Monday, October 24, 2011

Considering purchasing 2000 Outback, 165,000 miles as 2nd vehicle..reliability/gasket question?

A friend of ours has a 2000 Subaru Outback for sale. We've been wanting to get a wagon type vehicle for my wife because she hates getting our kid's carseat in/out of the back of the Sunfire (our only vehicle currently). The Outback will be the %26quot;extra%26quot; vehicle except for long (about 200 miles roundtrip) drives to our relatives' houses. I see that there are head gasket problems mentioned a lot in the years PRIOR to this model so I'm wondering from those owners who own or HAVE OWNED this specific model and year:



1) How often have you had this head gasket replacement issue come up? (The gaskets in this one have been changed recently)

2) Any other major repair issues?

3) How many miles on yours currently? (or when it died or you sold it whichever came first if you no longer have). Concerned a bit about the high mileage but our budget is probably too limited to buy a whole lot newer model.



Thanks for your help in advance.Considering purchasing 2000 Outback, 165,000 miles as 2nd vehicle..reliability/gasket question?your problem is going to be the 165K + miles on it :S Once a car gets up there it starts having problems. I had a car and was fine until it hit 120,000+ . Same thing with my sister. Little things startd to go. $1,000 here, $500 there. It started to add up :SConsidering purchasing 2000 Outback, 165,000 miles as 2nd vehicle..reliability/gasket question?I'm sorry that all of us answering so far have NOT owned any Outbacks. We're just answering based upon general common knowledge.



I used to have an older 1981 Subuaru wagon, and that engine had about 160K on it, and it was still going strong. I would usually trust Subaru engines, much as I trust Toyota engines. But admittedly there might be some gasket problems. Wish I could help on that specific question.



It's true that having 165K on the Outback is important, but not its death. The problem is that mileage and use affects ALL parts of a car, not just the engine, and all parts of the engine.



I'd be worried about strength and condition of struts/shocks. They should have already been replaced once and are due a 2nd time, becuase they usually last about 70K or so miles.

Also things like alternator, water pump, etc need consideration. But most of all is timing chain. Those usuall last 100K miles, and you want to change them out BEFORE they break. And always check condition of water pump when working on timing belt/chain, because it's the same dang labor to fix both. Much easier and cheaper to get new water pump at same time as chain, if it's getting older.



The mileage isn't too bad for the years used. 10 yr old car (for 2010 models), means that 165Kmiles driven is about 16K annually, which is just a bit more than normal. So it's not excessively used for its age, and that's good.



I would imagine that if there is a gasket problem with the Outbacks, then its because of the material of the gasket, rather than of engine. But since it's been changed recently, I think you could get some excellent use and time out of the Outback before any possible gasket problem again.



I used to think getting used cars meant I didn't have to deal with all extra stuff on cars, I could just buy it, get in and drive, but I've since learned the opposite.Considering purchasing 2000 Outback, 165,000 miles as 2nd vehicle..reliability/gasket question?The Outback of your year should be 2.5L SOHC, considered as the phase 2 engine. The subaru had request to add the coolant conditioner into the coolant if not yet do so. The engine HG may have external leak instead of the internal leak (the phase 1 DOHC).



If you have a chance, select the model after the 2002 which means anything made after the 6/02 (that stamped on the driver side).



To answer your questions:

1. It did not have a definite mileage. Some had it around 40k and replaced it and ended for another 200k. Some had it around 130k and blown off... You can check to see if the car had it done by looking the gasket around, to see if any leakage observe. If you see oil stain or coolant leaking, don't even border to negotate the price, skip the car.





2. Timing belt, the interval is 95k and then 190k for your car, 165k seemed to be the second timing belt replacement...and also did the previous owner clean the tranny fluid and keep the car in well maintanence condition?



3. I have the 1999 Legacy Outback 30year LTD edition. I decided to have the gasket done because the coolant is running kinda funny (a sign for the HG going to fail), it cost me around 3k-4k for it. The car has 94000 miles on it. If you like, I can sell you mine...I live in MD...