Here's why you should NEVER EVER Buy a Cheap Subaru (total mechanical/rust DISASTERS) Baja XT Turbo 

You guys said you wanted HOOPTIES again, right? It's your fault! GET A $5 STICKER! hooviesgarage.com/collections/all

When you guys realized the 4 point lift was only holding 3 points, and Wizard moved the arm of the lift...I've never seen him move so fast

I know you probably regretted that purchase, but y’all’s reaction to the lift’s arm free-swinging was gold!

Wizards face is absolutely priceless when he first sees the sills when putting the ramp legs under…..had me in tears! This video is hilarious……feel sorry for you though Tyler!

As a Baja owner, I gotta say.. i started looking in 2018. Looked at 12 before i bought mine. Zero rust, mechanically sound!

This is one of my favorite episodes of Hoovie's garage in a long, long time. I have gotten a bit tired of seeing the unobtanium (for me) that has populated more recent episodes. The Baja is a vehicle that I can actually imagine affording. That alone makes this episode relatable and more engaging. But then add in the catastrophic rust issues and Car Wizard's genuine reaction to the condition of the car and you have gold.

This is absolutely gold RU-vid content. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. I think what makes it so perfect is that nearly every one of us can relate to it. We've all had at least one Hooptie that we bought with hard-earned paper-route money. Being from Michigan, the sound of a jack crunching through rusted metal is something everybody will have experienced at least once in their lives.

For starters, this is weird because a Baja that looks EXACTLY like this one sat outside, neglected in the parking lot at my apartments for literally YEARS. It actually just disappeared from the lot a couple months ago. I live in Nebraska btw. Secondly, awesome to see a more down to earth vehicle for a change on the channel!

Based off what’s still good on that car you might be able to minimize the financial damage. You’ve got 4 good doors that might be worth 500 bucks. You’ve got a good drivetrain that someone might be willing to buy. The engine and trans are worth a few grand, the interior has good seats and trim pieces. I would suggest gutting the car for any good parts that are worth money. Then after your done haul the hulk to the local scrap dealer and that should get you a few hundred bucks

You already have the hardest Baja to find (and they are legitimately scarce). Go find a non-turbo with bad head gaskets, that WASN'T pried out of the rust belt and make a whole car again.

This may be the most I've ever physically laughed at a video. The interaction when Tyler says "I paid $9000 for it..." - GOLD. Worth every penny for the content Tyler. Worth every penny.

This would be a great opportunity to show viewers how much they might expect to recoup after a purchase disaster by parting out. You might have the support staff to follow it too and update your subscribers. Agree with other comments to leave the unobtanium to Supercar Blondie.

I appreciate how Hooptie showed his basic integrity by removing this unsafe thing from the road, even though it cost him a bunch of money to do that. Thank you very much, you are a good man, sir. It's only money - and you know how to make more of that, better than many people, at least. Rust never sleeps. Many people in dry southern parts of the US do not understand what rust does to vehicles that are kept in area where there is salt water, or where the roads are salted, or where a car could be used to drive through watery areas.

Wizards reaction when he finds the back end was not supported was almost as good as the reaction to the R8 absolutely brilliant

The fact that Tyler is alive after driving that thing is a miracle in itself. Tyler needs to arrange life insurance ASAP.

I got really nervous just watching you guys walk under this thing. Then when Wizard moved the lift arm at 22:36 I about jumped out of my chair.

You should sell it to a parts broker, it still has alot of not caving in body parts like the doors fenders and the interior. Just have it flatbed towed to them.

Wow, that thing was gnarly. In my experience Subarus are very good cars - for a limited time. Once the limit is reached the literally fall apart. The duration is determined by miles on the street and exposure to salt, and this one seems to be a great example of massive salt exposure.

That seller made one hell of a (scam) deal. Whoever sold it was lucky it has these plastic fender flares on it that covers/hides all the rust in the fenders and quarter panels etc. So standing next to the car you don’t notice any rust. I bet there were no auction pictures with the rear doors open...

This video is more for education purposes. Hoovie is literally showing us the ropes of current turds and what to do when the dealer doesn't tell you the mileage since its past 10 years. Thanks Hoovie.

This is what we crave! Thanks Hoovie for playing one for your original audiences.

