Faults:

Head gasket, radiator (and timing belt for good measure) were replaced at 33,000 miles.

Everything but the timing belt was covered by warranty. The dealer was wonderful about this.

I have replaced the timing belt once since, and many CV joints, but this is minor in my opinion.

General Comments:

Rust is starting to creep in on the doors and around the windshield, but it still is good-looking.

I put quality tires on it and I love the way it handles.

The seats are comfortable and show very little wear.

Even though it was $9,999 new, it has power everything and it all still works.

Faults:

Upon buying I replaced the exhaust from the manifold back.

Replaced the air conditioning coolant with non freon.

One new cv joint, old boot was cut.

It sat in a barn for four years, had mouse nests to clean out.

General Comments:

Great vehicle, wonderful to have four wheel drive for snowy days. At first it seemed to have poor acceleration, until I looked under the hood and realized only three plugs were connected! Much improved, but still not like my Nissan 6 cylinder pick up. Oh well, for the great reliability and sturdy feel when driving in high winds and on rainy roads, it is truly worth the slight loss of pick up.

I would suggest this as a used car for anyone, just make sure there is no major rust and drive safe.

Faults:

The brake lines were rusted and the rotors were worn out. The exhaust is rusted bad. The body is pretty scaly.

General Comments:

This is a car that is reliable, comfortable, easy to pimp out, easy to work on, easy on gas, tough as hell, goes like a tank, 4wheeldrive is a jewel. Transmission shifts smoothly.

Motor is strong, climbs hills going 55 and 60 m.p.h. The next muffler I put on it will be a glass pack which I am going to install in the near future.

Holds the road real good.

Faults:

I had zero problems with the car until the last few weeks when several events occurred.

The vacuum modulator pump needed to be replaced, followed by another more major problem.

The head gasket broke down leading to a leak of coolant, and the cost to repair was 1800. No thanks!

General Comments:

Great car when it ran. Lots of space with the fold down seats, and four-wheel drive worked fantastic.

Was very happy overall, just happened to buy it when she clunked out.

Faults:

Distributor-side timing belt breaks. This stops the car immediately, so I suggest new belts more often than manual states, maybe as often as every 50000 miles.

General Comments:

Service-wise -- in ten years I have had to replace a couple of clutches, the hydraulic lifters (expensive!), trans-shafts/CV-joints, brakes, the AC filler valve, a dipstick (!), a few sensors and the exhaust system. Please note that I feel that these are all reasonable wear-and-tear items.

The car was economical to buy and run -- it cost me about $11K new and gets 30 miles/gallon in my daily use. I have spent maybe an average of $300-400 a year on maintenance at a respected non-Subaru repair shop in town.

The 4wd feature is indispensable in my Idaho panhandle location and serves well both on icy roads and when traveling off-road. Just watch snow that is overly deep, it is easy to get high-centered and those four wheels spinning won't help if they cannot reach a reasonably fixed surface!

The seats are adequate for many 3-4 day trips I have made, and when the rear seat is folded down an average height person can sleep diagonally in the back.

Having so many standard features at such a low entry price made choosing this car a no-brainer and I have not regretted my choice in ten years.