[Lonelydriver_95]

man my first car was a 1989 Honda Accord Automatic, 23 years old at the time and almost 240K miles that I had to buy myself for a whopping $700 and that thing served me well for 2 years. maybe its just me but the fact that my parents didn't buy it for me, and the fact that I had to work hard for it instilled a sense of pride in me. I must have a weird mindset.

 

[ek910]

man my first car was a 1989 Honda Accord Automatic, 23 years old at the time and almost 240K miles that I had to buy myself for a whopping $700 and that thing served me well for 2 years. maybe its just me but the fact that my parents didn't buy it for me, and the fact that I had to work hard for it instilled a sense of pride in me. I must have a weird mindset.

Nope not a weird mindset and I completely agree if prices were reasonable for a reliable decent car I would do the same with my son … he would use the money he gets from his part time job to help pay for most of it however in today’s crazy used car market that’s nearly impossible so instead he is paying for his insurance part $ on my policy which he agreed to … ie my policy doubled once I added him 🤦🏻‍♀️

 

[cedarpangolin]

I’m having my mechanic do a thorough check he us familiar with Subarus so he knows what to look for and check …. I did think about getting a beater but the prices private sellers are asking for on ie a Honda CRV at 100K is 15k in this used car market is ludicrously mind boggling

I get it… what about like Craigslist? Like I said I live in upstate ny and in this area there’s tons of reasonable used cars on the sides of the road that private people are sellling… Facebook marketplace and Craigslist are still good options for finding a sub $5,000 car that will get the job done for a lot less money and headache.

 

[cedarpangolin]

man my first car was a 1989 Honda Accord Automatic, 23 years old at the time and almost 240K miles that I had to buy myself for a whopping $700 and that thing served me well for 2 years. maybe its just me but the fact that my parents didn't buy it for me, and the fact that I had to work hard for it instilled a sense of pride in me. I must have a weird mindset.

This.
I bought my first car, a 1998 Honda Civic with 158,000 miles and rust all over the body, for $1,300 and limped it to work for two years saving up money for the next car. Every vehicle I’ve owned (8 I think now?) has been bought with my own money. Watching my cousins get gifted new or used vehicles for free after graduation or going to college etc I watched the difference in how they cared for the car first hand. My peice of crap civic was rough, but it was my peice of crap I sweated summers mowing lawns and digging ditches to pay for. I treated it like a $15,000 car because of it. The ones who got freebies trashed them and did foolish stuff with them because mom and pop footed the bill, there was now cost of ownership learned.

 

[cedarpangolin]

Nope not a weird mindset and I completely agree if prices were reasonable for a reliable decent car I would do the same with my son … he would use the money he gets from his part time job to help pay for most of it however in today’s crazy used car market that’s nearly impossible so instead he is paying for his insurance part $ on my policy which he agreed to … ie my policy doubled once I added him 🤦🏻‍♀️

Insurance with young kids sucks. My dad loves me, but he made me get my own car with my own money and my own insurance so I would learn life is expensive and dad has worked hard for his low insurance rates - haha.

 

[ek910]

I get it… what about like Craigslist? Like I said I live in upstate ny and in this area there’s tons of reasonable used cars on the sides of the road that private people are sellling… Facebook marketplace and Craigslist are still good options for finding a sub $5,000 car that will get the job done for a lot less money and headache.

That’s what I have been checking out Craigslist Facebook marketplace and private sellers are asking ludicrous prices see my snap snots

 

[cedarpangolin]

That’s what I have been checking out Craigslist Facebook marketplace and private sellers are asking ludicrous prices see my snap snots View attachment 312763
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I’m not sure what you’re doing wrong, but if I use Rochester as a search and then sort by price 0-$15,000 and only 4WD on Craigslist there’s so many options. Here’s a few that stood out. Also, I don’t believe all wheel drive is necessary, I’ve lived here my whole life with 6of my 8 vehicles being front or rear wheel drive. It teaches a kid how to drive safely and be aware of weather conditions as the seasons change. If you insist on 4WD though, there are plenty of options. well under your $12,000 range and not wildly unreasonably priced.

 

[casadomi]

Looking and need to purchase a car for my 17 new driver (Son) .. just put a refundable down payment on a 2014 Subaru Crosstrek Premium , 138K miles, 1 Owner no accidents for $11800. I snatched this up as they had just placed it on the lot waiting for them to detail, inspect replace all 4 tires, maintenance fixing some cosmetic dings etc at the moment. (there are no images yet of the car)
Is it a buy or pass ?

Same spot as you a few years back. Bought a 2013 Crosstrek XV for my son when he was a high school junior w/ 75K miles ($17K). He is now a junior in college and is out of state. It has been reliable and safe (two accidents clocked). Minor mechanical issues and two recalls (never left him stranded). Car now has a little over 100K miles and should see him through a few more years. Have it checked out, but for a new driver it is a sound buy.

 

[PDawg]

I would recommend something without AWD or a CVT in the lower price ranges, preferably something with cheap and easy to get used parts.

 

[cedarpangolin]

In

I would recommend something without AWD or a CVT in the lower price ranges, preferably something with cheap and easy to get used parts.

agreed but op was pretty clear it had to be a suv with AWD because snow…………. Personally I’d be looking for the Corolla/civic or Camry/Accord genre instead of limiting my options!

