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2007 Subaru Outback Reliability?

16K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  rustbeltah 
#1 ·
Hi, in for some of your expertise. I am in the market for either a Outback or a Forester. Is there anything that I should watch out for? Any specific year model or gen that I should stay away from? Any comment will be helpful. Thank you.
 
#2 ·
Hey there. So I have a 06 OB XT (the Turbo model) and I am no expert but here are some things I do know.
Depending on milage, head gaskets can begin to fail and you want to keep your eye on it.
Also very important make sure that they have changed the timing belt on schedule and when they did they put a good kit in and not something super cheap.
I know the most about the Turbo outback. I can tell my girlfriend bought a 08 Forrester and it's been fantastic. Let me know if you have any more questions. I'll keep thinking and if I remember anything I'll let you know.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
 
#3 ·
Hey Alex, Thank you for sharing your experience.

The one I have in mind or one I am looking at is 2005 2.5i Limited. From the ad it doesn't seem like timing belt has been done. But then the vehicle only has 76k miles.

How is the road noise on these cars by the way?
 
#4 ·
Some maintenance items specify a time interval as well as a mileage interval - whichever comes first. In the case of timing belt, it's 105k miles or 105 months. For most of us, mileage is the determination, not time. For this 2007 with only 76k miles, however, it's due right about now for a timing belt, which is possibly why it's being sold.

Factor this in to the price you pay. And if you're smart, have the car inspected by a trusted mechanic before purchase for anything else; there might be external head gasket weeping.

You will have to fix the head gaskets at some point. My 2008 2.5i went 8 years / 101.4k miles, and that's pretty typical, per our failure log here:
http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums...83-hg-failure-log-no-discussion-log-only.html

There's a whole thread on wind noise here; that's certainly part of road noise:
http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums.../173218-massive-merged-wind-noise-thread.html
 
#5 ·
Figure on Head gaskets and timing belt change at 100K miles. Technically you probably should look at the timing belt a bit sooner bc of mileage. When you do the TB you need to do the idlers, tensioner, and WP. When they fail you can use the engine for a paperweight, bc its an interference engine.
 
#6 ·
I agree with @johnre it's up for sale because it needs a timing belt service and whomever is telling the owner is likely telling them it needs head gaskets also. Judging by mileage the suspension is likely also shot. Proceed with caution, as it my be an indicator that the car was not well cared for.

The engine specific things can be avoided by looking for an H6 model, and that's what I'd recommend. Otherwise keep searching, look for a private party example with maintenance history or records. Good luck on your search, refer back with any questions. Post up ads too, some of us here are intimately familiar with that vintage and may notice something that could be trouble. They are great cars but they are getting old and without some TLC can give a new owner a bad experience.
 
#7 ·
2007 2.5 5MT has been very reliable car from new but do try and take good care of it. Having said that 10 year old cars are generally always going to need proactive maintenance but esp, the subaru gen 3 with timing belt and possible head gaskets. For this reason I would only buy a 2007 with low miles in private party sale, or alternatively private party with verified work. Before buying find a reputable shop that knows subarus and have them inspect it for you relative to the head gaskets or get under there with a very bright light. It is easy to see leaking hg but also sometimes it is the valve cover gaskets leaking so look closely.
 
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