If this isn’t the nicest one left, at least as far as the 1997 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport goes, I’d be very surprised. Finding one in this condition, having been “elderly owned, and with a mere 14k miles on the odometer is pretty amazing. The seller has this time capsule posted here on craigslist in The Biggest Little City in the World: Reno, Nevada. They’re asking $15,500, here is the original listing, and thanks to ToddK for sending in this tip!
The Subaru Impreza was introduced in late 1992 for the 1993 model year and they’re still being made today. The early models are rare to see today, especially in the two-door sedan body style, and you’ve hit the lottery if you can find an early yellow WRX wagon. My wife bought a new Subaru Crosstrek, a slightly more “outdoorsy” Impreza wagon, in 2016 and it’s been a great car, other than Subaru putting in a new $6,700 CVT transmission about 2,000 after the warranty ran out. In case you’re wondering, they only offered a five-speed manual and a CVT back then, and the manual was horrible. If it had been a six-speed manual we would have gotten that without blinking. Sadly, it was only offered on the WRX.
Her Crosstrek replaced a horrible bought-new 2011 Mini Cooper that was on the back of a tow truck more than it was on the road, and before that, she bought a new 1997 Legacy Outback, one of the best cars we’ve ever owned. Other than the usual 2.5-liter head gasket issue, ours happened at 140,000 miles, it lasted until 365,000 miles before it rusted so much that both oil pans were leaking and it was donated to an automotive technical college, I hope they fixed it. This Impreza Outback Sport, I would guess, has no rust at all and it looks perfect inside and out in the photos.
Decidedly basic in feel, this car is loaded with power windows, power locks, and all those goodies. The two blanks on the console would have been for heated seats, which this one doesn’t appear to have. Our Outback didn’t, either, but with fabric seats, we didn’t need them. The seat fabric is almost headache-inducing but it looks like new both front and rear. We don’t get to see photos of the rear cargo area or underneath, unfortunately. We’re always leery of showing a vehicle with an ad that uses photos of photos as they can be scams. I hope this one is real.
The engine is clean enough to eat off of it and is Subaru’s 2.2-liter boxer-four, which would have had 137 horsepower and 145 lb-ft of torque when new. It sends power to all four wheels as needed through a four-speed automatic and console selector. The seller says this car is “elderly owned” and it looks and runs like new. I believe it. For those of you who may be tempted to say, “But, but… it didn’t cost that much new!!!!!” It was actually around $20,000 in 1997 so there ya go, $5,000 off a new one and it’s basically as nice as a new one would have been in 1997. Have any of you owned a Subaru Impreza?
My current beater is a pretty decent loaded out 1996 legacy outback wagon with 270k miles on it. It is by far my favorite barber that I have owned. It performs admirably off-road and is so easy to work on. I hate that the author missed out on these Subaru seat heaters. They are fantastic.
Is the motor interference?
All ’97 and newer 2.2 and 2.5 ARE interference motors. KABOOM,,
https://www.scoobyenthusiast.com/subaru-faq/which-subaru-engines-are-interference-what-subaru-engines-are-non-interference.html
A Mini and a newer Subie? My sincerest apologies. May I politely recommend to everyone to avoid these cars and buy a Toyota or Honda. Some of the older Subie’s as mentioned are decent and perhaps this Impreza.
No offense meant, but the Subaru fan base is odd in an almost cult like way. “Well, once you get past the head gasket issue, they’ll go forever.” What about the oil burning? Transmissions? There are other cars that go forever that don’t need head gaskets. All one has to do is check their local classifieds and see ads mentioning new engines or transmissions. This is not normal. Granted, the new engine may be a result of the head gasket issue and someone not knowing the car is overheating and they cook it.
I want to love them, they’re the only makers still producing affordable wagons. But, “share the love” should be “share the misery”.
I almost forgot; a friend of a friend works at a Subie dealer and says they replace a lot of engines lately because “they eat pistons”. Whatever that means.
