Are the Diesel engines as bad as the Internet says ?

Are the Diesel engines as bad as the Internet says ?

Author
Discussion

ewan221

Original Poster:

1,218 posts

193 months

Saturday 13th February 2016
quotequote all
Looking at a legacy/outback as car towing and the dogs. Have read a lot about the early diesel boxer engines with crankshaft failure but is this just a very small % that you would be really unlucky to have

marcosal

396 posts

212 months

Saturday 13th February 2016
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I am on my third Subaru diesel in a row. An 08 plate Legacy Sportback 2.0 TDI that I bought as an ex demo from Bulldog Subaru Reading and traded in at 68k miles for a diesel XV. The XV was a 62 plate demonstrator at Carstins Subaru in Balsall Common and I traded it in at 35k for a new 65 plate Outback in December.

The only issues I have had were warped front disks on the XV (replaced under warranty) and faulty pre igniter glow plugs in the new Outback replaced under warranty).

Hope this helps

ewan221

Original Poster:

1,218 posts

193 months

Saturday 13th February 2016
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Thanks for that, it would be an earlier car for my budget. So well looked after car less risk, just as j thought

GravelBen

15,914 posts

237 months

Sunday 14th February 2016
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Nothing is ever as bad as the internet says! hehe

tonyb1968

1,156 posts

153 months

Sunday 14th February 2016
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Phase 1 engines were meant to be the worst affected, mainly between 40-60k miles when failures occur. Regular and on time servicing is a must, phase 3 engines were meant to have fixed the problem but it still happens, its not as common though.
API ran a high mileage ph1 and it had over 180k on it then one day it went pop, David said it seemed to miss and then that was that, gone that quickly, no other symptoms.

pistol pete

804 posts

270 months

Sunday 14th February 2016
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My 58 plate outback did the dreaded knock-knock noise at 96k miles (about 3 years ago).

The dealer had at least another couple with the same thing at about the same time.

I have seen others, looked after by the same dealer with 200k + on them, so not sure of the logic.

Liked the car so much we ended up with a newer one anyway. They have 5 year warranty now though!

ewan221

Original Poster:

1,218 posts

193 months

Sunday 14th February 2016
quotequote all
Next week looking at a 58 plate 2.0 D Legacy with 80k and full service history and 56 plate 3.0 Outback that's LPG on 65k both around same price bracket.
Not seen one in metal yet and hoping the boot is big enough for two large dogs or will have to think again

oop north

1,614 posts

135 months

Sunday 14th February 2016
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Friend had an 08 legacy diesel. Had to have a new engine fitted. £5k. It had been properly looked after. I had ann08 outback. I got rid when it started losing power. Wouldn't touch one with a barge pole

sider

2,059 posts

228 months

Sunday 14th February 2016
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Interesting comments, particularly those folk who have owned a few.

Is it just where i look or do diesel Subarus seem to hold their £££ well? Looking on the Subaru UK website and the cheapest diesel on there is an Impreza for £10.5k (or £11k) - but its 6 years old!

Surely they weren't much more than £20k new?

So, 50% depreciation (give or take dealer margin) after SIX years?

Mr Taxpayer

438 posts

127 months

Sunday 6th March 2016
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ewan221 said:
Next week looking at a 58 plate 2.0 D Legacy with 80k and full service history and 56 plate 3.0 Outback that's LPG on 65k both around same price bracket.
Not seen one in metal yet and hoping the boot is big enough for two large dogs or will have to think again
If they won't fit in the boot of a Legacy, might I suggest you have a look at the 'Sprinter' from Mercedes? It's about the only thing with a bigger boot :-). Here in rural Herefordshire, Legacys are used for carry multiple sheep.

Mr Taxpayer

438 posts

127 months

Sunday 6th March 2016
quotequote all
sider said:
Interesting comments, particularly those folk who have owned a few.

Is it just where i look or do diesel Subarus seem to hold their £££ well? Looking on the Subaru UK website and the cheapest diesel on there is an Impreza for £10.5k (or £11k) - but its 6 years old!

Surely they weren't much more than £20k new?

So, 50% depreciation (give or take dealer margin) after SIX years?
Subaru is probably the smallest of the major manufacturers selling the UK so there aren't many about. Add in the a very loyal customer base (I'm on my third, most on this thread have had more than one) plus excellent relaibilty (they regularly won the ownership surveys that Top Gear ran in the early 00's) and you can see why they hold their value.

