2013 Subaru Outback - Extended Warranty and Other Questions

[corinthos]

Hi, for those familiar with Subaru (specifically Outbacks), would you be so kind as to share your knowledge on the following?:

1. Is the extended warranty ("Gold Plus") worth it? If so, what package, duration, for how much, and from what source? Or would it be better to put that money into some account and earn interest on it, to use as a repair fund should it be needed down the road. I'm wondering if there are any (many?) caveats/things the dealer will refuse to cover under the extended warranty. And whether the $50 and $100 deductible versions are even worth considering, since it seems to mean additional out of pocket costs.

2. Just how reliable are Subaru Outbacks, specifically the 2013 and maybe 2012 models? I believe they started using CVT with the 2012. I'm wondering what issues are likely to be
encountered during the life of the car... say you use it mostly for commuting and weekend bicycling destinations, and once in a while a trip up the mountains in the snow (all west coast).

3. How many miles can Outbacks be expected to reach with just regular preventative maintenance (oil changes, tire rotations, tune-ups, washing)? I know Honda/Toyota are supposed to be on top for reliability, but how does Subaru stack up? Should a 2012/2013 Outback realistically make 200,000 miles without major repairs?

4. Do you recommend keeping an Outback for that long, or do most usually sell/trade in after around 3-7 years of ownership because (expensive) problems start to surface?

5. What is your real world combined MPG from your 2013 Outback? I heard that MPG
actually improves after a break-in period of a new Subaru, is that true? Is 27MPG combined realistic?

6. How is resale value of Subaru Outbacks, and is there such a thing as a "sweet spot"
for # of years before selling the car, to get the most value from it in driving and in resale to someone else years from now? If so, what is that sweet spot? (5, 7, 10 yrs?)

Currently I drive 20-24K mi per year but am looking to reduce that significantly (To maybe $12K per year only) by carpooling to/from work 3 days a week.

7. Aside from oil changes every 7500 miles or so, 60/75k and 90k service, what else would be needed as part of maintenance and ownership?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Demo24]

I've rarely found extended warranties to be worth it. Bought one when I got my used Subaru( non outback) and I don't think I ever needed it.

The CVT has been around for several years now and now spans most of the Subaru fleet. Haven't heard of any significant troubles with it.

Subaru tends to be close to Honda/Toyota and in some cases above. 200k, probably not an issue and I've seen many do that. Off hand I can't think of any major repairs to expect in there that also wouldn't happen in other makers cars.

People tend to keep Subaru's for longish periods of time, and frequently buy another. Trade in is up to you really. Subaru does have one of the highest retention rates in the industry, so that definitely says something about their vehicles.

Mpg is going to greatly depend on how much city you'll be doing, since they do significantly worse in that area. This is one downside to fulltime awd as it takes more to get going.

Outback resale tends to be good, but I don't pay a lot of attention to it. Subaru's rarely have drastic drops in value from new-used.

I have done regular maintenance for the past 84k miles in mine since 2006. Had one problem under warranty that was a model year defect, and since then no trouble till recently with a slightly squeaky belt( just its time really). I really never think of it not getting me where I need to go since its always been there for me.


If you are buying it due to snow, just remember that it may have awd but that means nothing if you don't put good tires on it.

 

[Black2na]

Subaru's will run easily to 200k if you follow the maintenance schedule fluid changes at correct intervals trans,diff,coolant etc. And doing the timing belt at the 90-100k interval. If you don't they can get very costly as they like to eat head gaskets and have timing belts snap. Also ever run it lowish on oil expect it to spin a rod bearing. Now while not set it and forget it like most people seem to do with cars. Subaru will reward you for its upkeep. Not to mention at resale time all the services being done you can command a higher price that people will fall over themselves to pay.

 

[NutBucket]

Pretty much nothing else needs to be said. No warranty necessary and enjoy your new ride

 

[Harrod]

I've got a 2013 outback that I've had for a few months, at this point I have about 6500 miles on mine, I see about 28 mpg average, however I don't do alot of city driving. On the highway cruising I see around 30 mpg. I ended up getting the 50k warranty with mine and have had to use it once, due to a larger pair of sunglasses getting shoved into the sunglasses holder and breaking the clip.

