Ask an expert

I am considering buying a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT. They seem to be great value for money and exactly what I'm after.

The majority of the advertised examples are Japanese imports. Is there anything I should be aware of here and am I likely to run into any unexpected issues.

Andrew

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 17 August 2009

One of the reasons they appear great value for money is the large number of them for sale and for many the novelty of owning a Subaru has waned a little from what I have seen and heard.

This is due mainly to their higher fuel consumption and potential higher maintenance costs over mainstream Japanese cars. With a tight economy they have also become a little harder to sell in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong, if you have the lifestyle where the AWD system is required on a regular basis then they are a great vehicle and to be fair their overall reliability has improved in recent times.

Historically the Japanese imports do not have good service records so potentially your maintenance costs could be very high initially if you buy a fresh import or one without a proven service history.

It's definitely a buyer's market right now, so you can afford to be a bit choosey whatever you buy.