Was looking fir my first car, and had a ton I was looking at. I live in the Rust Belt, so I wanted something rust free, or very little rust, but didnt have the money to pay the premium for something with no rust up here. Eventually road tripped down to NC with my family and a good friend sent me a stock, 1998 Legacy Outback, with 159k miles and a 5 speed manual. Wanted a manual for my first car too. When I saw this car, I liked the price, the fact that it was manual, and was fairly low mileage for how old it was. But I wasnt too crazy about the looks at first. Then the night before I went to check it out in person, I looked up modified versions of these 2nd gen Legacies, and I fell in love. Bought the car, and drove it all the way back up to MN.
Almost 3 years later, its gone through sooo many upgrades and mods than I initially thought. Its still simple, but as it sits now, it's my idea of a proper, fun and unique daily. Its just recently gone through an NA/T build, so will definitely get more photos uploaded soon. But its a blast. Probably making around 180-190whp and 210-220wtq at 5psi. So not crazy, but with the Outback's slightly shorter gearing, its a blast to drive.
And to be frank, I feel like its a very realistic build. That for someone like me with not a whole ton of money, you can still build something cool, unique, and something that expresses yourself as a person.
Honestly, I havent had any "Subaru" issues. Just old car issues. But even then, its been reliable, practical, fun, and gotten a lot of compliments on it. Gonna be keeping this car for a very very long time (still open to getting a second car and trying out a different platform. 5th gen Prelude would be sick).
