Faults:

Transmission popped out of first after 8 miles. Had to fight with dealer to get it replaced.

Gasket under plastic cover behind flywheel leaked, ruining clutch, replaced clutch at 76K miles.

Check engine light is usually on since 60K miles.

Had to cut off clicky rattly exhaust heat sheild before it drove me insane.

Clutch hose and master cylinder replaced at my expense at 100K, as per TSB that I had to pay for too, after the clutch pedal operated the clutch only intermittently.

Rear brake plates and drums have rusted away. Yep, brake plates are essentially gone!

Head gasket blown at 130 miles. Shocking!

General Comments:

Great in the snow.

Uncomfortable seats.

Weak heater.

Expensive parts.

Head Gaskets are Achilles Heel, and expensive.

Faults:

No A/C when I bought it.

Replaced spark plug cables twice in three month period at 178050.

Replaced clutch at 178000, when first bought.

Replaced CV Axel at 179500.

Brakes went out at 180200.

General Comments:

Everything that went wrong with the car was because the dealer sold me a bum car. There were quite a few things wrong with it when I bought it that I didn't know about. I was stupid in not getting it checked out by a mechanic. The only thing that I knew about the car was that it had no A/C. I was able to live without that in Northern California.

After replacing everything that needed replaced, the car was very reliable. It has guts for a station wagon. Up hills it doesn't slow down, however it accelerates very slow unless you down shift into fourth. All my friends that drove it were surprised how much power it had, and said that they wouldn't mind owning one.

My only complaint about the car is that EVERYTHING is super expensive to fix. The reason is that it is All Wheel Drive. Every time I called in to ask for a quote on a part, the sales guy made a comment about Subaru parts being really expensive. Also, replacing things yourself with normal shop tools is a lot more complicated on a Subaru because of that reason.

Don't get me wrong, All Wheel Drive is hecka nice. The handling is top notch on the Outback, very tight, and you seem in control of the car, not the other way around.

All in all, if you have the patience and the wad of cash to afford a Subaru, then go for it. They are nice cars, but for a high school student who has to afford all the repairs themselves, it is very stressful and aggrivating.

Faults:

At 125,000 miles everything started going bad, including the blown head gasket problem, valve cover gaskets, power steering pump, and others.

General Comments:

It's a great car when running well. It's quick, comfortable, handles well, and hauls cargo like a champ. But repairs have been plentiful and expensive, and it seems something is always going wrong. Now I think I know why people are selling the car at 95000 miles before the extended warranty runs out, the coming repairs from 100K to 150K are far more than the resale value of the car. Love to drive this car, but hate to own it.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

It is the best car I ever owned. The power is OK for a 2.5 with full time awd. Gas mileage it is also very good again for a 2.5 awd vehicle. Feels very solid and comfortable, I have done very long trips without ever feeling tired. Plenty of space, good clearance, heavy duty suspension and of course a out of this world awd system for every driving condition especially in the snow. I wish all cars were Subaru's.