In May 1997, my dad bought a new model car of Subaru's... a Legacy Outback. The Legacy had been around, but the Outback version... not so much, a least not in the United States. It had about 6 inches more ride height and a stiffer suspension than a normal Legacy. This particular car also had the Winter Package - heated seats and mirrors!! It took me to college for my Senior year.
In 2002, the Outback was relegated to 3rd car duty when my dad bought another car. The Outback was well loved, though, as it was definitely driven on weekends and whenever one of us needed to "borrow" a car for some reason or another.
By 2008, it had racked up a WHOPPING 102,000 miles. That's 108,000 in 11 years, and the car was still in great shape. That's when it became part of the Salisbury fleet. We replaced the spark plugs, the water pump, timing belts, and a put new tires on it.
It wasn't meant to become a daily driver, but to be our third car when cars were in service, needed a car with a GBMC sticker on it (to go to doctor appointments without having to stop at the toll booth) or needed a beater car (e.g. go to the Gnome Despot).
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| A 9-door car. |
It took me to Rochester, NY for a conference, and it took the family to Charleston, SC. It never complained once.
This past July, the Outback was pressed into Daily Driver Service when my WRX's engine made it crystal clear that it could not run any longer.
By that point, though, it had generated a transmission fluid and freon leak. We filled it with transmission fluid and freon, and the car pressed on. In August, I started to notice weirdness in the brakes. I ignored it as long as I could, but I could tell it was getting worse. Hard braking had become a bad idea, so I was leaving lots of room between myself and the person in front of me. I took it to our mechanic, and it needed, pads, rotors and calipers. Even at cost for the parts, the cost of the service was more than the car was worth.
I took it to Carmax to see what they would give me for it. To my enormous surprise, they were willing to give me more than I paid for the brake service. So we decided to sell it before the transmission and freon issues became mandatory fixes. The car had 118,000 miles on it.
I took one last picture of its rear license plate before I turned it in.
You can see the pink sidewalk chalk that DJ used to color the Maryland State flag and the top right hand top of the X. You can also see the years of registration renewal stickers in the top right hand corner of the plate. That's a pretty thick stack of stickers. And now that Maryland is no longer issuing that style of plate, it's sad to see it go.
Thanks for all the years of service, Green-baru! "Love. It's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru."
