By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Thursday’s business trip met with the untimely demise of a close friend, my 1993 Subaru Legacy.
The untimely end came about four miles from my destination. The engine failed. I hoped for the best as each time in the past he would pull through famously. Yet after my mechanic broke the news it was not good. He required extensive repair to the engine and it wasn’t feasible to keep going. After hundreds of thousands of miles of every terrain in the state and every whether condition, my Subaru finally needed to rest.
It was not only named “Legacy”, the car WAS a legacy. He gave both his owners over 484,000 miles of reliable service, mostly to me as a second-hand buyer. If anything can be said of 1990’s Subarus, they were certainly built to last. But this Subaru lasted one of the longest.
I bought the Subaru from a car dealership a friend of mine managed. In fact going through the paperwork to find the Title I came across the bill of sale. I’ve never owned a new car, but I’ve been blessed with cars that last. The Subaru replaced my 1991 Dodge Daytona, who also gave us a good run with 250,000 miles. The Daytona was a victim of an inattentive driver who ran a red light and slammed into the side, totaling it. The oddity in this was that the car was being taken for a test drive by a repair shop after they finished tuning the engine. It was the old “good news / bad news” game–the good news being the repair was an easy fix, the bad news being my car was destroyed: not exactly the tidings mechanics like to bear.
I digress.. Yes, the Subaru. The Bill of Sale was from 2003. The car then had 121,000 miles. Remembering then I was a bit hesitant, having had a what I considered to be a sports car earlier–believe me the Daytona was fun to drive. But the Subaru was a little quirky which appeals to my like of such things and I was then having to drive to snow country on business on a frequent basis. So, I made out a check for $4,900 and took him home. This was the only car payment I made for him. Believe me, a one payment car is an underappreciated asset.
Fifteen years we’ve been together. The reliability of this car continued to astound me. Until the very end it had the same engine and transmission. He serves as an example of longevity that can be had from well-built vehicles. I religiously followed the maintenance schedule using only quality fluids such as synthetic blend oil (Castrol GTX High Mileage) and OEM parts. Other than items that ordinarily wear and require replacing such as alternators, batteries, and such. The only major repairs it needed was a harmonic balancer, radiator, and a main seal replacement. The Subaru did suffer from cancer–rust on the body caused by highway deicer.
To the very end this car’s engine was bulletproof. In fact, I’ve been told that for a while hobbyists would buy this 2.2 liter boxer engine to power light experimental aircraft.
The car ate snow for dinner and drove over over mountain passes in winter as if it was riding on rails. I never put chains on the car and only ran all season radials. Snow tires are for poseurs.
The Subaru lived to drive. It didn’t matter where we went whether in the mountains or on the highway it drove the same. I fully anticipated crossing the half-million mile mark. In fact, last week I ordered a box of new filters expecting to have enough on hand to go to 500k. No doubt he gave it his all striving to accomplish such an arduous feat. He did however pass one milestone most other cars never do. The average distance to the moon and back is 477,074 miles, and my buddy passed that distance a couple months ago.
So now goes the paperwork to send him to the big car lot in the sky. Maybe he can live on by parting him out for other less fortunate cars in need of a transmission. The car certainly had longevity in its blood, maybe another car will be as fortunate.
We all could benefit from having cars engineered and cared for to last this long, not only in terms of cost savings but saving resources. I long for returning to a day when you only needed to buy something once every decade or more. We at least owe this to ourselves and our progeny.
We were together fifteen good years. He was a basic car that performed well in the manner of ordinary driving and outdoor appreciation. It wasn’t high-performance or ostentatious but at 484,000 miles he was a contender to the very end.
By Darren Smith
The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.
Btw, Darren……..In your photo, do I spy some of the lovely tree trunks that were the subject of one of your previous posts?
Darren………..Thinking of you in this, your time of loss. RIP Darren’s Subaru.
When my husband’s best friend, his favorite F150 passed, I thought he was going to have to be hospitalized. He was an emotional wreck for weeks. As a woman, I could care less what I drive, just so there is room for my purse in the front seat….which there never seems to be with all of these dumb bucket seats In almost every automobile nowadays!!
In April of 2017, my 13yo Outback was totalled in an accident. It had run-ins with a few cars over the years with little damage. It took another Subaru to take it out.
Be careful ! Around here, a Subaru is a clear sign of liberal affiliations and left-leaning tendencies. Are any Subarus sold in (say) Texas?
Jay S…………our daughter who lives on a ranch here in Texas, has owned a Subaru for 8 years.
They are very popular here, as they are the vehicle of choice for critical thinkers and other patriots.
Are you sure your daughter isn’t a lesbian? 😹😹😹 This is to, “As a woman, I don’t care what I drive, so long as there is room in the trunk for my fat butt,” Cindy.
Kitty Wampus – what difference does it make to a NPC like you?
