Subaru Outback?

Started by The Knife & Gun Club
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Not a car guy at all.

My understanding (from my "car guy" friends) is that the "luxury" vehicles (BMW, Benz, Jaguar) have machinery as fragile as osteoporotic hips.
Meanwhile, the Subarus, Hyundais, and Jeeps are built to last.
 
After lots of hemming and hawing ended up picking up a certified Toyota 4Runner with around 50k miles. Outback’s are durable, Toyota trucks are indestructible. Hopefully this sucker will last well into attending-hood. I’ve got an attending who’s fully FIRE’d but still driving his residency 4runner cuz he loves it - 300,000 miles and saves $5,000 on car payments. Not a bad deal.

Great advice on here regarding insurance negotiations. They initially offered around $9,000 for my Jeep, and bumped it to $14,500 after some passive aggressive emailing.

With that cash I won’t have to make a single car payment out of my actual income, just cash principle to cover my payments for the next 27 months.
 
RustedFox said:
Not a car guy at all.

My understanding (from my "car guy" friends) is that the "luxury" vehicles (BMW, Benz, Jaguar) have machinery as fragile as osteoporotic hips.
Meanwhile, the Subarus, Hyundais, and Jeeps are built to last.
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My Jeep was hell. The electronics broke CONSTANTLY and were so expensive to get fixed since it’s all “dealer-only” type repairs.

You’re right though the fancy cars are like porcelain unicorns.
 
My N=1 but had a rough time with my subbie. Had a CPO forester bought 2 years old with 25k miles. Never broke down but a lot of wear parts needed replacement earlier and more often. Timing belt at 40k, etc. Sold it for more then it should have (they hold their Value I’ll give them that) and bought a new CRV with no regrets.

Some brands depreciate so little like Honda/Toyota/Subaru it’s actually a better deal to buy them new IMO. Either keep them forever or sell them after 2-3 years with 35k miles on it for not much less then you paid for it.

On the other hand, American cars depreciate like a rock, especially Chrysler/dodge/jeep. If you want one of those go used and save a bundle.
 
The Knife & Gun Club said:
Cherokee would not recommend it

the wranglers are bad a$$ though and you can take them mudding. Just get one with like 0 tech. Adds to the experience anyway
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Yep technology issues galore in Jeeps. Reliability overall for Jeep is pretty bad. If you're getting one to just drive around town, it's a pretty bad deal. If you actually want to do some offroading then it makes more sense.

Would definitely not put them in the same category as Honda or Toyota or Hyundai/Kia. Hyundais/Kias aren't the most luxurious thing in the world (and tend to depreciate quickly) but they have very strong warranties (100K powertrain warranty and 60K basic warranty/roadside assistance) so at least you know if something breaks it'll get fixed. Interestingly Palisades/Tellurides are apparently flying off the lots right now.

Subaru reliability tends to be pretty solid but still generally below Toyota/Honda overall. But you get 4wd even with the sedans which is pretty nice.
 
The Knife & Gun Club said:
Great advice on here regarding insurance negotiations. They initially offered around $9,000 for my Jeep, and bumped it to $14,500 after some passive aggressive emailing.

With that cash I won’t have to make a single car payment out of my actual income, just cash principle to cover my payments for the next 27 months.
Click to expand...
Glad you got an extra $5K out of it. Our 2013 Grand Cherokee is still running well and awaiting the new warrantied front leather dash. Crazy they're obligated to fix it after this many years. It has definitely had a lot of recalls - and no, you can't take the wiper fluid heater out - I don't care if it's a fire hazard. The Grand Cherokee is much safer for our college aged student than the 2003 Wrangler we use locally but the wrangler is fun to drive.
 
Helpful Troll said:
Glad you got an extra $5K out of it. Our 2013 Grand Cherokee is still running well and awaiting the new warrantied front leather dash. Crazy they're obligated to fix it after this many years. It has definitely had a lot of recalls - and no, you can't take the wiper fluid heater out - I don't care if it's a fire hazard. The Grand Cherokee is much safer for our college aged student than the 2003 Wrangler we use locally but the wrangler is fun to drive.
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Yea I wouldn’t put anyone under 24 in an older wrangler. Just asking for trouble.

A buddy of mine had one in high school, and the thing hydroplaned constantly. Pretty soon he was taking people for “hydroplane trips” where they’d just slide around on the road. Amazed no one died - it ended up on 2 wheels more than once.
 
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