Is the Subaru Legacy a good, reliable car

i'm not a gearhead or anything, but Subaru makes good cars that last!

Yes they are If you are thinking of a used car purchase try to obtain a carfax report and as many service records as are available. any car that has been well cared for is most likely reliable.

l dont own one but l did rent one once and they are really nice cars l would say they are reliable unless they have been in some sort of accident or something like that.

Subaru makes good reliable cars for the most part.

Their engine style is the boxer style engine which is different than ur standard inline four cylinder (I4). This typically allows for a lower center of gravity for the engine, which means better handling.

Some of the engine stuff will be specialized though.

Reliability ratings for the Subaru Legacy can be found here:
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2000&make=Subaru&model=Legacy#Tran

Normally Subarus r pretty nice cars. However, after living in Alaska where that is the ''car of choice I've noticed that if things go wrong, they go really wrong. My former mother-in-law had one for years & never had to do more than the basic gas/oil/tire/tune-up to it. A friend had one & within a week of driving it off of the lot (where it was special ordered), she had it in the shop for major engine repairs. It is entirely possible that she got a lemon, it does happen. One thing l can say for certain is that they were very good about honoring their warranty & making sure she had a replacement while her car was in the shop. I'd say that overall they r good cars & the company stands behind them.

YES
iihs.org
However Model years 2000-2004 4 cylinder engines had problems with some cars getting under sized pistons, this caused a bad piston slap. The problem since then has been fixed.

Check out consumer reports. They rated the Subaru brand the most reliable vehicle over all other brands in 2004 and 2005. l have 2 Outbacks myself both 2005 is and have no complaints at all.

Former Subaru Sales Manager

l have owned 4 of them and commuted back and forth to Boston for 15 years awsome vehicle

The Legacy is a super car. If it is the 2.5L engine, try to find out if the head gaskets have been replace as of late. They had a history of going bad. Once the repair was done, they were ok. Something about bad material in the gaskets from the factory.
If it has the 2.2L engine, it is bullet proof little engine.

l have a 1992 Legacy Wagon & it is the best car I've owned! Recently, the timing belt broke & my mechanic (who does all of my repairs) said l was lucky to have had it break on the subaru. His words, ''If that had happened on a toyota or honda, you'd need a new car'' Most of my major repairs have been due to my neglegence (major brake job) or it is just that particular part is time (need new cat. converter) but it is coming up on 200,000 miles & it still runs like a champ. You can not say that about many cars! It is got great cargo space & I've even taken my boyfriend is 200 pound Ampeg cab (& bass amp) to his shows.

The Legacy has a very strong reliability record--traditionally a notch below the best but above the majority. Consumer Reports has always recommended the Legacy. However, when something does go wrong, parts are fairly expensive. From what I've seen, the AWD system itself, despite its complexity over FWD, is bullet-proof.