I just looked at a 2007 Outback (base 2.5L, manual, ~19.5k) to replace my recently deceased Ford and I liked it, both the storage space and the ride and handling. Since I am a newbie with both Subies and AWD I thought I would ask a few stupid questions.
- Long-term reliability (I tend to keep my cars till they start falling apart and eat time and money). Reviews I saw define long-term as 3-5 years and give Outback and Legacy good grades. What about longer term: with normal, regular maintenance is there a good chance to have a low-hassle 10+years / 150k miles? I know that all things break, but would like to avoid models that tend to require fixes every few thousand miles.
- AWD (which for me is nice but not absolutely necessary -- I live in MA). Does it make maintenance or repairs (engine, transmission, CV joints, anything else) much more frequent or expensive?
- Outback I saw does not have metal frame around windows. Is this a source of problems (e.g. with glass breakage opening a well-frozen car after a sleet / snowstorm)?
- If there are other suggestions for reliable wagons with good storage space for ~20k or less, I would love to hear them (folks here are probably biased, but hey -- it does not hurt to ask).
Any info is appreciated!
-- Alex