Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What exactly is the CVT transmission? Do you drive like its an automatic transmission and never touch the shifter or do you use the shifter but don't have a clutch? I saw these on the Imprezas.
The Impreza looked like a pretty good car( great MPG) but what got me was that to get a rear seat armrest you had to upgrade the car and therefore got a lot of stuff I don't really want.
After years of spilled drinks due to a lack of cupholders, its a deal breaker for me to have enough. And backseat passenger comfort is also key.
Thanks sun spirit....very informative. We did wonder why we do not have to do a test each year here on the car......but thought it was because our vehicle is relatively new.......when do we have to do a smog test i wonder.
Interesting that this affects the pricing of cars here.
I wish we had known that about jeep.....we had to buy a car on arrival and it represented good value to us but never again would I buy a jeep.
Just like to update this. I've had 3 subarus. 99 Forester was the first, super neat little car. Handles snow great and all. Comfortable too. My 08 WRX is also great, comfortable and handles snow well(not as good as the forester due to lower ride height). My 04 beater Outback is also comfortable and somewhat reliable considering the mileage.
Forester's head gaskets went at 85k miles, outback 248,000 miles and there is a handful of issues mostly due with age/Subaru design(mainly head gaskets). My 2008 drives just fine at 62k miles besides it starting to need some wear parts like bushings/struts.
Over all I say they are reliable as long as you take car of them. Previous owner of the outback was clueless about maintenance, and it had taken on a lot of abuse for nearly 200k miles. Only issue with these cars is that due to it's engine design, repairing them are kind of a pain since all of the parts look different. I'd definitely consider another Subaru in a few years, but I'd like to try out other cars too.
We have had a couple of Subie wagons. With good snow tires they are great on snow but on dirt and gravel they are fast. Really fast and very controllable. We will always have a Subie for New England winters. If we ever winter in New Mexico we will take one with us for the wonderful dirt roads.
Mine has just recently started making a whistling sound from the passenger side when accelerating, so I'm guessing its a loose wheel bearing or something related to that. I am taking it to be checked next week.
Mine has just recently started making a whistling sound from the passenger side when accelerating, so I'm guessing its a loose wheel bearing or something related to that. I am taking it to be checked next week.
Let us know what the outcome was. My Outback is 12 yo and @ 155,500 miles. There is a faint sound in the front passenger side like a whirring sound. Repair guy says might be a bearing starting to go bad. I just had a ton of work done on it so maybe that's all that is left to go bad...
I had an Imprezza with three bad bearings all under warranty back in 2000... This doesnt sound the same to me but this is an Outback and might be early.
Just like to update this. I've had 3 subarus. 99 Forester was the first, super neat little car. Handles snow great and all. Comfortable too. My 08 WRX is also great, comfortable and handles snow well(not as good as the forester due to lower ride height). My 04 beater Outback is also comfortable and somewhat reliable considering the mileage.
Forester's head gaskets went at 85k miles, outback 248,000 miles and there is a handful of issues mostly due with age/Subaru design(mainly head gaskets). My 2008 drives just fine at 62k miles besides it starting to need some wear parts like bushings/struts.
Over all I say they are reliable as long as you take car of them. Previous owner of the outback was clueless about maintenance, and it had taken on a lot of abuse for nearly 200k miles. Only issue with these cars is that due to it's engine design, repairing them are kind of a pain since all of the parts look different. I'd definitely consider another Subaru in a few years, but I'd like to try out other cars too.
I was not going to post because I din't want write some of the things you did above, which by the way, is very true. I owned a 2009 Forester, and could not shake off the head-gasket problems experienced by some of the Subaru engines, so I traded it for a 2010 Rav4 V6 and never looked back. I see some of same engines on the Forester having head gasket issues in late models up to 2013 or so. To see what's going on, one has to read what Subaru car owners have to say at the Subaru owner's forums.
I would be careful if buying an older Subaru car. First I would have a good mechanic inspect the heads all around the gaskets for signs of leaks.
----
By the way, I still see very old Subaru automobiles that had the close-deck blocks. Those had no problems with the head gaskets.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
