Hello [Introduction]

[cheapo]

Hi.
I want to introduce myself and my new car. We live in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada and we just bought ourselves a 2003 XC70.

We are longtime old Subaru owners, but we have a big dog now, and we needed a new way of transporting him and our two children. The 3-way split rear seat allows us fold down the middle seat and position the dog with his hindquarters in the cargo area and is head and shoulders between the two kids. We then clip his collar to the child seat anchor on the back of the (folded) middle seat.

Like so:


The dog doesn't love it, but its a big improvement over turning him loose in the cargo area where he changes position and turns circles incessantly.

The car has about 192,000 km (119,303 mi). The body is in great shape, as is the interior. We had it inspected (pre-purchase) by our mechanic (he's been fixing our Subarus for about 9 years) and he listed the following issues:

1. Oil leak from turbo;
2. Brake pedal sensor needs replacing;
3. Front seat belt buckles need replacing (to cancel SRS Airbag warning on console);
4. Exhaust, centre section (resonator?) needs replacing;
5. Timing belt and water pump due for replacement.

When began bargaining with the seller I mentioned these issues. At that point he produced the car's service records (why didn't I ask to see these before?) which showed that at the last service they had indicated that the source of the leak was the bevel gear housing which needed to be resealed and that the oil pressure sensor required replacement.

I figured it was unlikely the car was leaking oil from both places and bargained on the basis that I wouldn't need to fix both the turbo and the bevel gear and sensor.

The seller was asking for $8,000. I bargained him down to $6,500. How'd I do?

The day after buying the car, I took it to my mechanic for him to get it road-worthy. He did the timing belt and water pump, replaced the failed exhaust section and installed the summer tires. At my request, he checked the operation of the AWD, which he reported was working fine. $950.

He shampooed the engine to clarify the source of the oil leak...which remained unclear, so after driving it 200 km (125 mi) or so this weekend, we are taking it back to the garage on Monday.

I am not very knowledgeable about cars, but I would say I am mechanically inclined, so I expect, as things go wrong, I will be taking advantage of this forum and the knowledgeable people who make it what it is. With the complexity and reliability of this car being what they are, I imagine I will be spending some time on this forum!

[jda2000]

Welcome, you did good on your purchase price.

One thing, before you spend money on replacing belt buckles, just have the dealer turn off the SRS light. Most likely previous owner disconnected a SRS component without disconnecting the battery, that triggered the light.

[cheapo]

I think the seller told me the dealer had already done this for him, but the error message persisted. He also said the dealer verified that the SRS system was working fine and that the warning message was nothing to worry about. I don't give that last bit too much credence, which is why I'll do the belt buckles if necessary.

[JayPinNC]

I'd say you got a good deal based on what you've said here. I'm a little fuzzy on the SRS/belt buckle thing, but there are plenty of smart people here to offer advice.

BTW, let us know how you made out with that oil leak.

[cheapo]

BTW, let us know how you made out with that oil leak.

It's back at the shop now. Waiting...

[n00bkiller944]

Cut the center resonator out and weld in a straight pipe...

[cheapo]

Cut the center resonator out and weld in a straight pipe...

The resonator, timing belt, and water pump were all replaced last week.

[Forkster]

2003 eh? You can also also check:

- Upper engine and lower transmission mounts. Check for movement. If they're OEM and haven't been replaced, you'll need to
- figure out if a transmission flush has been done.
- check axles for play, as well as tie-rod ends.
- check wheel bearings for noise

$6500 is a fantastic price for an 03, and don't sweat about the milage. The engines are known to last forever as long as you do all required maintenance and frequent fluid changes. Other options you can pick up on fleabay:

- cargo covers and pet barrier (I have both)
- mud gards (keeps the car cleaner longer, especially if you tow anything)

On the bevel/angle gear: mine was weeping for a while but I found a few loose bolts. Once I tightened them, it stopped weeping. A lot of owners have had this issue.

[JRL]

BTW Forkster, IPD is called IPD ...not IPDUSA. No one knows what IPDUSA is supposed to mean!
The only reason their site is www.ipdusa.com is that ipd.com was taken
You may want to edit your signature.

[cheapo]

- cargo covers and pet barrier (I have both)

Car came with cargo cover.

- mud guards (keeps the car cleaner longer, especially if you tow anything)

How vulnerable are mud guards in snowy conditions. Are the flexible enough not to break off when you catch them on the edge of a frozen drift?

On the bevel/angle gear: mine was weeping for a while but I found a few loose bolts. Once I tightened them, it stopped weeping. A lot of owners have had this issue.

After cleaning the engine, my mechanic asked me to drive the car for a bit in order spot the source of the leak. After driving 300km, the source was not apparent. He told me to bring the car back in another week.