Good noe that I got your attention. I have a 1986 Subaru GL w/107000 Miles on the engine and all I have ever done to it is had the trane overhuled and put a new distributor on. My friend has a old XT with 210000 miles on it starts and runs like a brand new car. Every where I look I see Subaru's with hundreds of thousends of miles on them and they run like year 2000 cars. My question is what does subaru Know that the rest of the car companys dont? And why would people buy cars that brake down at 55000 when you can own a subaru that will out live your grand-children?

If you treat the car like you are supposed to, then it will last forever. I don't think it matters if it's a Subaru or Honda or Chevy. I've seen many many different cars with over 200k miles. My Accord had 160k and it ran like new, besides the radiator and the clutch.

In my line of work (emissions testing), I've seen a lot of high mileage cars. The only ones that fail the test are the ones that have been abused. All the cars and trucks that have regular maintenance do just fine. However, don't buy a Ford, Dodge, or Isuzu. All of them have serious engine problems when they crack 90K. You're right, Subaru makes the best engine, but they don't make the best trannies, Toyota does.

Yes, you're right about that, as long as then engine is driven as it should and regularly maintained, you should have no problems for a very long time. But also, I have heard that Subaru engines just seem to outlast many others. My own biased opinion is because it was originally designed as an aircaft engine, and aircraft engines are known to last and last, given that they are propoerly maintained and run. I had a Mustang, and blew that engine right around 100k miles. Sure the fact that it was a recall also might of helped(Mustang V6s from '94-'96 were recalled due to the fact that the were blowing heads all the time, lucky me I found out AFTER I had spent $4,000 fixing it! http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/eek.gif )
Anyways,
Gotta fly!
Skippy

don't you change the timing belt at
90K. If it breaks then the engine is toast.

-initialWRX

My Integra GSR is getting ready to break 100k miles any day now. All I've ever done is regular maintenance(oil,filters,brake pads,etc). Still running on the stock clutch too with no sign of wear. So Subaru isn't the only one's who know how to build a vehicle that lasts. Most people generally have good things to say about Toyota too.

I've had a number of cars go past 100k, and one got close to 200k, but then again, I've had a VW Rabbit puke it's connecting rod out of the front of the block at 80k! Are all cars built to go high miles? I don't think so. Both of my Volvo's went 100k+ - even my much maligned '80 Volvo Diesel (a car not known for long life- 100k was pushing it!) went to 193k before a leaking head gasket took it down. The difference? My Volvo was maintained- regular oil changes (Dad was the prior owner), and it was taken care of. My exploding Rabbit was abused by it's prior owner, and I paid the price for his abuse.

I would say that it's about 50% the product of the manufacturing/design, and about 50% of the maintenance. Yes, I've heard of Toyota Corolla's going 100k without an oil change - but I don't want to own that monster. Give me a good car, and I'll maintain it - it'll last for (almost) forever!

I will attest that any car can make it past 100k. I had a 1984 Chryler Laser (first MY for the Daytona body) make it to 120k miles! Granted it only made it there in reverse, but I never had a lick of trouble from the engine. Cruise, Clutch, Alternator, Speedo, Seats, Windows, Hatch, Radiator, Transmission...yes. But never a single problem with the engine http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/smile.gif

87 sable wagon made it to 120k before we donated it to goodwill. Was worth more as a tax writeoff.

Don't you love cars that when you fill them up all the way with gas the bluebook value goes up?

I beat the crap out of that sable, hehe.

My dad drove it new until around 70k miles (long commute) then it sat in the driveway for about 5 years as a 'spare' car and a hauler while he puttered around in his MX6 and waited for me to get old enough to get my license so I could drive the sable.

I beat the crap outta that thing. It sucked too, I hated that car most of the time. However, Subaru could learn a thing or two from ford.... Like the e-brake. It was down by where the clutch would be on a manual tranny and the e-brake lock automatically disengaged when the car was put in D.

Oh man! What fun. E-brake slides were awesome in that car, and you didn't even have to take your hands off the wheel. It had the Yahama V6 engine in it too. And yet it was still slower than my 4 banger subie. Sigh. Fords suck.

Back in the mid 80's my Dad had a SAAB 900 5-door. Never hade a bit of trouble other than regular maintenance.

When it came time to trade it in, the dealer actually bought the car from him to put on display in the dealership... completely rust free, no major mechanical work, and... ready?

