What is it like to drive a car with 300,000 kilometers?
Nowadays, when people buy a car, they just look at the appearance, configuration, space and brand. It can be said that Subaru doesn’t touch any of them and has hidden advantages. Inside, the exterior decoration is not in place, and all imported cars are expensive, so it is understandable that sales are not good. There are even fewer people buying second-hand Subaru, especially in the north. People who buy Subaru in the north are either experienced drivers who know their cars well, or they are southerners who live in the north. Today’s customer belongs to the latter group, which can be heard from his poor Mandarin accent.
The customer said that he had not planned to ask us to inspect the car. When he was discussing the price with the boss, the boss insisted that the car was in good condition for a price. The customer felt that the boss was not sincere enough. A car from 2006 could be in such good condition. Where to go? Then I thought of asking us to do an inspection and use the expertise of a used car inspector to defeat the boss. Dana understands what the customer means, but we are a third-party testing agency. Our mission is not to attack anyone. We still have to seek truth from facts. If there is a problem, point it out. If there is no problem, we cannot make it up. This must be made clear to the customer.
Let’s take a look at today’s protagonist, a 2006 Legacy. It’s a fifteen-year-old car. Most of the people who are willing to spend more than 40,000 to buy it are gamers. Customers don’t care about whether it’s worth it. I have seen many of these kind of clients. They are easy to deal with. No need to be too verbose. Just take a good look at the car and get started.
Model year: Legacy 2006 2.0R
Manufacture time: 2006-10
Displayed mileage: 150922KM
Guide Price: 249,800
The dealer’s quote: 46,800
Inspection location: Tangshan, Hebei Province
After walking around the car, I found that this car can only be viewed from a distance but not close. After studying the distance, when you look closer, you can see that there are too many small flaws. Most old cars are like this! Spray painting is indispensable. Follow your fingers to the gap between the front bumper and the hood. The garbage spots caused by the spray paint should not be too obvious. Is it just because it is a fifteen-year-old car that it is so perfunctory? ?
Having said that, you don’t have to worry about the quality of the plastic parts on the appearance of old cars. Scratches have long ceased to be the original appearance. Let’s look at the condition of the metal surface. Dada judged with the naked eye that the machine cover was not the original paint. He took out a paint film meter to see if there was any sheet metal. Fortunately, it was just spray paint. It took about 20 minutes to measure the exterior paint surface. There were quite a few paint spots on the rear of the car, but they were all minor repairs caused by minor scratches. There were very few sheet metal repairs, except for the left front fender. Regardless of the year or mileage, such driving skills are good enough.
After comparing the production code, the manufacturing date of the front windshield is March 2011, which is later than the final assembly time of the vehicle. It seems that it was replaced later. It might be caused by a rockfall on the highway, or it might be caused by an accident. What is the specific reason? Let's see if the engine bay can provide the answer.
After opening the hood, you can take a quick look at the engine compartment, which is relatively neat. The entire power system has not been significantly modified, except for the installation of a subwoofer. It seems that the original owner is also a music enthusiast. Take off the engine cover and admire Subaru's horizontally opposed engine. It occupies a relatively large horizontal space, but has a lower center of gravity. This engine has a 2.0L displacement, with a maximum power of 150 horsepower and a maximum torque of 196 Nm. It is matched with 4th gear. Automatic transmission. I won’t judge this powerhouse. After all, it has been around for so many years. Now it mainly depends on its working conditions and whether it can continue to explode energy.
Starting from the engine compartment, Dana has to contend with the fixing screws of each component to see if the screws have been disassembled, tightened, paint peeled off and worn, and whether the screws have been painted. This is the main reference for judging whether the parts are damaged and replaced. Of course, it needs to be comprehensively judged based on the quality and date of the parts, and screws are the key. Because the quality can be made old and the date can be re-pasted, but the screws are difficult to fake. The cover screws of this Legacy are very complete and have no signs of being disassembled or twisted. There are only some traces of time, so the cover is original and has not been removed for repair or replacement.
Looking further down, the fixing screws of the fenders on both sides are intact, and the paint surface of the inner reinforcing beam is smooth and natural, with no wrinkles or knock marks from the secondary paint, so accidental collisions on both sides of the front of the car can basically be ruled out.
When I came to the headlights, I found that the two headlights had been modified. Japanese car headlights generally do not have a manufacturing date, so this must be judged based on experience. Unfortunately, one of the left headlight claws was broken, and the traces of welding and glue repair were very obvious, and the headlight was also disassembled and disassembled. This cannot be explained by modification. It seems that there is still a story on the left front.
The cooling system at the front has been dismantled completely, and the screws of the water tank frame, water tank, condenser, cooling fan and other accessories have been removed and tightened.
