There was set of years of Subarus that had head gasket issues. I knew several people that had Outbacks and Foresters with that problem, and mostly they just kept oil in the car until it was too bad and then had it fixed. They all still loved the cars.

If your car has only 18k miles, keep fixing it. Keep on the maintenance. Should last you a good long while. 

 

I'm big fan of Toyota, Honda, and Subaru. 

 

Had many Honda's...current daily driver is a 2005 Accord with 144k. I change the oil every 3k miles, do all the maintenance myself. Got four new Michelin tires last summer. Runs like a top and knocks down 30 MPG every tank. The headliner has fallen in parts, and a few door lock actuators don't work...but the AC blows cold, and everything else works well. 

 

Wife has a 2017 Subaru Outback 3.6 we purchased new. Even got extended warranty. Yet never used it.  Up to 115k miles, no major issues. Did have a transmission seal leak, but covered by Subaru technical service bulletin...no cost to us. She loves that car and wants to keep driving it as long as possible. 

 

I would avoid Kia & Hyundai like the plague! Daughter went through hell with oil consumption, failed engine, arguing with Kia on warranty...car sat in the lot for 4 months. 2017 Sportage. Nightmare! To add insult to injury, a few months after getting the car fixed and back, the Kia was stolen in broad daylight. Thankfully was fully insured. She took the cash and got a 2009 Accord and is very happy. 

We have a 2008 Lexus, which of course is made by Toyota.

It’s got 137,000 miles on it.

We have had to replace the front axle bearings and struts.

Also had to replace the oil line hose on the pump that blew out while the wife was driving it. Fortunately it blew on our street otherwise it would have fried the motor.

The navigation system screen is going black now and no factory replacement available anymore so going to have to go aftermarket.

Plus it only gets about 16 MPG.

 

I drive my wife’s old Honda fit to work and back, it’s got 323,000 miles and runs like a sewing machine 

 

She got a newer outback last summer because she didn’t trust the Honda to make it to our vacation spot in northern MN/MI. I’d jump in that Honda and drive it to California, it’s a good engine 

On 6/23/2025 at 8:46 PM, VolFan said:

There was set of years of Subarus that had head gasket issues. I knew several people that had Outbacks and Foresters with that problem, and mostly they just kept oil in the car until it was too bad and then had it fixed. They all still loved the cars.

I put a $1300 ebay engine in mine at 230k.  You can pull the engine out of an older subaru in 30 min right out the open hood.