We found a new car!
Here she is! She’s a 2005 Subaru Outback… the L.L. Bean edition. She’s showing her age in the interior, but there’s only one spot of rust we could find on the outside! AND she literally checks every box I had on my wish list down to the paint and cladding colors.
So hooray!
You can see my sad little Forester sulking in the background there. *sniff* My husband’s 2006 Subaru Legacy Sedan is in the middle.
Lots of fixes here… the seller was either ignorant or extremely deceptive. I’m leaning towards ignorant, actually… they probably didn’t bother to check and see what needed fixing. It was a lot. $2300 of a lot so far, with another $2000 waiting on my pay. We pretty much emptied our emergency fund.
But she’s the same car that my husband has only she’s a wagon AND she’s a flat six (boxer six) compared to my husband’s four cylinder.
They have the same face including hawk eye headlights, look:
She is a LOT bigger than the Forester! I can put my stuff in the far back and have more space left over:
My husband cut a piece of wood to hold it in place since the Rear Luggage Compartment Cover/Bar was not included. (It was an optional item off the lot.)
This is to keep things from flying around if I brake hard.
The rear end:
And, yes, the plates are whited out. (EDIT: My husband whited them out for me.) I don’t know why this is important, but evidently it is.
The front interior is nice:
It has a lot of worn patches, but it’s pretty and very comfortable. The seat doesn’t have enough oomph to lift you while you’re sitting in it, so you have to get out to adjust it.
It has the six CD player! I had been crossing my fingers for the MP3 CD player, but this is fine.
And here’s the surprise that makes me smile every time I see it:
Look at the moon/sun roof! I love it.
It’s a pretty car, and it’s totally mine. The way Murphy works, I can’t have something without it being a disaster, and the extensive repairs it needed were definitely upsetting.
We had to repair tie rods, lower ball joints, sway bars… and a pin hole leak in the radiator. It’s waiting on drive shaft/UI Joints next.
But… she’s mine. I’m hoping that once she’s repaired she’ll be a reliable car because COME ON ALREADY… Transmission AND Head Gasket in the Forester was a bit much!
What do you think? What is the car that checks everything off your list? I’ve wanted one of these since they came out and I saw them driving all over Madison! What are you driving now, and how is it treating you? Advice on keeping her in good shape? Inquiring minds want to know!
I love Subarus! So many of my friends drive them!
Growing up with old junkers, I had “Only buy Japanese” burned into my brain by everyone in my neighborhood. My first two cars were used Acuras, and I got them to 210,000 and 173,000 miles before I traded them in! You really can drive those things into the grave. My sister had a used Honda Accord that she got up over 300,000 miles.
I deviated from the “Only buy Japanese” rule last year and now I have an adorable little Italian Fiat, but it is already starting to do some…weird things…that are making me a little nervous. Thankfully it’s under warranty for another four years, because otherwise I’d be really freaked out!
I’m so happy the Subaru Outback I like made it down into my price range! We can’t afford to buy cars new, but we do love Subarus and it was exciting to get this one. *smile* And we do drive them into the ground – the Forester is at 207,000 miles!