Higher Mileage Subarus?

[Al]

Originally Posted By: double vanos
After reading that dreaded head gasket issue link, I'm more than sure I'll never own a Subie. How they maintain resale value is beyond me after that read. They actually make a BMW look reliable!
Their reputation is well deserved bc their AWD, Safety, and build quality is superior. As mentioned the EJ non-turbo engine before 2009 is almost guaranteed to leak but in general it will run even though leaking beyond 120K miles. People in many cases chose to fix them before its a problem. I had them changed at 121K miles and had my TB, Water Pump, Idlers, and tensioner changed at around 110K miles. The vehicle now has around 165K miles and should easily go well beyond 200K before I do any planned maintenance.

Their reputation is deserved..believe me.

 

[SEMI_287]

Yeah, the Avenger is a pain in the [censored] but there are no professional alignment shops around here. Maybe a set of quality snow tires for this winter. We both like the Legacy, maybe next year we can trade it for a newer Subie.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
+1
There have been entire threads here started by someone who has never even sat in any Subaru much less owned one.
The same is true of BMW.
The common thread is how lousy and troublesome these cars are.
We've had three of them and they really aren't bad to own. The same is true of BMWs.
In both cases, you get a level of capability, of different kinds, that you don't find in "good" cars like Camrys, Corollas and Accords.
Why the troll posts on both Subaru and BMW seem so common is beyond me.
Own one and use it for some appreciable number of miles and then comment.
Don't post replies or threads on any car with which your experience is limited to an internet search, which will yield results no more reflective of experience than the one's you then post here.



Exactly....good post! There are many inherent non sense attitudes here on BITOG.com. Some guys feed on these posts and the comments of each other. Right now on another thread-it's "buy only a car battery made in the USA". The rest are junk.

 

[fdcg27]

Why didn't you just buy a Forester instead of an Avenger a couple of years ago?
You do live in snow country.
It would have cost very little more and you'd have your Subaru.

 

[SEMI_287]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Why didn't you just buy a Forester instead of an Avenger a couple of years ago?
You do live in snow country.
It would have cost very little more and you'd have your Subaru.


I was single, no kids and I got a good deal on it. They wanted them off the lot for the Darts. Live and learn I guess.

 

[fdcg27]

Our fleet Avengers were only around $16K which seems like quite the deal for a decent riding and driving car offering decent interior space, a large trunk and reasonable fuel economy.
These are not bad cars.
Not sure how well they'll hold up past 150K, but the higher mileage one of the pair is already halfway there, so we'll soon see.

 

[simple_gifts]

Quote:

We're all the way up in St. Lawrence county,


Yikes; I was going to ask what "upstate NY" actually means.

For the non Northeast crowd, it functionally means "not NYC or LI" which isn't a big help in this thread.

 

[SEMI_287]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Quote:

We're all the way up in St. Lawrence county,


Yikes; I was going to ask what "upstate NY" actually means.

For the non Northeast crowd, it functionally means "not NYC or LI" which isn't a big help in this thread.


Yep, Albany or Syracuse isn't upstate, keep driving north another 3 hours. I'm right in the foot hills of he Adirondacks. Lots of hills and winding roads. Beautiful country away from that mess down state.

 

[supton]

That is pretty country up there; one year I got the chance to drive from Newburgh to Plattsburg. Way longer than I anticipated (and after stopping for lunch I still had a couple more hours to drive home!) but I got during fall season. Nice drive.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: SEMI_287
Yeah, the Avenger is a pain in the [censored] but there are no professional alignment shops around here. Maybe a set of quality snow tires for this winter. We both like the Legacy, maybe next year we can trade it for a newer Subie.


I leased a 2012 Legacy and liked the vehicle, but the low ground clearance kind of negates the awesomeness of the AWD in deeper snow situations, if that can be an issue for you. Same with the Impreza. Also, pretty much any Subaru 2010+ is going to have much better average MPG than the earlier models if that's a concern for you. I know all the older Subarus in my family (~1996-2005) were lucky to see 25mpg. My 2016 Forester averages 32mpg with out even trying. In regards to the 'older' Subarus in my family, some approached 300K miles and of course had HG replacements at some point. All were taken by rust and not mechanical failure.

 

[Andrew1972]

What is your actual budget for this? Subaru has known set of issues like all makes but generally keep owners quite happy. My parents have a 2000 Forester with 190k since new and it barely had problems and they keep it despite having a 2016 Outback that is amazing if you have the means. I own a 2005/203k Subaru Legacy turbo its average in terms of issues.

