Pay $2,300 for head gasket on '09 ~105k Legacy or buy new car?

[bodywhomper]

Thanks. I'm gonna get a second opinion this week. Would prefer to not have car payments. Might be able to cover repairs with available funds.

[uglymoney]

I realize you're looking for new car ideas but in the meantime have the spark plug wires been changed. I was having misfires, two mechanics found nothing wrong--it wasn't misfiring when they looked at it--but I had the second one change the wires, problem gone. Cheap fix if it works. I guess coil pack is the other common cause.

Especially if the spark plug tube seals are leaking. I replaced the plug wires on my 02 twice. Seals are cheap and easy to fix but you should buy the new gasket kit for the rocker cover if you do change them...probably 100 total with Suby oem parts diy. Napa has great aftermarket plug wires btw cheaper than oem and if you don't feel comfortable with the seals (easy) just do the wires(retarded easy)

[bodywhomper]

back to my little problem. i saw a one-man indie mechanic today for a second opinion. he worked for 17 yrs at the foreign indie shop that i have been using, which specializes in subie's; he started his own biz this year (nice guy, strongly recommended by a good friend, and in good relations with his former employer). his recs: deal with the differential leak now ($2-3k) and monitor the head gaskets leaking (the head gaskets show that their leak is only starting to occur). Drive the car (possibly for many more years) until the external head gaskets show signs that they must be changed and sell/junk the car. the knocking is from some pins and would need to be addressed if the head gaskets are replaced because of the compression changes that will result in a better sealed systems (that's a $5-6k job). ignore the random engine light problem for now. i think we're moving forward with that option. $2-3k over the next several years beats long term car payments for right now. is this crazy talk?

[wooley12]

Have I got it right? $3k Dif now. $2500 Gasket/belt/water pump in the next year. If you catch the head gasket in time. My Suby has always had a knock when cold. Wrist pin slap that goes away but if yours is something else then lets add $1k. If your check engine light is on and off like mine. Add another $1k. Or maybe that was some other mags post?
Toss in $1k fore brakes, struts, wires, alternator or something else. 12-24 month outlay is $5500. It is what it is. So now it's a question of your financial position. Can you handle 2 or 3 $2500 car repairs in the next two years? That's $2-300/month.

A lot depends on your situation. If you can get 0% interest on a new car that's a factor. If you have to go sub-prime for a used heap, DONT.

Really, I was with you until you mentioned more problems. Get the best used Honda you can afford that will carry the family is my $.02

BTW, it will all work out.

[bodywhomper]

thanks for the input. the strategy that i'm considering is repair differential leak now ($2-3k), and not do the head gaskets job.

the head gaskets should last for several years, per mechanic's experience from the observed stage of current leaking. he told me that if i do the external head gaskets, the wrist pins will need to be addressed, which would be a ~$5-6k job.

when the external gaskets start showing to be FUBAR, we'll start looking for a new vehicle in earnest. the gamble is that the gaskets will hold-up for several years.

current financial position is rough, just bought first home (not big), wife works a little, we have young kids, lots of college to pay for, etc.

[wooley12]

Been there, done that, I get it.

[oldblue]

Before you commit to the repairs, maybe take a look at the local private used car sales.

$5K - $6K can get you a very mechanically sound car as long as it is thoroughly checked out by your mechanic.

[ill-advised strategy]

I'm just chiming in to join the list of us who have been fucked with subaru problems.

I had a 1996 2.5 and the best thing I ever did was have BobMC's shop in Utah pull the leaking 2.5 and swap a non-interference 1995 2.2 from a junkyard.

Now, this past year, I fucked up and bought a really clean 2002 from a lady I work with. 90K miles, head gaskets already replaced at 60K. The car leaks fuel from its shitty shrinking-in-the-cold fuel lines. It was leaking oil onto the exhaust and the first timing belt change is coming up so I thought "OK, timing belt, water pump, and valve cover gaskets or head gaskets, whatever's dumping oil"....That turned into a nightmare of this local shop being unable to pull rusted-solid head bolts from the block and unable to make the block usable with a sheared rusty bolt, so I ended up buying a short block. It was fascinating to hear it run with no piston slap for the first time. You know how long it took to start hearing the faint beginnings of piston slap? 200 miles. 1 week. It's like a toy car made of chinese tin.

So the last head gasket job lasted from 60K miles to about 95K miles.

Not only that, but this car handles pretty fucked up in snow....my 96 A/T was pretty much locked front to rear, it would bind a bit in a tight turn on dry pavement and it was really precise on snow. This car is almost all front wheel drive and if you really start spinning it dumps a clutch to the rear wheels super hard. It's hard to predict when the rear-wheel clutch is going to kick in so who knows when the thing is going to go from extreme understeer to slight power oversteer or back the other way. My girlfriend's hyundai with snow tires is almost easier to handle in snow just because it's more predictable and doesn't do any weird shit like blasting power to the rear wheels in the middle of an uphill turn. Same with the minivans and dually 1 ton buses I drive at work. In fact, I drive rigs all day on snow with locked rearends, our buses have eaton detroit lockers that everyone says are supposed to be super tricky in snow. Not nearly as tricky as this unpredictable subaru automatic computor-controlled rearend clutch thing. It's pretty fucked up.

I couldn't discourage people from buying one of these piece of shit cars enough. It's a real shame, because I love the idea of an awd wagon made in Indiana that gets acceptable fuel mileage...but man, look at us all here fighting with these pieces of shit. They're really fucking the dog on these cars lately.

[char]

thanks for the input. the strategy that i'm considering is repair differential leak now ($2-3k), and not do the head gaskets job.

the head gaskets should last for several years, per mechanic's experience from the observed stage of current leaking. he told me that if i do the external head gaskets, the wrist pins will need to be addressed, which would be a ~$5-6k job.

when the external gaskets start showing to be FUBAR, we'll start looking for a new vehicle in earnest. the gamble is that the gaskets will hold-up for several years.

current financial position is rough, just bought first home (not big), wife works a little, we have young kids, lots of college to pay for, etc.

Used car loans are cheap right now if you have decent credit. I think you would be better served ditching the Subaru and picking up something Honda, Kia or Toyota that will require little maintenance for the next few years. It will at least feel like a more financially secure situation.

Sounds like a ticking timebomb of escalating repairs. 7-9k buys you a lot of car.