My girlfriend is looking into buying a new car. I know the WRX isn't the looker, but you can't ignore the performance of the car.

I was just wondering...are Subaru's pretty reliable?

Thanks,

 

we have supplied a few WRX and STi and have found them to be quiet reliable, only real problems we have had were clutchs,of the burning out sort.Ones with a good service history in our opinion is a must.

 

When you talk about dependable, you're talking about the expertise of a magazine like Consumer Reports. A glance at their reliability stats will show how clean Suburus are compared to most any other cars.

The only knock from Consumer Reports on Suburus is the lack of sufficient power of 4-cylinder Legacy cars.

 

On this side of the Pond, Subarus are known to be about as reliable as a Honda, if not moreso. Most Subaru owners are die-hards.

Like me. I'll always be part Honda guy at heart, though. I've owned two, that was enough to get me hooked.

 

We have 15 Foresters at my company. We've had some problems, notably drivetrain bearings, but we work them pretty hard.

 

Generally Subarus have an enviable reputation for reliability. However, the gearbox in the WRX is known to be not up to the task of feeding all that torque into it. 1st and 2nd have a tendency to break if the vehicle's full performance potentialis used often.

Subaru knows about this and is developing a six speed replacement. The 6 speed was supposed to be due for the release of the current WRX (10/00) but has slipped and is now predicted to be released in the 2002 models due September.

 

It depends on how you're going to drive it ... my friend is now up to his 3rd clutch in a WRX (he has about 60000km now). It you're going to try the WRX 'super launch' then expect to get a new clutch regularly and frequently. Except for that he has no problems at all.

 

We've had great luck with Sube's. We are now on our fourth, with none needing anything other than routine service.

The WRX is a great car, looks aside. If your GF is not into performance cars, the Outback sedan and Outback wagons can all be had for a few hundred over invoice and are more substantial (IMHO) cars.