Subaru Outback Problems

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The reality is that cars wear out, and yours is now a relatively old one. I don’t see that Subaru should replace the convertor free of charge; after all you have had the use of the convertor for eight years. The best course of action I believe would be to approach Subaru with a request of a good will payment to cover at least a part of the cost.

The cargo cover will certainly help to restrain the luggage in the event of a crash, but it probably wouldn’t stop it altogether in a major altercation. A proper cargo barrier behind the rear seat would be more effective.

You’ve pretty much covered the field there, so it should come down to what you want from your car. Do you want comfort, safety, fuel efficiency, offroad capability, cabin space? If you are mostly driving on the highway, then a diesel SUV is probably the best bet. I would rule out a dual-cab ute because of comfort, unless you need the flexibility a ute gives you. I would rule out a hybrid, they’re not at their most efficient on the highway; they’re better suited to town use. Based on your annual mileage I wouldn’t keep the car any more than 3-4 years, that way you’ll have a decent resale value when you get out of it.

If the shorter warranty of the Subaru is a major concern for you then certainly look at others, like the Sportage or Eclipse, but I would buy the Outback with confidence it will give you a good run beyond the warranty.

The main thing is servicing. Some owners tend to neglect the maintenance if their car doesn’t get used very much; they think it doesn’t need regular servicing like it would if it was used more often. That’s not the case; it still needs regular periodic maintenance. Certainly check the service record. Nothing should go wrong if it starts being used more often, and 100 km per week is not very much. You could, if you felt the need, replace the drive belts, radiator hoses; flush the cooling system, and brakes. But as it is it should be a good, reliable car.

All three are capable off road if you aren’t planning to go rock climbing, and they are reliable enough to get you to 250,000 km. CVTs are quite reliable now, but how far they will go is anybody’s guess at this moment in time. I would go for a Subaru, either the Forester or the Outback.

It was an option.