I've been all over the web on this one, exhaustingly, and books too for that matter. It often seems on the web and even books these days that evryone has opinions but whether there is any fact involved, or any definitiveness is another story at least on this subject.

Looking through the threads here didnt help much either, i see the subject come up but theres never anything really said or i missed it. like i said i've been at this for days. who knows what companies are being paid to say what? etc.

take for instance subaru's. Many people i know that have owned one say they are solid machines. Consumer Reports says they're very reliable and reccomended. JD Powers report for the last three years lists the compabny as one of the 24 least reliable brands. Edmunds lists them as a reccomended buy based on consumer and editor reviews. but whats the bottom dollar? and who reports on the reporting companies?

I'm not asking which cars make better tuners. This is easy to figure out on my own. This is all about whats gonna be costing me more to fix more often. It doesnt do anyone any good to buy a car and end up spending all the money you would spend on mods on repairs. I'm also not talking about a mid 90's car either. Obviously all cars need repairs after years of use. I'm thinking the last five years.

I've heard VW has come along way on the newer 06 models in fixing their reliability issues. VW happens to be one of the companies that all the review and reporting institutions seem to agree is total crap.

but some companies like subaru thing, have an array of varying reports and I it makes choosing by reliability very hard. I'd like to buy something this time around that I dont see every three seconds (like the sti, it's everywhere), and I'd like it to be something i appreciate as far as style goes as well, but not at the expense of multiple and unreasonable costly repairs. not that i dislike the sti at all.

Now where I am I havent seen one Lancer. And i've seen again an array of varying reliability opinions. I like the evo's. it definitley has the base to create real power, it's stylish, and again it's rare around here. But.. in upwards of 17,000 is alot to pay for a car that might give me issues out the wazoo and it's less than 5 years old. I've tried to do the research and avoid asking a question that should be obvious with said research but this paticular subject seems like a cipher thats nearly impossible to decode.

I ask here because i hope someone has found somethign i just didnt see, or a solid source, or even to just call on experience. I like most here I should think, am intereted in something I'll be also driving daily even with mods, i prefer four door, and would like some gas effciency. i like awd but i'm not set on it. again reliability is one of my biggest concerns and i'll go on that before i worry too much about other factors as many cars of varying profiles can be made to output. i also get that life is risks, but theres risks and theres just plain stupidity based on being uninformed which is no ones fault but the person who does so..

so what do you guys think, have i missed something? or...  

Reading will only get you so far.  Talk to people that own the aforementioned cars.  Go to the message boards that cater to each car...there you will find people that are often times more well versed than the people that actually work for the dealerships that actually sell the cars.  

i drive a 1990 Subaru Legacy, it has over 270,000miles currently and its running like it did at 70k, the only thing ive done to it as far as repairs is left bank head gastket (was leaking water) and a water pump (but i didnt need it, i thought it was leaking water), and a front right half shaft

i would stay away from an automatic, the clutch pack that controls the power transfer between the front and rear end will burn out after about 150k and the car will be forever in FWD until you get the tranny rebuilt

being 16 years old the engine and drivetrain (except AT) are in great shape, though the interior has seen much better days

if i had the cash i would only buy Subarus (maybe a Mustang or two as well) since they are very sporty cars (the new ones are anyways)