Yeah, I thought about the Fumoto unit, but was concerned about grit getting trapped in the valve seat and causing a leak. A few years ago I looked at these and got some user opinions; seems like the results were all over the place.
I got the Outback with 27,000 miles on it; cleanest used car I'd ever seen! I had the guys at Carmax rack it for me so I could inspect it for damage evidence, leaks, corrosion, etc. They acted like this was a really unusual request. Anyway, this car was immaculate.
Before I got to 50,000 miles, even, the tranny coolant loop in the radiator let go (the radiator split right open across the bottom). All the tranny (4EAT) fluid was on the parking lot at work. Never had a car leave me stranded, ever. Had it towed. Service manager told me that the replacement radiator was a redesign; therefore, Subaru knew about a failure trend, I suspect. Would they eat it? Guess.
A month later, the windshield wiper motor quit right in the middle of a rain shower; turned out to be an internal short in the unit. Got to eat that, too.
The driver's seat heater unit burned out shortly after I got the car. The annunciator panel overhead had to have the resistors re-soldered (Really?!? They can't do re-flow PCB soldering decently now?), as I was getting a fault light for the airbag system.
The car rattled almost from the day I got it.
The front right-side inner CV boot split from the heat of having the exhaust system run RIGHT BELOW IT. Talked to some folks and this is a known issue. Service techs agreed. Dealer wanted 257 bucks in LABOR to replace the half-shaft. I did it myself.
The car had the infamous exhaust heat shield rattle...had that welded to the pipe at an exhaust shop.
What happened to Subaru? This isn't even a high-mileage car!!!
This car replaced a 1994 Toyota Pickup with a 5-speed manual behind a 2.4 liter 22RE. The original starter motor lasted 14 years. The original water pump lasted 13 years, until I replaced it (and it wasn't leaking yet). It had a timing chain, not a belt. I sold it with 225,000 miles on it, and it had the original clutch. And the original charge of air conditioner coolant.
I changed the oil, put tires on it, and maybe changed the plugs twice or 3 times. Air filter too. Brakes a couple of times.
The thing was bullet-proof, basically. I kept waiting for it to die or become really expensive, but it was neither. I'd still have it, but it was 2WD.