No rust? On a 3.5-decade-old Subaru?! That’s what the seller says about this perfect-looking 1989 Subaru GL-10 4WD Wagon, and from looking at the 174 photos (!!) the seller has uploaded to their listing here on eBay in Mullins, South Carolina, it sure looks rust-free to me. They’re asking $7,300, let’s check it out.
A Pewter 1989 Subaru wagon may not be everyone’s dream car, but it’s well past the 30-year-old mark now, and a car this nice deserves an audience, even though Barn Finds is more for dusty muscle cars. Despite the “turbo” engine, this one isn’t winning many stoplight races, but it’ll beat the pants off that restored ’68 Camaro SS off-road, there’s no question about that. You already know which one I’d rather have. I don’t see a flaw in this car inside or out, on top or underneath.
I recently had a 1988 Subaru RX Turbo 5-speed sedan, probably the rarest car I’ll ever own, and it wasn’t even close to being as nice as this car appears to be. It probably looked cooler, in a Devo 1980s sort of way, and the 5-speed manual made it fun to drive, but 45 years of battling rusty cars is enough for me. Make my future vehicles rust-free, and I’ll be happy, even if they’re “just a Subaru wagon.” The GL-10 was a top trim level, and air-conditioning was standard.
Ok, there’s a flaw; this one has a Jatco four-speed automatic. It isn’t necessarily a flaw, as in there’s something wrong with it (I’m assuming it works as it should), but a 5-speed manual is always welcome in low-powered vehicles. Or heck, even in high-powered vehicles. As expected, the interior looks almost like new with just enough rubbing on the driver’s seat to show that it’s a used car. It does not look like a car with 154,000 miles on it! The back seat looks like new, and the rear cargo space also looks great. The seller uploaded 30 (!) underside photos, and it looks outstanding. I believe the no-rust claim without question. One thing I may have done is have the underside dry-ice blasted; I think it would have looked almost like new under there.
The engine is Subaru’s EA82T, a 1.8-liter SOHC boxer-four turbo with 115 horsepower and 134 lb-ft of torque when new. Rolling through the automatic to all four wheels as needed, this one has had a “full service,” and it has to be one of the nicest ones left. Finding a Subaru this old and this rust-free is amazing. Have any of you owned a Subaru Leone from this era?
We owned a nearly identical Loyale – must have been a ’90 with the name change. Ours was black though.
A commendable car – not a stoplight winner, but an all-around performer.
Only complaint (aside form the babysitter who took it out on icy streets and got t-boned by an SUV) was the turbo. Lots of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Turbo whine sounded like the cops were nearby.
This is right up your alleyway Scottie and should be in your garage change my mind
I was scrolling down the cars and saw this Subaru….. BEFORE I even clicked on it….. I said to myself…… I bet Scotty wrote this……
Yepper!!!!! Man I’m getting good at this!!!!
I can’t get over the condition of this one. And the mileage. I said on another write up that on Barnfinds we’re used to seeing people doubting low mileage claims…. Well I’m about to hook a hard left here and go the opposite way and say I can’t believe this has over 150K miles. Wow, very well taken care of. Very nice find and I enjoyed your write up too Scotty. ( And I agree, wish it were a stick).
These were popular in Upstate NY,growing up when I was a kid in the 1980s and 1990s. I would even say they could have been the unofficial car of NY state.
You’re right. Saw tons of em DanO when we went skiing ⛷️up at Whiteface.
Lake Placid ⛰️ 🏔 is a truly beautiful place. 👍
One of our sons had one with a 5-speed for several years. Great cars! The only thing that bummed him out was lack of parts availability. He was going east coast to west coast and camped on a mountain somewhere. The car needed some engine ancillary to go again. He had to ride his bicycle into town and the auto parts store needed several days to get the part. So, 2 round trips up and down the mountain on his bike.
Now, when we have older Japanese stuff we try to keep at least one parts car in the back pasture.
Cool blast from the past, but run don’t walk from these rigs! That turbocharged engine was a piece of crap. I had an 85 turbo wagon that I loved, but that damn engine cracked heads twice on me and I finally sold it away. I even let it idle as recommended before turning off the engine EVERY TIME to ensure extra cooling and oiling. The turbo lasted fine, but heads, exhaust, and front differential all failed miserably. My family loves Subarus, but I will not touch another one
I’m amending my comment above, since I just saw that this vehicle has 150,000 miles. Who knows how many heads it may have gone through, but kudos to the car and the owner(s) for keeping it healthy. Not my luck though.
The head gaskets are more of a problem on the 2.5 motors. Usually showing up around 150-200K miles. Pretty much a ‘one and done’ repair if using the turbo head gaskets. Your mileage apparently varied.
You’re right, Stu. Our ’97 Legacy Outback blew the gaskets at 140,000 miles. After getting it fixed at a Subaru dealership, the car lasted until 375,000 miles. It was literally still running like new, but rusted out so badly underneath that both oil pans were leaking, so it was donated to an automotive tech school. I hope they fixed it. The dealership said they would have had to break off $2,000 worth of rusted suspension parts to get to the oil pans, and it wasn’t worth it. That was such a great car, other than road salt working its evil magic.
I still think Subaru should have had a recall on those 2.5 head gaskets, or at least paid for them when they blew. It was a known issue, like the CVT on our Crosstrek that went bad at 72,000 miles. They paid for even though it was out of warranty and it would have cost us $7,000! But, it’s cheaper for them to pay for repairs than do a billion-dollar recall.