325ix or late 90's Legacy

[rede30]

A family friend of mine needs a AWD vehicle for light snow duty in Washington. I have a solid ix for sale and I trust it but since he is not a car guy and especially not an e30 guy, I figure he could get more bang for his buck with a Subi vs low millage clean ix. What do you ix'ers think? is an ix just as reliable than most 3-5k awd cars out there?

[A Sucked Orange]

Depends on whats been replaced on the iX. I am in the process of changing all the seals and bushings. I am hoping it will go a long ways after this.

Subies seem to go forever without much going wrong, and are definitely more cheap and easy to repair.

[matt0300]

I'd tell him to go with a suburu. If he doesn't do repairs himself he's gonna be butt fucked by the idiots at the dealership. Those people are dumb. I called about some valve stem seals and this is what he said "uhhhhh what's the Vin number" me: "dude its just valve stem seals for any 88 325i" him: "uhhhhhhh" *long pause* "is that in the engine cause I've never even heard of those" me: *click*

[downforce22]

i dont see why not, it seems you have sorted it out. my 230k ix has been solid for me aside from a few fixes here and there that are more neglected maintenance than anything, lets see control arm/tie rod, power steering rack, timing belt, motor mounts, front diff went out lack of fluid, only didnt start for me once in the cold

[Earendil]

Telling cars to friends is iffy. You will feel responsible for the things that go wrong.
And even if you don't...

What if your friend doesn't do the same repairs you would? What if he drives the car into the ground? Can you watch that happen? Or will you feel obligated to volunteer your time to fix up the car, or cry yourself to sleep at night thinking about your old baby enduring a slow death?

If you won't have any of those problem, consider selling it to them. Otherwise, here in the NW subaru's will be cheaper to repair, and finding a mechanic that knows what their doing will be easier.