Hi and welcome.

For $8-10k you can get a reasonable gen2 or 3 Liberty. Keep in mind, if a car is newer, doesnt make it better...
You wont get a pignose impreza. Apart from the current shaped ones, they are the newest.
Impreza order: (someone correct me if im wrong)
Classic (93-00)
Bug eye (00-03)
Peanut eye (03-05)
Pignose (05-07)
Ugly betty (07-current)

But there are some decent gen2s and 3s out there for your money. Just do your regular checks on CVs, susp, bushes, fluids, etc.
Subaru recommends services get done every 12,500km but I generally do it every 10k. Keeps it even in my brain!
Major ones are every 100k just like most other cars.

Depends on where you go to get it serviced as to how much it will cost. The first service i ever got done was a 130k standard service on a 98 RX Gen2 sedan and it cost me $801...because i went to Ultratune. I have since found a reputable guy who has a workshop around the corner from my house who specialises in Subarus and a basic service will cost between $120-150. They do an awesome job and explain what needs doing, how much it will cost, how it works, etc. Awesome mob.

Only really drastic problem is known on the gen2 2.5L DOHC engines (in the RX's, Heritages, Outbacks made between late 96 and 98). They had a faulty head gasket in them which costs about $2500 to fix. If the car is well looked after it shouldnt be a problem (sold mine at 178k km and it was still in tact) but its something to be weary of. The gen3 2.5 is a SOHC which corrected the issue but then again, the HG can blow in any car.

Hope this helps. Subarus are great cars. Hope you can find one that suits your needs soon

Thanks for the reply MrgnLuke & Milo - appreciate it

I've been tossing up between the 'Bug' nose impreza and a 3rg Gen Liberty....it seems the 3rd gen Liberty is much better value for money and seems to have suffered more depreciation....while I love the rear end of the Impreza I don't think I can really afford it....

Anyway I'll stick with the 3rd gen's - they look a little conservative but still quite nice and classy.....

Well thanks for the info there Milo - really helpful to know these things...I will check and ask whether they've been changed or not.... I'm guessing to see if the head gasket is gone I'm just looking for alot of oil? .... How hard is it to change them yourself? It seems to be a matter of a few bolts and cams removal but I could be wrong....

Although the clutch issue is a bit of a concern - thats something I can't do myself and I'll have to hand over to a professional - again when can you expect these to fail? How do you know they've failed?

The major service I expected to be around the 1.2k mark - my current car (Mitsu Magna) costs the same so I can bare that - plus I can probably do the things like spark plugs, cam seals, oil changes & flushes etc but the timing belt & water pump is a little more tricky so that'll have to go to the pro's......

I'm in Melbourne so can anyone recommend a good mechanic? I have a family friend whose obsessed with Subaru's (every member has one) and they've got a mechanic so I might try them unless someone knows a good one.....

I'm very interested in one thats currently in NSW - but it has 100k's so I might need to still do the 100k major service....I was planning to get a full NRMA $200 check on it - would it pick up the gearbox or head gasket problem?

Cheers the replies and help everyone

Buy my gen 3 youll never look back lol

@thekovac
You would need to get a professional to do the Head gasket job, its very important that it's done properly otherwise it'll leak again in a few years. Don't go to Subaru go to a performance place that work on these sort of cars, they need to do this by taking the engine out and stoning the heads to make sure there's no distortion and install the new gaskets. make sure you only use the Superceded Subaru gaskets.
The NRMA guy might be able to pick up the gasket problem if you specifically tell him about the issue, I can tell you now the car WILL have the clutch/flywheel issue thats on 100% of 2.5L liberties from 1999 all through to 2008. 90% of liberties made from 1994 to 2008 will have the head gasket problem also. The 4th gen liberties havnt shown much of the problem yet because they're newer but its reported in america that they're starting to fail also. The Gen II liberties had the DOHC phase 1 engines which developed internal leaks while the GenIII have phase 2 engine which develop external leaks and arent as serious. but I can assure you it WILL have the problem, if not now then later, so be prepared. Regarding the clutch/flywheel issue theres a thread in the GenIII section at the top which you can refer to if you need more info on the topic. As mrgnluke has kindly mentioned you can try the solid flywheel from a 2.2L GX for a cheaper option.

