any one know about subarus

[1989laredoxj]

I am putting the jeep away and i am thinking about getting a good economical car, The jeep is good but I need something better. My friend has a 1992 subaru legacy it has 165,000 miles but i test drove it and couldnt tell it had that high of mileage. Its front wheel drive and he wants 550.00 for it right now I can afford that and it is great on gas. Have any of you worked with subarus or owned them? Are they expencive to repair, do they have things that I should be looking out for? This specific subaru has a ton of new parts but only because my friends dad works for a foreign auto parts store and gets everything cheap. Any help is appreciated
also i would just drive the Jeep but i dont want to kill it, My brother wants the jeep anyways and I can take 4000 of my ever growing iou with my mom
thanks

 

[Lawn Cher']

My parents have a '94 Legacy wagon front wheel drive w/ 5-speed manual transmission. 160k miles and it runs great. Can't go wrong with a well cared for Subie, IMHO.

 

[biscuitboy87]

i agree with lawn cher...
my mother has 2 SVX, 1 legacy (87?), and a justy. the SVX are "collecter cars" and have only 30,000...but the tranny is a known problem for these (so far so good though) AWD.
the legacy is a 1990 with over 200,000 and runs great...just like a tractor (4wd as well)
the justy is a put put with front wheel drive and also 180,000. it barely makes it up the drive but gets great gas mileage (its just a coke can on wheel really though).
IMHO a well cared for subie will run forever. BTW the legacy has been abused on the farm by my brother and myself trying to "wheel" it through the back 40...still runs like a little tractor.
for 550.00 i'd buy it and drive it till it dies...

 

[casm]

i agree with lawn cher...

Same here... THe only Japanese car I ever owned (or would own again) was an '86 Subaru Brat. Despite having had a hard life as a farm vehicle, it ran great and never gave me any trouble. This seems to be a common opinion amongst subaru owners.

my mother has 2 SVX, 1 legacy (87?), and a justy. the SVX are "collecter cars" and have only 30,000...but the tranny is a known problem for these (so far so good though) AWD.

SVXs are *cool*. Now you've got me looking at car ads just so I can go test-drive one

Interesting point regarding the transmission: a friend of mine had one and swapped out the autobox for the 5-speed from a WRX (IIRC - I might be seeing him tonight, so I'll try to get specifics if he's there). It completely changed the character of the car: not that the automatics suck from a driver's standpoint, but the manual gave it a lot more kick.

 

[Lawn Cher']

I didn't even mention the '91 Loyale that both my brother & I learned to drive on... 4wd, 5-speed, and I wheeled & towed with it. Ran fine when my mom gave it away. She was not a maintenance guru by any means, but that thing kept right on truckin'. I took out a deer with it, slid off the road on a downhill 90* turn covered w/ wet leaves, etc. so it didn't exactly see an easy life.

 

[Citat3962]

We had a 90 Legacy Wagon we put 210,000 miles on it before my sister drove it for close to 8 months on the same oil/oilfilter... the block seized and tossed a chunk of metal out the side of the block....



Before that it was my personal parts getter, grocery getter, occasional rally car, Snow Drift champion, Regular Curb Eater... I ABUSED that thing and the only thing that could take it out was VERY poor maintenance... I think if we had gotten oil in it about a week prior to it locking up it'd still be running today! I personally think the shift speed and notchyness on the 5 speed is one of the most race inspired I've ever driven with in such a pedestrian car..

by comparison the 1-2 or 3-4 shift distance on my 86 GTI with a 33% reduction was still a 1/4" longer than the subie stock..

 

[1989laredoxj]

i test drove it and it shifted fine and is a decent little car but it doesnt seem to have much pickup but it was my second time driving a stickshift so that might explain it.

 

[yellowxj]

check for oil leaks at the oil pump front center of the motor...IIRC they are expensive/difficult to fix. I delievered pizza for a half year in mine and ran it out of oil a few times, tough car.

 

[1989laredoxj]

That was the first thing i looked for was leaks didnt see any.

 

[Jeepsterboy101]

I'll buy it if you don't! I have had two Subaru's. 2003 WRX and 1988 GL-10 wagon. Loved both cars. Drove the wagon everyday to work until it died on me. I hope to have another Subaru this coming winter.

 

[willyb]

Things to look out for:

Cam seals
H20 pump
Timing belt(s)
*Sometimes head gaskets...

Overall they're a decent car... Gotta love the AWD... Just don't get a XT/XT6... You don't even want to know....

Will.