227,000 miles http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/biggrin.gif

That car was in the dealer showroom for nearly 5 years http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/wink.gif

When I was in college, I bought an '83 Saab 900 turbo with 130K miles on it. It was a 2-owner car that had been well-maintained, and ran great. Over 5 years, I put another 70K miles on her. There were a few things that I had to have replaced (clutch, brakes, starter), and I had to get the exhaust pipe fixed a couple times (it hung really low and sometimes scraped). but that car never failed me. By the time I sold it, it needed some minor engine work, but it was still running fine.

Jordan

I put 301k miles on my Integra before I traded it in on my new WRX. It was still running just fine, minor engine work, nothing to the transmission. The trade-in value was about nil, but everything worked just fine. It amazed me, that things like the starter, alternator, electric windows, and so forth had never been worked on and still all worked just fine.

I agree that any car can live almost forever with good maintenance. Some cars can live a surprisingly long time with a lot of abuse, however: I had a '82 Civic that I got up to 215,000 miles, 100,000 of them very abusive with poor maintenance. If I would have been better about changing the oil and not running into trees with it, it would have easily hit 300,000.

I ended up selling it to my brother for $50.... bent frame and badly needing an engine rebuild...

my 95 neon just hit 105k and its still goin strong.. only regular repairs (oil, brakes) no clutch yet... its amazing how many burnouts you can do with the stock clutch and not notice http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/smile.gif

our old astro van (88 i think) pushed all 9s on the odometer, reset back to 0, and we managed to get it back to 116k miles before we sold it. of course we abused the hell out of it and had to repair it a lot, but still, its possible.

In the mountains of NC, where Subaru's are legendary for their reliability - it is quite common for these suckers to last upwards of 300K. This is up in the Mountains, where they're subject to harsh cold winters and blisteringly hot summers. They really are fantastic engines. A mechanic friend of mine said the only engine that out does the Sub's is the engine that's in the Nissan 240's (think they're used in some of the Nissan trucks as well).

My wifes 94' firebird V6 has 136K miles on it currently! the engine is actually outlivving the body. No rust, but the doors are held together with fiberglass glue, (?!?!?!) and the passenger side door is slowly seperating, and the window buttons are all alomst broken.

I had a 85 Chevy Nova that had 285K on it when I sold it. It was well maintained, and i kept it that way. I am pretty sure it is getting beat now though. Ran like a champ too. I even doubled my money when I sold it. I sold it for $500. http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/wink.gif Oh, and a side note. I am pretty sure it was mostly made by Toyota. After all half the parts on that Chevy said "Toyota".

The Volvo wagon we traded last year had 214,000 miles on it and the engine was still strong. Two other Volvos we had got up over 150,000 miles, one of them about 180,000 miles. But the inside of the car was so NOISY!

"If you treat the car like you are supposed to, then it will last forever. I don't think it matters if it's a Subaru or Honda or Chevy"

I beg to differ.

The 92 Olds Achieva im driving now has 55k miles, 50k of which were my mom driving a couple miles to work for 8 years and some other stuff, and this thing is FALLING APART!
Piping had to be replaces entirely, Tranny had to be replaced, brakes twice, suspension twice, all sorts of crap...

I WANT MY SUBARU NOW! This things killing me http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/frown.gif

My friends mom had an 80's subaru wagon. 2wd with like 99hp. The thing had a small oil leak so they took it to the dealer, but the dealer swore up and down it wasn't leaking anything because the oil level was fine. Well, that was because they would top off the oil whenever they bought gas. So the dealer told them not to put any oil in it for one week and to then bring it back.

They drove that sucker around with NO OIL for several days. I mean I could hear the sucker knocking and banging from miles away. Can you believe they still have the car and its doing fine? This puppy was not babied either, my friend delivered pizza's in it for years.

-n

my '75 volvo 242 has almost 350,000 miles on it, and it's still on it's 1st engine. my dad's '86 is at about 240,000, and it just keeps on going. old RWD volvos (as long as their not the turbos) go forever, even when abused from what i've seen.

people always ask me if my '94 impreza is a new car. "no, it just turned over 90,000 miles." then they go on about how quiet it is, ask what kind of honda it is, blah blah blah... http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/smilies/smile.gif

for some reason almost anything with a flat engine configuration goes forever. aircooled VW's (except mine), BMW motorcycles, subarus, etc.

'
92 toyota previa van with 409,000 miles. I think it was a Hotel pick up van in its former life.

wow dude. You resurected my thread from the dead....

I think this was one of my first posts.

lol