Konan

1,949 posts

153 months

Sunday 6th March 2016
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Mr Taxpayer said:
Here in rural Herefordshire, Legacys are used for carry multiple sheep.
I once test drove a Forester XT that wiffed like there was still a dead on in it wink

Mr Taxpayer

438 posts

127 months

Sunday 6th March 2016
quotequote all
sider said:
Interesting comments, particularly those folk who have owned a few.

Is it just where i look or do diesel Subarus seem to hold their £££ well? Looking on the Subaru UK website and the cheapest diesel on there is an Impreza for £10.5k (or £11k) - but its 6 years old!

Surely they weren't much more than £20k new?

So, 50% depreciation (give or take dealer margin) after SIX years?
Subaru is probably the smallest of the major manufacturers selling the UK so there aren't many about. Add in the a very loyal customer base (I'm on my third, most on this thread have had more than one) plus excellent relaibilty (they regularly won the ownership surveys that Top Gear ran in the early 00's) and you can see why they hold their value.

marcosal

396 posts

212 months

Wednesday 9th March 2016
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I'm on my fourth and three (Legacy, XV and Outback) have been diesels. I sold my first one (petrol Legacy) on to a local farmers son and the last I heard it had over 360k on the clock.

Choolio

1 posts

91 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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Subaru outback boxer diesel engine. Big end went at 96k miles, despite a full service history. Subaru were no help so replaced with a used engine at a cost of £4k. After 1 month the replacement engine is going. Big end again. Wouldn't touch another Subaru.

ericmcn

1,999 posts

104 months

Sunday 23rd April 2017
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ewan221 said:
Looking at a legacy/outback as car towing and the dogs. Have read a lot about the early diesel boxer engines with crankshaft failure but is this just a very small % that you would be really unlucky to have
Dont buy a diesel Subaru...

They make awesome cars but not diesels.

Petrol cars can also tow and love dogs apparently.

davev8app

4 posts

134 months

Monday 12th February 2018
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i was looking for a diesel 4x4 estate car a legacy ...there are only legacys 4 for sale on ebay ...all 4 are spares or repairs with dead engine ....so yes they seem as bad as the internet say

Edited by davev8app on Monday 12th February 00:39

rastapasta

1,989 posts

145 months

Thursday 1st March 2018
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Hi. Ok so I own a 2014 Subaru Legacy estate here in Switzerland. Its the 2.5i model with about 180bhp. When I was looking for one our garage man warned us off the diesel version. He said that quite a few had been sold in Switzerland and they have a poor reputation for reliability relative to the petrol model which is 'tried and tested' with the same engine going into the Impreza Forrester XV for the Swiss market. I do about 30,000km a year and the car has not missed a beat since i bought it at one year old in August 2015 with 17,000 on the clock. Its now a 88000km. The comfort and standard equipment levels are very very high. I can highly recommend it in this regard. The Bluetooth is a bit fiddly to set up and there are some build quality issues such as the boot cargo cover having a clip that falls off every time you use it and the cup holders having a partition piece that comes out whenever you but a large water bottle in it. In terms of petrol use, the tank has a range of 800km and I would do about 650km per week. So I fill it every week and it costs with todays prices 80chf per week or a little less. Thats about 80e give or take. But all that is only minor in the overall context. Service is every 15000km. Do not neglect this and make sure the previous Owner has not either., especially if you do plump for the diesel. Cabin noise is quite low but then you miss a little of the boxer burble. I miss it in the winter anyway as I have to run winter tyres which are super hard super noisy but work well on the snow and Ice. Also I would go for 16" alloys. The arches may look a bit starved but your back will be glad of it as the suspension is a touch on the hard side. Handling is quite good but the steering can lack a little bit of 'feel'. The Awd system lets you really push it into the corners and it grips forever. Torque isnt particularly great but they have a good top end. The Manual gearbox is notchy at first and takes some getting used to. But honestly they are beasts on the road and will conceivably allow you in poor road conditions to leave the posse behind. In normal conditions they are not the fastest on the road but certainly not the slowest. They are quite hard to drive with the Awd in traffic as its a permanent system and so the car can be quite jumpy at low speeds. But otherwise the system is simpler and yet far far superior than the Haldex systems on for example VW group cars. If you need to know anything more then PM me

Sa Calobra

38,038 posts

218 months

Friday 9th March 2018
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I wouldn't touch a diesel Subaru. I'm on my fourth petrol Subaru.