I drive a 2001 Camry that I am actually somewhat fond of. It has about 168K miles and drives quite well, but is due for about $800 in maintenance soon. My dad had to stop driving due to age and health and offered to give me his 2019 outback that has about 6.5K miles on it. The problem is that my meth addict brother has abused it horribly in its short life. It has already been rebuilt after it was rear ended by an uninsured driver in a sketchy part of town. My brother also turned it on its side in a flooded ditch on the side it the road, drew graffiti on it with a permanent marker, cracked the windshield, bent the fuel filler siphoning gas, and screwed up the interior with cigarette burns. It would take some capital to get it to my standards. Is it a better long term investment than the Camry?
The Camry could outlast the Outback in terms of miles. With normal good maintenace, they go over 400k miles. So it has at least 232k miles left in it!
Edit: Now as far as aging goes the Camry could have some issues. Interior plastic parts can deteriorate over time. The dash can crack. The steering wheel rubber can start coming apart. So use a sun shield and put a steering wheel cover on. The door panels start to look ugly. The window regulators break. The radiator might get a small crack in it. Engine mounts need replacing. The boots on the CV axels need to be replaced. The exhaust will get a hole in it somewhere. If you drive in road salt, you would have to take especially good care of the Camry to keep it on the road past 25 to 30 years. It would need to be garaged or washed off with fresh water very frequently or oil coated. So set aside $5000 for all this Camry work and that would still be a lot less than what the Outback would probably cost.
Family show. A little editing required. I guess I’d say thanks but no thanks. Who needs the aggravation? Potential for head gasket and maybe trans depending on what’s in there. Gonna be hard to sell too and any traces of meth in there may not end well.
Keep the Camry.
And short of some really expensive collector cars… buying a car is not an “investment”.
So, what is subie future? Ain’t getting better. Take it to car max.
Keep the Camry, sell the Outback.
This is a no-brainer. A 1997-2001 Camry has a super-reliable engine with a closed-deck cast iron block, no VVT or other complexities to fail, and excellent fuel economy and reliability. It uses a rubber timing belt, but both available engines are non-interference, and won’t be damaged if the belt should fail. The transmission on these cars is very reliable as well, and as long as you change the fluid and filter at least every 100,000 miles, and drive sensibly, could go for more than 300,000 miles.
A 2019 Outback has a much less reliable engine and transmission, even when flawlessly maintained and treated well. When owned by a drug addict who has abused it? I wouldn’t touch that car with a 10-foot pole. I’d suggest selling this thing for whatever you can get and keeping the Camry. Your wallet will thank you!
Another vote for Camry for the win…
Keep both cars and fix both of them up.
If the Subaru was fixed properly and drives straight and smooth, then you shouldnt be worried about it. It’ll be way more reliable if those criterias are met.
They should be both reliable. With them both being ICE, its mostly a swapping of parts(that’s available most of the time)
If the OP does this he should treat it like a used car purchase and get it inspected by his repair shop. That will tell him how bad it really is and how much it will cost to repair.
I’d sell the Outback, simplify my life.
I say keep the Camry and avoid the Subaru like the plague
Please tell us more about this “800 in maintenance” that the Camry needs 
I can only guess a big chunk of that is a pending timing belt replacement.
Take the Outback, sell it, and use the proceeds to maintain the Camry.
Now we’re talking! This is actually the smartest thing I have heard all day today!
Like I said, if used by a meth user, I suspect there would be traces of it in the car. I don’t know how it would even be tested but I don’t think you want your name or any part in dealing with a car with possible meth residue in it. Nor would you want to sell it to someone without a full disclosure. House and apartments have been made un marketable due to meth. Maybe just cooking, not using, I don’t know but I would sure find out. My nephew bought car maybe 20 years ago that had traces of pot in it. It was a very unpleasant experience when the dogs at the Canadian border alerted at the car.
I don’t think thats a good idea because even though it was abused cosmetically, it’ll be more reliable than the older car which will be burning oil soon if it wasn’t already.
It’s always good to have two vehicles. If one is due for maintenance, you’ll have something to drive around in.
That is much more than cosmetic damage. Plus no mention if routine maintenance has been performed.
Don’t forget this part
Its not much of an issue if it was rebuilt properly though.