Subaru forester

My Subaru Forester is a 2000. I have to say it has been a decent vehicle for the 10 years I have had it. I purchased it new fromCenter subaru in Torrington, Ct. The weakness of this vehicle comes down to the wheel bearings which can be very expensive to replace because you have to take a lot of things apart to get at them. This makes it an expensive job unless you have a friend who knows how to do this job and is willing to do it for a lot less. It can actually cost about 1,000 dollars to have a couple of the wheel bearing replaced at the dealers. It is a very difficult job. To dateI have replaced 4 of them. The other thing i have not liked is the head gasket issues. I have had it replaced twice. Fortunately the dealer extended the warranty on this for me. Otherwise it would have been a costly $1895.00 at the dealers or about $1300.00 at a local mechanics.To get down to the good things though, the handling is awesome as is the all wheel drive. it handles well in the snow and winter weather in general. i have managed to steer out of what should have been sure accidents with the incredible handling ability of this vehicle on several occasions. i am a very safe driver but many are not. Another plus would be the cargo space and the way the seats fold down to carry things that would not fit in many vehicles. Also the pick up and power of this engine is well above what I would have imagined.The brakes are excellent. as well. So while there have been some repair issues there have been many solid and practical reasons to hold onto and like this vehicle. At present I have 88,000 miles on it.The absence of rust on the vehicle after about 10 New England winters is amazing as well.