Should I fix or replace?
Posted by Dry-Weird3447@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 58 comments
My 2012 Subaru Impreza needs about $3500 in repairs to get back in safe driving condition: Brakes+Rotors X4, Rear Struts X2, Lower Control Arm X2, and some other smaller repairs. It has 105k miles on it. At this point would it make more financial sense to invest in the repairs or cut my losses and sell it to buy another Subaru in better condition with similar miles?
Nebulung101@reddit
Do you wash your clothes or just sell them when they get dirty and buy used clothes from the thrift store?
No_Durian_3444@reddit
Buy the parts, dummy.
PbCuSurgeon@reddit
All of the repairs can realistically be done in an afternoon. Buy the parts and learn the valuable skill of repairing your own vehicle.
Package_Objective@reddit
That's only 3.5k in repairs if you're getting ripped off.
InternationalBite690@reddit
Cut your losses? Everything you have listed is normal wear items. Every vehicle will at some point need brakes and struts etc, do you just toss it in the trash and buy another? That’s like buying new underwear every time you shit. Fix the car and drive another 100k miles.
edthecollector70@reddit
What wrong with buying new underwear every time. Works for me.
zeilstar@reddit
I just flip mine inside out. And then backward. Then backward right side out.
dj_is_here@reddit
OP: What's an underwear? \s
InternationalBite690@reddit
You can’t be serious? Are you still in diapers?
timmmarkIII@reddit
No he's not serious. Note the "/s" means sarcasm.
MostlyBrine@reddit
You are looking at about $600 in parts and half a day of work, plus $100 for an alignment, which is not quoted. Do not forget that at 100k you need also a CVT fluid service and probably a timing belt kit - if you have the EJ25 engine (another $250 for the parts and two hours work). All these are easy to replace if you can do it yourself. Otherwise, it is regular maintenance that any car will require, unless you buy a new car every 100k miles.
Bonelesslimbs_@reddit
Good point. The cvt fluid change and the timing belt. 2 things that a dealer wouldnt point out because if they fail, youre a repeat customer for those.
Chainsawsas70@reddit
This is ALL normal maintenance items that have been Neglected, get the work done and then keep on top of it better and it won't hit all at once again in the future. The car is barely 1/3 into it's life.
jrileyy229@reddit
To sell this car and just buy the same one makes little sense.
Like other people said, learn to wrench or find a mobile mechanic is another good option. Those are all easy jobs for a mechanic.
I can spitball you right now, rotors and pads all 4 corners from rock auto, $150. Pair of control arms, $200. Rear shocks, $200. Mobile mechanic, $500.
Ch4rlie_G@reddit
This is a perfect job for a mobile mechanic
Dry-Weird3447@reddit (OP)
advice for finding a trustworthy mobile mechanic?
Ch4rlie_G@reddit
Nextdoor, Facebook, Google reviews. The stuff you listed is like automotive 101. Any idiot can do it.
You could do it with YouTube and some borrowed tools.
Brakes are like 4 bolts and a clamp to compress the piston. Suspension might be 4-10 bolts per corner depending on the car.
Dry-Weird3447@reddit (OP)
I appreciate the info. Unfortunately I live in an apartment and we only have street parking. I assume a mobile mechanic would want a semi private area like a driveway to work? Any way around that? And yes lol I am a total idiot when it comes to anything to do with cars so thanks for tolerating my dumb questions.
Bonelesslimbs_@reddit
Mobile mechanic should have a couple cones to set out. Id do it on the street.
jrileyy229@reddit
Absolutely.. these are do -able jobs in a driveway or home garage. He can make $500 in say 3hrs... Maybe call it 4 if he has some travel time involved. He's happy, that's good money on jobs that don't suck to do. Op is happy, saved two grand. Only people losing in the deal is the Subaru dealer
Wonderful-Honey-2964@reddit
Scrape
Sad_Win_4105@reddit
That sounds like a lot of work for only 105,000 miles. How is the car otherwise? Engine, transmission, body, frame, interior? Does it reliability start and run? Those are things I would consider in making my decision. For me, reliability is everything.
Dry-Weird3447@reddit (OP)
The engine and transmission are flawless but it has been in an accident and there is damage to the frame/body that doesn't affect the driving at all
OddTheRed@reddit
You can do most of that stuff yourself by following YouTube videos. The only thing there that requries more than a very basic toolset are the control arms.
The_Tipsy_Turner@reddit
No one has given you the car guy answer. Here's a checklist.
Do you love the car?
-If yes but there are better options for you, get a new car.
-If no and there are better/ cheaper options for you, get a new car.
-If no and there are no better/ cheaper options, fix it.
