This article is pretty
This article is pretty Uninformed and must be aimed at teens buying cars with no help.... 1) a head gasket and timing kit goes for about $400 and unlike most cars, a moderately skilled driveway mechanic can do this in about a day by themselves. We’ve done them in under four hours with two sets of hands. If you can change oil on one of these cars you can likely do the head gasket.
2) ANYONE looking to get a PROBLEM FREE used car should stop. Problem free used car for under $10k??? STOP!!!! ALWAYS EXPECT TO PAY ABOUT $10k+ for a reliable running vehicle. Or..... just stop. To the experience of many, many people, a SUBARU head gasket is a cheaper fix than most problems in used American cars. Try a rack replacement on a cobalt!! You’ll WISH for a subaru head gaskets issue!!
Does this mean it’s not a problem? NO! And Subaru knows this. Lesson here, find a Subaru under $5k, do the head gasket, water pump and timing all at once (totaling around $700 in parts) YOURSELF, and have a great reliable car for about another 200k.
Stop telling people to AVOID an easy fix and start encouraging them to do their own mechanical work. These are the easiest cars to work on!!!