Never said this before (never had the chance), so welcome to the forum
I'd recommend a Subaru to anyone for just about any kind of use.
182K is about right for something that age, but KMs on the clock shouldn't deter you if it's been serviced regularly and well looked after.
If like you said you needed to do a bit of light towing and that kind of thing, you could get an early 2000's Outback (2.5L) for $7k pretty comfortably, or like I said in the other thread, 2 from the late 90's.
Things to look out for: nothing that I've really encountered. People on here with a bit more experience may know, but none of ours have ever had problems other than general wear and tear. If you end up getting an early 90's/'80's Subaru, keep an eye out for rust, especially since you're not in central QLD/WA or NT where it's as dry as.
Road feel will always be nice, they grip like nothing else (AWD) and you can just about take them anywhere, anytime, anyhow. If you watch the Top Gear Africa Special 2.0 that was on TV last night, Hammond's driving a late '90's WRX and it's basically just a 4X4.
Cheers,
Tom.