-If yes and there are no better/ cheaper options, fix it.
If I had to sink 10 grand into my 335is, I'd fix it, but that's because I love that car. If I didn't love it, I'd be very quick to get something else.
sv3nian@reddit
Look up the correct replacement parts, buy them yourself to save money, then hire an independent mechanic who will do the install.
ItsMister2You@reddit
Those repairs are NOT $3500! Was that a quote from a dealership? Most of them you could do yourself with a minimal amount of skill. Amazon (for the parts) YouTube (for the instructions) and Autozone (for the loaner tools). Id much rather have a parts payment than a car payment
TheTiltingKnight@reddit
First, every bit of that is normal maintenance items. It being $3500 for that collection of shit is definitely over priced, sounds like dealer prices to me. That all of that is needed at once suggests poor maintenance on your part. Fun fact, maintenance is part of vehicle ownership. The purchase price of a vehicle is just the buy in to get in the seat, staying in the seat requires regular reinvestment.
DoorProfessional6308@reddit
Oh no, the floor is dirty. Maybe I should just rip it up and buy new floors. No dude, it's regular maintainence. Either learn it yourself or find a shop that won't rip you off.
DizzySlide6436@reddit
I’m surprised no one asked whether you changed the timing belt yet, because if not that’s gonna add to the cost.
Otto_Polymath@reddit
I believe 2012 has a newer engine than the EJ25 and has a timing chain.
WhichAd366@reddit
Nah it’s still the EJ25 if it’s the 4 cylinder. He mentioned CVT earlier so it’s a 4 cylinder (the 6 had an automatic transmission).
It will have the timing belt. The 6 cylinder has a chain though.
DizzySlide6436@reddit
That would explain it lol
Citycrossed@reddit
How many miles? CVT or manual?
Dry-Weird3447@reddit (OP)
105k miles, CVT
Citycrossed@reddit
I’d fix it. Who quoted the repairs? If it was a dealer, find a local shop and get another quote.
WhichAd366@reddit
That quote sounds about right. Shops charge more for outback’s due to the awd system
WhichAd366@reddit
Isn’t this the first gen CVT? If so I might have that checked out before committing to the other repairs. I’m Guessing you have the 4 cyl since you said CVT transmission. That’s still the EJ253 2.5 which had head gasket issues (I think it was mostly cleaned up by then but still a long term issue). Have you had that repaired before or do you know if the previous owner did?
As others have said if you’re looking to buy a car in the same price range you should most likely just keep your outback. A used car whose history you know is better than a used car with an unknown maintenance history.
I would double check for head gasket leaks and have your transmission inspected before doing the repairs listed. They’re just regular maintenance repairs which I would consider minor. However, if you spend that money and then have to spend $2k on an engine leak you might not be happy.
Not trying to scare you off. A few years ago I replaced brakes, rotors, a few suspension parts, and a clutch on an 06 Outback with 75k miles. I knew the maintenance history though, and that the HG issue had been repaired (along with timing belt and other semi-costly things). It felt worth it since the engine was still strong, and the car was in great shape.
WhichAd366@reddit
Isn’t this the first gen CVT too?
Historical-Bite-8606@reddit
I buy cars from wholesale (auction). I fix them up, drive them a year or two, and try and sell for minimal loss (try to drive free cars). But I can only do this, if I do 80% of the repairs.
If you go to a shop and spend $3,500 on repairs, it only benefits you, if you keep longer (like 3-4 years). You would benefit selling private party (showing receipts). Cheap cars don't lose much value (cars under $7,500). Now, if you paid for these repairs, and end up trading in at a dealership, they don't care how much work you have done, they will end up giving you an offer below wholesale, and end up taking it to the auction.
As far as your repairs. You can buy the brake pads/rotors, and rear struts off RockAuto, for under $700, buying OE (parts are cheap on this car). You can find videos on YouTube on how to do the process (step by step). The only somewhat scary part, is taking off the coil/springs from your old shocks and adding to the new ones. AutoZone rents out a spring compressor for free. For the lower control arms, I would do them the same time as doing the brakes and rotors, but that might be a little intimidating. I would find a shop that would just charge the labor, if you can bring your own parts. Probably, $1,300 and done.
knight9665@reddit
It would make sense to do most of these repairs yourself with a couple buddies over a weekend. Save tons of money
ConsequenceNational4@reddit
Thats not 3500 if you do it yourself..im a Subaru owner also.
Longjumping-Log1591@reddit
Thats not 3,500 bucks worth of repairs.It might be if you go to a brakes plus though. I watched them rip off 4 people in a row when I was waiting for an alignment I had a coupon for. Go to the indy guy that doesn't have the overhead
Smitty-TBR2430@reddit
Personally, I wouldn’t sink $3000 of repair into a car that’s worth $3000.