@mrgnluke
"Subaru realised their mistake on the gen2s and it was basically rectified by the time they brought out the gen3. (Single over head cam-SOHC, rather than double over head cam-DOHC)."
Sorry dude but thats not true, the SOHC engines as mentioned above do have the problems as well. I got all my work done by a specialist Subaru place here in Sydney and he did tell me that Subaru have until recently used the inferior gaskets, when I asked him why he said because "accountants make cars these days and not engineers" and he has seen many Gen4 HG fail and he suspects they're using the same old gaskets even in the 2009-2010 cars. They've simply changed over to the blue coolant to see if that solves the problem but only time will tell.

@shiv
I've actually test driven that specific car for sale, its been sitting in that car yard for about 8 months now and the dealer is NOT cool, he would not drop the price by even $500 when clearly the car is overpriced and could potentially have the HG problem. very nice looking classic tho I loved it

Gearbox only went due to teaching my girlfriend and little sister how to drive and grinding gears and buring the clutch (mabe launchs of the lights MABE by myself lol)

With the Ks average is between 15k and 20k an year so im spot on if you say 20 haha

Also the gearbox and diff was bought from a member on this forum XON and was rebuilt by a mate of mine for $400

thekovac wrote:

<a class="user-tag" href="http://www.ozliberty.com/home/index.php?option=com_community&view=profile&userid=15018">@milo101</a>

Thanks alot for the info....spoke to a few mechanics and they all agree that the 3rd Gen Liberty is plagued with the Head gasket problems as well as the flywheel which can all go wrong from about 100-150k's.....they're very expensive - ~$1900 for both gaskets and around ~1.2k for the flywheel......for me thats alot of money and a real concern to the point where I'm considering not even buying a 3rd Gen Liberty....servicing and parts will cost enough for this car let alone forking out 2k for leaking gaskets....

if youre not willing to spend the money for the quality, than a hyundai is a must in your shoes.

Buy my liberty lol again
Dual mass flywheel is gone
Ill cut a hole in the floor and put 10 12v fans on the roof to give you that extra push
Ill even remove the motor to make it lighter then you wont need to worry about the Head going
Ill even take the Glass out aswell mainly for aerodynamics as subaru are known to have smashed windows
and last but not least ill take the tyres of course thay go flat over time and thats another problem

nah mate not really bothered about selling the car its my first 4cyl N/A car iv ever owned (and iv had a few cars mate) both of my now run a TTE Charger kit (04 Lexus is200) And a twin turbo (94 GTR setup for mainly gutter to gutter action) so im loving the NA (!!!FUEL!!!)..

Just saying mate your not going to get a 10yr+++++ old car with out any problems...
My advise to you is buy a cheap liberty with a blown head and get your mechanic to machine and rebuild you a motor

3k, is a bit of an overkill for fixing it up, i understand what youre saying.
but like some have said, youre not going to find a 10 y.o car with no problems, if it's not mechanical it maybe cosmetic-wise.
but id agree with shiv a billie gen2 is a good choice, and 10k can EASILY get you a very good, compared to a 10k gen3 rx.
good luck with the search ! and take your time !

Don't get a silver RX. I did, and so did every 60+ year old man in Queensland.

My head gasket has had a slight weep for years now, still going sweet. Getting it done on the next service because it's the 200,000km service, needa get the timing belt changed anyway. Was quoted high teens.

Not sure if anyone else has this problem, but my reverse lights have died on me. Twice. Got fixed by the auto-elec a year ago, they just died again. Not the fuse as cruise control still works. Weird. And some other lights have died, like the POWER/overdrive light under the speedo, the POWER/overdrive light next to the gear knob, the PRND21 lights and a few small things. Weird.

But other than that, I've had no worries with this Gen 3 RX over the past 5 years. The CEL came on the other day, but I think it was dodgy fuel, cos it hasn't shown up since my last refill.

b_hind_u wrote:

These "PROBLEMS" are not "be all" and "end all".

My Gen 3 has done 180,000kms and has:
1. Had the clutch changed to solid flywheel/sprung clutch setup (by choice) for $800 because the clutch went at 160,000 coincidentally when teaching someone how to drive.
2. Not had any head gasket issues nor is it looking like it's going to have any issues.
3. About to be fitted to it a twin turbo from a halfcut because i want a change from the N/A pace.

While the above posts may have pointed out some common issues with the car that seem to crop up from time to time, they do not occur to each and every subaru and are not limited to subarus. They also are affected by things like service intervals, driving patterns and other details.

Now you've asked the question what to look out for, these issues if they exist only make up 5% of the car, the other 95% is enjoyment.

I think you should change the thread title to What to look forward to.