# Volvo 1999 S70 vs. Subaru 1997 Legacy lsi **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** s70, volvo\ **Created:** [April 22, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/volvo-1999-s70-vs-subaru-1997-legacy-lsi/47815 "2010-04-22T02:24:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![slbb52](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@slbb52](https://community.cartalk.com/u/slbb52)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/volvo-1999-s70-vs-subaru-1997-legacy-lsi/47815/1 "2010-04-22T02:24:19Z")
My son lives in Colorado Springs and needs a used, affordable all-wheel drive car (price up to 4,500 USD) which will safely get him through the next 2 winters. The difference in asking price from local dealers is about 1,000 USD. Any advice on cost of repairs, durability? ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 5:06am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/volvo-1999-s70-vs-subaru-1997-legacy-lsi/47815/2 "2010-04-22T05:06:03Z")
It’s a coin flip when you’re talking about 10-12 year old vehicles. Both could be fine or both could be junk; no one knows. Any used car should be inspected. Failure to do that means relying on the automotive gods being on his side. Why not get something like a Blazer. It’s more common, parts and repairs are on average cheaper, and you don’t have to mess with annoying, expensive timing belt replacements and in the case of Subaru; a fairly strong possibility of head gasket or transmission problems if it has an automatic. ---
**Author:** ![UncleTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9a140/32.png) [@UncleTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/UncleTurbo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 10:26am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/volvo-1999-s70-vs-subaru-1997-legacy-lsi/47815/3 "2010-04-22T10:26:14Z")
Put “winter tires” on a front wheel drive car. The AWD cars will cost you dearly in expensive repair bills. You can expect to pay $4,000 on the Volvo over the two years. If you have to choose between these two cars, go with the Subaru. ---
**Author:** ![andrew\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@andrew\_j](https://community.cartalk.com/u/andrew_j)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 12:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/volvo-1999-s70-vs-subaru-1997-legacy-lsi/47815/4 "2010-04-22T12:40:19Z")
If the Subaru Legacy has a 2.2L engine go for the Subaru after a mechanic blessing. This is a very reliable Subaru engine. However the 2.5L is likely to blow the head gasket and I would avoid any Subaru with the 2.5L years 1996-2004. It is a very common post on this board and a very expensive repair. ---
**Author:** ![princecasanova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de053/32.png) [@princecasanova](https://community.cartalk.com/u/princecasanova)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 4:08am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/volvo-1999-s70-vs-subaru-1997-legacy-lsi/47815/5 "2011-04-07T04:08:43Z")
based on my study about Volvo 1999 S70, it has been proven as a good durable car and has the chances of having it withstand the toughness of other cars. Some [Volvo repair questions](http://www.automd.com/answers/search/volvo_m8/) are very open for review to prove this to you. it is a good car choose between the two.