Expecting our first baby in about three months, my wife and I are now in the Subaru fold. It's going to kill her grandfather who fought in the South Pacific in WWII (and he's still fighting the "Japs"), but we like the purchase. It's a '96 Legacy Outback with 100K miles, and in great shape. We're not Catholic, but is there a patron saint for head gaskets?

 

There are a few scrapes on the bumpers, and it looks like the bumpers are covered with a sheet material of some sort, not paint. Is there some way of touching up the bumpers?

 

Also, I am assuming that the Haynes manual is better than the Chiltons, correct? I've seen several Chiltons manuals for other cars and they all pretty much bite. Too bad there isn't a Bentley manual for these cars. When I get the manual, I'll probably go through the car with a major tune-up. Are there any maintenance items that need to get done on these cars that aren't in the manuals? Such as re-soldering relays, dressing up grounding points, etc. I'm from the Volvo side of things so I'm used to doing a little bit more than is in the books to keep my ride on the road.

The haynes & chiltons manuals are ok.....I don't know if one is better then the other. You can buy subaru manuals from online dealers, and sometimes ebay. You can also pay for a subscription and d/l some from subaru http://techinfo.subaru.com