[Huskymaniac]

Originally Posted by Green1995SVX

With all due respect, I think most of Alan's points are valid. Subarus seem to go down in quality every year. Almost every newer subaru I get has some sort of major problem with it. Not to mention falling apart interiors, horrible paint, and generally horrible build quality all-around.

And, again, I don't disagree. But do we have to hear his opinion over and over and over again?

Would I say that Subaru's quality has gone down since the 90s? Yeah. I didn't like my 2002 Outback as much as my 1997 Outback. But for all the supposed headgasket problems of the post-1996 Subarus, my 1997 Outback never had a hint of a problem at 15 years and 160K miles. And the SVX itself would be an example of a 90s Subaru with major reliability problems. No car company or car is perfect. Subarus are not Hondas or Toyotas. Hell, Hondas and Toyotas aren't Hondas and Toyotas anymore. Honda just had a recall and Toyota has been a mess lately.

And I have to say that Audi and Volvo aren't exactly examples of great build quality. I work with Germans that won't buy BMWs because they think they are crap. It depends on how you judge them. If you sell your car in 5-10 years with less than 100K on them, most cars are great. Maybe only Fiats and Chryslers would have issues as well as some of the French car companies and a few eastern block or 3rd world car companies. After 10 years and 100K miles is where you start to see issues. Even a lot of Taxi companies in Europe won't buy Mercedes anymore because they don't think the reliability still justifies the price like it used to.

Basically, I think all cars have gone down hill compared to 20-30 years ago. And 20-30 years ago my parents generation complained that cars had gone down hill compared to cars from 20-30 years before that. Look at the price of cars compared to inflation and something has to give to keep cars as cheap as they are now.

My next car may be a Honda Crosstour. Not because Subaru is so bad compared to their competitors but because Honda is still better and has not yet crossed below my personal annoyance threshold. And when/if I buy a Honda or sell my SVX I won't come on an SVX forum to CONSTANTLY bash Subarus because, in the grand scheme of things, they are still one of the better values for AWD cars when you compare them to others from the same generation.

The bottom line is that most people need cars to get them from point A to point B. People that drive their car because it is fun to drive are probably driving like pricks a little too often and have lost sight of what really matters in life. For people that don't really have the money to spend on a Benz and want an AWD car to get them to work in the snow or get their kids to school, a Subaru is still one of their better choices. Sure, they could spend money they really shouldn't be spending on an Audi, BMW or Benz but isn't that REALLY they problem with our country right now? People have become greedy and act based on their egos. They look at everyone around them and try to keep up in the great rat race. They spend money they don't have because they are fooled into thinking they need to. And when our greed screws us up, we look to the government to save us.