 

[ek910]

I’m not sure what you’re doing wrong, but if I use Rochester as a search and then sort by price 0-$15,000 and only 4WD on Craigslist there’s so many options. Here’s a few that stood out. Also, I don’t believe all wheel drive is necessary, I’ve lived here my whole life with 6of my 8 vehicles being front or rear wheel drive. It teaches a kid how to drive safely and be aware of weather conditions as the seasons change. If you insist on 4WD though, there are plenty of options. well under your $12,000 range and not wildly unreasonably priced.



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Thank you for all this but I’m hesitant to purchase high mileage vehicles from individuals and inherit any issues or problems on a buy as is purchase I don’t know any person who’s going to let a stranger just take their car even if it’s only to have it checked by a mechanic …. I’ve asked and most have said it’s buy as is

 

[ek910]

Same spot as you a few years back. Bought a 2013 Crosstrek XV for my son when he was a high school junior w/ 75K miles ($17K). He is now a junior in college and is out of state. It has been reliable and safe (two accidents clocked). Minor mechanical issues and two recalls (never left him stranded). Car now has a little over 100K miles and should see him through a few more years. Have it checked out, but for a new driver it is a sound buy.

Thank you for all this makes me feel better on my choice …. My mechanic who is familiar with Subarus will be inspecting the car before I commit to purchase … is there is something wrong the dealer fixes it or reduces the price so I can have it fixed … my mechanic said they will call the dealership to report any issues they do this with dealerships all the time…

 

[cedarpangolin]

Thank you for all this makes me feel better on my choice …. My mechanic who is familiar with Subarus will be inspecting the car before I commit to purchase … is there is something wrong the dealer fixes it or reduces the price so I can have it fixed … my mechanic said they will call the dealership to report any issues they do this with dealerships all the time…

any private seller should be willing to let you have a mechanic inspect in the vehicle. If it’s not on the road to drive to a mechanic, you can have a mechanic come look at it with you and they can do a basic inspection.

 

[bret]

I have a 2014 with over 120K on it, and only issues so far have been rear wheel bearings needing replaced once, and it just started to use a little oil (about 1/2 quart every 7,000 miles). That said, the price is too high for that car. I would expect to be paying closer to 7-8K. But you are right, the used car market is crazy right now, and crosstreks seem to be in unusually high demand and people are getting stupid prices for them used.

 

[ek910]

I have a 2014 with over 120K on it, and only issues so far have been rear wheel bearings needing replaced once, and it just started to use a little oil (about 1/2 quart every 7,000 miles). That said, the price is too high for that car. I would expect to be paying closer to 7-8K. But you are right, the used car market is crazy right now, and crosstreks seem to be in unusually high demand and people are getting stupid prices for them used.

I don’t disagree with your prices are through the roof on used cars and yeah it seems crosstreks are in high demand for some odd reason. However I just got back from my mechanic who made a list of things that needs to be fixed on the 2014 net net car is safe and it’s a solid car but needs some TLC but within the year there’s going to be a few things that are going to fail primarily the muffler pipe to the catalytic converter is rusted out that needs to be repaired the gas cap seal all that needs to be fixed immediately front brakes were improperly replaced and there’s rust behind the pads those need to be fixed so net net it’s about $2000 worth of repairs. I took the estimates and what needs to be fixed to the dealership and told them either they can fix them or reduce the price on the car so that I can fix them. Their response was that will be talking to their sales manager and either one of two things will happen either they will fix them or they will just sell the car off to an auction. I told him that’s fine if they don’t fix them or can’t reduce the price then it’s a no go. Which sucks and that means I’m back to spending countless hours and time trying to find a used car that’s safe and reliable and affordable for my son 🤦🏻‍♀️

 

[A1HZLi]

A trusted mechanic can pull the spark plugs, check the engine with a cylinder borescope and then do a engine compression test. The mechanic would be able to tell if the engine is burning oil with these tests. With 138K, I would also have my mechanic check the CV Joints, brakes and wheel bearings.

On a test drive, when the light turns green, you should be able to accelerate moderately to hard and feel no initial vibration. If you do feel vibration, I would suspect the transmission. Your mechanic should also check to see if there are any broken engine/transmission mounts and the condition of the exhaust system.

Hope this helps!

Don't forget to check those upper strut mount bearings. They were prone to rust in the first gen, crosstreks.

 

[ek910]

Don't forget to check those upper strut mount bearings. They were prone to rust in the first gen, crosstreks.

Thank you my mechanic checked them out and they were good to go …. He used to work at Subaru so he is familiar with all the pitfalls of the 1st gen 😊

 

[Dan Ek]

Looking and need to purchase a car for my 17 new driver (Son) .. just put a refundable down payment on a 2014 Subaru Crosstrek Premium , 138K miles, 1 Owner no accidents for $11800. I snatched this up as they had just placed it on the lot waiting for them to detail, inspect replace all 4 tires, maintenance fixing some cosmetic dings etc at the moment. (there are no images yet of the car)
Is it a buy or pass ?

Spend a little more and get Impreza instead, almost all he same car cheaper and I believe a lot newer then this

 

[ek910]

Spend a little more and get Impreza instead, almost all he same car cheaper and I believe a lot newer then this

Thank you for that recommendation I heard back from the dealership on the 2014 and they’re not going to fix anything nor reduce the price so that’s a hard pass for me. Onto the vehicle search once again which is excruciatingly painful