Yeesh, another recall. Thanks for flagging that. I'm taking it for an emissions inspection now and I'll post it on Craigslist w/everything I know and see what happens. Appreciate everyone's advice!

OP, just saw about a recall and immediately thought of this thread.

https://apnews.com/2aa95f86c79549f2acf73ad54ffcf6f2

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone! I appreciate your taking the time to explain the red flags, and your advice is really helpful - particularly the head gasket tip. I'll probably end up selling it to my cousin for cheap if she's comfortable with the state of affairs.

Please don't sell your car to a family member. Even for cheap, it's a really bad deal for your cousin. Just trade it in for the $2,000.

toss it on craigslist and see what happens

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone! I appreciate your taking the time to explain the red flags, and your advice is really helpful - particularly the head gasket tip. I'll probably end up selling it to my cousin for cheap if she's comfortable with the state of affairs.

I wouldn't sell to family, that's a good way to ruin a relationship, even if you disclose. Put it on craigslist for $2500 with the issues you mentioned. Wait for a few days and if you don't get any offers sell it to the dealer

Thanks everyone! I appreciate your taking the time to explain the red flags, and your advice is really helpful - particularly the head gasket tip. I'll probably end up selling it to my cousin for cheap if she's comfortable with the state of affairs.

OP, that sounds pretty bad. No one is going to believe that those lights come on for no reason and that there was no frame damage if that's what it's coming up in the computer as. You will be lucky to get $3k for it.

The dealer's right -- your car is 11 years old so it'll go to auction and not be put on their lot for resale. It's too old.

Go to Carmax and one other dealer, and that'll give you enough data points to make a decision about trading in vs donating.

I believe, at least in MD, that when you trade in a car it reduces the sales taxable amount on the new car you buy so consider that. FOr example, if you buy a $30k car and do a $2k trade-in, then only $28k has sales tax added to it, not $30k.

Anonymous wrote:The first thing I did when I saw the word Impreza is do a find on “head gasket”. I don’t need to read your post. If the head gasket hasn’t been reworked you’re in for a $2000 repair bill those Subaru’s all have a head gasket failure. I owned one and will never buy another Subaru. Read this, that car falls into the models listed.

https://carfromjapan.com/article/industry-knowledge/the-history-of-subaru-head-gasket-problem/

This isn’t a sort of random thing either. If you have a Subaru in one of the impacted years, your head gasket WILL blow and at 75k miles, it’s in the danger zone where it will happen.

Nevermind you’re selling not buying.

The first thing I did when I saw the word Impreza is do a find on “head gasket”. I don’t need to read your post. If the head gasket hasn’t been reworked you’re in for a $2000 repair bill those Subaru’s all have a head gasket failure. I owned one and will never buy another Subaru. Read this, that car falls into the models listed.

https://carfromjapan.com/article/industry-knowledge/the-history-of-subaru-head-gasket-problem/

This isn’t a sort of random thing either. If you have a Subaru in one of the impacted years, your head gasket WILL blow and at 75k miles, it’s in the danger zone where it will happen.

Get a quote from CarMax. They offered us $2.5k more for our minivan than the dealer did. Also look for similar cars in your area on car gurus and see what something similar would sell for. That will give you an idea of what it’s worth.

I'm trying to figure out what a good price would be for my 2008 Subaru Impreza hatchback w/75,000 miles. KBB says 4500-6100 private sale, 2900-3700 traded in. I'm a little adrift because the only dealer who checked it out said they'd have to send it to auction so they'd only give me 2000 for it. At that price I'd rather just sell it to family or donate it. I'd appreciate any advice folks have to offer! Full list of defects below:

Tires: purchased in June 2014, no issues (I'm only put 20k on the car)
Wheels: suffered greatly from living in DC. 2 hubcabs are scratched up and the other two wheels won't hold a hubcap.

Warning lights: The tire sensor light is cranky in winter. Whenever it dips below about 35 degrees it turns on. The tires have never actually needed air, though - I've been taking it in to Costco (where I bought the tires) for rotations, balancing, etc. The engine temp light also goes on in winter when you start but goes off once it warms up.

Recently the check engine light (solid) and the cruise control (blinking) have been going on at the same time. It seems to be a known Subaru oddity, potentially associated with gas with ethanol. I'm keeping an eye on it but it just comes and goes randomly AFAIK.

There may be a leak in the power steering fluid. This one would be expensive - they quoted me $850 for the repair, maybe more if the pump is bad (they won't know til they take it apart). I've been keeping an eye on it but it's been fine for the last few months.

The heat shield has developed a rattle. My mechanic is rather laissez-faire and says that this is just a thing that Subarus do and I shouldn't worry about it. He said he could re-weld it but that it would just come loose again. The sound only happens at about 30 MPH.

Accident history: it was rear-ended a few years ago - the manager of the dealership I got the 2k quote from said it was showing up on the CarFax as frame damage. I don't remember the repair shop saying anything about frame damage - they just had to replace the bumper, I think. I need to dig the paperwork out. It was repaired at a Geico-certified shop and everything seems fine. The car was also hit while parked by an idiot in a rented Smart Car. It was just bodywork, that was also repaired at the same Geico facility and I haven't noticed any ongoing issues.

Recalls: Airbags and brake line corrosion recalls were addressed by the Subaru dealership.

If I missed anything, let me know and I'll update. Thanks for any insight you can offer!