Subaru Baja/Outback owners, any regrets?

[WannabeBajaOwner]

I am looking to buy an 2003 Yellow Subaru Baja for around $10,000. It will be my first newer car purchase and my last for 5-7 years. I could buy a decent older AWD Lexus. It will be expensive to fix but safe for winter & comfortable. I want a Baja! I love the Baja name, reliability, color choice, etc. I just want to know as a big man 5'8" 250 pounds will I be comfortable on long trips? 100miles

 

I am an off road kind of guy but at 37yrs old with back problems just starting...is it a wise idea? Any older owners or people with my size or back issues regretting not buying a more luxurious car instead. Do you feel ok in it for long rides. This goes for you Outback owners too. They share the same chassis. Is there a special Baja model you folks can recommend staying away from? Like the STi or manual transmission? Thanks in advance.

[1 Lucky Texan]

when you are buying used, the car's prior history and present condition are MUCH more important than the model's perceived reliability for an original owner. Be prepared to have a pre-purchase inspection done by someone knowledgeable with Subaru's AWD system and boxer engines.

 

maybe someone can suggest a shop near you in MI . perhaps ask in a new thread.

 

we have 2 soobs. My wife's 03 H6 Outback is very comfy for us on road trips. nice 'medium cruiser'. In fact, the seating is what swayed us when we eliminated our choices down to 2 cars back in 03 when we were shopping to replace a wrecked Ford van.

 

Does the car you're looking at have the H6 engine?

[SuperBrat]

Been there done that, owned yellow baja, one owner, 5 9 240, no pronlem there, had about 95k on when sold, it was a automatic, did not have any pulling power when pulling my atv,s shift to low to pull any hills, had drove a manual befroe i bought this automatic, and i liked it better,  .Brett, my 2 cents    Paid 8800 for it 4 years ago drove 25k miles sold for 7900.......

Edited March 28, 2014 by SuperBrat

[idosubaru]

check for external headgasket leaks and torque bind.

 

there are users that complain about Subaru seats and having bad backs so that will be tough.  the allure and novelty of a new car purchase will likely assuage any minor red flags you feel during a short test drive.  you might find a couple other owners that don't like their Outback seats due to back issues and see what they say.  i know there's a few on subaruoutback.org and probably on here as well.

 

i'm unsure if people with bad backs are just likely to complain about lots of vehicles...that seems possible if you've got known issues...or if Subaru's are not great fits for people with bad backs.

 

make sure you know it's not a truck.  "offroad kind of guy" - could mean multiple things:

1. you'll love the practicality of a Subaru over a regular vehicle. 

2. or it could mean you hate it because it's nothing like a full size truck.

Edited March 28, 2014 by grossgary

[idosubaru]

subaru seat complaints:

 

Why Outback Seats Suck:

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/61-general-discussions/25919-why-outback-seats-suck.html

 

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/66-problems-maintenance/30408-after-market-solutions-uncomfortable-front-passenger-seat.html

http://community.cartalk.com/discussion/2296391/uncomfortable-car-seats-in-new-subaru-outback

 

it's fairly common to hear complaints.  There's plenty of people that don't care at all or notice anything.  People are picky (that's pretty common in every other aspect of America) or physical issues are the main genesis of the issues.