I’m hot on the trail to purchase a used Subaru Outback in very good condition, which has had a solid maintenance record. I’ve been gathering information on Edmunds and CarTalk forums and then was referred to this excellent community by a poster on CarTalk. I’ve got a little extra work to do as I’m searching for a car in Silicon Valley a few weeks before relocating for the summer from New York – I’d like to have any necessary maintenance done before arriving in a few weeks. This means I have to evaluate the car by having it inspected by 1-2 reliable garages, and possibly paying a local Subaru enthusiast with good experience to take a quick look after inspection.

 

The one issue I wanted to ask about in narrowing down options is model years is head gasket issues for certain model years. A poster on another forum noted that some pre-2005 Subaru Outbacks have issues with leaking head gaskets, and bulwnkl noted the same issue in this forum without specifying model years.

 

1) Is this problem confined to pre-2005 Subaru Outbacks? Is the cutoff a different model year?

 

2) How prevalent was this problem? Should I avoid purchasing a pre-2005 vehicle? I’m looking for quality + value combination, and of course newer means more expensive.

 

3) If you purchase a pre-2005 Subaru Outback, should you replace the head gasket even if there’s no visible problem yet?

 

4) How much does replacing the head gasket cost at most good garages on average?

 

5) Will replacing the head gasket solve the problem, or is the origin of the problem in engine design and it will simply happen again?

The gaskets were somewhat of a problem up until around 2000. The late 80's and up to the late 90's had the worst record. This doesn't mean they were all bad or even the majority had problems. I wouldn't worry about any model you really liked. You can have it checked out before you purchase it to see if it has a problem. Even if it does, you can make a price offer that can be adjusted for the repairs. I wouldn't replace any gaskets if they aren't proven to be bad. It doesn't make sense to me. Repair costs may be around 1,500 dollars just for the gasket job if you have someone do it for you. Depending on other things that should be replaced while doing the job, it may run up to around 2,500 dollars. There have been improvements made to the gaskets that help solve the problems of the previous ones.