The 96-97 2.5 DOHC has serious head gasket issues that have affected nearly 100% of cars before they reach 120K miles, as I understand. I'd avoid those cars, especially at the price ranges you mention since you should be able to get a 1999 to 2001 easily within the lower end of your price range.
The 98-2003 SOHC engines had much more minor head gasket problems that have affected maybe 10-15% of cars before the 120K limit. It's hard to say whether they'll affect all of those cars eventually, or might not. I have a Forester with a 1999 SOHC engine that is showing no signs of any problems so far, but ours has very low mileage. (Under 60K.) As best I can tell, if you do the maintenance on schedule and put in the radiator system additive that Subaru recommends for these engines, you probably won't end up with expensive repairs until the engine is old enough that they should be expected anyway.
The Outback Sport line of small station wagons/large 4-door hatchbacks in the 1997-1999 model years had a superb 2.2 SOHC engine with no head gasket problems, by the way. I drove a '98 OBS for several years; despite the slightly smaller engine, they accelerate faster and respond more quickly than the larger, Legacy-based Outbacks. I also took mine off-road quite a bit; it can handle surprisingly bad terrain. If you don't need all the space in a larger Outback and want to save some money, try an OBS. You might like it.
With the Outback Sport and the Forester in the late 90s and early 2000s, but not the Legacy-based Outbacks of those years, the rear wheel bearings tend to fail at between 45K and 65K miles. At that time, have the dealer or the independent shop replace not just the bearings but the spindles with those from the Legacy Outback. I think that's what Subaru will sell you if you ask for this part nowadays. Once the badly-designed spindles are replaced, you'll have no further problems with premature bearing failures.
There isn't much gas mileage difference between the manual and the auto. In addition, Subaru automatic transmissions work together with the AWD beautifully, improving handling and traction. Unless you're a serious rally driver or racing driver, you might want to go with the automatic.
Sounds like a decent deal to me, but I'd recommend checking kbb.com and running a Carfax on it before I'd even bother talking with the dealer. Also, find a non-dealer mechanic who is experienced with Subarus in your area, and pay him for an hour's work checking all the main vehicle systems before you buy. Subarus are great cars that people tend to keep. They're also AWD, and sometimes driven harder than other cars. You want to be sure that any car you buy hasn't been abused severely.
Dave...... READ READ READ here and other places. Let Google be your friend. ALL car manufactures have lemons and we all know this. READ about how Subaru of America will treat you...(or shit all over you) READ all about shitty workmanship, crappy paint,rust,leaky roofs, many design screwups and other problems that Subaru refuses to admit or fix....There are MANY of them. It's hard to believe that Subaru is a JAPANESE car, seems more like a Korean mess.
There are MANY better automobiles available out there. Some swear BY them..a lot swear AT them....
"TWICE in 10 years I have happened along single car accidents involving DRUNKEN DRIVERS.... TWICE I have left them there to die, I did not call for help, did not render help, I did nothing for them. How did I know they were drunk? you can smell the booze,see the open containers..... A "Throw-away" is just that..... "
You read correctly there Dave! VERY good. Hope you never lose a close friend or family member to a drunk driver, you might feel the same way too dude....
Well, the 2.5 wasn't available in the 'regular' Impreza until 2002 - prior to that, it was only in the RS2.5 Coupe and Sedan - no wagon. Any pre-2002 Impreza Wagon would have the 2.2l engine, which was a very reliable engine. In my son's previous '99 Legacy, the 2.2 was definitely lethargic - might be better in the smaller Impreza. My understanding is that most of the HG issues were fixed beginning with the 2001 models - some new design.
Given where you live, I think a Subaru makes a lot of sense - decent mileage, great foul weather traction and relatively inexpensive.
When munging your e-mail address (if you really need to even provide one), always munge the domain FIRST, then optionally munge your username (although munging the domain is usually more than sufficient to hide from spambots). Munge the domain to one that isn't even registered. Then the spammer/zombie can't even begin to send their crap because there is no such receiving mail host to connect to. That eliminates a valid domain from having to waste their resources because you engerized spam at it by not munging the domain portion of your e-mail address.
Murder is a stretch, I agree, but the premise is a solo probable drunk, you could make the difference between his living or dying by calling 911, and you let him die.
You're right.If he had helped one of those guys to survive and no one knew about it,he'd still have to live with himself for his immoral(in his eyes) action. It's a personal thing.
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