1988 Subaru GL Wagon review from North America
"Very reliable and comfortable for a 15 year old car"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
CV joints went bad at 100,000 miles.
Timing belt broke at 50,000 and 125,000 miles.
Starter motor replaced at 105,000 and 118,000 miles.
Brakes replaced at 60,000 and 120,000 miles.
Some of the trim inside the car has started to crack.
Front Fenders starting to rust.
The car has had an oil leak since 80,000 miles dealer said it would be $1700 (US) to fix so I've been adding about a quart of oil every month or so.
General comments?
This car has been very reliable and is still running great now.
Excellent gas mileage (23 MPG) for a car this age.
Four wheel drive works great in the snow.
With the exception of the rust on the finish and the interior trim the finish of this car looks the same as it did when it was new.
My only complaint is terrible acceleration takes almost 20 sec to get to 60 mph when getting on the highway and if the A/C is on its even worse.
This car has been great I'd like to replace it with a new Impreza WRX soon, but we'll see, have had 3 Subarus and they have all been excellent cars.
Recommended reviews
| Rock solid, economical, utilitarian mountain car! |
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| It's reliable and fun to drive for such economical transportation |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Year of manufacture | 1988 |
| First year of ownership | 1989 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.8 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 6 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 8 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 9 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 9 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 0 miles |
| Most recent distance | 131000 miles |
| Date of Entry | 29th June, 2003 |