Subaru’s ads say “that’s what makes a Subaru a Subaru.” Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe GL wagon might let you find out just what it is that makes a Subaru an Subaru, that is, if its price makes it a deal.
My Maserati does 185… degrees celsius. My mechanic can’t figure out why it’s overheating. Yesterday’s 1985 Maserati Biturbo E also got a few of you hot and bothered.
Oh sure, the decision to buy it would most likely be akin to Robin Williams’ deciding to stay in Hell with his wife rather than return to heaven in What Dreams May Come, but with a 66% Nice Price win, at least with the Maser you could feel that you got a Hell of a deal!
Hey, do you remember that Subaru GL we had on the show a few weeks back? If not refresh your memory with this link right here. Oh yeah, that’s the stuff.
That red Subie wagon had a lot going for it: turbo mill, digital dash, a ton of rust and questionable accident repair…
Yes, much like yesterday’s Maser, that Subaru was probably going to be trouble down the road.
This 1985 Subaru GL wagon lacks some of the cool features of our previous candidate, but it also appears to have spent a good bit of its 175,000-mile life in Arizona.
Now, for those of you uneducated on what that means, allow me to make shit up educate. Arizona is a state in the American Southwest. It was admitted into the Union in 1912, and was the last of the contiguous states to join. Its most notable feature is a large hole in the ground, and its capital is Phoenix.
Another fun fact about Arizona is that most of it is usually oppressively dry. Like, so dry it farts dust.
In fact the state, along with its neighbors California and Nevada, is suffering through one of the worst droughts in recorded history. That arid environment is bad for pretty much everything except for cars and people who get big hair when it gets humid.
That means that while the bumpers on this GL look a little dried out, the rest of the body appears to be sound as a pound. It also rolls on a set of Hankooks and what the ad claims are custom wheels. If by custom they mean rattle-canned black then I guess that description is spot-on.
There’s a busted tail light and some evidence of a minor shunt in the back, and some missing rub strips on both sides. Other than that it all appears very serviceable albeit a little rough.
Pop open a door and you’ll see that the Arizona sun seems to have had little success in turning the interior into a sad raisin. The cloth seats seem to show little evidence of wear and there’s some natty blue floor mats to liven up the space. As we all know, a good rug can really tie things together.
You won’t get a digital dash here, and the EA-82 1,781-cc four isn’t turbocharged, but dials and 84-horses never hurt anybody so let’s call it a wash. The pancake engine is backed up by a five-speed stick and there’s of course AWD with a two-speed transfer case. A/C (Arizona, remember) has been converted to R134 and the ad notes that both it and the heater work as they should.
What we need to find is whether or not this wagon’s price works for you. The seller is asking a nominal $1,750. That is for some is pocket change and for others is an inconceivable amount, that’s jus how life is.
Either way, we want to know if that’s a good price for this Subaru that could leave you high and dry, but in a good way.
You decide!
Boulder CO Craigslist (the car appears to be in Phoenix) or go here if the ad disappears.
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