First look at the front anti-collision beam and the two longitudinal beams. The longitudinal beam is one of the four beams and six columns that Dana often mentions. It is the main part of the car frame structure and is in front of the longitudinal beam. What is fixed is the front anti-collision beam, which forms a circle of frames to protect the engine compartment. If the vehicle has a serious accident, the front anti-collision beam and longitudinal beams will inevitably be damaged. The front collision guard of this Legacy has not been deformed and disassembled, and the longitudinal beam has not been damaged and repaired. From the side, it looks very smooth and maintains the original factory condition. Then by disassembling the cooling system, we can rule out the cause of the left front accident.
Looking at the engine again, the valve cover is leaking a lot of oil, and the screws are all glued, so it’s hard to tell whether the screws have been moved; the engine claw screws have been removed, and the claws are used to remove the engine. It is fixed on the frame to prevent it from shaking and loosening. To lift the engine, you must disassemble the engine claws. Looking at the intake manifold and exhaust manifold have also been removed, I suddenly felt an ominous feeling.
The generator has also been dismantled, adding another clue. It seems that the engine is likely to be hoisted! But we can't draw a conclusion yet. We still have to look at the chassis connectors.
As for oil and water, the engine oil and brake fluid are in good condition, and the battery can still be used, but the antifreeze can only maintain a level of minus 10 degrees. Fortunately, it is spring and summer now. If you go to the north, It's a little hung up in the winter, so it's recommended to replace it as soon as possible.
Check the interior below. Open the car door, the interior is so new! Dad, I was thinking that I would choose to renovate the previous seats only if they were worn out until they were just a frame, but 150,000 kilometers is not to that extent, so I first had doubts about the mileage.
The paint on the handle of the door trim is worn away. The seat belt is original, but it has changed from gray-white to gray-black. The brake pedal has left a triangular mark, and The air outlet of the air conditioner is damaged. It has been used for more than 300,000 kilometers with this level of use!
One of the main inspection items of the interior is to check whether there is water damage. Then you have to look from the bottom. Take a flashlight and shine it to see if there is rust on the steering column and front seat frame. oops! You won’t be tricked, right? However, I looked at the lower part of the carpet, the bottom of the trunk, the cigarette lighter, the seat belt buckle, and the instrument panel. There was no rust or residual sediment, so the suspicion of water soaking was ruled out. The rust on the seat frame should be caused by rusting over time, not the kind of rust caused by water immersion. In addition, the seat screws have been removed and the seats were refurbished, so there is no big problem.
After static inspection, the vehicle still has many problems, so the next step is dynamic road test inspection. For a car of this age, let’s not talk about its handling and driving quality. Let’s talk about the existing problems. There are various abnormal noises when driving. The engine makes abnormal noises when you step on the accelerator deeply to accelerate, abnormal noises when turning and steering, and bumpy road sections. Sometimes there are abnormal noises in the chassis and interior. If the music master Mozart were next to me, I believe he would combine these abnormal noises into a beautiful rhythm. By the way, there is also the problem of deviation to the left.
To find out why the chassis is making abnormal noise, you have to lift the car. There is no guard plate under the engine. This time, I don’t have to use one hand to remove the guard plate as quickly as I have for decades, but I feel that the situation is a bit not good. I don’t know what kind of damage the rusty chassis has endured.
For a car of this age, the rubber sleeves of each suspension arm are cracked, the steering wheel ball head is damaged, and the rubber parts of the entire chassis of the car are basically extremely aged, so abnormalities will only appear during the road test. Yes, this needs to be replaced later, but the cost of replacement is also quite high.
There is oil leakage in all four-wheel shock absorbers, because the suspension of the vehicle is often used, and it relies on it to filter bumps. If it is used for a long time, oil leakage will almost appear. Be careful. In terms of comfort, it is recommended to replace them all with new ones.
When I came to the engine part, I found that the half-shaft dust boot had cracked and the grease inside had been thrown away. Judging from the current state, it is estimated that the cracking time has been long. The engine gearbox combination There was oil leaking out from everywhere. There is a large area of ??oil stain near the engine oil pan, and the oil leakage is terrible! Moreover, the oil pan screws have been clearly removed, which gives Dana more confidence in engine lifting and maintenance.
Unfortunately, the fixing screws in several key positions are severely rusted, and it is impossible to tell whether they have been screwed and disassembled. The same is true for the front subframe screws, the engine gearbox connecting screws, and the crankshaft screws. .
The rear differential is also leaking badly, and the chassis is leaking everywhere. It doesn’t look like a Japanese car at all!
The two front wheel brake discs have been replaced, and the brake pads are seriously worn; on the contrary, the rear wheel brake discs are seriously worn, and the brake pads must be replaced. If you purchase it, it is still recommended to perform maintenance and replacement to ensure safe driving.