But that’s me.
I’m not a mechanic and have zero car repair skills; and I work 50–60 hour weeks in healthcare so I also don’t have the time to crawl under my car. I’m also getting close to retirement and have sufficient income + savings that I can afford this stuff. I’m the guy that will buy a new or CPO car with a good bit of warranty on it and drive it until the maintenance and repair costs come close to the value of the car; then I trade it in for my next new or CPO car.
You need to figure what works for you, your ability to do some of the work yourself, your income, and your comfort level.
Dracofangxxx@reddit
i doubt you truly need control arms and struts unless the car shakes like hell or you hit some curbs. get the brakes done and call it good.
Optimassacre@reddit
I'll buy it for $3500
Lobster_K@reddit
You will pay the cost is for the vehicle itself, then also have to pay for whatever maintenance that used vehicle needs. Fixing your car is going to be cheaper than opening a new can of worms.
Significant_Rip300@reddit
Fix it and baby the maintenance more closely.
fuuuuugyoooo@reddit
I’d keep it and learn to do the work myself in YouTube.
ai_bot_account@reddit
I agree with this, none of these are hard repairs to do unless it is rusty, the suspension arms can be hard in that case. I have some doubt that all of these repairs are needed though. You can watch some Youtube and easily check these parts yourself.
ReasonableRevenue218@reddit
Rotors and pads are easy, ( when they say brakes and rotors, that's likely what they mean) and can be done in the driveway one wheel at a time. YouTube is your friend. Be specific about Subaru and your type/year.
Calipers can be a bitch. Control arms typically need a lift and some expertise. and tools most don't have.
Otto_Polymath@reddit
Do you really need all those things to make it safe? Who quoted you and what's their motivation? I find it hard to believe all that work has to be done right away.
Dry-Weird3447@reddit (OP)
A small shop with a good reputation. Ive been putting things off for a while so Im not that surprised
H_rusty@reddit
hmmm i know comments are telling you to fix but i say if you can afford payments on a newer car .. then you should consider it.
Because even you fix these issues, you will soon face new issues as this car ages.
Yes technically you will be paying more in total, but you will also have less headache and more reliable car. So you are paying for more peace of mind.
If you don't see yourself being able to pay car payments reliably in the next 4 years, then don't get a new one.
But remember, subarus got way more reliable after 2014, where their engines stopped having the head gasket issues.
ReasonableRevenue218@reddit
Rotors and pads are easy, ( when they say brakes and rotors, that's likely what they mean) and can be done in the driveway one wheel at a time. YouTube is your friend. Be specific about Subaru and your type/year.
Calipers can be a bitch. Control arms typically need a lift and some expertise. and tools most don't have.
You can likely get by without the struts. being replaced. That's a common thing that often gets replaced "prematurely" and is easy to pint out a leak to freak out people. Yeah, they probably leak a little or have some seepage, but that's nothing.
OkCartographer175@reddit
Those are normal wear and tear items. Any car you buy will need them at some point. It makes 0 sense to sell a car over normal wear and tear maintenance items. I would advise you to learn how to replace as many of these as you can yourself, as most of these are not difficult.
BlinkCityRipper@reddit
Those are all normal repairs for the mileage and at a normal ish price based on the limited info here.
If it’s manual transmission and you know the vehicle well I’d say it’s a no brainer.
If it’s an automatic you’re kind of gambling on the cvt in that thing as to whether or not repairing is worth it, but especially if you don’t have a bunch of extra money to spend you’re probably going to get more miles for your money repairing this car than trying to gamble on a different used one. It’s also tough to find affordable cars with that low mileage without similar issues present, especially with a brand like Subaru.
How long have you owned it? Do you experience hard shifts or gear slipping? Do you drive it hard (only frequent short city drives, towing, or heavy, frequent acceleration/gear changes)? Do you have the maintenance history? Ask your mechanic their opinion on doing a drain and fill for your cvt if your answers to those questions fall in the safe/normal category
SandwichEquivalent75@reddit
"would it make more financial sense to invest in the repairs or cut my losses and sell it to buy another Subaru in better condition with similar miles?"
Consider this: your current vehicle is a known commodity that is simply in need of regular maintenance that you probably could have staggered to avoid the big financial hit you're now facing. However, if you flip it for another old Subie, how will you ever be sure that the other vehicle won't turn into a money pit as well? For this strategy to work for you, you really need to be friends with the Seller and know the new-to-you vehicle's full repair history. That's not always easy to do.