The 1997 Impreza did not have a CVT. Instead, the optional transmission was the Subaru 4EAT, 4 speed electronic automatic transmission. The 4EAT and the Chevrolet Powerglide are the only two automatic transmissions I’ve owned. Never had problems with either.
The Subie 5 speed might not be strong enough for a WRX, but in mine (2002), it lasted a quarter-million miles. The six-speeds are nice. The CVTs suck.
This author is as predictable as 6o’clock, at 5:30. That’s what’s great about the site, certain authors stay with certain posts. When I saw this Subie, I knew it had to be Scotty. He knows how I feel about Asian cars, but I can’t dispute the use he’s gotten out of them. He’s not alone. Fan base is strong with Subies. Many repeat buyers would have nothing but, mostly because, they don’t have experience with other makes. All of them are good. Like most cars today, one is pretty much like another all delivering unheard of mileage, with proper service. Splitting hairs which is better, but just try and find a low mileage Subaru.
Now the not so good. 1st, I didn’t know it was a “belt break, scrambled eggs” motor, a deal breaker for me right there, plus, and here’s the kicker, try and get a used Subaru to pass emissions. Guy I stayed with in NYS, had an Outback wagon, couldn’t get it to pass. Tried everything, kept coming up “bad neutral safety switch”,,so just be ready for that crap. Other misgivings, include the usual Asian car maladies, seats, heat, plastic, any repair. At the repair shops in NY, that mandates ALL vehicles must pass, older Subarus are stacked 3 deep in some places, the owners plumb gave up. 14K is unheard of and shows they are around, but clearly not the norm. I wonder if the ” check engine” light is on.
re: transmission repair after warranty ran out? Oh, what a surprise. Planned if you ask me, but I’m the skeptical type. THEN, if you had no other choice and paid the $6700, you aren’t getting a new Subaru transmission, and replacements from “Transco”( or whatever) generally last about 2 years. Kind of a bandaid so you can be advised to buy a new one soon. I’m not saying any car is any different today. My old gf bought a new Kia Sorento, the motor puked at 16K, that they paid for, but it happens a lot. All said, I do think they are great cars,,,when new.
When I sold cars, there were 2 customers that you immediately ran away from. The first was a Volvo owner and it was tied with a Subaru,. They only wasted my time once each, and then I realized they were both equally crazy. They all could be as boring as watching grass grow touting the virtues of their wonderful vehicles. I would point to the Blue Oval sign and say I don’t sell Volvo’s/Subaru’s here but I would be happy to show you a Ford product They would smile their smug Birkenstocks smile like they new some inside that I didn’t and leave. Same thing with Volvo owners only smidge more disdain and better dressed and newly showered. Even our managers didn’t get upset, worst customers ever, bar none.
And your point was what? Aside from generalizing everyone that drives a particular brand of vehicle, I guess it’s that you hate hippies or something?
This Subaru is a nice car but worth tops only 7.500 used regardless of the low mileage . they are a dependable car and you just have to know what to look for and it’s usually the little things like PVC valve thermostat that’s aftermarket etc that causes most of the engine problems plus people think they can run them like a v8 and that’s why they have all the problems…
I almost bought a similar car a few years ago with 20k miles it was red, had leather and heated seats and was a 5 speed. Wish i had bought it but i had a Legacy GT turbo wagon at the time and didnt want to go lower on the HP. Cool cars, curious how close to 15k they get for this one. seems high to me esp for a bare bones auto with cloth and non heated seats. low mileage though is nice!
I like Subarus, but when I saw the side profile of this one, I was reminded of an AMC Pacer.
My mom bought a ’98 Impreza Wagon ((new) with the 2 2 liter engine and AT. After she passed, I got it and then gave it to my daughter in 2008.
It was Her first car, she drove it till 2015 and sold it to a friend. The friend blew the engine up in 2019, when she didn’t check the oil. It reportedly had over 300K miles then.
I now have a ’21 Forester, my third Subaru. I’ve also had Hondas, Mazdas and a 2000 Nissan Frontier that’s still going strong.
That Impreza was a great car, driven by three generations of our family.
The seller has removed the listing, did one of you buy this little gem?