Having recently properly fixed the rust on my personal Baja... I feel the pain

The dealer that wholesaled it to you definitely knew he scammed you. No wholesaler would go back to a dealer if they pulled one on them like this. Imagine the stuff they pull on customers if they did this to one of their own.

My first car, back in 1993, was a 1983 Subaru station wagon. I paid $600.00 but then had to pay $300.00 to a welder to get it to pass inspection. The floor was totally rotted.

Honestly best hoovie video I’ve seen in a while. It’s fun watching him gamble on risky cars instead of buying showroom pieces.

The moment Wizard went 'hold on..' and moved the arm when they were underneath the car, that was legitimately scary.

It would be interesting to see how it holds up in a crash test.

Still driving a rust box 2000 outback. After wheel alingment, lifted it to see what was done and discovered torn out rear subframe three of four mounting points :D

Every credit to you for doing the right thing and not throwing in back in auction.

This might be one of Hoovie’s best episodes. I would love to see the million mile truck pull this thing apart!!

That's like a throwback to the Subarus of the 70s, the era when Subarus were guaranteed to rust out. As a little kid, I recall my father's tan Subaru wagon rusting to the point where 2 bars had to be welded to the front struts to keep them from flopping around- the spare in that era was stored over the engine and that had to be removed. The front fenders would flap in the wind because a line of rust would eat a hole from the headlights to the door. And the front floor pans had holes rusted in them so you could see the road going by, feel the winter wind coming in, and on wet or slushy days, get sprayed by whatever was on the road. I think the old man's car was worse than Hoovie's when he finally took it off the road. It was under 5 years old, and around 80,000 miles. Still ran great. I think it had the 1.4 engine.

Part it out!!! A lot of those parts especially the motor cladding good body panels and interior and such are worth a ton. You could make your money back on this thing easy. I was so exited to that hoovie finally had a Subaru. I’ve been waiting for this forever and this is how it ended haha

That’s very unfortunate luck! This reminds me of my first car, a 2002 Ford Taurus. I live in Ohio so cars get rust, but that thing rusted worse than anything we ever owned. The back wheel wells were nothing but filler by the end of it. My sister also had bumped the plastic piece under the doors and it fell off and created a trough of rust lol.

Sad to see such a beautiful vehicle been on such a lousy state. When they were inspecting the frame I was genuinely afraid that the car would collapse on them... Incredible the amount of hidden damage in this car....

That Subaru Baja is one hell of a rustbucket. It's scary, really. If I was in 2004 buying a Baja brand new, the first step is rustproofing underneath.

Car wizard: "Your gonna make it break in half stop" Hoovie:"Proceds to poke more holes through the frame"

Part it out, you'd probably get most of what you spent back. Especially the engine, even with the mileage. The body panels, trim etc. It'd be interesting to see just how much you could get. Oh, and 22:30 onwards is hilarious 😆

I bought a similar deal at an auction. That one was ride and drive though. Everything checked out until I got it to my shop. Interior and exterior were immaculate. The frame and everything else was a swiss cheese disaster. The Tech came running to my office saying you've got to see this, after he saw it he wouldn't stand under it and I understood. Called the auction and they thankfully took it back. I told them about all the problems. I hope no one got that one too.

Buying sight unseen is asking for trouble. I used to wholesale and the first thing we looked at was the under carriage. Then start the engine before the auction starts get there a few hrs. early, go find another one, start it up, then go ack to the first car after 10 minutes and run it thru it's paces, normally on auction grounds. you can do about 6 cars per hour before the auction starts. Once the guards get to know you can slip them a $20 and you're in like Flynn.

The fact this thing sold at all is astonishing. The only person I can see who would actually sell a car THIS bad is Danny DeVito's character from Matilda. That's a lawsuit right there, wholesale auction or not!

Part it out...you may get most of your money back. the doors look solid, interior parts, drive train. Considering how rare the engine/trans combo is that should be a goldmine in itself.

I had the exact same thing happen to me when I bought a 2005 Subaru Imprezza STi, my second STI, a nice low mileage (72k) white with gold wheels version. It looked great from the outside and inside but the frame was rusted out below. My 1st 2005 STi (Blue/silver wheels) had the notorious cylinder 4 ringland failure. After that I swore that I'd never buy another Subaru product. Crazy to see this happen to someone else. I got the same gut-punch feeling that I had when I found out the mine had frame rust.

