Subaru OwnersGive me input on ownership experience

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I just test drove a '07 Subaru Legacy wagon limited, and I like the car a lot.

I would like to hear testimonials good or bad about the ownership experience of Subaru's.

I have never know anyone who owned them, and they are not common where I live.

I would keep the car for at least 5 years, if not more.

Thanks!
 
Had 26 vehicles. 2000 Sube outback is better than the rest put together. It's the company that makes the difference. But I'm in Oz and it appears somewhat different in the U.S.
 
one guy at work had one and traded it for a pilot, another had one and tradedit for an odessey.

Both praised subaru to no end... they simply outgrew their wagons (each has more than 3 kids).

I drove the new legacy when it came out and loved it. If they still offered the wagon with MT, it would be on the top of my shopping list.

JMH
 
Incredibly happy in the 20k/1.5yr of ownership of 2005 Legacy GT manua tranny wagon. The engine is incredible. We love this car.

My past experience has been postive with Subaru and my family. They tend to be reliable cars, not quite Honda and Toyota levels but close.
 
Been driving Audi's for the past twenty years and now have an '06 Outback Wagon in addition to my Audi TT roadster. I think that the Sube has an excellent ride/handling compromise, given the 8.5" of ground clearance. Note that the turbo models and nonturbo Outbacks have the same suspension setting and wheel/tire package. So the non-turbo model has more handling capability than power, which makes it very foolproof.

I've been over my car with a fine toothed comb and can find no workmanship issues after three months of ownership. I drive pretty hard and have been averaging 26 mpg with the four speed auto on 87 octane fuel.

Except for the plugs, this is an easy car to service...drain plugs on everything and a spin on, auto transmission filter. Even the heater hoses are easy to change...

TS
 
I've had my 2005 Outback Sport since May of 2005 and have been completely satisfied with it. I recently purchased a scangauge for it, and under most circumstances average ~35MPG when driving at a steady 60MPH.

The only problem that I've had was a dashboard vent that rattled when going over bumps-the dealer corrected it with no problems.

Last winter it was great in the snow. I'd have to say that it was as good as the Jeep Wrangler it replaced. While I won't be doing any extreme 4 wheeling with it, in deep snow and rain it's extremely competent.

Mine is based on the Impreza, and was built 100% in Japan. I would purchase another with no hesitation.
 
Neighbor across the street has one with over 200k miles on it, a couple of coworkers have ones that they like a lot and both see more than average amount of bad road conditions. The Subarus seem popular for rural mail delivery. It's a nice package as they don't sit as high as the typical SUV, and still seem to have more ground clearance than a fair number of SUVS with the big suspension arms hanging down not too far off of the road.
 
Not quite Toyota and Honda levels?? Now I know the U.S built Subes are not the same as our Japanese ones. They win the quality survey here every year and tops in reliability. U.S built models have far more problems that I read about on U.S Sube forums than here. U.S models had woeful head gasket problems almost unknown here. Lucky to have the 'real thing' I guess. A fantastic company with a new larger SUV about to land. Can't remember it's name unfortunately
 
Have NEVER met an unhappy Subaru owner...but they are eccentric generally.
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One comment that I keep hearing is that they handle "like they're on rails".

Be careful with that, as once "derailed", you'll be travelling at speeds greater than the rest of us mortals. High inherent safety helps after coming unstuck.

Did I mention that Subarus are favoured by ram raiders and kid-nap artists downunder (no offence intended sprintman)
 
I may be the single negative post on this thread. We have an 05 Forester XT which my wife drives and she loves the thing. I like to drive it but the design is kind of odd. For instance, the oil dip stick looks to be hand hammered from a welding rod and determining the oil level is not humanly possible. The AT dipstick/filler hole is buried so far that replacing oil takes a tiny hose attached to a funnel. To check hot requires serious burns on the left outside forearm. After 18 months it has consumed somewhere 1.5 liters of coolant. The dealer cannot find any leaks nor can I but the loss has been carefully documented and it occurs in short bursts. The engine has a persistent odor of burned coolant after every drive.
It has reached the point where I don't trust the engine due to early 2.5 liter engine head gasket leaks causing some engine failures, which was "cured" in 2003 or so.
 
My wife has an 03 Subaru Forester with 42,000 mi. on it. We love it. No problems. Best vehicle we've ever had. Subarus are very popular in Montana and very well thought of. They are generally trouble free, well made, and last a long time. The full time all wheel drive train is top notch. They're all over the place. I know a number of people who're on their 4th-6th Subaru.
 
I have never liked Subaru's,as here in New Zealand the early models were really bad.The old pushrod motor was a constant headgasket blower,there were numerous gearbox failures,and they were one on the most rust prone cars on our roads.The Sports Pickup was very popular,but none are left because they all rotted away....I've seen 4 year old Subaru's with the bottoms of all 4 doors completely missing from rust,and that's just the doors.Subaru to me means POS.

But I must admit,in the last ten years Subaru's seem very reliable and rust free,but very hard to work on.

I've just picked up a 1990 Omega GT for my daughter - 65,000km,the car is almost like new,perfect in every way.It does 38mpg and handles well....time will tell,but we all like it.
 
Mine had a leaky head gasket, and the evening after I got it home, a piston broke, requiring a new short block. I now have a woodpecker engine, but so far it's been reliable. Just a new alternator and new plug wires were needed during the following 100,000 km. I should have bought a Forester or Impreza (made in Japan). Actually, I should have waited, and bought a Toyota Matrix.
 
woodpecker refers to the piston slap problem it appeared subaru had. I have personally heard it; I thought the guy had thrown a rod bearing.
 
my dads got a subaru outback wagon and its been quite nice and trouble free. its got around 180K miles on it now. the only things its needed as far as repairs go is a couple cv joint boots, mass airflow sensor and sparkplugs. last year it needed new brake pads and the rotors were turned while we did the pads because they were rather warped and the brake petal pulsed when stopping. unless i am forgetting something everything else is original on the car.

he just changes the oil/filter every 3K miles and does nothing else to it. even at 180K miles, it still gets 27mpg. not bad....

personally i think its about due for some motor mounts and a new clutch, but he probably wont change those items untill they actually fail.
 
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