Used 1999 Subaru Legacy Outback 4dr Wagon AWD Consumer Reviews
Used Legacy for sale
I'll Stay Away From Subaru's
Shape, 07/23/2004
Subaru Legacy Outback 4dr Wagon AWD
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
New auto tranny needed at 65000, need I say more ? I dont know how consumer reports mag. rates this car so high. I liked the car overall (Performance,Practical) but just had to many problems incl. ongoing brake maint/replacement, very rough running powertrane, & minor elec. problems and tranny replacement. Theres alot of subs in my area (finger lakes) & my mechanic see's many. He dosent have good things to say about them nor do the people I know or meet that have mid to late 90's subaru's. If your thinking about driving a subaru past 60000 miles, I would suggest getting all the info you can on the subject of reliability.
Very good AWD car, but...
martinjmpr, 07/06/2007
Subaru Legacy Outback 4dr Wagon AWD
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
I bought my Outback Wagon (OBW) in April of 03 with 42k on it. At the time I was unaware of the dreaded head gasket problem! Mine had the AT and the "Rocky Mountain Edition" package which included heated seats, mirrors and wipers. About that: the only seat heater that worked was the driver's side. As near as I can tell the mirror and windshield wiper "heaters" do absolutely nothing. Either that or mine were broken. Lots of fun to drive, especially on dirt roads - it's fun to play rally racer in this car! Ground clearance is better than average at about 7.5" but this is not an off-roader. Mud can get packed into the driveshaft tunnel. Has a lot of capacity. Good car for the money.
My only... and LAST Subaru
senoranash, 02/09/2009
Subaru Legacy Outback 4dr Wagon AWD
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I call my car "the Subaru from Hell" as I seem to be the only person I know who has had bad luck with Subarus. It was essentially fine until 70,000 miles, and since it's been one thing after another... most expensive. A major oil leak that went to the dealership and 2 other mechanics before it was fixed; tires will not stay inflated - something to do with rims, as tires were replaced, speedometer, air conditioner no longer function, trunk latch, hood latch replaced twice, electrical issues with the radio and int. lights, now the clutch is on its way out, and its again leaking oil. I could go on, but you get the idea. I trade it in this week...YEEHAH! It kicks in the snow, which I love.
Snow bound in Siberia
Leadfoot, 12/01/2009
Subaru Legacy Outback 4dr Wagon AWD
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
The car was purchased prior to transfer to Finland for its 4wd. It's handled great on the ice covered roads of northern Finland with some issues related to brakes wearing out early (Maybe too much salt on the roads). It does suck down the gas but has reliable starting history and only required some minor maintenance on the cooling system to date. It is an oil burner but not such that it needs any additional in the 3,000 mile change intervals that I am using. Found the Fully synt oil burns or runs out faster than the partially synt. Now looking at a new clutch set replacement after 120k. Not bad since it does take a bit of abuse.
Not as reliable as I wanted
unhappycamper1231243, 06/20/2004
Subaru Legacy Outback 4dr Wagon AWD
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
The Subaru did well for the first 5 years of ownership but at 86,000 it started to fall apart. We've put in new wheel bearings, clutch, and transmission in the last 6000 miles but still have major problems. I really expect a car in this price range to last longer. I'm told by my local mechanic that the AWD feature causes transmissions to fail sooner than in 2D and 4D vehicles.