DUers with Subarus check in here!

[JanMichael]

I love reading the "What kind of car do you drive" posts...and have noticed that we are usually one of the few that answer "Subaru."

However, I know there are other Subie drivers here...

What kind of Subaru do you have, and do you have any good stories to tell about yours?

I drove mine in 18 inches of snow, and passed SUV drivers who were spinning their wheels...it is such a great car!

[Bertha Venation]

1. You are a bus.

I don't drive a Subaru but I can't hear the name or see the car without thinking, "you are a bus."

(urabuS)

[JanMichael]

2. How is your Toyota doing?

anymore overheating problems?

[Bertha Venation]

4. What a memory.

Nope, it's good now! Thanks. Now I am way overdue for an oil change, and I need a tune-up, new brakes, and desperately need the wheels aligned. But somehow, other things become priority come payday.
:bounce: :hi:

edit: omg, I can't believe I spelled brakes "breaks." I'm so embarrassed. Someone just shoot me.

[WilliamPitt]

3. Forrester

[JanMichael]

5. This is going to be your first winter with it, right?

You are going to freaking LOVE that car!

[democracy eh]

6. 2002 Legacy Brighton, evergreen

74,000 kms on it

it has driven from the Northwest Territories to Death Valley Nevada, from Vancouver to Nova Scotia. and I moved across the country in it with a big ass yakima rack loaded.

the incredible handling saved my life last winter during a white out outside Montreal. even with tires that needed replacing (and were at the next exit) I was able to avoid some other vehicles wiping out in the storm. nasty nasty weather.

I love my Subaru
Best vehicle ever

my only regret is not buying a higher trim level so I could have gotten cruise control, would have been nice for all those highway miles

[Phentex]

7. Subaru wagon here but the old man drives it most

of the time. Great for dogs and kids and hauling all kids of stuff. Has a few beauty marks from being hit by a taxi, but it's still going strong.

[slor]

8. Subaru WRX wagon...

When we left New York following the Feb.15th anti-war protest, it began to snow. And it did not stop. We drove through what eventually became a blizzard, along the northern routes rather than the turnpike. In Ohio, they were making cars pull over on parts according to the radio, but my wife and I, plus a friend, decided to press on (ok, I wanted to stop but the women folk said no!). We made it through several harrowing events and lived to tell the tale. Sorry I type slow and have to leave soon, so I will skip the details.

[progressoid]

9. Hey Subaru drivers...got a question for you.

I'm looking at an Outback or maybe a Forester. What kind of MPG are you getting?

Oh yeah, and I'll be going the 'pre-owned' route since Bush's economic recovery has come to my house yet. Actual MPG of a broken in car will help me more than the what's posted on the window of a new car.

Thanks...k

[slor]

11. The mpg is the one drawback imho...

We get 22 mpg, maybe a little better. But with the fuel prices we have seen, and will see again, I wish I had a PRIUS.

[JanMichael]

13. Pre-owned is the way to go!

We have an Outback, and get 27 mpg on the highway...not great in my opinion...but, we don't drive that much anyway--

When you get a pre-owned, find some way to get the entire engine resealed...Get the timing belt done, and when you do get the front main seals, and a new water pump...get the valve cover gaskets, rear main, tranny seals...and a new seal around the oil pump(again, when you do the timing belt.) Flush the radiator, and try to run semi-synthetic oil in it--

Also, if you can...get the front axle's replaced...in the late nineties, Subaru used shitty grease, and they die at about 95,000 miles.

Flush the transmission-

In the late nineties, the alternator and master cylinder were recalled and replaced for free. Make sure those are done.

If you do all that, you should have a car that will go 100,000 miles easily-

Stephanie

[progressoid]

18. 27 is better than the 22 I was getting on the van by daughter just totaled

There are a couple here with about 39k. Both are 2001 Outback AWD. Dealer is asking 16,595 and 14,781. This is in the upper midwest

[JanMichael]

19. Too much

Check out www.autotraders.com

We paid 7,000 for a '98 Outback-

Don't get ripped! And watch out for the headgasket in the 2001--notorious, but Subaru of America denies it!