I reacted the same way as soon as they found out the rear wasn’t even being supported by the lift 😂😂 they’re brave for even going under there. I would of just flashed the light from afar. 😭🤟🏻

I used to own one of these. The clutch was really heavy and I was always worried about blowing the turbo because of the screen in the banjo bolt on the oil feed line. Really cool and very capable car though! Love it 🤙

I had one - I used to call it the mullet mobile - business in the front party in the back. I bought mine from a mechanic - he took really good care of it - it ran great - the reason I sold it was i kept running into problems with that bed being too small. But there were a lot of great things about that car. the AWD was fantastic - never got stuck in anything - much better than 4WD trucks. The guy I sold it to lived up in the mountains so he was really excited about having it

Really REALLY Happy you actually bought a hooptie again!! This is what made your channel so brilliant in the first place. It would be interesting to see what it would cost to get the Subaru back to road standards 🤣

As is usual with these videos. The interaction between Weezard and Hoovie is the best part.

For YEARS I have wondered what was going on with Baja license plates. It looked like they did something but I never knew anyone that had one. So cool that it folds down

This reminds me of when in 1987 my stepfather came home with a 1978 Ford LTD two door coupe. Had traded some stuff for it and said “Well, here’s your new car”. For what you could see if you didn’t go underneath it wasn’t bad. Lived in Alabama, but, the car came from a Midwestern state notorious for heavy salt usage on the roads. Knew it was originally that beige-ish mustard yellow that was popular at the time based on the interior, and, where you could see it through the dark brown metallic repaint. It also had gold faced “bullet hole” mags, air shocks and glass packs so it had the typical late 1970’s “trying to look tough without anything under the hood “ look. Started driving it and noticed things didn’t feel right. Turns out the underside was so rusted things would start falling off in metal chunks including pieces of the frame. To try and get some of his investment back stepfather sold it to one of his brothers, but soon after that it went to the junkyard. Thank you for the notification that I was not the only one to ever get burned by the rust monster.

I can’t believe you where just poking through the subframe while up on a lift. That was about as sketchy as it gets. Glad you made it ok to the wizards shop. Your faces where priceless on the underside inspection.

As a Subaru owner who remembers when these were on dealer lots brand new and a fan of your channel; I really hope you get a good one someday. If not, find a clean automatic base and do a full STI swap. It's been done.

We had the similar Ford Sport Trac for 12 years, or something like that, and we loved every inch of it and miss it a heck of a lot. When we had to let it go that little vehicle didn't owe us a penny. We didn't need a full pickup bed or we would have bought a full size pickup truck. There are a couple of people in our area who had Sport Tracs for many years also because we would see them parked at their homes and going about town. Ours had the tonneau cover which made it even nicer and we'd buy another one in a heartbeat if it wasn't made by Ford. That's why we were considering a Baja.

For those of you who say this is scripted, the car wizards reaction was genuine.. and hilarious 😂

This episode just re-affirmed my subscription to this channel. 22:34 had me laughing harder than I have in months.

Has to be an upstate NY or New England state car that made its way midwest. That amount of structural rust is unheard of and hope that its parted out of its good parts to keep other Bajas on the road before the shell goes to the crusher.

Usually not a commenter, but damn did I love Wizards genuine reaction to this! Great body parts car/ engine/ trans. I’m honestly surprised at how bad this is underneath vs how good the outside is.

The wizard’s reaction said everything. Too funny! I’m sure you can recover some of your money if you parted it out, but I think Hoovie is making the right decision by not putting it back into the auction. Definition of a death trap.

Hi I'm a long time watcher-first time enjoyer of your channel, and I just have to say it's great to see the channel back where it truely belongs! If your purchases keep following this trend, I will for sure be a staple patron! Thanks Tyler!

LUCKY IT DIDN'T FALL ON THE ROLLS, MY DUNE BUGGY FELL OFF A LIFT ONCE, THEY HAD TO BUY ME A NEW EXHAUST SYSTEM.

You know Watchjrgo’s Dad had a crusher that could use a test subject. 🤓

Bought my 03 forester NA for $2,000 back in May as my winter/ work car. Been daily driving it every since, no issues, 230k miles, runs like a top even in 0 degree weather, super fun in the snow and most importantly not rusted out. Always look underneath cars before purchasing!!

