Buying a Subaru?

shdo

I'm currently a college student at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND so you can imagine we get some pretty nasty winters up here and for those of you from this area of the U.S. already know what its like. I am currently driving a wonderful 1996 Chevrolet Silverado with 180,000 miles on it and runs great. It was a hand me down through my family. I know the truck still has some life left in her, but I'm looking to move to something with AWD partially because my Silverado is the K/C 1500 model which means its only two-wheel drive so I struggle to get around in winters in ND, and MN. I believe driving a half ton pick-up with only two wheel drive in some of the worst weather conditions this nation has to offer has made me a much better driver. However, here is where the debate comes in. When I discussed with my dad what to get in regards to AWD he suggested a Subaru (this coming from a man who only drives Audi's and VW's) which I couldn't agree more I love Subaru's and have for a long time(never owned one before but know neighbors who have had em for a long time). I think there the ideal off-road vehicle, plus I'm a bit of an outdoors men so a roof rack would come in handy as well the space like in a Subaru station wagon. The only issue is when looking what I could afford price wise for a Subaru a lot of them were falling under the 2001-2004 year range where as some would say they were plagued by the leaking head gasket issues they were having. This has had made my dad really not want me to get a Subaru how can I convince him that its not as big of an issue as people on the internet are making it out to be. I'm just looking for some insight on this as well any other pitfalls I should know about owning a Subaru. In addition models of Subaru's to own, I am a bigger guy 6'1 215 pounds. Thanks for the help guys!

jd_24

I have a 2001 Outback. My guess is eventually a car in the 2001-2004 range will have headgasket issues. Is it a deal breaker? Plan on about a $1500 fix. For some it only happens once. For me it was at 200,000 miles. Oil leaks become an issue as well at the higher mileage. Typically these aren't a big deal you just need to live with a little oil on the garage floor and a slight smell at times. Yes, they have troubles, but they are fixable. If you do your own maintenance, perhaps less of an issue. If your on a very fixed budget then you might want to look else where. 10+ year old cars of any make or model will need repairs.

The other things to remember is that tire rotations are needed roughly every 5k to 8k miles to keep tread wear even for the AWD. Timing belt needs replacement at 100K.

Overall even with these issues I've been happy with my Outback 13 years old and around 210,000 miles. Great car for outdoor activities. Roof rack for bikes and canoes.

xwesx

Agreed! I can't really add anything else without needless babble, so I'll leave it at that.

paisan

Ditto.

Mike