It's YOU that needs a reality check.

 

You are basing your opinion on two vehicles. Hardly representative of anything.

 

I know of plenty of Honda's that were just as bad as anything Subaru has poorly built. Or for that matter any other company. My girlfriend had a 2004 Accord - tranny went out at 78k. And I just helped a guy on the side of the road who's distributor died on his 95 Accord at 80k. He was a mechanic - has owned a shop for 22 years. He knew exactly what was wrong with it of course because it happens all the time with those engines.

 

And if you think that anything transverse is easier to work on than a Subaru you are dead wrong. That's just plain silly talk right there. There's no Honda on the planet that's easier to work on than an EJ series Subaru. I'm a mechanic - I do this every day and have been since I was a kid. I've seen a lot of makes and models and the reason I DO NOT drive Honda or Toyota cars is because transverse vehicles are simply more difficult and time consuming to work on. And I hate FWD. Give me 4WD for traction, or RWD for fun. FWD is for grandmothers in Florida

 

The "cost to repair" argument is baseless unless you live in an area where one or the other is not popular. There are some areas of the country where Subaru's aren't as plentiful - for me that would mean driving probably a Toyota truck or a Samuri etc. Here Subaru's are cheap and plentiful so that's what I drive.

 

GD

 

Wow, a distributor. Yes, I have a rebuilt one in my trunk ready to be bolted on in the worst case. I cant bolt on a blown headgasket so easily.

 

Subaru cant even produce an economical service manual...let alone a parts system that doesnt require a VIN number to lookup every freggin part.

Wow, a distributor. Yes, I have a rebuilt one in my trunk ready to be bolted on in the worst case. I cant bolt on a blown headgasket so easily.

 

And I've never had a Subaru ignitor fail. It happens, but it's a lot more rare than the Honda's. And Subaru eliminated Distributors in '90.

 

Subaru cant even produce an economical service manual...let alone a parts system that doesnt require a VIN number to lookup every freggin part.

 

That's entirely based on your experience with the crappy dealers in Indiana. I've NEVER needed a VIN at my dealer, parts are cheap, and they are happy to print me off sections of the service manual if I need them. Also there's several guys here in the community that can order service manuals for us for cheap. And the dealer prices aren't really much more than other brands. There's a lot of good aftermarket manuals as well, and there's this web forum and others. I've never needed more than that - over 30 Subaru's to my name (6 right now) and never bought a factory manual yet. They are simple for people that can turn a wrench.

 

Parts are cheap and plentiful - my dealer happily gives me wholesale prices on all the parts I buy, they are friendly, helpful, and some of the parts guys have worked there for 20 years. Perhaps your Honda dealers are better than your Subaru dealers, but out here things aren't quite the same.

 

Never the less, even if I lived in Indiana I wouldn't buy a Honda. Not with the experiences I have had with them. They can't handle the nothwest driving conditions, their reputation exceeds their abilities to an extent that it abnormally inflates their value in the used market. I would rather spend the same money and get a used Audi - they are just a crappily built but at least are FAST and have AWD. Plus they are DIRT cheap used.

 

GD