To Subaru, Or Not to Subaru?

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That is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous repair costs, or to take wrenches against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them? To shift: to speed; no more; and by a speed we say to end the bore and the thousand natural hazards that winter driving is heir to. . .

 Okay, okay. So the metaphor doesn’t quite work out. Hamlet was considering suicide; I’m considering a Subaru. I’ve been talking about it for a year now and I would imagine those who know me are sick of hearing about it. But we’re dealing with important stuff – one might call it “heady” as we shall see in a moment – and I’m hoping to work it out by writing.

One way or another I’m buying a Subaru by September. Let’s be clear about that part. I’m not buying a domestic car; I’m not buying a poobox truck. I’m buying a Subaru because they are winter cars in their souls and I’m not putting Kathryn or myself through another Wyoming winter in what are essentially unsafe vehicles. Oh, our respective cars have been decent vehicles by and large, and we’re keeping my truck around for a while, but neither are great in snow. Her Honda Accord actually beats the tar out of my 2wd Tacoma on snow, but front wheel drive alone does not a winter snowbeast make.

If it’s a snowbeast one wants, one wants a Subaru. No, the AWD system cannot compensate for crappy driving or ice, but AWD does provide immediate traction to all wheels as necessary. I won’t get into the mechanics of it. Just trust me: the AWD systems (even the less fancy versions of AWD found on lower end Subarus) are effective.

Now, getting the car loan won’t be a problem – USAA has treated me remarkably well and wants to keep lending me money. Which is, you know, nice. Sans trade-in I can get into an ‘07 Outback for about $23k, especially by late summer when the lots are flooded with ’08s. Somewhere in the intermountain west there will be a dealership with an ‘07 Outback with a manual 5 speed transmission, and a very nervous car salesman ready to bargain.

Keep that part in mind, by the way. We’re going with a manual. Yes, resale might potentially be tricky someday, but for the mileage and just plain zippypants fun, I’m dying to drive a stick again.

The trouble is this: we’re buying a house in a week and a half. We’re about to incur higher monthly payments and every little expense associated with home ownership you can think of. Mostly, though, it’s the expenses we can’t think of that terrify us.* This all adds up, if you will, to potential cash flow problems. And although I get a hefty raise starting in August, the raise would only cover the cost of the new car loan. So essentially I don’t want to overextend myself financially by getting into a new car. Additionally, Kathryn has very wisely pointed out that a car is definitely one of those things one should always buy used.

So I’m willing to buy a used Subaru. Hell, there’s even an ‘02 Outback for sale here in town for 11 grand – and it’s a manual. What’s the problem you ask?

Headers.

The headers were defective on some Subaru engines produced between 1999 and 2002. They eventually traced the problem to a design flaw – something about poor heat dissipation resulting in internal and/or external coolant leaks – and Subaru recalled some models for head gasket jobs. Apparently the “fix” amounted to injecting an additive to the coolant to help seal the gasket, which sounds iffy to me at best. On top of that, I have no idea if this local car for sale was ever recalled and fixed. I could probably (and probably will) research the VIN to determine if it was even affected in the first place, but even if not, I’m counting on some major engine work.

So if I buy a used Subaru, especially this local one, I’m planning on a gasket job at the very least. More likely I’m looking at a header replacement – and hell, since some Subarus need timing belt replacements at around 100k miles, we might as well get that done too (this car has 88k miles on it). We test drove it and it sounded alright, but there were some strange minor rattles. Then again, if any of our readership hopped into my truck they would likely hear some strange minor rattles, too. And I guarantee that my truck is in pretty good shape. So much for strange minor rattles.

One final point. I’m dying – dying, I say! – to do minor car repairs of my own again. I haven’t changed the oil in my truck in years. That is to say the oil in my truck has been changed, just not by me. My dad’s bringing out some ramps he doesn’t use anymore, so I’m about to inherit not just a driveway but also a way to lift our cars. What’s more, I’m ready to move beyond pedestrian oil, filter, and hose changes and tackle bigger stuff. Maybe not header replacements, necessarily, but certainly things that require some true wrenching. The wonderful thing about Subarus is that there are legions of gearheads out there who love tweaking Subies – and that means tons of aftermarket accessories. Parts are more expensive than domestics, of course, but they’re fairly accessible. If I bought new, I’d probably null the warranty just by looking at the oil filter. I can see it now…

Subaru Warranty: Don’t touch it!
Paul: Well I wasn’t going to touch it, I was just pointing at it.
Subaru Warranty: Well… don’t point!
Paul: Don’t point, okay. Can I look at it?
Subaru Warranty: No. no. That’s it, you’ve seen enough of that one.**

So I dunno. New? Used? The mind reels.

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*The first reader to correctly identify the movie reference wins a pony.

**Because that first paraphrased movie reference was tricky, here’s a softball.

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