As the former owner of a 97 outback I'd like to advise anyone in the market for a used late 90's subie to be aware of the head gasket issue. If mamajoan hasn't replaced it yet be sure to prepare yourself for the inevitable (it's fixable but if you don't get it right away with a mechanic that knows subie's you're going to be in for a world of misdiagnosis)...
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http://users.sisna.com/ignatius/subaru/headgasket.html