I Need A New Car

I drive a 2005 subaru outback that's nearing 200k (mostly highway miles as previous owners traveled a lot). I'm still paying it off, but consolidated the payment with a bunch of other loans a few months ago so I could afford to live. I do love it. It's big enough to haul all of my stuff and my friends, it is reliable in terms of starting and going every time I turn the key, and it had the engine and transmission replaced shortly before I bought it (like maybe a year before). It's also got a V6 engine, which is less prone to the types of issues that subaru engines have (or so I'm told). I know it's an old car with high mileage, and what do I expect, blah blah blah, but this is the whiners forum, and I'm here to whine my ass off.

I have a feeling the muffler is slowly rusting to nothing, but my mechanic just keeps repairing it and sending me on my way rather than saying, "hey this thing is held together with spit and wishes, maybe consider buying a new one." This last time, it was pretty bad, and he sent me off saying there was another tiny hole starting and just to come back when it was loud again. I was like how convenient... for you.

The check engine light goes on and off constantly, and the first time, I was told it was the cat converter (fuck me) and that I should take care of it as long as I could and then buy a new car rather than replacing it (certainly not an option right now). Then I figured out I was running the wrong kind of gas through it (needed premium not regular) and it went away on its own. This time they said the check engine light was the O2 sensor and that it would likely go off when they fixed the exhaust. It did not.

At my last oil change, they said the rear brakes would have to be replaced soon. So a little while later, I made an appointment to get that done, and it turned into rear brakes and one of the calipers having frozen up. So with that, the exhaust repair and the brakes, it came to almost $600 and two extra hours worth of labor (was extremely late for work during a week I really couldn't afford to be), only to be told that this isn't over, and I need to come back... for not only the exhaust repair (again), but they said my bumper is leaking?? Wtf does that even mean?? God damn it why didn't my dad teach me about cars???

Positives: I have a working, safe car for the time being so I can continue working and being social, and I actually was able to afford this setback without resorting to credit just to stay afloat (though I did have to go into savings). That's pretty huge for me, and I don't know what would I would have done if this happened at the beginning of the year when I was making so much less. So yay I guess. Except I'm pretty much broke till this time next month, because my next paycheck is mostly going to rent. Boo. -_-

 

They showed ratings of the car manufactures in the news last night. Buick was the only American company in the top ten. All the rest of American companies were in the bottom ten. Jeep was second worst, yet the best seller in America. Really says a lot about American intelligence.

My car, a Subaru is in the top five. I love my Subaru Baja.

 

Subarus are good. I trust them. They have their little issues, but they run till the wheels fall off. I like that. I live in Maine, so I need the all-wheel-drive, and considering that feature, the gas mileage is pretty decent. I also know people who can help me with it if I get in a spot, and compared to the Jetta I used to drive, the parts are cheap. I realize they are not the cheapest to fix of course being an import, but seriously after owning a VW, I never complain about the cost of parts anymore...

 

First of all, you are wasting money putting premium gas in your subaru. If you look in the manual it will say use 86 octane gasoline. I'm absolutely sure it had nothing to do with your check engine light, just coincidence.

Though it's expensive to get it done at a shop, the rest are minor repairs.
look at it this way, with the repairs you could get another 100,000 miles out of it.

Leaking bumper, lol. Find another mechanic. Many shops prey on the ignorance of women. Make them show you, and explain the repairs when they finish, and old parts the supposedly replaced. You want to see that old catalytic converter, you may even want to take it with you (some are worth good money at a recycler)
As for those brake repairs, thats classic rip-off stuff. Make them prove it by showing you the bad parts.

good luck

 

My blood pressure just spiked. I hate cars. I'm getting a bus pass.

 

LOL, I hate cars too. If I could take the bus everywhere, I totaly would.

 

I do bus everywhere, it's not fun. It means I can't go anywhere after 11pm without taking a taxi or walking a long way to a later bus, and in the winter it is even worse. The bus system in your city might not be as terrible as it is here, but I would still rather have a car.

 

does it have a sunroof?

 

I used to like trying to work with the insurance company to figure out which car would workout the best insurance wise. Give them a call and see what they suggest!

 

Yes and moonroof

 

they have drain tube that run down inside the body and generally discharges near or inside rear bumper...

thats the only thing i could find quickly on google for leaky bumper

the guy could have been giving the simple explanation

those tubes plug up sometimes or break and leak inside ruining your trunk floor/car body






the only other thing i can think of is that some cars had oil filled absorber units in the bumpers to minimize impacts in accidents .....but i havent seen those since the early 80's


always get things in writing ,,,that way its way easier to go somewhere else and get a second opinion ....and then you know if it was a misunderstanding or a blatant attempt to rip you off (kind of tricky though if the shops all know each other)

 

I really hate cars. A major life goal for me is to move somewhere with really great public transportation or to get a job within walking distance of my house

 

Compared to older cars, these new ones have ruined it for 'shade tree mechanics.' Complicated with all the gadgets and computer crap. I've more than likely owned 150 cars
along the way and I could work on ALL of them, with the exception of the ones I started buying in the 90s.

 

While I have no problem with the emissions requirements and think they could be much more stringent, it's obvious that the automotive industry has invested very little into this in an attempt to drive otherwise perfectly functioning vehicles to the junkyards. The emissions hardware is not only junk, they are developed in a non-linear manner, as if a series of band aids. Even dealers are having a hard time making them work once the engine has a little age on it.

Consider how many older cars you see on the road. It used to be far more common to see a 15 or 20 year old car. Not anymore. Today you can start having emissions problems within a decade. On a car that was cheap to begin with it can seem insane to suddenly have to shell out $2500 for a car that's otherwise functioning just fine. This is not by accident.

 

i thought they were all gas-filled

 

It's planned obsolescence

 

nope

some have nitrogen..some have nothing

some have oil ...dont remember exactly which car it was but i definitely remember remember cutting into one once in highschool with acetylenen torches and i found out rather quickly it was filled with flammable oil

 

So long as it gets your from point A to point B.

 

If you ever get the chance to purchase a good Crown Vic, I say take that deal. I'm 59 and have had a number of cars through the years. I've never been a Ford fan, and actually have liked my foreign cars and Nissan truck the most.

Then I got a 2001 Crown Vic 3 1/2 yrs ago, and it is absolutely the best, most dependable car I've ever owned. Stock, they are built to endure a lot...Crown Vics are one of the law's favorite marked and unmarked vehicles. I keep the regular maintenance done on it and she runs like a dream.

I have a white one and it is fun to see people's reaction to it sometime. lol