You have to respect Hoovie and the Wizard for showing everyone what to avoid. Buying online without a proper inspection is really risky. I nearly bought a beautiful rare fiat wagon. It looked great in Auction photos. And the auction report mentioned a bit of rust. But the rust was actually really severe and deep seated into the frame. And it was everywhere. Total deconstruction and reconstruction was required. Very few cars are worth such reengineering.

My first car was an over 20 year old Subaru. Lasted me a couple years until my mechanic told me it was too rusty to do work on (the filler neck was leaking, the exhaust rotted through, the suspension started making weird noises). Up until that point the car never needed anything but regular maintenance and a serpentine belt it’s entire life according to maintenance records.

I remember when we used to look at cars before we bought them. Ah, the good old days.

I loved my Baja, used it to haul my Spec Miata, 2 sets of spare wheels/tires, tools, spare parts, wife and daughter to races all over the Midwest! Towed from Wichita to Brainerd, MN, Wichita to Greencastle, IN,, Hallet more times than I can count, Heartland Park and more. It was an awesome rig till it did what Subaru’s do, cracked a piston skirt and had leaking head gaskets. Replaced it with a Honda Ridgeline which was an all around better rig for my needs but not nearly as fun. Subaru, bring back the Baja!

The look on the wizards face "DO YOU WANT ME TO KEEP GOING"

Finally, a non-weird car showcased we can all relate to.

I’m surprised more people don’t realize how bad Subaru’s rust. I assume the f150s will have the same problem if not taken care of giving the amount of surface rust they have from the factory

Living in Maine I see the rusted out Subarus all of the time. I had a 2001 Outback that rusted out at the rear fenders, and the rear subframe. I fixed the fenders, and replaced the subframe. I see the same thing with Hondas, Nissans, Toyotas, and of course all domestic vehicles, especially pickup trucks. Volvos, VWs, and Audis don't seem to have the same rust issues.

As someone who lives in new York I can confirm that cars from here are complete rust messes.

I used to do glass at an auction in the Midwest and I always wondered who bought these cars. Thanks hoovie 😂

Hoovie you're back to classic form and stellar content. That's without doubt the CRUNCHIEST hooptie you've adorned your channel with. This episode is right up there with your Grey Poupon Epic!! Well done!

I'm sorry Hooie bought this, but I'm glad hoovie bought this and not some poor kid/guy trying to get a low mileage car to own and drive. Hoovie can make a video and be made whole plus it's good content!

This content is good for showing people the car landscape has changed, recalibrate your brain for what a good deal is priced as. Car dealers aren't swimming inventory, when you have people selling F250s & Silverados back to the dealership for more than they paid, you aren't gonna beat the dealerships on deals.

I live in the northeast and still am surprised of this, especially how rusty the front sub frame is. Looks like it spent most of its life parked somewhere very damp/wet.

I always thought these were cool. I always love seeing one, especially in the bright yellow. They could 100% bring it back, but won't. Also, it's sad how many cars out there that are not taken care of, but because of the shortage are going well over their actual worth.

Hoovie's greatest hooptie EVER. My 1st car had a case of rust that was far worse. The only place a jack or similar was the front & rear suspension. Anywhere on the body and the jacking device would just go right thru, like a hot knife thru butter.

This is the first time that I've seen the Wizard get genuinely speechless at something this atrocious. This got to be a flooded car that they just jury rigged it and just dump it for the next victim to buy.

That's by far the nicest totaled car 🚗 I have ever seen! Love your content and glad to see getting back into hoopties. Happy New Year and better luck

I almost bought a yellow non turbo one of these last year. Unfortunately it also had visible rust in the bottom of every door frame similar to this one. They didn't even try to patch it, they just sprayed foam insulation into the gaping rust hole. It also had about 2 inches of water in the passenger foot well. I still had to test drive it and give it the beans, but unfortunately it drove like it was about to stall at any given moment. It's definitely a fun car if you like unconventional things. Still wouldn't mind finding a nice one someday, but those Hyundais are looking pretty nice 👀

This thing reminds me of a 2007 FJ cruiser I bought last year. It looked perfect from every angle, and the engine and transmission were running perfect! No mechanical issues, but unfortunately I didn’t think to look underneath since I live in FL. It was a complete rust bucket! Nightmare and lost 4K trying to resell it.

