Should you buy a Subaru?

I'm the proud owner of a '99 Outback and a '04 WRX (my wife's actually, but I encouraged her to buy it) so I know something about Subarus.

I've listened to complaints about reliablility and gas milage on this group for months and I'd like to vent my opinion.

If you want 28 mpg, buy a Honda Accord.

If you want a bulletproof engine, buy a Honda Accord.

If you want a plain-vanilla car, buy a Honda Accord.

Subarus are none of the above. If you want to have an exceptional car that does things that a Honda Accord could never hope to do, buy a Subaru. And don't complain if it's not a Honda Accord.

Reply to
Jim Stewart
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yup, I don't expect my 92 Subaru Legacy AWD wagon to last much longer ... 220k miles now and I bet by 300k it will be time to get rid of it.

jw milwaukee

Reply to
J999w

I've been kind of mystified about the reliability complaints. 167,000 miles and all I've bought (beside maintenence items) is an alternator and two cheap sensors? I don't have much record of what came before my ownership at

108,000 miles, but during the warranty period only a few things were replaced, at least by Subaru that I have record of.

Gas mileage should be a no-brainer. It's AWD. More moving parts = more drag. Not to mention the extra weight added by the crash safety. Then there's the issue of the nut behind the wheel - most of the gas mileage posts I've read start or end with a sentence that goes along the line of "...and I'm a very good driver." Well, that's a matter of perspective. At

16, I thought I was a good driver. I also thought I was a good driver at
  1. I'll tell you this, at 25 I wouldn't willingly get into a car with myself at either of those ages or anything in between. (I think I'm a good driver now, though, but ask again when I'm 30.) And how many of us have gotten into a car with another "good driver" and been gripping the armrest and making involuntary jabs at the nonexistent brake pedal on the passenger-side floor.

Anyway, I know this much. When I got my Subaru, I expected lower gas mileage. And as expected, the gas mileage from the 2.2L Subie was the same as the mileage from my 3.8L Ford. (22 MPG mixed driving) After gas hit $2.00 a gallon though, I decided that I was going to make some changes to my driving style. Suddenly, I was getting 26 MPG mixed driving. Not bad for a

10 year old car with AWD.

I also find it amusing that one of the big complaints USED to be power. "Needs more power" was what you'd find in the summary of many automotive publications reviewing a Subaru. Now we've got 200 and 300 HP Subarus flying around out there and power is more than adequate, but of course those bigger boxers are going to consume a bit more fuel.

About Honda, I've got no complaints. When my friend was in the market for a new car, he was initially drawn to Subaru. It's a long, pointless story as to HOW it happened, but anyway he ended up with a Honda Civic. He's had it for a year. He's had no problems. He's happy with it, but he's about as happy with his Civic as he is with his new refrigerator. As in, his Honda is an appliance. It's boring. Everyone has one it seems, there are about 8 on his street and 3 have the same paint job and exterior options as his. And although he is happy with his purchase, he often talks about wanting "something more unique."

I can totally relate. I had a clone car once. That Mercury Sable was so prolific in these parts that THREE times over the course of my ownership I accidentally entered someone else's identical Mercury Sable that was parked near mine. I can tell you that will never happen with my '95 Outback - over

4 years of ownership, I've only seen about 5 of them in the area, and two of those were at the dealer. Only one was the same color as mine.

-Matt

Reply to
Hallraker

Me too. My Outback is 500 miles short of the big 100k and all I've ever changed is 2 sets brake pads and the usual timing belt suspects.

Something like 70% of US drivers claim they are "above average" drivers.

The Outback and the 2.5l engine is an excellent performer for me. I've been up in the mountains with 4 or 5 adults and with an occasional downshift to 4th, the car kept up with anyone.

Boring. And where I live, everyone has one, a beige Accord at that.

My wife originally bought the Outback for herself and ski trips. The manual clutch was damaging her knee so she gave it to me and bought the Accord. After about

3 years with the Accord (and zero problems) she was sick of it and wanted something a little more fun and different so we got her a 2004 WRX with an automatic. She's in love with the car and I think it's great.

She likes the looks the boys give her until they realize she's 50+ years old (:

Reply to
Jim Stewart

You're scaring me, Jim. You sound like the Volvo people.

HW

Reply to
Hal Whelply

That's a group that needs a 12-step program. No, not anywhere near as bad as that.

Reply to
Jim Stewart

hahaha... I'm going to have to check that group out. Volvos always struck me as being like that kid in school who was actually normal and for some reason tried to be weird, rather than like the kid who was just plain weird and wanted to fit in. In other words, quite an ordinary car that tries to market itself as something unique.

-Matt

Reply to
Hallraker

As a one-time motorcycle commuter, it's my lifelong duty to curse the name Volvo whenever possible. Nothing strikes terror and disgust quicker in a biker's heart and mind than that badge and diagonal slash in the rear view mirror.

If you doubt me, just google volvo and motorcycle.

Reply to
Jim Stewart

Interesting material to read there, especially considering that I'm hoping to get a motorcycle in a few years. Except, sometimes I think I'm the only driver who sees them. Heck, sometimes I think I'm the only driver who sees anything. It's a difficult scenario to accurately describe without drawing a diagram on paper, but I once threw my vehicle into the path of an oncoming Suburban (complete with driver on cell phone) because if I hadn't they would have blocked or possibly collided with an ambulance that was flying through, sirens blaring. Yeah, they were so into their phone conversation they didn't hear that.

Anyway, I'm going to have to watch out for Volvos now. At least when in my Subaru, most of my "near misses" have been with Dodge Ram trucks and Pontiacs, although my two actual collisions were with an 80's Dodge SUV and a 90's Chevy W/T.

-Matt

Reply to
Hallraker

"Hallraker" wrote in news:J5vNc.43722$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr28.news.prodigy.com:

Friends of ours are BMW drivers and they say every accident they have had involved a Subaru?! (3 so far).

Reply to
Fuzzy Logic

Probably because your friends keep staring at Subarus... !

H
Reply to
Hans

Most of the accidents that I have had to take radical evasive action to avoid would have been caused by people driving BMWs

Reply to
Subbies Two

I would agree. A Bimmer almost ran me off the road today. Thank heavens for AWD!!

Reply to
Henry Paul

mY 1995 wINDSTAR HAD 207k ON IT..i EXPECT ANOTHER 100k...rUNNING LIKE AT TOP! nO OIL, ORIGINAL TRANS...

lOVE IT

Reply to
AL

lIKE wOAH

aWESOME

-mATT

Reply to
Hallraker

It is like the chicken and the egg quandary. Does someone have to be an A.H., to buy a BMW, or does owning a BMW cause otherwise "normal" people to drive like an A.H. ?????

If it wasn't for the excellent ABS brakes and AWD on my Foresters, I would have been Bimmer "road kill" several years ago.

Reply to
Subbies Two

Anyone know the difference bewteen a BMW and a porcupine?

-- Todd H.

2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4 Chicago, Illinois USA
Reply to
Todd H.

The pricks are on the indies, har har har.

Actually, I sit on *top* of my Beemer, thankyou. And, like my Subaru, it has God's Own engine layout.

-- Bruce

Reply to
Bruce Hoult

You know I really can't say for sure. I ran up against one today. Really obnoxious driver. It was like he had something to prove or something. I don't know. In defense of Bimmers, I do have a friend that owns one and he is nice to me. I can't vouch for his driving style though. Interesting.

Reply to
Henry Paul

What year is it? One of my old college professors is selling an '83 for ~$1,200 I think it is. I have been thinking about whether or not I have what it takes to ride one. :)

Reply to
Henry Paul

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