I live in an area that snows a lot and many of the dealerships around here are Subarus. I am looking at a 19 Subaru Forester with 27K miles on it for $28K and a 19 Outback with 31K miles on it for $27K. Which car would be better as an everyday vehicle with a comfortable ride? Or would it be better to travel a little bit to look for a Toyota or Honda instead?
@acefighter
Outback rides better, especially on long drives. Try to negotiate down - between now and Jan sales tend to slow down, especially the used cars.
@acefighter
Bring both to a mechanic first.
In your case, it’s a rare situation where a Subaru might make more sense than a Toyota or a Honda. Subaru makes excellent AWD vehicles.
However if I were you, I’d get one with a manual transmission as the CVTs aren’t reliable.
Test drive both extensively to check the ride quality.
To be honest, both those haven’t depreciated enough for you to get a deal. I’d look at 4-5yr old examples.
@inthrustwetrust
yeah i would look for 2015-2016 where depreciation and value are at a good balance. The older Outback's weren't as reliable or safe as the Forestor's but now it really doesn't matter. After like 1 year of ownership it will be worth half the value so DONT TAKE THE HIT.
Those sound more like new car prices. Depending on interest rates (if you're financing) and any promotions going on you might be able to buy a new one at or near the price of those 2019 models. Subarus do tend to hold their value despite some well-known shortcomings, so as InThrustWeTrust says, a vehicle a few years old might be best if really interested in buying a used one.
Subaru’s AWD is excellent, especially you use car as dog sledge.
My parents have an 2015/2016 Outback I don’t remember. Outback provides more room leg room and cargo space.
CVT transmission is a weak point but their Outback is more than 140000km now, it’s still working like new car.
Fuel economy is great, traffic in my hometown is heavy as h3ll, but the 2.5 engine doesn’t drink much gas. And it is very comfortable, 2~3 hours traffic jam daily, not so painful. For daily drive, no problem, proved.
The 2 vehicles have similar ground clearance specs which are pretty good for unibody SUVs.
Both 2 vehicles are pretty new, shouldn’t have many things worn out.
Take test drives on both, spend a little time in them, see which one you like.
Make sure the vehicle you d buy is in clean tittle, not rebuilt, no auto theft reported, no major accident, and no rust underneath.
yeah i would look for 2015-2016 where depreciation and value are at a good balance. The older Outback's weren't as reliable or safe as the Forestor's but now it really doesn't matter. After like 1 year of ownership it will be worth half the value so DONT TAKE THE HIT.
The forester is surprisingly nimble off road. But that’s the only advantage I see. The outback will be more comfortable, quiet, and easy to live with as a daily driver. Unless your inspection finds a problem, I’d go with the outback.