Lil’ Paul, I don’t know what you mean by an “NPC,” so please provide a citation from the OED. And I’m not sure if you’re asking whether it matters that Cindy’s daughter is a big burly lesbian, or that Cindy’s butt is so big she needs the trunk of an Olds ‘88 to haul it around. You get an “F” today for clarity. Please try to do better; we’re all counting on you.
Kitty Wampus – NPCs are not expected to know anything like the what their real purpose is. Your response was expected because that is part of your NPC.
Sorry, as to not confuse some of the homophobes who comment here, it’s my daughter, her husband, and their children who live on the ranch. ………One has to take care not to rile up the anti-gays here and those not comfortable with their own sexuality: I’m lookin’ at you, “Pity-the-Kitty’s Wornpus”.
My, my, my. We now know how to get Sweet Cindy all riled up, don’t we? A “little” defensive about your daughter being a big, butch lesbian, maybe? Hmmmm, I wonder why that could be…..This is to, “I got your goat and it ain’t comin’ home,” Cindy, hahaha 🐐
Coward troll who is too scared to use its real name. .You could never say any of these vile things without your cushy little fake names.
Cindy Bragg – what do you care if your big butch lesbian daughter can beat the s**t out of an NPC like Kitty Wampus. 😉 Kitty Wampus is a lipstick lesbian.
LOL, Paul…….Our lovely daughter is a tall, thin, beautiful flamenco dancer…very graceful…..and always turns heads. 😊
But not in a Linda Blair head turn kind of way…..oh wait, probably about right if we’re talking about Kitty! LOL
When you go to church tomorrow morning, don’t forget to go to confession and tell the priest all the mean things you said and thought about me. But also let him know that I’ve forgiven you because I’m a good Christian. This is to, “Mean Girl Cindy Who Owes 100,000 Hail Marys.”
Kitty Wampus – there is no penalty for saying mean things about an NPC.
KittyShat…………..I’m not Catholic; ergo, guilt-free!
Cindy Bragg – I was at my book club last week and we are all former Catholics. We were talking about how “Catholic guilt” can eat you alive. 😉
And you’re not a Christian either, obviously. This is to, “What? You mean Hell is hotter than Texas?” Cindy.
Kitty Wampus – NPCs are not supposed to defame people or their families. However, you may been badly programmed.
You’ve posted “NPC” without explanation three times, and I asked you for a cite to the OED after the first time. So you obviously don’t know the difference between OED and OCD. This is to, “I may be stupid, but at least I’m consistently stupid,” Paulie.
Kitty Wampus – it probably would not be in the OED. And I have probably spent more time in the OED than a NPC. 😉
I remember when if you got a 100,000 miles out of an American car you had a real winner
I noticed that the local hospital doctor’s parking lot is mostly Subaru’s, perhaps a testimony to their performance in rough outdoor conditions.
We bought a new Subaru outback a couple of years ago and sold it only after having it for a few months. It wasn’t because it was a bad car. My wife told me she went to put the groceries in it and she couldn’t get the back to open. Turns out it wasn’t our car. Not only that, but it wasn’t even a Subaru outback it was a ford she was trying to open. My wife said that’s it, we need a different car with personality. I couldn’t agree more since the fun has been taken out of car design. So we bought a 67 Olds Vista Cruiser. There is no mistaking it in a parking lot for sure and it goes well with my 2 69 C-10 pickups and 70 Mach1 Mustang. I love cars with no sensors and tracking devices!
Jim22, Great story😊
Jim 22,..
In the late 1990s I rented a car ( a red Dodge Neon) and drove along the Washington State coast.
I was looking for directions in a smaller community, and stopped a a near-empty 7-11 for coffee and directions.
It was raining so hard and so “steamy” that there was a “milky” appearance that would fog up the car windows.
When I left the store, my key would not fit to open the door.
I could barely make out the startled ecpression of the young lady in the red compact car parked right next to mine as I was trying to open her door.
I mumbled out an apology and an explanation that I had mistaken her car for my similar rental car.
Lucky that I didn’t get maced, or shot, trying to get into her car with her in it.
She probably just figured that I was just some pervert trying to carjack her.
Hope she realized that, while I may be a pervert, I ain’t no carjacker.😉☺
Several comments and a personal note: I’ve never heard of a car referred to as ‘he’; cars, like ships, are usually to their owners feminine, not masculine. Subarus became popular in the lesbian community (even known as “Lesbarus”), and the company hired Martina Navratilova to appear in its TV ads. Her sexual identity kept other companies from having her as a celebrity endorser, terribly unfair to this great, courageous champion. Subaru went out on a limb and it paid off. Subaru was the only auto manufacturer to increase sales during the 2008-’09 Great Recession, a testament to their value and quality. Personally, my wife and I bought a 2009 Impreza new at the end of 2008. It has been a wonderfully dependable car, low in maintenance costs and high in function. If we needed a new car and Subaru had a model to fill that need, I would be a repeat customer and not consider another manufacturer.
