Used 2000 Subaru Outback

"Good car so far"

"We have had very little problems with our subaru. Here in Seattle, this is the official car of the lower yuppie class. There are 8 on our block. We have never had any reliability issues. When it was new I did however find a few things wrong with it like the seat cushion was unstitching, and one taillight was holding water. The dealer fixed these issues right away without question. We like the space, 4WD, handling, and low road noise. The only detractors are a cheap plastic interior, poor acceleration, and not the best gas mileage for such poor pep...(20mpg avg). I had an old 1985 subie wagon with a pathetic 96hp 4cyl that got 34mpg. I wish they would target a 30mpg car with moderate performance."

"Still tons of these on the road, I can see why"

"I bought this from my mechanic 2 years ago with 229,000 miles on it. Already somewhat "beat up" (I got it dirt cheap, under $1K) it has been very reliable and has not given me any problems since almost 30K miles later. It was barely run for 2 months during the COVID lockdowns and still no problems after that. Much like Ford Taurus and many Toyotas, I see tons of 20 or so year old Outbacks (I can tell from the style) on the road. It's clearly a beater!"

"Rock solid"

"Other than the head gasket recall, the car has been absolutely worry free. If you get one used, make sure the head gasket has been replaced, though I think this applies only to the 2000-2002 4-cylinder Outbacks. The exhaust shield rattles too - it's annoying, but not harmful. Currently at 140K miles - oil changes at about 6K mile intervals, with, uh, less than religious maintenance. Not a lot of passing power, but gets the job done. Gearing is a bit tall as it runs 3500rpm in 5th. I think the heater is kind of slow, although the A/C is awesome. Mileage is okay, not great - about 21 city, 27 highway - I average around 23 mpg in mixed driving. The car is a bit narrow, so 3 across in the rear seat is cramped. The front seats are comfy for long trips though - they've stayed fairly firm over the 10 years I've owned this car."