Mechanically it has been good, the cvt took some time getting used to. I honestly cannot say how reliable the car will be, but I would think with the newer engine with a timing belt is one less thing that could potentially leave you stranded.

 

[Jumpem]

I had a 2010. I always get the extended warranties. They can usually be found cheaper online.

I had no maintenance issues in 98k miles. I also had the CVT.

Fuel economy was 30mpg summer / 25mpg winter when I had a rural commute. Living in the suburbs it dropped to 25mpg summer / 20mpg winter.

As for resale, the dealer gave me $4k more than I owed. Good enough for me.

Minor scheduled maintenance at 15k, 45k, 75k. Major scheduled maintenance at 30k, 60k, 60k. I think it was ~$200 for the former, and ~$400 for the latter. Plus oil changes in between.

 

[DominionSeraph]

The less you can afford to make a big repair payout, the more value in a warranty.

What are the prices on the powertrain plans? That's the only thing I'd be looking at because that's where the big hits are gonna be if something goes wrong and that's what's going to leave you stranded.

 

[Jumpem]

Another thing to note is that you have until the end of the original 3 year / 36k mile warranty to purchase a Subaru extended warranty.

 

[Tormac]

I have a 2009 Subaru impreza hatch (not outback version).
1) I doubt the extended warranty is worth it. I have 35k miles on mine, never had to do a thing to it so far.
2) To be fair it’s too soon to know how reliable the 2013/13 is. My 2009 has not had a thing go wrong with it. While I’m not too hard on it, I do take it down a dirt road and get it muddy regularly. Mine has been rock solid so far.
3) The impression I’ve got from reading online is that they are not quite as reliable as Toyotas, but still very reliable in general 150-200k should be doable on a well maintained car.
4) I recommend owning a car until it no longer functions reliably. You’ll never get you money out of a used car, so as long as it runs why trade it in? If it was a “fun” car I could see getting a new one, but for just a basic transportation vehicle like a Subie, what is the point of getting a new one? I plan on keeping mine until it is dead.
5) Mine is rated for 27 highway. I get about 28mpg combined, but that is mostly driving rural highways. Mine is a stick, which even though it is not rated higher than the autos for my year, I think improves the mileage a little in real world use. Mine has the 2.5 engine in it, which is rated lower mileage than the new 2.0l engine.
6) Subies in general tend to hold their value. See answer # 4 for my opinion on trading in a functioning car.
7) You will have to eventually replace gear oil, radiator flush, brake pads, tire, battery, typical things that one would expect with any car.

In general I love my impreza wagon. The AWD is good in snow, and it has just the right amount of room. I never do any real off road driving, not counting a dirt road in a field I drive, so I don’t need any extra ground clearance. In general the good and bad of the subies is their AWD system. Their AWD is very good in mud/snow. But is also adds weight, complexity, hurts gas mileage a little, and is one more thing to go wrong. When I bought my Subie I was planning on buying a Honda fit, but the Honda dealer would not give me any kind of deal at all, where the Subie dealer gave me an ok price and 0% financing, so I ended up with the Impreza.
My only complaints is the car is a little more rolly polly than I would like (my other car is a Lotus Elise though, that may have spoiled me for any other car). I may end up putting stiffer bushings on the car latter, maybe thicker anti-roll bars. Its gas mileage is not as good as some other hatch backs in its general size, but then mine has a larger engine than any of the other hatches I am comparing it too, and AWD. I think the interior is also kind of ugly, and the feel of the stick shift is horrible, but the car is the perfect size, has been dead reliable, great in snow and mud, and cheap to own.

 

[tyanni]

While I don't believe the extended warranty is necessarily always worth it, we convinced the dealer to sell us a warranty extension to 80k that dropped all of the expensive crap like paint protection, etc. It was pretty reasonable, and ended up saving our butts - AC crapped out just before the warranty expired and was covered. Would have cost us over a 1000 to replace. Otherwise, our 2006 Forester has 110k miles and with the exception of a wheel bearing replacement at 103k miles, has been rock solid.