outbackornotoutback

Just bought a 2019 Outback and I'm wondering how badly the paint gets chipped and dinged? Most of my driving will be local roads (say 70%), highway (25%) and infrequent offroad (maybe 5%). For those who have had a 5th Gen Outback, have you noticed your paint getting chipped and damaged? On what areas? Do you get many chips in the mid to upper hood area? What type of roads are you driving? I'm trying to figure out how much coverage to get if I do decide to wrap it. Also, I've got the Subaru mudflaps installed, but they seem near worthless (based only on size and assumed ability to provide any real protection). Anybody seeing much chipping going on behind their wheel wells? Anybody have paint damage to their car and wished they would have done a clear bra to avoid the damage? Or are most people seeing light marks and its no big deal? Thanks for any input on what type of paint damage and where, and

I just bought a 2019 Outback and the tires that come with it are pretty lame (Bridgestone Dueller HP A/S Sport). They have poor reviews for tread life reaching anywhere ner the 40k they are "rated" for and I want to replace them with a good quality 65k or better All Season tire. My preference would be to go with Goodyear right now, only because a local shop is adding $100 off for a set of 4, on top of Goodyear offering a $40 rebate. Will certainly go with others if there seems to be a consensus on a good tire. I wont be doing much in the way off off road driving, so I dont need a particularly aggressive tire. It'll be mainly local paved roads and highway driving. The plan is to sell the OEM tires while they are still low miles (currently 1200) and use the money to offset installing a better set tires that will not wear out prematurely fast. Thoughts? Also, do you know if your suggested tires will affect the mpg?

After 25 years of driving Loyale wagons, it's time for a new car. I'm considering a 5th generation Outback, but not really sure what year to go with, as they all seem to have different issues. I'm looking for a long term car (hoping to drive it 10+ years and get 200,000 out of it), so my main concern is reliability and keeping maintenance and repair costs down. With that in mind, are there certain years/configurations that stand out as more dependable/less expensive than others? Any particular years/configurations that really suck and should be avoided? (what are the issues that model has?) I'm not worried about 2.4 vs 3.6 engine as either is acceptable after driving the 1.8 for years. Don't care what bells and whistles it has, my main focus is being dependable and not facing major repair expenses like replacing the transmission. Is there a particular year(s) where the CVT seems more reliable than others? That seems to be a major problem with the current Outbacks. Please let me know where your knowledge/experience comes from ie an owner of said model (or of multiple models), a mechanic, sales manager, etc. I'd like to see what people in the trenches with hands on knowledge and experience think vs all the marketing fluff put out by Consumer Reports, Motortrend and the like. Thanks in advance for your help!