How do you feel of Subaru reliability?

[rjoeser]

I am on my 4th, legacywagon, 97,OB-now 130 problem free miles, !st WRX wagon released domestically-traded with 29K of the HARDEST trouble free miles a car could have(there was a seat recall, screw kept falling out), now "06 Spec-B-2500k so far so good!

 

Very reliable, hold there value, go check the price of a 98 OB wagon with 100K on autotrader!

[leggtnut]

I know my service writers only because there are only 2 of them and they call all their regular customers by their first names.

[spieldawg]

My family had an audi A6 avant about 3 years ago. It was a lease, and we couldn't wait to get rid of it. We never had any major problems (engine, transmission, etc), but tons of little things...like 5 replacement gas guages, which still never worked by the time we turned in the car. There were issues with automatic windows (which as my father said, worked in his family's car in the 1950's...no reason why they should break now).

 

The car handled wonderfully and was a joy to drive, though it was not worth the hastle, since most of the driving was to the dealership to get another little problem fixed.

 

After that car, we bought a subaru. Then we bought another. Then another. We still have yet to have any real issues with any of them.

[belfer999]

Well, I sure am glad I don't have to visit Larry and Patty, Audi service reps any more. Also, the head of service, Chris, and the shop foreman anymore. My 2002 TT quattro 225 hp sure was cool, but an unreliable pile of junk. When it worked, it was ..sorry... better in a lot of ways than my 05 lgt, but it seldom worked! The awd controller went out, the electric windows went haywire, the thing overheated, interior trim peeled off, the side mirror glass became unglued on both sides, Ugh. Oh, yeah, a dealer oil-change for a cert-pre owned audi is ninety bucks.

 

I had a true LOVE / HATE relationship with my Audi. It's a sacrifice of reliablility for cool German handling and Style. Kind of like wearing a really stylish suit that makes you feel proud, then the buttons pop off and the stitching falls apart at random. Then you have it fixed for free and it happens all over again.

 

 

~S

[johnnydad]

Subaru's quality is very good overall; just a shame about a few minor intermittent interior creaks. Audi seem better in this regard although not necessarily VW.

[Babassboy]

Oh yeah...Consumer Reports just named Subaru 4th most reliable car brand

 

1. Lexus

2. Honda

3. Toyota

4. Subaru

 

That's really good considering most of their cars are basic transportation and not Turboed or AWD. It's a strong testament for a car more mechanically complicated (every car is AWD and a Turbo is available in everything but the Tribeca) and more likely to be beat on by enthusiasts to rank up there with automotive appliances.

 

To me this is quite amazing considering how hard some of the subaru models are driven (WRX any one) in comparison to the average lexus (this is unfortunately not something that gets calculated into the reliability surveys)

 

Subaru definately makes some very good cars esspecially considering the complexity of the AWD and four cylider engines that are putting out serious power.

[Cynder]

I've owned a number of the models of the top-4 quality list by consumber reports and am also an admitted VW/Audi fan despite my experiences.

Currently I own a 2005 Legacy GT and enjoy the car very much. It's been reliable and I've had no issues to take it back to the dealer for after the initial purchase. Very pleasant.

My last VW/Audi product was a 1995 Jetta. An experience that I'm not wanting to duplicate. The poor car was damaged a couple times in accidents, the issues were not always easily tied to the build quality of the car.

What I appreciate about automakers these days is that Yes!, they are all improving build quality, reliability, fit and finish. The japanese are doing it faster than the european and american automakers.

Can you get a great American car? Of course but a Japanese one is likely to be just a bit better in the long run.

Consumer reports put it best when they equated a 8-Year old Toyota Camry to a 2-Year old Chevy Impala for number of problems and quality. The Audi's scored lower than that.

[mmarton]

Subaru hands down. Don't touch an Audi unless you have lots of patience, time and money.

[slissner]

I bought new a 2001 A6 4.2 with sport options and sold it three years later at 50,000 miles to get a 2004 Audi allroad 4.2 which a 2006 Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT spec.B replaced in November 2006. After 5,000 miles, I've observed that the Subaru has been totally reliable and well made. An Audi has more features, is quieter, and has better materials, but I'd wager that the Subaru is far more likely to be reliable and durable. I would get another Audi if and only if there were an Audi dealer near my home or work. Both of my Audis had several minor problems. The allroad needed a rear main seal at 20,000 miles and stayed in the shop for two weeks. Neither Audi dealer that I patronized offered the service that I would expect would come with a $50,000+ car. I'd love to have an Audi A8, but until Audi and its dealers are as good as Lexus and Infiniti, I won't consider buying an Audi. Audi parts prices, by the way, are breathtakingly high. Subarus may not be cheap, but they are a good value. Incidentally, I drove a 1992 Subaru SVX LS-L for about 90,000 miles; that is my favorite car.

[MangoGT]

Speaking from experience.

 

Audi - you will know the names of the service writers

Subaru - you will likely never even be at the dealer for warranty repairs

 

I know the name of the assistant service manager, the service manager, the customer relations representative (all at my local dealer). At Subaru of America, I know the name of one of the customer service representatives, a factory representative, and a senior representative with customer service. That's all on a 2005 Legacy GT bought in June.

[dmw]

Subarus are reliable. That is their thing. Had a 97 L wagon, a 98 L sedan, an 02 Forester L, and a 06 2.5i sedan. All fine cars. The 97 had the door lock impellers replaced. The Forester had warped front discs and a clutch plate issue, both fixed under warranty. No other significant repairs on any of them. We looked at used Audi A4s this year (used, because we aren't that rich). Audi still has a better interior, but Subaru has come a LONG way on that and on exterior styling. My 06 is far more elegant than even the 05's we saw. For the $, there is no comparison. You get 90% of the car for 50% of the money. Plus better reliability, judging from the posts here.

[specinvstr]

My brother has a 2004 WRX with 40k. He drives it hard and has had no problems.

 

I have a 2005 LGT GT bought in September 2005 with 10k on the clock. No problems, but it rattles way too much for my liking. Guess I will just have to go with a louder TBE.

[krzyss]

To me this is quite amazing considering how hard some of the subaru models are driven (WRX any one) in comparison to the average lexus (this is unfortunately not something that gets calculated into the reliability surveys)

 

Subaru definately makes some very good cars esspecially considering the complexity of the AWD and four cylider engines that are putting out serious power.

 

Do not forget that CR list is made from data mailed by subscribers. I bet that the number of people who own WRX and subscribe CR is quite small. I would not dare to say 0 but quite small.

Number of people who drive their WRX hard and subscribe to CR is even lower ;-)

 

Krzys

[jazzymt]

I have no personal experience with Audi's, but this is my second subaru and I have to say, I'm a bit dissapointed on the quality/durability so far. No serious issues, but headlights burning out, 2 O2 sensors dead already, ditched the POS tires at 9k miles, windshield wipers suck, rattles in dash, some easily marred interior parts - like I said, nothing "serious", but it's dissapointing having so many "little" issues on a 30k+ car.

 

That said, I'm not worried at all about long term reliability. Even if serious crap does go wrong, I know I can afford to fix it. With an Audi - not so much. Subaru is all I need, especially with the amount of aftermarket support there is for subarus.