[progressoid]

20. Thanks for the link

A lot more choices there than at cars.com

[Nihil]

21. Averaging 30mpg in the Forester

Varies between 28 and 34+ (on good runs) but this is the non-turbo.

(Oops ... just remembered that although our miles are the same, our
gallons are different ... that's why I seem to be doing better than you!
Using 1 UK gallon = 1.2 US gallon, these figures come down to
avg 25, variable 23-28+)

[MatrixEscape]

10. Subie here!

I have owned them for years. I get later model used Legacys and mostly wagons. Good price to buy, good resale value. I also put a lot of milage on them.

When my ex's kids wanted cars I insisted on Subies so we would have less repair expenses. I would say I have saved a lot of money and had reliable transportation, (with lots of luxery standard items) for years now compared to other makes I have owned.

The quality of the cars as they age tends to stay. Everything, including the window moters, interior trim, etc. tends to function for almost ever. I have had many cars where parts fell off, wore out, broke down, etc., after serveral years. I have a '92 that still looks new on the inside.

Also, avoid the, (hope the years are right) '96's and '97's with the 2.5 liter engines, (hope I got that right too) they have some engine problems. Piston slap?

Otherwise, you are good to go with a Subie.

[JanMichael]

14. Yeah, that lovely tick tick tick

Gotta love it! But, now when I don't hear it in cars, I worry! :)

[LynzM]

28. I wonder if that's what's going on w/mine!

It's a 97 Legacy Outback, before those became two different things, really... Green, 96K on it now. Before that, I had a '93 Legacy SE, and I LOVED that car. More balls than any other sedan I've driven. Also the only 2-wheel-drive Subaru I've ever heard of. Got like 32 MPG, though, which was great. This one only gets about 24-26 :( I love my Subarus, but if they don't do something about gas mileage soon...

[JanMichael]

29. Oh, Subies have their very own brand of weird car stuff:

My personal favorite is the way you can tell if you have an oil leak: the car smells like it's getting ready to catch on fire!

Very exciting!

I don't panic anymore...but, the very first time it happened, I was yelling at my husband to pull of the highway, and open the hood--

;)

[LynzM]

31. MIne is a lovely sort-of-knocking noise

Usually when the RPMs get up above about 2.5, mostly on the highway. It's lovely. But the car still goes and my mechanic didn't find anything 'wrong' with it, other than it will eventually need a new clutch...

[graywarrior]

12. I had a Subaru Forester 2 years ago when I lived in NH

I got hit on the front end which sent me into a tree head on. That car saved my life. I miss it. There aren't too many used ones for sale here in Florida.

[Jessica]

15. My first car was a Subaru ...

I just got rid of it about a year ago - and I miss her!! My two best friends & I all had Imprezas ... and when we'd go out together we'd all drive separately b/c we thought it was cute. We called ourselves the SubaCrew. OMG - I'm such a dork.

[Coventina]

16. 1999 Forester, green

Love it!

I miss my Suzuki, but this is by far the nicest vehicle I have owned.
I feel like a princess, and my gas mileage is great!

On a recent road trip a semi ran me off the road. The Forester handled great, if I still had the Sidekick I would have flipped for sure!

[2bfree]

17. I have a little white outback......

And I LOVE it! Looks really spiffy with my Kerry sticker on it too. I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I visited Santa Fe, there were Subarus on every corner and almost no Suburbans or Tahoes!

[Zero Gravitas]

22. WRX

[Gothic Sponge]

23. 2003 Subaru Forester here!

:hi:

[tyedyeto]

24. My first ever brand new car

was a 1984 Subaru. Drove it for 9 years and 150K miles before I bought a Jeep Cherokee.

[sinkingfeeling]

25. 1991 Loyale Wagon....on the second motor and it was totalled

in April 2003 when a 'sweet, young thing' made a left-hand turn across two lanes of on-coming traffic about 30 feet in front of us. However, I refused to give 'Al' up and spent about $3K having him repaired. I did buy it used in 1993.

