After lurking here for a while and trying to lean a bit more about them, I traded for the 02 Beam Outback on a local used car lot yesterday. Seems clean both inside and under the hood. Have learned (from the Subaru web site) where it was originally sold/serviced...and have the former owner's name/address, so after the holidays, I'll try to find out about the maintenance history. According to the subaru site, there was a major service due at 45,000 miles...first question is whether that was done or not, and what else needs to be done to get it current. Since oil change sticker says 523, I'm guessing oil etc. was perhaps changed in May...so I'll be looking to do that soon (waiting on the fumoto valve to get here so I can install it at the same time).
I recall some discussion on perference for particular brands of filters, etc. What are the preferred ones that I can find in small town rural areas where the nearest dealer is over an hour away? (I guess that's really my main concern is to see if I can avoid having to spend too much time running it back and forth to the dealer and having to sit there while they work on it). Or is it easier to order such parts off the web? If so, sources?
Thanks.