Yep - head gaskets and Subarus. Poorly engineered for the 1999 Forester.

My wife was driving home from work and the engine overheated significantly. No prior sings (like oil in the cooling water, or the sloshing under the dashboard sound) Cost $1500 to fix, and replace the water pump at the same time (not needed, but easier to do with the engine out - just in case)

That was two years and 30,000 ago, and no major problems since - only mechanical wear and tear (ie brakes) But that is on top of a tranny rebuild that was done in 2005. Read all about it in my other complaint.

Took the vehicle in for its 96,000 km service and to have an "oil pump leak" repaired (the latter was apparently found when we had the vehicle inspected by an authorized Subaru dealer BEFORE we purchased it). The 96 K service is a hefty Can$1,200. Got a call from the dealer (who doesn't) telling me that the head gaskets are leaking and need replacing and it's an expensive job, but they said they'd give me some "goodwill" so I wouldn't have to cover the cost. This made me a tad suspicious so went tot he web and searched for Subaru head gasket problems and discovered Skip's Subaru Repair Page ( http://home.comcast.net/~skipnospam/ ) which has many customer's complaints about Subaru head gasket failures to the point that many believe it is a design flaw and that Subaru should recall the vehicles. Thought I did a good search on the web when I was looking to buy a Subaru and they are rated very high but this appears to be a major problem. Before you buy a Subaru have a look at Skip's page; it may save you some grief and lots of money!