How many of you.... - Page 2

Yes, but I don't know what abuse the car suffered before I owned it - I have not owned it since new.  Obviously more abuse than I already suspected...

 - Eleni

I wish that was the case, I had my Legacy from new and it didn't last very long.

Since then, I've only purchased used and have had the best of luck. A truck bought with 80K miles that lasted to 325K and a SUV bought with 42K and currently has 125K and still going strong.

I'm afraid some Subaru's just don't hold up as well as to be expected........maybe good design, poor manufacturing quality. I don't know what the problem happens to be. My Lagacy cratered because something wasn't assembled properly and it caused a chain reaction.......

Well, I know for sure mine was abused.  Accident damaged, reposessed by the bank, and that's before I owned it...

The first owner's attitude when it came close to reposession time was "Well, if they're gonna take it, I may as well screw the car while I've got it"  We spoke to him to find out about the vehicle's history, and what kind of accident it was involved in, and that's the response we got.

I do have my reservations about the Subaru mechanics around here.  They don't seem to pay attention.  My father had a new exhaust fitted to his Forester, and at certain speeds, with passengers, something underneath catches and makes a noise.  We had to figure this out for ourselves, as the dealership "couldn't find anything wrong".

Aah well. My brother thinks I should buy a Toyota, and he will "guarantee" that I will never break down again.  In the conditions I drive, it's like taking a hunk of metal, and dragging it through grinding paste on a daily basis.  Laws of nature say that something has to give....  All things being equal, I think my Forester lasted pretty well to give me 120k miles hassle-free (already had 50k when I bought it).

I'm looking at replacing it with something smaller, a Fiat Panda 4x4, or maybe the Suzuki Jimny, if I can find a reasonable used one.

- Eleni

Subaru are known for head gasket issue ;) but that was pre 04 issue, resolved in the newer model, blowing subaru boxer naturally aspirated engine is hard, so you might owned lemon, if you had the turbo version than it is common. I agree once you drive subaru you don't really want anything else. I had other 4x4 and I have to say I like subaru best well I would rather have Wrangler but don't want to pay for the gas lol. I love wranglers they are my love, but subaru makes good cars not as good as Honda but close, plus they have better 4x4 design many would argue the best in imports. If you get good domestic truck then there is nothing better they can last forever, the problem is that me and my friends have hard time finding one, that includes my father who buys only domestic and only Chevy products but even he said that is hard to find one that lasts longer than 150k and trust me my father is the kind of person that keeps his car at 100%. I have to agree that Caravan is an awesome car for  dogs but way under powered and huge gas consumption for me I would rather go with Honda's mini van.  And I have the steal cargo divider which I think has one of the best designs I seen in a long time, actually one of the main reasons why I got the car lol, I always owned CRV's found them to be even better but more expensive and less dog friendly.

I bought a Subaru Forester on September 10, 2001 and my major complaints were (1) all the dealerships made much better deals in the weeks after 9/11 and (2) the rear seats did NOT fold flat, so it did not naturally accommodate two dog crates. I put 144k on it and never had actual mechanical problems, other than I had to replace the passenger side headlight and driver-side rear light far more often than reasonable. The last 2 years, the switch for the fan went out, so no defrost or A/C. 

I went to the Forester, after my Jeep Cherokee died (after a mechanic bilked me out of $1600 to never fix and in fact make worse). ¶ Because it was crucial to me to be able to have two dog crates and all my "stuff"(which includes a chair, umbrella for shade for the dogs, dumbbells, and other training equipment), I went car-shopping. I settled on the Pilot and love this car. I should have had one all along. Two full-size 400 cates can be loaded side by side in the back, it can accommodate a third crate, and has lots and lots of storage areas. With all the other bells and whistles, I am one happy camper--I don't even resent having a car payment again.

One thing I noticed about the Honda dealers ( I went to 4 during my quest) is that they all pushed the Element as the "dog vehicle." It is very practical for dogs, but I hate the shape and the "rubber" interior--me likes leather. :-) I noticed that the Nissan dealers tried to push the XTerra as the dog vehicle. NOT! The rear cargo area actually narrows, as it goes from rear passenger seats to back door. Plus, the design made it impossible to see out the back at all. I searched for the Nitro and could not find even one at any dealer in Western Washington. I liked the way it looks like a baby Hummer and I think you can get 3 crates in there.

If the Forester had actually been able to accommodate two crates, I'd still be driving a Forester. I was, essentially, quite happy with the vehicle otherwise.

Yep, snajper69 - mine is/was pre-2004, naturally aspirated. Still greiving the loss

- Eleni

THe new forester seats actually fold down all the way down finaly ;) yes it would be pain in behind if they would not. the cargo increased as well. But def is not Honda Pilot ;) I love that car and would not mind to own it at all. Actually when our CRV fianly dies I will be talking with my wife to upgrade to Pilot I think she would love the car more than her CRV but she is on second one so it will be hard to convince her ;). Honda makes one of the best cars but I heared so much of subaru symetric 4 wheel drive that I just had to try it if this affair will prove to be expensive and short, I will def go with Honda Pilot as my next car. I just find the 3rd row seats completely usless in that car, I am assuming you pulled yours out? to accomodate the crates?

Scion XB

XM is def. over rated, nothing beats the old fm ;) sounds like your car is a two seater now ;) lol