Life expectancy for '01-'04

In a word, yes. Of course, the present condition and its past care are much bigger issues with any used car than its average model record from new.

I believe there is a website devoted to soobs with over 300K and folks that participate in this forum have over 200K.

Carl

If you're looking at '01 - '04, you should have no trouble no trouble finding one with under 50k miles that is in your price range. Just a quick search on autotrader.com turns up a bunch of Outbacks with

To answer your original question, a Subaru (if well maintained!!!!) will last you well over 200k miles. With under 50k miles it's still basically a brand new car, and you can expect many years of safe (and fun!) winter driving from it :)

Good luck in your search!

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:

Make sure you drive the car from cold so you can detect any piston slap or noisy lifter issues. Check the A/T by driving it in all conditions, under heavy and light acceleration, etc. Also check for wheel bearing issues.

Good luck

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:

get the 03 or 04....some of the earlier ones had some problems...

A new Outback starts at $22k... that's for the very base version. For $15k you can easily get one with 30k miles or less... which is basically a new car.

Savings of $7k... which should more than take care of servicing the car for the next 100k miles... even if you manage to blow the engine a couple times :)

I'd love to have a brand new car, but IMO, from a financial standpoint, it's foolish to buy a new car, since the car depreciates the most in the first 2-3 years of ownership. According to Consumer Reports -

snipped-for-privacy@backpacker.com wrote:

Agreed.

I happen to *like* older cars. I like being able to haul a dozen two-by-fours home without worrying about scuffing the seats and I like the general feel of knowing all the little sounds and vibrations as I drive. I wasn't totally comfortable in my Outback until it had 70k or so miles on it. It's got 6 years and nearly

One word

Depreciation

I always bought new......... Until I woke up. Found that I lost more in the first couple of years than what I had been able to save in the previous 2 years to get to the original sale price.

Never again.

What $$$ do you actually lose? Nothing unless you sell. If you keep a car for 4-5 years you get warranty benefits then can sell it to a sucker who buys used.

bugalugs wrote:

Your line of thinking is exactly why a new car will depreciate so much so quickly :)

You lose about 10% of the cars value when you drive it off the lot.

A car depreciates on a curve, that starts steep and then flattens out. When a car depreciates more, it costs you more per month to drive it. A brand new 2006 outback will probably cost you $2-3k in one year. My 6 year old 2.5RS cost me much less than that. Even with a new timing belt, new tires, upgraded shocks, new pads and rotors...etc it probably costs me $1k a year (since all of that service actually adds to the value of the car).

But to each his own. I love the appeal of a new car and everything being perfect... but at the same time, I love to not have to worry about every little scratch.

snipped-for-privacy@backpacker.com wrote:

You keep buyin' new ones when the floormats get dirty because then I'll have solid used Subies to buy.

See, it's all good!

-John O

That's sure true. I wish I had the ability to go that route, but I have to go cheap where I can.

-John O

If they did depreciate that much, that logic would hold.

I originally went to buy a used late model Subaru, and quickly learned that they hold their value so well, and so few people re willing to part with them, that it made no financial sense. This was also an issue that I was looking in 2001, and wanted a 2000 or newer style of Outback of course.

So I reluctantly bought new.

You have to take a look at the depreciation curve for the specific car. If an 01-04 era Outback is still commanding $15k and with the sweet incentive financing you can often get on new vs used vehicles , the incremental $ pay for themselves in having a vehicle that you're sure is properly maintained.

Best Regards,

-- Todd H.

Exactly the situation here in Northern California. A 3-year old used Subaru is very hard to find. If you do find one, the depreciation is more like 10-15%.