Your budget will narrow the focus.

Adding top tier winter tires will do wonders for the avenger if you can sort the junk suspension chrysler designs. Subaru carries a premium for badge/Awd in your locale likely.

 

[FutureDoc]

I had a 1999 Subaru Legacy with the EJ2.5. That car sold me on the 2014 Outback.

Drove it to 212K miles and sold it to a colleague. I think it has about 235-ishK on it now. In the last 5 years, besides brakes and other PM, the only thing I needed to replace was the steering rack boots and a knock sensor. Rock-solid car but you have your dogs too. Unlike other Japanese cars, Subaru is not "differed maintenance" forgiving and it normally takes a bit more PM to keep them up to par. They are not gas-and-go Toyotas. If they have been well kept, they will not break. If they have been neglected, they will bite but not as much as other cars.

However, if someone says "I have done a reading and will not buy a Subaru" then they shouldn't be talking (and I question if they should be breathing). In 2016 with the miles those vehicle vehicles normally have... IF it has had a HG issues, it has most likely been fixed a decade ago. If you don't was to "chance" it, get the flat-6. Heck, find a old 2.2 liter if you want epic reliability.

Anyway, you need to know about the difference between the phase I and phase II engines if you go with THE FLAT-4... and the to different types of HG failures. Flat-6 did not have any issues. Only the EJ25 engine (shame because they used that engine in everything) and only for the first eight years. From about 1996-2004, the EJ25 headgasket would fail but in two ways. Phase I (96-99) was an internal failure. About 1 in 7 were machined incorrectly. Thus the HG would fail and coolant would go into the engine. Harder to detect until the engine was a lot further into trouble. The Phase II was (from 2000-2004) was an external failure with coolant leaking to wherever you parked it. Basically the material was bad and the HG itself would fail. In both cases, if fixed properly, the HG was never an issue. In both case, as long as you did not run the engine hot or with coolant, the "HG issue" is not all that difficult to address and is just one of those known expenses like the timing belt. Now with those vehicles being as old and used as they are, I would look into the suspension more as they are used in winter salt.

 

[supton]

Alright, question: was ABS standard in 2003?

I don't follow Subaru, but I could use another car, and this one is green--which the wife would like better than her blue Camry. I'd figure out how to get snows onto it (any chance it takes 215/60R16, have a set on Camry rims, lol), but I'm thinking she'd like ABS.

?

Edit: Nevermind, Edmunds says it ABS was standard for that year.

 

[Hollow]

First off look into www.cars101.com you'll be able to see the differences in every model back to the early 1990's.

We currently have 2 Outbacks (2003 2.5 and 2002 3.0) as out daily drivers. The 2003 has 160K on it, and 100K of those miles are mile. My repairs have been: oxygen sensor, wheel bearing, front CV axle, and valve cover gaskets. Everything else has been standard maintenance: timing belt job, brakes, tires, plugs, fluids, filters, etc. Getting ready to need new shocks but that's also routine service for a vehicle pushing 14 years old and a little weeping from the oil separator plate. Would still take it across country in a heart beat. The 2003 was well used and not so well maintained as the 2003, so I've been doing some fixing up on it.

If you know what you're getting into (AWD requires matching tires, it's a fact of life. Some engines have a timing belt/idlers/etc that need servicing) I love them, as a wagon is a good fit for me with the ground clearance and cargo space, but not being a CUV/SUV.

MPG is nothing stellar but that is an AWD penalty. Depending on conditions I can get 15MPG-22 MPG city and 25-32MPG highway.

 

[JTK]

Another thought that just came to mind in regards to older, higher mileage, pre-"partial zero emissions" Subarus: They all seem to throw catalyst inefficiency codes at some point, but it's usually well beyond 100K miles. I know of owner's who've gotten around this by installing sparkplug anti-foulers on the downstream O2 sensor ports, but this code can be a pain if your area has yearly emission/safety inspections.

I haven't heard of this problem much beyond ~2009, when most models went PZEV. They burn quite a bit less fuel now, have more catalyst in the catalytic converters and if you live in a PZEV State (which NY is), most emissions related components are covered for 15yrs/150K miles regardless of how many times the car changed ownership. It's a rather impressive list of things that are covered for 15y/150K. For this reason, I'd suggest going with a model with PZEV.