[ASturSubaru01]

Hello everyone,

I just purchased a new-to-me 2008 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited. I live in the Northeast (MA) and after a lot of research and a long time watching Subaru refine the car, and needing to replace a minivan with more than 250,000 miles on the clock, we went for the '08 OB with just over 78k miles on the clock.

I was an Audi Quattro driver for years, when the used ones were available for pennies on the dollar and I've heard mostly great things about the Subaru's AWD and a few not-so-good things about gasket leaks. In the past week, looking here and in a few other place, the gasket/leak problems seem to be under control by Subaru and others.

Are there any tips for care of the car you can think of? I'm a religious oil and filter changer on all my cars, and I'm sure it's one of the reasons our Grand Caravan is still running at more than 250k miles - and running well. It was just getting a bit old for another northeast winter.

Thanks for any good advice you can send my way. Are there any good Subaru clubs/organizations people have to recommend in MA/CT?

I'd appreciate any and all pointers and advice. We're very excited about the car.

 

[barkeater]

welcome and enjoy your new (to you) ob. I also have a '08 ob although I do not have the Ltd. If you are used to doing your own maint. then just give the car a good inspection (i.e., pull wheels, etc.) and get her ready for winter. Happy driving.

 

[ASturSubaru01]

welcome and enjoy your new (to you) ob. I also have a '08 ob although I do not have the Ltd. If you are used to doing your own maint. then just give the car a good inspection (i.e., pull wheels, etc.) and get her ready for winter. Happy driving.

Thanks much. The Limited we looked at had a lot of whimwhams that the base model doesn't have, and we're hoping they're as reliable as the rest of the car has a reputation for being. When we saw the condition of the car the Limited interior just really stood out - we're going to take good care of it.

We do a lot of our own maintenance on our existing "fleet" of Chryslers; we've got an '00 Intrepid with more than 200k and a Grand Caravan with over 260k, and almost all of that was self-maintenance, from struts and brakes to serpentine belts, brake lines, swaybar bushings, even gas filler tubes, so we're fairly competent in that department.

We have a tendency to put a lot of miles on cars but we don't scrimp on basic maintenance. When the odometer clicks through another 4000 miles the oil gets changed, etc.

We bought the Outback because we're tired of getting stuck/feeling unsafe driving in modest-to-medium snow/slush conditions. Let's face it when you need to get out of the driveway and down to the grocery store or the bank and haven't had time to blow it off completely, a car that gets stuck in 4-5" of fresh snow gets tiresome real fast. From what I've read the Outback can handle those kinds of conditions without breaking a sweat.

 

[catric69]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your purchase. Tires may be your next item to address.

 

[rasterman]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your purchase. Tires may be your next item to address.

Agreed, tires make or break the outback in snow.