Love and marriage and Subaru

[P T]

I thought about buying a Forester, so I came here, and it seemed like I
saw mostly positive posts. I bought the Forester, and it immediately
attracted a vicious hail storm :-(
Today I come back, and it seems like every post is about some horrible
Subaru problem: oil issues, start up knock, head gasket issues, etc.

What is this? Is the honeymoon over, or did I just overlook the obvious?
I need a hug.

 

[Hallraker]

I thought about buying a Forester, so I came here, and it seemed like I
saw mostly positive posts. I bought the Forester, and it immediately
attracted a vicious hail storm :-(
Today I come back, and it seems like every post is about some horrible
Subaru problem: oil issues, start up knock, head gasket issues, etc.

What is this? Is the honeymoon over, or did I just overlook the obvious?
I need a hug.

Because of the nature of a newsgroup, most of the postings are going to be
problem related. Some people give "xxx,xxx mile updates" where they tell of
the status of their ride at a certain mileage, and many of those are
trouble-free. I myself have traveled 60,000 of the 168,000 miles on my '95
Legacy without many issues. A few sensors and an alternator + battery. And
I likely killed the alternator myself by having to jumpstart several
co-workers! Overall, my Subaru experience has been so overwhelmingly
positive that I'd be a fool not to buy another; in fact it's sort of weird
when I see another non-Subaru car that I actually like, as I think "Well,
that might be nice to have, but I'm sure it wouldn't hold up as well as the
Legacy."

-Matt

 

[albob]

I thought about buying a Forester, so I came here, and it seemed like I
saw mostly positive posts. I bought the Forester, and it immediately
attracted a vicious hail storm :-(
Today I come back, and it seems like every post is about some horrible
Subaru problem: oil issues, start up knock, head gasket issues, etc.

What is this? Is the honeymoon over, or did I just overlook the obvious?
I need a hug.

I've had my Impreza 4 years now - apart from routine servicing, the only
thing that has
gone wrong is the reversing light bulb 'blew' last year. I can't fault it, I
love it to bits, if it was female, I would marry it (thinks --- I've always
referred to it as 'she', wonder if 'she' will accept my
'proposal'.........?????)

 

[Rick Courtright]

What is this? Is the honeymoon over, or did I just overlook the obvious?
I need a hug.

Hi,

Best I can say is most people have a good experience with most cars.
But... no car is perfect, either as a make/model or individual specimen
of same. And, human nature being what it is, people complain far more
frequently than they praise. IME NGs tend to attract those who have (or
might have?) a problem and are looking for an answer rather than "my ___
has been absolutely wonderful for the last 100k miles!" types. And some
of the "problem" posters really just want to vent rather than find a
solution, too.

Look at the number of posters mentioning problems here, remembering
we're talking a worldwide audience, then look at the number of Subies
sold each year... I think you'll find overall the marque is pretty good.

Then, when reading individual posts, try to "qualify" the poster as
being knowledgeable, not so, hypersensitive to problems, etc. What
nearly drives one person to the loony bin never even hits another's
radar screen! (For example, Matt--Hallraker--takes his need for a new
alternator in stride due to the jumpstarts, while I have a friend who'd
be looking for a new car if her alternator ever went out, regardless of
why.)

To illustrate personally, my Subie's currently got some serious oil
leakage and semi-serious head gasket leakage problems. It's eating
(leaking?) a lot of oil and needs to be torn down for some tender loving
care. Engine may even need to be replaced. Sounds bad, doesn't it? Now,
let's look at the odometer: 354k miles, the first 209k on a lot of dirt
roads, and it's never been opened up! All of a sudden what sounded bad
sounds pretty good! See what I mean about qualifying a post?

Sorry about the hail storm, and I hope it's the only glitch you have as
you enjoy your new Forester!

Rick

 

[Brian K. M.]

My family has 4 drivers, and 4 suburas. 3 Outbacks and 1 Imperza. The
oldest, a '99 with almost 100K has never had any problems. As with
everything, negatives get pushed to the front while those with
unremarkable positive experiences stay content and quiet.

 

[lee]

I thought about buying a Forester, so I came here, and it seemed like I
saw mostly positive posts. I bought the Forester, and it immediately
attracted a vicious hail storm :-(
Today I come back, and it seems like every post is about some horrible
Subaru problem: oil issues, start up knock, head gasket issues, etc.

What is this? Is the honeymoon over, or did I just overlook the obvious?
I need a hug.

Usenet -- go figure. We bought a 2001 Forester a month ago, and absolutely
love it.

 

[David Betts]

I thought about buying a Forester, so I came here, and it seemed like I
saw mostly positive posts. I bought the Forester, and it immediately
attracted a vicious hail storm :-(
Today I come back, and it seems like every post is about some horrible
Subaru problem: oil issues, start up knock, head gasket issues, etc.

Never take the blindest bit of notice of people knocking cars on
usenet. Firstly, it is too small a sample to have any validity.
Secondly, it is strongly skewed towards people who like moaning. The
vast majority of Subaru owners are happy with their cars....they
simply don't post here.

Latest significant UK survey shows German cars to be the most
unreliable from new.....and Korean to be the most reliable.

David Betts
(e-mail address removed)

 

[nope]

I thought about buying a Forester, so I came here, and it seemed like I
saw mostly positive posts. I bought the Forester, and it immediately
attracted a vicious hail storm :-(

Maybe the dents will reduce the wind resistance like on a golf ball, and
it will go faster.

 

[jMon]

I bought my first Subaru in '95, that was a used SVX (wish I had held
on to it). I only sold it because my kids outgrew the backseat. It
was the best car I've ever owned in over 30 years of driving.
Currently, I drive a '03 Baja. What impressed me about Subes is if
you look in the For Sale ads, you won't find a bunch. Seems folks
wanna hold on to them.

 

[T]

I thought about buying a Forester, so I came here, and it seemed like I
saw mostly positive posts. I bought the Forester, and it immediately
attracted a vicious hail storm :-(
Today I come back, and it seems like every post is about some horrible
Subaru problem: oil issues, start up knock, head gasket issues, etc.

What is this? Is the honeymoon over, or did I just overlook the obvious?
I need a hug.

Before I read the other replies I'll respond with this:


People who are having fun and not having problems will not post much.

People who have troubles, just like the proverbial squeaky wheel, will
make a much louder demonstration than the much larger group of happy
drivers.


TBerk

 

[P T]

... I bought the Forester,
and it [got hail damage.]

And some helpful soul responded:

Maybe the dents will reduce the wind
resistance like on a golf ball,
and it will go faster.

NOW I feel better

 

[GW De Lacey]

... I bought the Forester,
and it [got hail damage.]

And some helpful soul responded:

Maybe the dents will reduce the wind
resistance like on a golf ball,
and it will go faster.

NOW I feel better

Sorry to rain on your parade but the dents in a golf ball are to make
it swerve in a direction corresponding to the direction of spin.

Next time you go into a clockwise spin you will probably swerve right,
and visa versa.

Isn't physics wonderful?