza** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 2:23 pm

^ Thats why I spent the extra money and got a Forester for a first car. Although I really wanted an L-Series which would be atleast 20 years old, full of rust and the money spent putting electrics, new engine and the standard stuff a Foz, Lib or Outback have.

Very happy with my Foz and having spent my money modding it has made me very happy

dobo · Post by **dobo** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 5:39 pm

Yeah i completed agree as well. I weighed up getting a Lib or Foz, and i probably will end up with one when off my P's, I got my L series dirt cheap and i also get parts really cheap, so i thought i might as well have some fun. I know any money i put into the L i will not get back, thats why i don't really intend to sell her :P

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 1:22 am

Venom wrote:If you're looking at cars around $3-4000 then you're better off looking at Libertys/Legacy in my opinion. Every mod you would want do to an L series would basically be to make it like a Liberty anyway, except you need custom parts to make better suspension and brakes fit (which you'll source from a Liberty/WRX). And you will want to mod it because an L series go shit, handle shit, stop shit, are prone to rusting and not to mention the worst stud pattern i've ever come accross. A Liberty is atleast an average base to start with. A liberty you can bolt straight on a set of WRX, Brembo, or GTB brake and you'll be throwing unfastened passengers through the front window when you brake. You can bolt straight in a set Outback shocks if you want to lift it, or WRX/STI struts if you want to lower it. The EJ22 is a good reliable motor, and heaven forbin it shit itself they're very readily available second hand for decent prices. I've also never seen a rusty liberty, whereas with an L series you'll have a hard time finding one that isn't.

Been there and done it. My first subaru was an L series and i wish i went straight to a Liberty and saved myself some money, or spent the same amount on mods and had a much better car as a result.

^ That's pretty much where Ruby Scoo is headed! Well said sir.

I still can't go past a good looking L series though... My personal opinion anyway

Cheers

Bennie

2nd Hand Yank · Post by **2nd Hand Yank** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:29 am

So a Liberty is just as big on the inside as an L Series?
It looks approximately the same.

I would like to know more about these Liberty's.

BTW I have not bought Car #1 yet. Owner is too busy to drop it off.

guyph_01 · Post by **guyph_01** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 9:25 am

Makes sense, but a lifted L series looks way better than a lifted Liberty:)
But true, When mine finally rust out, i think i'll get a forester (hopefully one with a moon roof:p and swap all the possible things into it:)

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 9:28 am

2nd Hand Yank wrote:So a Liberty is just as big on the inside as an L Series?
It looks approximately the same.

I would like to know more about these Liberty's.

BTW I have not bought Car #1 yet. Owner is too busy to drop it off.

Read the wiki on Legacys, and look at some on car sales/ebay/gumtree etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Legacy

The first step to knowing anything is a google search.

El_Freddo wrote:^ That's pretty much where Ruby Scoo is headed! Well said sir.

I still can't go past a good looking L series though... My personal opinion anyway

Cheers

Bennie

Bennie i agree, and i still love my L series. I think the only way to make them somewhat financially justifiable is to do something similar to what you have done. Be very patient, buy yourself some tools and a gregory's manual and do everything yourself.

2nd Hand Yank · Post by **2nd Hand Yank** » Fri Jul 08, 2011 1:43 am

Wikipedia is great isn't it.

So Liberty has AWD with a lockable centre, but no 4Lo?

Looking on carbuddy, I found out some perks of L Series vs. Liberty:

http://www.carbuddy.com.au/car/values/c ... d=80585497

The differences in power are incredible, but the Liberty also weighs 220kg more.
Somehow the ground clearance difference is 55mm higher for a Liberty. :think: (doesn't look like it?)
Liberty is 21 cm longer, which could make it easier to load surfboards.

L Series has a tigher turning circle than Liberty; 36 feet vs 39 feet. (nearly 1 m difference)
Liberty has a marginally wider track, adding cornering stability.

That's another thing I liked about the L Series;
turning circle so short it felt like driving a forklift rather than a car.

Despite the better engine design in the Liberty and more modern bodystyle,
L Series is still rated at slightly better fuel economy.

"Final Drive" is 3.7 for the L Series and 3.9 for the Liberty.
Does that mean the L Series motor turns faster or slower than Liberty's?

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Fri Jul 08, 2011 7:08 pm

Ok - the liberty can be found in dual range, the US missed out on the dual range...
There is no lockable centre diff on the Liberty but they do have a LSD built into the centre diff. Low range is there but the highest one possible - 1.19:1 compared to the L series 1.59:1 - but you can split the box and put the L low range in there. Check out the sticky in coversions, perfomance and modifications section by AlpineRaven.

The final drive is the diff ratio. It doesn't mean much unless you start to look at gear ratios, particularly 5th gear and the tyre size too. There's a bit to get your head around to fully understand how it all works.

But for your information, the L series rev's higher at 100km/h than the Liberty does. L's do about 3,250rpm and the liberty something like 2,750rpm... This is due to the 5th gear and final drive combination as well as the tyre sizes used. The Gen 2 liberty is 3.7 final drive but revs about the same at 100 clicks...

Liberty - more modern features, huge choice of easy upgrades from other models as well as off the shelf gear...

Cheers

Bennie

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Fri Jul 08, 2011 8:01 pm

Fair enough you never asked anyone about anything other than an L series, but i will just say one more thing.

Liberty = AWD = WIN. Find some car yards with a couple of Libertys, take them for a drive and find out for yourself. I own both. My l series even has a 2.5 litre quad cam motor and an AWD gearbox and i will still pick my Liberty as the daily driver any day of the week. If that and the opinions of 3 people who actually own an L series who are telling you a Liberty is a better car doesn't convice you, then you'll just have to find out for yourself because not much more can be said.

The ALL NEW AUSubaru.com.au Forums

Do any of these Subarus sound like a good buy?

Which one of the three would you pick?

Liberty?