Car is in rough shape - Advice wanted

[WinterKnoll]

Well, basically, my car is pissing through coolant and I think that it's the head gaskets. In addition, my car needs a whole bunch of other work done to it including brakes, wiring short somewhere (which is recurring, it has been "fixed" numerous times), bad fuel temp sensor, and cracked headlight/sidemarkers. Subaru quoted me 1800 to fix the headgaskets, but I guess my question is, would it really be worth it to have them fix it, assuming that is it, or should I hunt for a new car? Along with all of the other things that need to be fixed and the fact that I just had to have the rear O2 harness replaced, the costs are really adding up.

[Bdubs]

Shop around.
A lot of independent ma and pa shops do a great job for a cheaper price. I wouldn't advise bringing an older Subie that isn't under warranty (unless recall of course) to the dealer, they just rape you.

Ask any shop if they have experience with Subarus, and with you being in NH I'm sure they've done a HG replacement on a Subaru before. :lol:

[2.5GT]

yeah dude, i know how you feel. I too have been thru the same route as you. but in the end, i had to make a choice...to keep the subie or rid of it. I chose to keep it and did a HG on it, runs like new but still have problems here and there.

[dplacencia]

Shop around see who can do it for less. I do side work if you were around here i could have saved you big bucks. By the way I'm a Subaru tech. :wink:

[Perdue]

I advise you to take it to a mom and pop shop to get the HG fixed, then fix the other stuff as you can. I got rid of my legacy for the same reason and got this Dakota. My second Dak, and I hate it for the most part. It's a nice car, but it's not my subie. I miss my legacy a lot. Hopefully this year I can get a legacy and dump this truck.

[jey]

Another important question is - How many miles are on the car?

With that information, between all of us here we can probably come up with a fairly good list of things that could go wrong so that you know what to expect even after you fix the HGs. Then you can decide if this is going to be too much of a money pit, or if this one-time repair is going to give you a reliable car for some time still.

Obviously your financial situation will have a lot to do with your decision - whether the car is paid for, availability of cash to spend on a new car/monthly payments etc.

You can also look up the Trade-In value of the car in the KBB - right before a huge repair is an excellent time to dump a car in a dealer trade-in for a new car - it's almost the only time you can do it and come out either even or slightly ahead.

[rougeben83]

If this was RS25, the answer would be the magic 4 letter word and fix the the sensors, brakes, and headlights :lol:

[GrassyKnoll]

lights and breaks are fixed... sensors is the next step and itll pass inspection

[WinterKnoll]

A good friend of mine told me would do the headgaskets for me for cheap. There's about 110k miles or so on the car, and Grassy just did my lights and brakes.

[WinterKnoll]

Question: If I'm having the headgaskets done, what other things should I have replaced or done while he's in there?

[Perdue]

I'd replace the timing belt (It's almost time anyways if it was changed at 60k) and water pump while I was in there. Check your seals while the motor is out too to makes sure you don't have any oil leaking.

[Mr. Sociable]

I'd replace the timing belt (It's almost time anyways if it was changed at 60k) and water pump while I was in there. Check your seals while the motor is out too to makes sure you don't have any oil leaking.

+1 Basically just check over the whole car to see if there's anything else that might need fixed now/soon.

[dplacencia]

I would replace the timing belt, crank seal, water pump nd gasket. Check the timing belt tensioner too. If it's leaking then replace it.

[Huffer]

I would do all the above AND the rear main seal.
I have a leak in ye olde BD now... not major because switching to a thicker grade of oil fixed it. But, y'know.

[kyle86na]

No dealer should charge you that much for a HG replace... I replaced my HG the day I bought the car. They did water pump, TB, and HG ( dohc) for 975 parts and labor... You have to tell them basically how much you will pay.

Our local dealers are VERY involved with my local Subie board, and give discounts and al sort sof stuff...

Play hard ball with SOA, or find a reputable shop, but you shouldnt pay more than 1000 for all of that

[ryu_haneda]

Honestly, it all boils down to a few basic things:

1. Finances
2. Condition of car
3. Still like the car after thinking about repairs?

I have a 98 gt that I am really enjoying, despite the repairs that are needed on it NOW (and those that will come up in the future). IMO, taking care of a car is labor where money will go down the drain, and it's up to everybody to decide how much (or how little) they will actually contribute.

If you drive a BD, you know I'll be biased and say keep it and fix it up, especially since there are few BD gts around my area, but again, your call.