Anyone have a Subaru Outback?

[VINMAN]

Getting time to beach the 944 for the winter and do some major overhaul. But I still need a decent commuting car. Bronco and pickup are not the best for a 80 mile round trip to work, and soon too cold for the bike. Always liked the Outback. Figured its decent winter car too( not that we get snow here anymore)..

Any experiences with them?

[craigster59]

I've been contemplating the same thing (100 mile RT) now that the LandCruiser is going up for sale. I've been watching craigslist for a "beater" Legacy. They can be had pretty cheap (1.5-2.5k)

[Vipergrün]

I've got a 2006 Impreza Sport Wagon. I love it and drive it for 2 years in some pretty harsh Colorado Winters. It's a good car, affordable, and gets decent mileage. Build quality is good, car has been reliable. And no, the Impreza is not the lesbo car, that would be the Forester

[Skytrooper]

I have 2 of them. A 2000 outback limited sedan and a 2003 outback wagon. excellent cars ! I wouldn't have bought the second if the first hadn't lived up to its reputation.

[tangerine911S]

We have had a '98 outback since new that has been invaluable here in VT. Racing every Sat and Sun and working on the mtn when I was younger, it was the perfect car in size and safety. Coming over the Killington pass at 1am after work in 8" of snow before the plows could get there is certainly hairy but the Subaru is great. At 165K miles, there are finally some rust issues in the doors, exhaust, and brake lines. Soon it will go but we definately got our money out of this car.

[steveo123456]

We have 3 Subies. 2 Outbacks and a Legacy. For commuting here in the NE they are the best! Very few maintenance issues.

[Jim Bremner]

I have a friend that did the swap from Neocon to *******.

He sold his F150 pickup and bought himself a LezBarue

Brags how dependable it is and how well it's buil vs his pos FORD truck (That ran fine with out problems for the 80k miles that he owned it)

What he won't say that is within the first few miles of ownership of the Sube is that the driverside DOOR LOCK BROKE.


The only cure? well you couldn't take care of it from the inside.




They had to cut the OUTSIDE of the door open to get the door open !!!!!

Yes, they had to replace the whole fricken door!


But he swears up and down that it's the best car in the world. ( other than a prius)

[Paul K]

Vinny:

There was a transfer case issue with some of the early cars (I think it was pre- '97, you might want to check) which cost to $1,000 fix. An ex- GF had one which needed the fix after 60k. Also, I'm told you can't fit tire chains on them, but it doesn't sound like that'll be an issue for you. Other than that I think they're great cars, incredibly popular and widely available, & therefore cheap. Let us know what you decide!

Paul.

[Porsche virgin]

Another thing to take into consideration is the head gasket issues that plague the early 2.5L engines. There is a ton of info out there.

http://users.sisna.com/ignatius/subaru/headgasket.html

[Billbo]

I have 37k on my '08 Outback, my son has a '03 WRX and my daughter a '04 Impreza RS. I'm a fan.

[VINMAN]

Thanks for the info guys! I'm looking into an older one (early 00's), just to get me through the winter until the '44s back on the road. Dont want a junk one but something at least clean and reliable, although knowing myself, I'd probably end up keeping it.
If weather gets that bad, I'd take one of the trucks anyway.

Lezbarue? Good one!

[Stutzdriver]

My wife has driven Subarus exclusively since 1980, she currently has an '02 Outback wagon with 80K on the odometer. In the years since I have replaced tires, brakes and 1 exhaust with no other issues. they have always just run and run until we turn them over for another (every 4-5 years). Great car for her that have just gotten better over the years. There was some GM influence a few years ago but that seems to have been corrected. 20-22 mpg in town and 28-30 on the road with AWD.

Just my .02 and personal experience over 28 years.

[stomachmonkey]

Go by a Suby dealer. You'll notice how small the repair shop is in comparison to other dealers.