https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/712353507/overview/ thinking of purchasing for my son as first car. Are these cars reliable and will I be able to find parts to repair it? what say you fine people...

 

A wagon! Those are VERY rare. Looks like a nice find and is nicely appointed and a decent price. Has the seat heaters and premium stereo and DSC. The DSC is important to have for driving in winter with the all wheel drive. Do a search on here as to why it is important.

By 2006 all the teething problems of the early models had been worked out. If it was well taken care of and you don't see any lights on the dash, any poor driving dynamics and unusual drive line noises chances are you have a solid car.

Parts are not an issue and most of the common issues, like vacuum leaks can be easily addressed here. I would recommend you changing all the fluids (transmission, transfer case, differentials) right after you get it so you know that has been addressed,

If you take some time to do a search on here to better familiarize yourself to the car and potential issues you will have a good idea of what you might face. Could be a very reliable car if maintenance is kept up. Could be frustrating if the car was neglected. That doesn't look like the case from the pictures, but that can be deceiving.

If anything does come up, do a search on here or post a question and someone will help you. This is the best forum out there and plenty of friendly and helpful people willing to help you out.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

thanks for responding!

 

One thing I noticed with the head lights is they look a little foggy. No big deal as you can polish them out yourself with a head light restoration kit. Also, the passenger parking light looks like there is moisture in there. Not a huge deal, but something you would want to look into addressing. Could use that as a bargaining chip.

Also, I see they do not offer a Carfax. You might just want to pay to get one just to check its history for peace of mind. Looks like the customer reviews are all positive. I did notice that all 27 reviews were 5 stars. I might be skeptical, but just seems hard to believe EVERY person that posted was so totally pleased. Not saying it is not true, but just something to consider.

 

very good points. I have a friend who works at a dealership so I'll have him run the VIN for sure.

 

Now I see there's a discrepancy in the Carfax and it's proabably actually closer to 160k. I may still be a player but at at a lower price...

 

You don't say the price, but you can find many low mileage car around 100K miles with the good price, I found 4-5 Sport wagon on Cargurus less than 120K miles for less than $6K.