1991 Subaru Loyale 4WD from North America - Comments

Exhaust broke at header.

Oil pump required a reseal.

Engine blew up (rod knock).

Clutch failed.

Fuel pump failed.

Car hit a tree.

Basically, the appeal of the car came from the price. My friend originally paid a few hundred for it, when it was in nice shape, but had rod knock. Fortunately the previous owner pointed us to a free parts car, which had sat for 6 years and started after 2 cans of carburetor cleaner and a new battery -- which we then drove 150 miles. Perhaps this is testament to their manufacturing quality. Animals were living in the vehicle.

During the engine replacement, we installed a new clutch as the previous had ironically started slipping around the time of the knocking. The car subsequently hit a tree in a snow storm at 35 mph with my friend at the helm. He pulled the front clip straight by tying the car to a tree and reversing violently and beating on the fenders with a hammer. I traded a Sony DAT machine for the vehicle, probably should have kept the deck.

I've owned lots of fast cars, such as 944 and 9000 Turbos, so when I hopped into this dainty creature I soon realized how boring driving could be. I felt buying a "practical" car would be more intelligent. The car is very slow, it rolls over like a whale in corners, and the brakes overheat after a few aggressive stops. "Dropping" the clutch was required on more than numerous instances to propel the car up to the speed limit in a timely fashion. I was looking into a turbo Loyale model, but then found another 1987 9000 Turbo for a thousand dollars and sold this car. The Saab has never broken or hit a tree.

I would tend to believe that the owner of the car drove it into a tree, I don't think a car could hit a tree on it's own if the owner knew how to drive properly.

No car runs itself into a tree. Old Subarus are tanks and should be appreciated for their practicality rather than their speed and handling. Old Saabs and Porsches are ridiculously expensive to maintain, which is why, once depreciation has finished, the Loyale will have as much resale value as the 944.