A few months ago i crashed my '92 Paseo into a farm tractor. I commute to the local college every day so I really needed a car. I found a 1998 Impreza 2.5 rs for sale. It was in nice condition, except for some minor rust which i patched up, it had about 70k miles on it. I ended up paying a little over 7,000 for it (I hope i didnt over pay?). I really like this car. Its fun to drive, it looks cool, and it gets decent gas mileage. The problem is i deliver food for a living. In the past 4 months i have driven just shy of 20k miles. Alot of times im forced to drive the car places i would not normally go: dirt roads, fields, flooded roads..... I have to accelerate very hard several times a night. I would quit my job for the car's sake but i make so much money working there. So far nothing has gone wrong. I heard alot about the Head Gasket giving people trouble. If and when something goes wrong is it worth the money to fix it or should i sell it to some one who could take better care of it?

You can't predict individual cars........

 

You can base a reasonable guess based off the manufacturers track record.

 

I got my 82 Hatch 22 years ago and I'm still driving it.

 

That's what inspired me to get another Subaru.

 

Hummmmmmm..........

Glenn

82 SubaruHummer, goes like the Eveready Bunny!

01 Forester, goes like a bat out of He!!, except when the A/C is on.

It will last as long as you want it too.

 

My '88 GL should be at a junkyard right now. Blew up the engine a long time ago. Rebuilt it and just keep replacing stuff as I go. She'll go untill I wont make her go any more.

 

Same with your car

It's too bad you didn't find a 2.2L vehicle. A bit less hp, but (as time is proving), a much more reliable engine.

 

You are closing in on 100k miles, right? There is nothing scientific about this prediction, but I would say that you have a 1 in 4 chance of the head gaskets going before 150k and 1 in 2 chance that they will fail before 200k. Just my own gut feeling on the matter, that's all. Take it for what it is worth.

 

It is worth fixing if it happens? You'll have to look at the whole picture to decide. I can't tell you on that point.

 

Other than the Achilles heel of the HG, I'm not aware of too much else that is a weakness on your year and model. Perhaps others with more knowledge will voice themselves. Is it manual or auto?

 

Commuter

Alot of times im forced to drive the car places i would not normally go: dirt roads, fields, flooded roads..... I have to accelerate very hard several times a night.

 

I really dont think you could of picked a better car for this. The only car that might be better is a 2.2 liter sube. I really dont think these conditions will have that large of a affect on the relibility of your sube. The only thing i would recomend is let your car warm up alittle before you start flooring it around. this is what subes were spose to be made for, dirt roads, mud and some water.

seriously be glad you bought the subaru and not some other thing like a honda or toyota or something that couldnt handle these kinds of conditions. If you really want the car to last long enough, make sure you do all the manufacturer recommendations on time, and do every single one of them. You should start saving now for headgasket replacement, and honestly you should do it now before they blow on ya.

Ditto on the 2.5...I grow less fond of our 01 Outback by the second. One other thing I have found is that 2.5 RS tend to be owned by the boy racer types who like to beat the snot out of their cars. Thus I would be leary of the transmission and clutch. Good luck...Oh and this car will last until you crash it into a farm implement.

Thanks for all the input! My car is an auto so I dont need to worry about a clutch. Oh, and for the record, the tractor hit me not vice versa.

you don't need to worry about a clutch that disconnects the transmission from the engine no, but there is a clutch pack you need to worry about. Your best bet with the tranny is to first and foremost install an auxiliary ATF cooler. 4eats main enemy is heat. Secondly, change the EXTERNAL filter only, the internal filter is never meant to be replaced. And finally Keep up on the transmission services, this is as important if not more than installing an aux ATf cooler.

None of the 8 of us with OBW's with the 2.5 have hit 200K miles yet, the highest is 192K.

 

I've only got 140K on mine, and had the head gaskets replaced preemptively. Runs great and I think I'll get 200K no problem.

Aways check the idle pullys when you replace the timing belt, that is what got the engine on my 2.2. and it had 288,000 miles. I dont think I would replace head gaskets before they give trouble.

I just bought a 97 OBW 2.5 with 120K on it, and it runs fantastic. It was owned by an older couple, so there's a couple of dings on the exterior, including both bumpers:( The interior is pretty much immaculate. Anyway, what's this about head gaskets now? Is this something that should be done preemptively? I asked at the dealership if they could provide me with the car's service records through the VIN, and they said sure, so I'm going to check with them and find out more about the vehicle's history. It was a great buy at $6500 though, and a great replacement for our 91 Legacy L wagon, which is at 200K and running great still!

I take back what I said about the filter, some years even the external ones aren't meant to be replaced.

I just bought a 97 OBW 2.5 with 120K on it, and it runs fantastic. It was owned by an older couple, so there's a couple of dings on the exterior, including both bumpers:( The interior is pretty much immaculate. Anyway, what's this about head gaskets now? Is this something that should be done preemptively? I asked at the dealership if they could provide me with the car's service records through the VIN, and they said sure, so I'm going to check with them and find out more about the vehicle's history. It was a great buy at $6500 though, and a great replacement for our 91 Legacy L wagon, which is at 200K and running great still!

The 96-99 2.5 blow head gaskets so keep an eye out. It is not a matter of but when. There has been several discussions about doing them before they blow but not sure what the consensus is on this action.

.... Alot of times im forced to drive the car places i would not normally go: dirt roads, fields, flooded roads..... I have to accelerate very hard several times a night. I would quit my job for the car's sake but i make so much money working there.....

 

Let me guess...you're growin' pot ??