1990 Subaru Justy GL II 4WD from UK and Ireland - Comments

-Rear suspension failed, leaky shocks and coils.

-Dim headlights.

-Battery fell out of place.

-Rusty Chassis

-Steering Bush failure

-Bad fuel consumption.

I expect in it's day, a brand new Subaru Justy GL would have been the works. However, ten years on, unless it's been very well kept, it really isn't worth bothering with. They just weren't designed to last, and all the problems I've had with this one indicates that unless locked in a garage since production, your Subaru Justy will crumble to pieces after 10 miles driving. Just not worth the money.

I disagree completely. My 1990 Justy 4wd (bought new) worked flawlessly till 2006 and 465.000kms. Only problem I had with the car was rust (fixed for 150€ in 2004).

Car is gone now as I have had accident with it. Repair would be more expensive than the car was worth, so I just bought 1996 justy. Have driven the new one (this one looks exactly like Suzuki Swift and it also has 4wd) for more than 70.000kms and the car works fine with no problems.

Would buy another in a heartbeat.

I picked up a Subaru Justy with the ECVT 2WD. The car has 125,000 KMs on it. I knew the motor was pretty much toast going in, but for 2G's for the car, what the heck.

Had the tranny checked. The body is 'perfect' (NO RUST!), yet obviously it was well used.

Took it to the Subaru dealer to get the engine rebuilt (most expensive way of doing it @$4000.00 Cdn). The bearings were running on copper, but nothing damaged!! Had NO PROBLEMS GETTING PARTS. I suspect the previous owner was not big on oil changes because it is obvious to me that these engines do not wear out that bad with only 125000 KMs!! With a good tranny, good body, good suspension and New Tires ($400). POOF! - We have the makings of a brand new Justy for $7400.00. A reasonable price for nice reliable vehicle.

Currently I am at $10,000 Kms on the new engine. Once it gets over to 20,000 Kms, I'll switch it over to synthetic.

A brand new base model car sells for around $16,000 CDN. And these new cars are designed to fall apart. My 1996 Chevy Blazer costs $1200.00 for a new fuel pump. My Fuel pump failed 4 times! Compare that with the Justy $4000.00 Rebuild!! This is really pretty cheap and is good bang for the buck!

I am planning on adding a pile of Rudder Zincs (they use these on boats) and that will stop all rust on the vehicle BEFORE it starts. Cost $50.00.

I'll know more as time goes on. But in my own humble opinion, I think a Justy that is in decent shape is worth getting fixed.

I've gotta say that my Justy experience has been great. I bought mine ('91 4wd 5sp) for $50US about 2 years ago and have driven the crap out of it. To be honest, the only money I've put in it (besides the initial purchase) were a full tune up, windshield wipers and tires. That's to be expected, because it had been sitting for 5 years before I DROVE it home. It now has 227,196 miles on it and going strong, even after driving home from Portland (to Seattle) with a 28' ladder on top, and 1900 pounds of me and tools in the car. The only reason I found this site was I'm looking for an engine rebuild kit to keep on hand because it's developed a slight knock in the last thousand miles. Who knows, with some heavier oil, it may be good for another 100K. Oh, and for those interested I've owned many Audi Quattros and other Subarus and have to say that this one is hands down the best in the snow of anything I've ever driven.

Doug.