The options for sporty AWD wagons may be few, but as shown by today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Subaru, they can be quite compelling. Let’s see if this Legacy’s price makes it an equally compelling purchase.
We kicked off the holiday weekend last Friday with a cool combo car—a 1987 BMW 528e that had seen its formerly lame “e”-ness upgraded with an LS1 V8, late of a Corvette. That may have proved a pretty sweet swap, but at $19,500, it apparently was an equally sour deal, coming in at a 74 percent Crack Pipe loss.
We’re now back from the 4th, and since we’re getting back to whatever this weird new normal is, let’s take a look at a car that, in today’s market, is also a bit of an outlier.
That, of course, would be this 2005 Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT Limited wagon. What makes it so unique and potentially special? Well, let’s just look at those two letters that stand alone in its extended name— “GT.”
That naturally stands for Grand Touring (or Gran Turismo if you’re a gamer) and that implies that the car has some sort of sporting potential. That’s something not necessarily expected in your typical station wagon scene.
The GT-ness is embodied in the drivetrain which is comprised of a 2.5-litre flat-four good for 250 horsepower and a five-speed manual coupled with Subaru’s patented full-time all-wheel-drive system. The handling on these cars was never really up to the task from the factory, but this wagon rides on shorter springs and WRX wheels wrapped in what are appreciably low-profile tires so perhaps it’s stepped up its game.
Another mod here is the removal of both resonator and muffler for enhanced neighbor annoyance. Fortunately, the seller notes that all the original bits come with the car so those sorts of shenanigans can be undone if not your cup of cacophony.
The odometer has rolled over a mere 110,000 miles and both that distance and time seem to have been relatively kind to the car. There are a few minor dents and dings evident in the body, but nothing that seems too extreme. The clear coat over the Atlantic Blue paint seems completely intact and the car has been de-badged for a cleaner appearance. Those gunmetal WRX wheels complement the body color and fill the tighter confines of the lowered arches nicely.
A grey and black interior with leather seating surfaces and faux wood trim makes for a nice place to get business done. An aftermarket shift knob appears to be the only mod in here but the stock bits have all seem to have held up well. The rearview mirror does feature one of those distracting digital compass displays. Do other people find those as annoying as I do?
This is a three-owner car although the present keeper of the flame claims that service records that come along with it cover that entire span of owners, going back to when the car was baby-spank new. This being a Subaru, you’re probably wondering about the maintenance on the heads in particular. Well, never fear, fam, the seller’s got you there too. The ad notes that “Timing belt, water pump, and head-gaskets were all done around 90,000 miles.”
The seller also says this car is “one of the cleanest manual wagons in the pacific northwest.” The ad goes further in trumpeting its rarity, stating “this car is extremely rare considering there are only 1,461 manual wagons in the US (only 99 of this exact spec.)” That’s all well and good, but what if it is rare because it once was, and still is, undesirable? I mean, smallpox is comparatively rare these days, but there ain’t nobody searching for that on the Craigslist.
Let’s not kid ourselves—while performance-oriented wagons may not be mainstream fodder, for many, if not all of us, they are our jam. A 250-horse stick shift wagon with reasonable reliability and a solid history can be a true thing of beauty. That is, of course, unless it comes with an ugly price.
The asking here is $12,000, or about a third of what this car cost when new. That’s a pretty penny to pay for a 15-year old Subaru that doesn’t have STi tramp-stamped on its boot-lid, but then, like the hot shoe Impreza, this is one of the more desirable models from the brand.
So you think it’s desirable enough to ask that $12,000 price? Or, is that just too much to add this Subaru to your future legacy?
You decide!
Portland, OR Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to FauxShizzle for the hookup!
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