Buying a used car

Asked by Renee Aug 15, 2017 at 11:16 AM about the 2002 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I'm thinking about buying a 2002 Subaru
Impreza outback sport for my 17 yr old, on
the car fax I noticed that at 47,500m they
changed the timing belts, so that send up
any red flags and also the check engine
light is on???

3 Answers
48,030

TheSubaruGuruBoston answered 6 years ago

2002? Getting any light through the bug-eyes? Old Imps are thirsty but safe first chariots for kids, but suffer from cheesy interiors and corrosion. The '04-'05 is slightly better, but '06-'07 is the best of that old 2.5i era. '08-11 are much quieter with a comfier ride, but, again, since the fuel eco is mediocre I usually suggest grabbing an equal cost better Legacy. The Imp reeally came into its own as a modern car only with the '12+ iteration. The CEL could be anything, including a $1200 cat conv, so be careful to get it addressed, and expect ownership to be relatively high maintenance. This is not a simple FWD ecobox as it ages out. Here in the northeast I haven't seen an '02-'03 "bug-eye" in months....

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