19th Apr 2004, 17:45
I bought an 86 Subaru Gl sedan in 2001 for $100. It has been a great car to drive the 300 miles a week that I drive. It just died today with 200,000+ miles on it I have put 80,000 on it since I bought it. I am in the middle of getting another 86 Gl-10 running that I paid $50 for to save it from the crusher.
27th Oct 2005, 12:27
I just bought my grandmas 87 GL wagon from her for 400 bucks. she drove it several times from northern Washington to California and Mexico, and also Ohio, the four-wheel drive still works excellent and the 220,000 miles on the motor haven't seemed to affect it's performance at all, the only problems I have with it seem to be the CV-Joints, but my grandma told me that she has replaced them twice and I am ding them a third time. other than that it is an excellent car just to drive or have a little fun in ;)
11th Aug 2007, 14:53
I have an 86 GL hatchback and all of you are right. They go everywhere; snow isn't an issue and neither are Kelly Humps (until a CV joint went after jumping about 20 but we still made it home). And that's the only problem I've ever had with it, even when a school bus hit the left front fender. All that happened, besides very minimal body damage, was it got knocked out of alignment. 284,000 miles through Hell and back and it is still running strong. AWESOME CAR!
1st Sep 2007, 17:43
I bought my 89 wagon for $1250.00 Canadian funds in 2006. It has 250,000kms.
I welcome the snow - driving in the snow feels like driving any other car in the dry.
A bit noisy (I may need to have the exhaust looked at).
I've had the CV and wheel bearings replaced, but that's all the drama I've had with the wagon.
Climate control works very well.
I'm 6'0 and there is more than enough leg room.
My girlfriend hates the rusty front fenders. The rest of the car is totally rust free.
The Subaru wagon 4X4 is up there with the Honda Civic for value.
23rd Sep 2007, 06:28
I bought a 1987 GL Dual Range wagon in OCT 2006 after surviving a hit and run in a Loyale (it totaled). Like a mini-monster truck to drive. Stiff suspension, carburated. Fantastic fuel mileage (30s and 40s). 104k miles for 500 bucks.
Looking forward to the snow and ice, where my memories of my previous old Subarus will always deem it legendary. I finally realized how extraordinary these old Subarus are after they were gone.
Replaced bad axles as usual, I gave it what it needed cheaply. Replaced 20 year old body panels and welded what I always wanted to. The car doesn't creak and moan or pop over bad roads or hard turns like I remember the older carbed versions do. They are a nice car once simply learned.
The stiff tall suspension allows me to spot this model a mile or more away!
29th May 2008, 13:04
I bought my 1987 Subaru GL for 600. I've put in about $300 for the timing belt, but other than that, the car runs great. Real reliable and heavy. Has 255,000 miles and it runs without stalling or any problems.
8th Jun 2008, 19:45
Purchased my 1987 Subaru Wagon GL, back in October with 112,000 miles on it. Had been sitting in a yard for 4 years without ever being started or moved. Popped of the air intake cover, dumped some fresh fuel in it and a battery, and it fired right up. Drove it home, about 7 miles and spent the last few months fine tuning and going through the whole car. The woman wanted $1200, I got it for $350. Awesome car, great shape, and I am looking for another one now.
8th Sep 2008, 13:54
I have a 1987 Subaru wagon four wheel drive and it is my first car. My parents bought it when I was born, and it now has three hundred thousand miles on it and it's strong running. It's a beast in mud and snow, and the Subaru is also very fun to take to rally events.
And with my custom exhaust, it sounds just like the new subies, if not better. It's the best car I have ever been around!!!
20th Dec 2008, 05:15
I have a '87 dual range turbo 5 speed. I moved to Washington where it snows a lot. I found this GL (for 600 bucks) with 200K on it. I have a 150 foot ice and snow covered driveway that this car just eats up. I love it.
21st Dec 2008, 01:26
In June this year I bought a 87 Subaru GL-10 turbo 4 wheel drive for 1000 bucks with 240k miles. I 4 wheeled it about everyday for 5 or 6 months, just beating the crap out of it.
When I bought it after 15 miles down the freeway, it would overheat, then after taking out the thermostat it was working perfect.
So 6 months go by and the steering was going out then the clutch was going out. So I buffed out all the scratches and sold for 1100 bucks. And am now getting another one for Christmas. I love subys.
23rd Dec 2008, 02:23
Me and my friend found a 86 Subaru GL Wagon at this shop that we work at. The guy gave it to us for free because they couldn't find the title. When we got it running we drove it everyday, put about 100 bucks into it.
After a few months we found this abandoned house and there was hundreds of acres of woods behind it. So we cut the fence and got it through fallen down trees bushes everywhere. Made trails leading to other pieces of property and went wheeling every day. Loading about 10-12 friends in the back.
After a while we wanted a project and decided to cut the top off and made it a truck. Mounted the gas tank in the back, ripped the dash off, mounted the radiator where the spare tire goes over the motor after hitting a tree. We had 17 people in it after that, and nothing has broke on it since.
4th Sep 2009, 09:59
Well I have an 87 Subaru wagon, and though I haven't got to drive it personally, being as I'm waiting to order the rear driveline I need.. I am glad to hear that it will be worth the money put in to it. As it sits now, it has 197,000 miles on it, so it's also good to hear I might even get another hundred thousand out of it..
26th Apr 2011, 23:57
I just bought an 87 GL 4WD for 550$. 123000 miles, no leaks, carb needs rebuilt. Oher than that, great car. I'll never get rid of it. I suggest the same for everyone else.
5th Jul 2011, 12:53
I found a 1987 Subaru GL with 121000 on the ticker. Was told the motor was bad, so I got the car with 4 new tires and a rebuilt trans for 200.00. Got the car home, and found they put new timing belts on it, and could not get it in time, so it was a easy fix, and the 4 wheel drive works on it also.
6th Nov 2012, 11:39
I bought 1987 Subaru GL in 1998 from first owner with 40K on it for $1000, and 15 years later I am still driving it with 245K on it. I had to redo the power steering, radiator, A/C, and timing belt to get rid of leaks... but it still runs good with 5 speeds. I may need a new clutch soon.
19th Nov 2014, 21:12
In the future you can buy 30,000 mile engines from Japan due to emission requirements, leaving over 200,000 miles of engine for you. Would love to get one of these with quad controls. A guy showed me his the other day in the snow and is said to have gone over 4-5 feet without chains as it is so light and grabby.
24th Nov 2003, 09:34
I love my 87 Subaru! Great car, still fun to drive, excellent visibility. Mine now has over 300K miles and although I had to put in a new engine a couple of years ago, overall it is still low maintenance and runs well. I plan to keep this car forever, partly because the trade-in or resale value would be very low and partly because I can always use it as a backup vehicle.