New guy here, looking at 2000+ Outback anc have ?,s

[Duus]

Hello all. This looks like a great site. I am looking at getting an 99 to 03Outback and had a couple of questions. What should I look for and what should I steer clear of? What is considered high mileage for these years and when will they start having issues if at all.

 

Right now I have a 00 Passat wagon with the 1.8 Turbo. We have had it for about a year and a half and had to do quite a bit to it. We had to replace the MAF for $150, fix the broken piece on the drivers window for $300, replace a front wheel bearing for $50 and Tie rod ends for $200 with alignment. Today I have just fixed a water leak coming in through the pollen filter and sucked out 2 1/2 gallons of water from under the passenger side. To say the least I am getting tired of working on it. So we are thinking about an Outback and want to make sure we are not getting into the same situation.

 

I appreciate any advice you can give?

 

Thanks,

Duus

[GeneralDisorder]

Frankly those repairs are typical of all vehicles. It's 8 years old and for a turbo that sounds like an excelent repair history. No major mechanical failures, and no problems with the turbo or it's associated multitude or components. I would be very happy if I were you.

 

If you don't like making little repairs such as those, then you should get a new vehicle with a warrantee. Seriously - you'll be dissapointed if you think an 8 year old Subaru is going to be any better. People own Subaru's because of their capabilities, relatively simple design, and reliability. But there are always going to be minor things with any vehicle. If you are looking for a completely 100% reliable vehicle you aren't likely to find it anywhere.

 

There are, of course, going to be folks that chime in here and say they haven't had a single problem, but it's anecdotal. At the end of the day it's a machine - they all break - just be happy if the repairs are minor.

 

GD

[subaru360]

Search on this board for "torque bind" and "EJ25 head gasket" these are the two major problems you want to avoid in a used outback.

 

Basically drive the car in very tight circles and be sure there is no binding.

 

If it's a 99 or older take the car on a long test drive on the highway and drive it hard and be sure it doesn't overheat. If it's an 00-up look for coolant drips under the engine.

[porcupine73]

If it's a '99 or '00 auto trans, one test is first thing when you start it up cold, put it right into drive and make sure it doesn't take more than a second or two to engage.

 

Check front sway bar to make sure it's not broken. Like any used car, inspect the cv joint boots for cracking. Those aren't a major issue but if you find any cracked ones (especially right front inner) they just make a nice bargaining point.

 

If it's a '99 make sure the speedometer is working properly.

[Reveeen]

Both cars are very capable cars, (the VW and the Subaru), in the scheme of things, an 8 year old car, of any make, is not the "best buy" for something that is not going to require work of some sort.

While I prefer a Subaru over a VW, if I was in your place I would not be considering this (trading a "known quality", for something unknown) unless it involved putting a serious chunk of change back in my pocket.

[Duus]

Thanks for the replies and you honest opinions. I guess I was just ticked about having the water leak from a very poor design. I am still comtemplating an Outback but am looking at it more from the capabilities stand point and not no maitenance. I am not totally against maitenance, I just thought this was a little excessive compared to my prior experiences. Again I thank you.

 

Duus

[davebugs]

A little late but - Make SURE that you have done the timing belt on that 1.8 turbo!!

 

The price of that head and/or a used motor will make the Subaru 2.5 look cheap. I've never swapped a 1.8 Turbo but there doesn't seem to be a lot of room in there.

 

I just passed on buying a nice 99 Passat GLS on tuesday. VWoA list on rebuilt head - 2,150. Another 1,110 list in gaskets, tensioners, etc.

A used motor (minus turbo) starts at about 2k.

 

If the belt brakes you need atleast a head. Usually they are pretty much unfixable. Cheapest (and luckiest) head fix that I know of was 750 just to rework the head with some new valves, etc. They are apparently quite tricky to repair - much more so than the 'normal' head. I've always stayed away from them.

 

VW's and wheel bearings. Don't know why but often a problem. Window regulators are expensive - make sure they are lubed well.

 

There were some recall's on some MAF's during that era - check with the dealer. The VW folks seem to hate K&N's and blame them for the MAF issues. In reality it appears that the MAF is wimpy on it's own. I had mine replaced at the dealer (out of pocket) since the car will still under a 10yr/100k powertrain warranty. Luckily cause it's about the only thing I've ever had the dealer do. I found out about the MAF recall on the web and had already filed my claim and had my check before I received the 'official' notice of the recall. After that I ran a K&N for about 120k until I ruined it cleaning it and just went back to OEM style air filter.

 

If it's an auto you already the realize that the 'geniuses' didn't engineer a dipstick. It's kinda like the old beetles - basically you have to make sure it's up to temp and take a plug out and see if any runs out - genius!

 

Dave

[kevinsUBARU]

The VW doesn't sound that bad!

 

My parents have a 99 GLS 1.8T wagon with something like 120k on it. The car has been an absolute dream; Much more reliable than their Outback. Just routine maintenance...that timing belt job/service was a shocker $$ wise though.

[idosubaru]

i'm with GD's sentiments in general. right off the bat you'll probably need to consider timing belts, water pump, and some seals that go along with a proper tbelt/wpump job. looks like yo'ure not doing the work yourself and that Ej25 timing belt job could run close to $1,000 or more. it's a necessity too as this is an interference engine so if the timing belt breaks you have engine damage. ATF change should be in order as well. it's possible to buy one that's had these items addressed though, so keep that in mind.

 

any 8 year old car is likely to have issues...noises, belts, ball joints, CV axles (often on a subaru), wheel bearings, brakes, knock sensor, fluids...etc. yes, it's possible to get one that doesn't have many problems for many years and miles, but that's less likely that it is likely with any vehicle that's got some years/miles on it. so i guess it depends what the "+" means...2008 is a 2000+!

 

as for the "poor design" comment, that's common too. auto manufacturers have thousands of design points...it's easy for one to be missed or not take the rigors of weather, years, and mileage. most vehicles have some minor "poor design" areas like that, particularly when the age and mileage starts to push the weaker areas. it's all statistics...of course you *could* get one that has zero issues...a VW or Subaru.

[porcupine73]

A little late but - Make SURE that you have done the timing belt on that 1.8 turbo!!

haha yah my coworker has a late 90's one of those and the timing belt broke. I forget the cost to repair that and the valves and such but it wasn't cheap. When he was looking for valves on the internet (since the oem ones were like $50 each or something he said), he kept getting offers from people wanting to buy his engine but no offers for valves.