I laughed so hard when they realized the lift arm was not holding the car xD I had to show my girlfriend and we saw it multiple times it was so funny

The sound of the pinch welds finally disintegrating as you went up on the lift made me feel like I was on fire

Head gasket is rarely an issue on the turbo models. Maybe Hoovie can recover some money by parting it out, he knows what he is doing.

You should offroad it and see how long until it breaks beyond moving

Send it back to auction but before you do, spray paint “parts only” on the hood.

My friend got a manual one that is super super nice for under 5k. Engine and brakes might need some adjustment but underneath, inside, and the rest of it is nice. An old person owned it and when they dined their family listed on marketplace.

This year I finally decided to fix up my 97 Subaru Impreza 2.2l sedan with 75k original miles. And yea, I can confirm that the rust underneath is the main thing. Engine and transmission oil pans were so rusty the tranny one actually started leaking. Rear jacking points will need some attention because they are at a point that my mechanic moves the lift arms a bit closer to the middle of the car. But the main thing at the moment is the rear sub frame. It's practically made of rust. And a word of advice to anyone thinking about working on older soobie'z I just snatched up the last sub frame in the country. Parts are hard to get to my surprise. But mechanically I did the timing belt and water pump, fan belt, pullies, sparks, leads, two rusty transmission lines, air filter and that's basically it. Car is good to go. I've also bought a nice set of alloys and tires and plan to drive it to work whenever I don't need to haul any big tools with my truck. Hopefully it'll all go according to plan. Cheers to all you car guys out there.

Having owned a Subaru that spent its life in the south, I would never have one again. Not only do they rust like that, but they are a pain to work on and honestly are not built that well. I don’t understand where their good reputation comes from

You guys should do a body swap with Alex at legit street cars Subaru Outback that he doesn’t know what to do with at the moment.

Love the regular “rare” cars. As a retired Craigslist’s car flipper you buy all the cars I was afraid to buy but had always wondered what they where like and why they where so cheap or expensive.

I've done quite a few pre purchase inspections on Subarus. It is appalling how much they rot away. I actually had two of them with holes in the outer unibody rails that I could put my whole hand in. It's a shame, I kinda like Subarus. They're not terribly difficult to work on and the parts are usually fairly affordable. I do not car for the cladding at all. Reminds me of Pontiac, they LOVED bolting plastic junk to otherwise nice looking bodies. How many Azteks have you seen and said, "Wow, that's hot."?

Thank you for sharing how gross human greed can be. Everyone prior to you absolutely new about the condition of that car... from the recent auto auction to the owner that traded it into the dealership who sold it to the auto auction place. I'm sorry that happened to you. I disagree that the previous owner (undisclosed auto auction place) shouldn't be held accountable. It is very clear they did not disclose certain information that would clearly alarm those interested. This is absolutely a human moral issue and I believe should be a criminal offense! Take care Hoovie, I appreciate you sharing this human experience for all to learn from.

"Look, Mom, I just spent $9,000 on a couple of buckets of Japanese rust." On the other hand, this vehicle from Subaru was way ahead of its time. You could work on it in a tool-less fashion, just with your hands and fingers.

My wife and I had some good laughs, especially when Wizard moved the lift stand. Am I the only one who thinks that someone ought to go to jail for passing that Suby off as drivable?

Most enjoyable HG video in a long time. Glad to see real hoopties are back!

This makes me nostalgic for my first car, a 1968 Mustang. If it was calm out you could hear little pieces of rust fall to the ground every time you shut the door. Good times.

My uncle has a grey one like this. It really is a cool little car. He’s had his for at least 15 years still going strong

You probably could make at least some money back parting it out, I'm sure a lot of the body panels are tough to find.

I've worked at a well-known rustproofing shop in Ontario and that's just a typical Subaru after 15 years. To be honest, Japanese cars and Chryslers have always been more susceptible to rust up here - even the modern ones. Hondas and Subarus are the most serious offenders, whereas Lexus is probably the best but only after the mid 2000s. It's an eye opening experience; living in a place that uses road salt I'd rather buy a less reliable car than one that rusts easily.