[Nihil]

26. On my 2nd Forester ...

Had a green Forester for nearly four years - standard non-turbo 2 litre
automatic - and it was so good that I replaced it about 6 weeks back
with a silver one!

Chose it originally for it's storage rather than any other reason - was
looking for an estate car that can alternate between carrying keyboards,
amps, speakers, etc., in an evening, a longbow in the summer and a wife
with three kids safely in between times.

Would fully recommend them as comfortable & easy to drive ... plus they
are great on snow & ice (especially on hilly roads!).

Nihil

(Edited to add that I agree with the other posters re safety: I was
unfortunate enough to hit a deer at ~60mph a few months back and only
had damaged front bodywork to repair rather than the hospital trip
that would have been necessary had I been in my wife's car ...)

[catmandu57]

27. 1984 GLC 4wh wagon

nearly 300k and it's going strong. I get 22 to 24 mpg depending on my driving, it has the problems of all older cars, leaks fluids and such, but, it's been so dependable, possibly the best car I've ever owned.

[MissMillie]

30. I want a Baja

I think they're adorable.

[Arkana]

32. I h8 the Outback

It has so many damn problems...

[pres2032]

33. former subie driver!!! 1991 legacy

my first car was a grey 1991 subaru legacy LX and I absolutely loved it!!!!!! I'd still have it today, but I spun and hit a guardrail last year in the slush and totaled it :cry:
amazing thing is though, I drove about 70 miles in the snow, slush, and rain before that all got me. even more amazing, I was able to drive it back over the 70 miles again, after i wrecked it!!!! However, due to all the other problems it had, to fix it good, the repair costs would've been more than the car costs. so now i have a crysler which is good, but i still deeply miss my subie!!! :cry:

[VTdem]

34. My mom

has an Outback and I drive it sometimes.

[Geekster]

35. 2002 Forester

This is my first post here (I'm a long time lurker). I love my Subie. Great storage space for lugging large items, comfortable and smooth ride. Best car I've had. My first Subaru was a 1984 GL coupe with the hill holder clutch. I learned to drive stick on it but I'm back to automatic now.

[Dr Batsen D Belfry]

36. Former Subaru Owner here

and I wish like hell I had another.

I bought an '89 Loyale 4 door in 1990 with only 9000 miles on it. The dealer was awesome. They treated it like a new car, and I put a 100K warranty on it. I had it into the dealer for routine maintenance every month, and every month they gave me a desk and a phone so I could work while I waited. At 105K miles, the front axle went, and they fudged the numbers and replaced it for me under warranty. I went through two sets of CV boots and one front axle over the 250K miles I owned it. When I finally donated it a few years ago, I opened the door and a lake poured out of it. I felt like I was in the scene from Risky Business, "you the U-boat commander?"

My next door neighbor owned a Forester and it saved her life. She was doing about 70mph when she was cut off and swerved. Her car rolled four times, and she was able to crawl out the back. SHe had some serious injuries and did some hospital time, but she lived to tell the tale. She went out and bought another one with the settlement.

Subaru builds seriously sturdy vehicles. The only problem I ever had was terrible gas mileage with a Legacy wagon on our honeymoon. We were in the high desert in a vehicle that was modified to the stricter California emissions standards. I am guessing the issue was a combination of a clogged air filter (we had 1/4 inch of dust on the car when we returned it) emmissions, and altitude.

DBDB

[northzax]

37. on my second

had an '87 I bought used in '97, put 60,000 miles on it in two years, including running the shift on the fly to 4WD into the ground 4wheeling in Joshua Tree. THen I blew the engine (with 198,000 on the odometer) doing 95 on I-5 fully loaded. I loved that car.

So I replaced it with a '90 Legacy Wagon which I treat like absolute shit (especially in DC) but it has never failed me, I take it out to Virginia in snowstorms just to have fun...

[JanMichael]

38. There are some great Subie stories on this thread

I knew there would be; we love ours!