Looking for input - 4 door hatchbacks?

Liesje

I'm pretty sold on an Outback or Forrester if I ever get a new (used) car. 

ditto. this is what i want as my next car too. (well one or the other). 

We rented a Vibe to take down to FL and I LOVED it.  I don't even like cars (I'm a pick-up girl...trucks that is )  It doesn't sit as low to the ground as some cars do.  I told DH I didn't feel like my butt was dragging the road as we drove.  With the seats folded down there was almost as much room as DH's SUV has with it's seats folded down.  Most likely our next vehicle will be Vibe.  And that could be sooner rather than later w/ gas prices.  Oh yea, it got great gas milage.  Don't know the exact numbers but I know it was atleast the high 20's probably atleast 30.  And it was a small tank, so filling it up didn't make me want to cry.

We love our Outback - and considering it is AWD the mileage is pretty good!

On the Outback, can I ask what kind of/cost of repairs you have encountered? Did you buy it second hand or new? The mpg that the manufacturer has listed is @27 highway - is this realistic? I am slowly working on hubby about considering Subaru, and he has an open mind. The fact that it is AWD helps - we live on a dirt road and it gets plum quagmirish when it rains.

We have always worked on our own cars - basic maintenance of changing spark plugs, hoses, alternator, starters, fuel pumps, etc. - so we are concerned about being able to do the same thing with the new car of a foreign make/model. We already know the cost of the parts are higher (have had to replace the alternator and radiator on the Honda), but if we have to add taking it to a garage to be repaired - I don't know that the cost of saving on fuel will outweigh the upkeep cost.

I really appreciate everyone's suggestions and experience with the various models. Our last trip of the year with gas like it is will be to Houston/Reliant mid July. We are going to take the opportunity to go look at the various cars to get a hands on opinion. Right now the Vibe and the Outback are at the top of my list.

The big expense for a Subaru is timing belts. They ALL need them at about 100,000 miles.  It's a given.  Just put aside a bit each month and have the money for when (not IF) it goes. Other than that?  We had nothing but a couple of belts go in over 100,000 miles.

Stardanceminpin -

We'll be at Houston (me, Malcolm, Lizzie and Xeph and her dog Strauss) if you wanna meet up! I'd love to meet another forum person, and you can admire my cute car with it's pink camo cargo cover (if it comes in time.)

Cait     

Cait, I would love a chance to meet you and Xeph and the dogs. :) I should be at the show site almost all day Friday. My friend and I go together, and her chocolate Min Pin is being used in the judging seminar - so we'll be there for awhile. At least that is what we were told. When they get the schedules up, we'll have to put our heads together on when we can meet up. I will be sharing a grooming space with a friend, so when I know the location, I'll pass it on to you.

I am so hoping Keela will be 'on' and get a major. :) I'm praying! And working with her daily, so hopefully we'll have a chance. She got her 2nd point at Lake Charles, got a normal result on her OFA thyroid, and we'll be getting her cardiac and patellas OFA'd while we are in Houston. We are working on getting there! Now to get a car to be able to do more shows! LOL

Amy 

We have a 1995 Subaru Legacy Wagon with @182,000 miles on it that we bought new. It was getting about 27/28 mpg when we decided to retire it. It did need some repairs over the years but I think we got to 100,000 miles before we did anything other than maintenance. I don't know what is under the hood of the new models, but we were able to do a lot of the work on this car ourselves.

There was one thing that created problems for us---and I am drawing a blank of excatly what it was but I think it had to do with the exhaust---and when we had it fixed at a garage they used non-Subaru parts. DO NOT do this. We were back and forth to the place for months and then we went to a different garage and they ordered a Subaru part and suddenly it was fixed.

The car did very well on bad roads, wet roads, mud and snow. We lived in a fairly rural area and sometimes traveled on roads that were just hardpack or dirt with no problems. If you looked in the parking lot at my old office you would have seen the ratio of Subarus to other cars was maybe 3 to 1. LOL

Instead of the Subaru DH now drives a GMC Acadia and it gets about 16/17 mpg--and that is 99% highway. He got it because we needed to fit 6 people in the car (inc. kids in car seats) and have room to carry stuff in the back.

We have always worked on our own cars - basic maintenance of changing spark plugs, hoses, alternator, starters, fuel pumps, etc. - so we are concerned about being able to do the same thing with the new car of a foreign make/model. We already know the cost of the parts are higher (have had to replace the alternator and radiator on the Honda), but if we have to add taking it to a garage to be repaired - I don't know that the cost of saving on fuel will outweigh the upkeep cost.

my experience with hondas at least is that the repairs may cost more, but they are a lot less frequent than my parents experienced when they owned "american" made cars. (i assume that subarus are similar in that they usually dont require lots of garage time).

also, i feel like doing basic maintenance on my honda is easier than many people i know that have american cars. forethought was given as to the placement of frequently accessed parts and they are generally easier to get to and no special tools are usually needed.  when i open my hood the spark plugs are right there in front on top. easy as pie to get to. the oil filter is a little hard to reach, but it is placed so that when jacked up the oil drains straight into the pan without getting all over the backside of the engine. my mom had a buick that spilled oil all over the back of the engine when you took the filter out, and it smelled like ass until all that burned off. plus you had to be a contortionist with a swivel joint on a ratchet to even get to the darn thing. never changed (or needed to change) the starter, fuel pump, or alternator... so i got no idea about that. usually get the water pump replaced with the timing belt, and would never try to replace my own timing belt.

the only other thing endemic to front wheel drive/trans-axle cars are the CV joints. i had to have them replaced on my old car (85 crx) once. have not had to have them replaced (knock on wood) on my current car (94 civic). not a task i would attempt though. my dad tried to replace them on his crx. bad decision. after he injured his shoulder trying to remove the worn out ones and subsequent surgery... he could have paid the mechanic to do it several times! :)

personally, i like to use specialty mechanics (not a dealership). (ie... ones that only work on hondas or whatever). they seem to do the best work and for the best price. plus they usually use genuine parts and are very acquainted with typical issues that arise with the brand they service.

 i think this site has been posted on here before, but i just remembered about it. there are reviews for the 09 vibe and 07 forrester (no outback though)...

 http://www.dogcars.com/cars/2009/Pontiac/Vibe/

http://www.dogcars.com/cars/2007/Subaru/Forester/

both got 5 paws ratings.