Faults:

Transmission 140,000 miles.

Axle 18,000 54,000 150,000 290,000.

Visor 40,000 100,000.

Water pump 117,000.

Brakes every 40,000.

Radiator, alternator, starter 270,000.

Window seal 43,000.

Brake rotors, ABS plate 263,000.

Seats and back dash is cracking so we cover seats with large towels.

General Comments:

Subaru price fix on their parts. Toyota each dealer is different priced and we order from out of state. Our rule is if the rebuilt is more than half the cost of new, we buy Subaru new.

Pet peeve is the frame less windows which whistle as we drive. Dealer could not fix so we ignore with the nice radio/cassette going.

Transmission wasn't maintained and took 2 years to need total work at 140,000 miles. $4,000 to repair, but has run 160,000 miles with no sign of problems. Used Red Line synthetic in the new Ammco transmission.

New Modine radiator through dealer is completely metal unlike original plastic edge that cracked.

Visor wears out way too fast because part is plastic to keep it up. Anyone else have this problem???

My car was an axle lemon. I don't know what happened during the first 13,000 miles. Finally my mechanic said labor is cheap to put in the whole axle rather than repair each joint. We replace each year attempting to find the best rebuilt. At $80 labor and $120 parts, that is cheap.

Since driving mountain roads we wear out tires 30,000 miles, but finally found a hard sided tire that isn't showing the wear. Breaks are a problem. One says use the softest, the other the regular. Less a problem with the rotors replaced now.

Subaru rubber products are the best. The thickness of the timing belt and boots are amazing. I replace the timing belt every 60,000 miles even though my mechanic says it still looks good.

We use Neo synthetic oil since off warranty of 100,000 miles. The engine can sound like crap, but the car keeps going. Kind of like me! This car just won't die. Now we are trying for 400,000 miles. It is cheaper to maintain than to replace.

Would have liked AWD, but it does fine on ice. We don't drive it in more than 3 inch snow.

Cruise control is wonderful and air conditioner has never been maintained. Just keeps working.

So glad I didn't get a Turbo where the parts cost double.

Faults:

It needed a new clutch, cam belt and radiator at 197,000 miles. This was after my father used it for courier work, did not service it for a whole 60,000 miles and then left it standing for eight months (he also later admitted to towing a stranded vehicle off a sandy beach and through salty water). £600 later and it was back in business. Bit of rust on some of the body panels (no structural points, just on the bonnet and rear door), more fool me for washing it with Fairy washing up liquid.

Highly Recommend rotating the tires on a regular basis. Subaru also recomend this in their official paper work. It doesn't handle to great with mis-matched tires. Cheap tires are good for general driving, not good for throwing it around country lanes at 100mph plus.

General Comments:

For a normally aspirated engine of a fairly low capacity (for the cars size), it sure does pull. I regularly redline the engine, with regular oil, water, filter, plug changes, etc (every 6,000 miles), it's taken me over 110000 miles, I fear it may last forever. I throw the thing around corners at fairly illegal speeds and it sticks to the road like it's on rails. I only went off the road once. But that was my fault for trying to corner it at 60mph in the snow and trying to get the back end out like Colin McRae does on the TV. The interior is very roomy, with the back seats down it's like a van, I moved house in just 2 car loads! Although I was disappointed that there was not a cup holder.