Since there’s no correction feature, my comment should read: “referred to by their owners as feminine, not masculine.”
n.i. silver – I am not sure if this is a good story or a bad story, but I did find out you drive a Toyota Corolla 200,000 without changing the oil, the last 50,000 with the needs oil light on, before the aluminum engine melts. 😉
“I’ve never heard of a car referred to as ‘he’; cars, like ships, are usually to their owners feminine, not masculine.“
Darren is one of us, sweetheart. Gayer than Tabby but more butch.
You lose your gay points for missing his signaling. 🏳️🌈😬🍆
Jim and Bob
OMG, I was right! I figured Tabby was gay because he’s such an obsessive bitch. No offense, some of my best friends are blah blah blah. This is to, “On the down low,” Jim Bob.
Kitty, Kitty, Boo Bump Poo Kitty,
Tabby is everything we all know shim to be but alas we take all types in our exclusive club. He isnt well hung but does have a hairy backside, and that keeps the raving tops pretty happy. On these pages Tabby is such an alpha but under the sheets, he is totally spread eagle with a dab of Crisco 🍆🏳️🌈😉
This is to “save a horse ride a cowboy” Kitty
Jim and Bob
What about Herbie the Love Bug?
Fishing boats and other “working” boats are often given male names.
You didnt tell us who your friend left behind as loved ones: husband, children, grandchildren, siblings, former tricks, hung daddies and muscled queens who werent hung but had firm hairy backsides, and DNA…no doubt a whole population of genes to procreate!
Our sympathies
Jim and Bob
A cop pulled me over. He didn’t ticket me. Then he made an offer to buy the SUV
Original owner of a 2003 Nissan Murano SL 164,000 miles, copper, black leather interior, fully loaded, AWD. It was when I opened the engine hood that the cop made an offer to buy. I said no.
I had a 1972 Volkswagon Bug from 1987-2003. It was a cheap, reliable car during most of that period. But towards the end I felt like a loser being seen in it. I was also dogged by fears of dying in that Bug; especially on the freeways.
When finally disposed of, that Bug had about 250,000 on the odometer. Still it managed to fetch $600; a respectable price considering it’s jalopy status at that point. Then, about 2 years after parting with the Bug, I happened to see it in grocery store parking lot on a rainy Saturday. It was like seeing the ghost of a dead family member!
You were lucky to have such a car, but it is time to get an electric car. Do it for all of us.
I empathize with you. I myself drive a 2003 Forester and feel attached to it. It has never failed me. It gets regular maintenance and synthetic oil, and never has had a major problem.
I understand that the Subaru opposed-cylinder ‘pancake’ engine is of German origin. When Germany and Japan formed an Alliance during the Second World War, Germany provided Japan with considerable technical assistance which included optics (Contax became Canon, etc.) and vehicular technology that included the Porsche design for a flat-head engine. Porsche developed the flat-head design to fit their car, the Porsche, which was even then rear-engined and because of the confined space (and low gravity and balance requirements) needed a low-design engine. Believe you see iterations of the original in today’s Porsches…and Subarus..
I lost my 1992 Mitsubishi Diamante (bought brand new) to engine failure in August. A toast to our dearly departed.
I am so sorry for your loss. Sounds like he was a great car. He had an amazing run going 484,000 miles on the same engine.
Your article was apropos. My own vehicle is 12 years old, and I was considering a Subaru. Do they still build them like this?
No! I had a 93 like Darren’s for 5 years. It was great, and with snow tires I could push it up a 30 percent + grade in nearly 3′ of snow. Just got tired of keeping up with the rust–very salty here in SW PA-West MD-WV. I got an 09 Forrester, and it really liked it, except for the questionably out-of-date and inefficient 4-speed auto, and the hard ride. You’ll find out if you look around, about every Sub from that year forward has lousy rings, and if you don’t check the oil at least every week, you can kill your engine. I know of 4 acquaintances who lost engines, and Subaru has become dodgy about replacing them. My own Forrester started to go through a quart-plus of oil a week, and that was only at 89,000.
You have to look and read carefully today. The way competition is in the auto industry, they have to hammer out features, and unfortunately, they seem not to be tested sufficiently.
Sorry about your Sub. Ours – an 86 wagon with 330,000 still gets 25+ mpg. Great car.
I think it should become a doner vehicle….so that other Subarus may live. RIP.
TIN – it is clearly a doner, but should it be a donor?
ALERT! Spelling Nazi is on duty! This is to, “I never go anywhere without my dictionary stuffed between my butt cheeks,” Paulie.
Kitty Wampus – it is nice to see an NPC like you speak out.
Darren Smith – I am so sorry for your loss. Good friends are hard to lose. Are you doing a formal service or cremation or ????? Anyway, all the best in your grieving process.
Wow! I had never heard of 25 years and 484,000 miles…and it ran up til now?? I have a 2002 VW Jetta with 61,000+ miles. All things considered, it runs pretty well. But the low mileage is because most of my driving is local.
There are some well-maintained porsches that have over a million miles.
They become part of our lives and will be missed and remembered – except for an unlamented VW Touareg (rot in hell VW).