[Forester777]

I had a 2011 with the original engine, was using one quart of oil about every 3,200 miles, not great but livable. At 140,000 miles, things began to fall apart.

Of course the heat shields had to be clamped because the bolt holes rusted out. Then an ignition coil went bad and I barely made it to my service station. Friends of mine said that when one goes bad, the other 3 will eventually follow. Then a rear wheel bearing had to be replaced as well as front brake pads. All of these repairs plus a rental car put me back almost $1,000.

Here's the clincher. I was not going to throw good money after bad so I went shopping for a new car. A dealer had a pristine 2019 XV that I really wanted to move to. As my wife and I were pulling into the lot, I swear the left front hub was totally breaking down. Fortunately they gave me $5,000 towards purchasing the Crosstrek.

I realize that many people here have had great luck with this model Forester, even racking up thousands of miles with few major problems. Some have had success with the short-block replacement while others didn't.

My experience may help you out in that when major repairs start happening one right after another, it may be time for an upgrade. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my Forester for the short time I owned it, but its age was rapidly catching up to it.
Good luck!

 

[Forester777]

My last car prior to the Forester was a CR-V, it had 185,000 miles with all 4 original bearings. Do older Subarus have problems getting to 200,000 miles without replacing hubs?
Oil consumption stayed at the rate I stated as long as I had the car.
All used cars are selling at inflated prices because the economy was basically stalled for months with the pandemic. You are correct, the dealer will replace the hub and sell it for 8k.
I'm happy that $1,000 in repairs is "nothing" to you. I am not a mechanic and rely on the dealer to fix my vehicles. It was the only car I owned so down-time to replace another bearing was the cost of it plus a rental car for 1 or 2 days.
I was looking for another Subaru and hoped that a 2018 or 2019 was engineered better than those from a decade ago. With 16,000 miles on the Crosstrek plus remaining original 36/36 warranty plus purchased extra 5-year warranty on everything plus electronics, I am covered for most repairs going forward 7 years. Safety features like Eyesight are fantastic

 

[Forester777]

Getting a pre-certified Crosstrek is awesome even though you’re paying a bit more. And you’re lucky to have a dealer do right by you. I have owned 4 Toyota’s and 1 Honda, two companies with proven track records. Subaru has improved over the years but may not be the virtual “tanks” of the big 2.

Again, there are probably equal numbers of fanboys for every car company, all we can do here is share our individual experiences and opinions - ymmv.

Now go get that Crosstrek 🤓