8th Jan 2007, 09:44
Well, I haven't had the best of luck with my '97 Outback. Had to have the alternator replaced at 34,000 miles- no big deal, because it was covered under the recall. I've been dealing with the Check engine light coming on intermittently, the mechanic can't find anything wrong and it's not coding anything; blown head gasket at 94,000 miles, interior lights shorted out at 96,000; radiator replaced at 104,000 (it's in the shop as we speak) as well as malfunctioning reverse lights... My car is 10 years old and only has 104,000 miles on it. I have had every scheduled maintenance performed, I change my oil every 3 months- I take care of this car, so I disagree with the poster saying we must be hard on our cars. From what I've researched 1996-2001 models of the Outback all have similar problems.
2nd Nov 2007, 14:10
My first car was a '97 Subaru Outback, and it performs quite well to this day. There have been some maintenance costs since about mile 120,000 but overall the car has been very reliable in hot, cold, icy, or rainy weather. I agree with the idea to get a new car, though, if your car just doesn't feel right for you. I briefly had a '95 Outback (same color even) but got rid of it because it didn't feel as good as the '97. My car smells bad sometimes too, I wonder why that happens.
24th Jul 2004, 14:11
I own a 1997 Subaru Outback limited, it has 164,000 miles on it and still runs like its new. it doesn't smoke, burn oil or anything else. I'd say the only reason other people have had problems is because they beat on there cars and don't keep up on the maintenance. oh and I'm on my fourth set of brakes and third set of tires- booo who.