Madison, WI - Subaru shops or clubs nearby?

[Red92]

Hello everyone.

 

I just picked up a 92 Loyale a few weeks ago as a cheap winter car. It's in overall good shape, only 97k miles, and runs/drives great (manual trans with push-button 4WD). Pretty much everything works, but it has a few issues though - the brakes need bleeding, the exhaust needs to be replaced, and before I patched it, the gas tank had a leak from right at the fuel fitting.

 

I had it at the Subaru dealer last week for the gas leak, but once they had it up on the lift, I received a call suggesting that I scrap the car instead of doing the repairs. Apparently they thought the car was too risky to tear into due to the rust underneath. :-\

 

 

So now I'm looking for a second opinion. I'm not totally opposed to sinking some money into it ("exceeding the value of the car" wouldn't set me back too much!), but I'm not familiar enough with these old Subarus to know where the real trouble spots are, or how much rust is "too much".

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for shops in the south/central Wisconsin area, or alternately, any clubs of like-minded enthusiasts who might be able to steer me in the right direction?

 

Thanks.

[bheinen74]

that old of Subaru, in WI is going to be like swiss cheese underneath it. scrap it.

 

you already mention the brake lines are rusted out, the exhaust is rusted out, and the gas tank is too.

 

Then a Subaru dealer advises it is not safe. If you get another one, have someone inspect the car for you it will save going thru this again.

[The Dude Abides]

I think it depends on how bad the rust is. Being in the rustbelt we have our problems with rust. Unless there are holes where the seat supports and suspension supports its not that bad. Hell youve already bought it so why not. Depending on how bad the brake lines are you might want to replace them all but that can be costly. I would look into others here for maybe a possible entire exhaust replacement or something from the junkyard to save you money. Same with the gas tank, a patch is nice but doesnt fix it. Infact the very man bheinen might have a gas tank and exhaust system to sell you. If the rot is into where the subframe bolts up to the trailing arms or the front suspension then its kinda a lost cause. Dealerships dont want to be liable and are somewhat babies when it comes to this stuff. They only really like to mess with newer cars.

[Red92]

that old of Subaru, in WI is going to be like swiss cheese underneath it. scrap it.

I just bought it. Scrapping it will be the last option. Selling it will be the second to last option, but for now I am still figuring out if it is repairable. Like I said, it's a running/driving car that looks decent and almost everything works. Scrapping it seems to be just a *little* extreme at this point.

 

 

Then a Subaru dealer advises it is not safe.

Just to clarify, the dealer did not say it wasn't safe, they said that they didn't want to do the work. The service manager gave me the call figuring that with their labor rates, I wouldn't want them to do the work either.

 

 

If the rot is into where the subframe bolts up to the trailing arms or the front suspension then its kinda a lost cause. Dealerships dont want to be liable and are somewhat babies when it comes to this stuff. They only really like to mess with newer cars.

I think that that was pretty much it. I asked a sales guy what the cheapest used Subaru on their lot was, and it was at $14k. The lot was all nice cars, and the service are was very clean. So that kind of gives you a ballpark idea of what sort of place it was. I'm new to this area, so when the car developed the gas leak (AFTER I bought it ), and I needed to do something about it ASAP, the dealer was my first instinct for where to take it.

 

 

Depending on how bad the brake lines are you might want to replace them all but that can be costly. I would look into others here for maybe a possible entire exhaust replacement or something from the junkyard to save you money.

 

Good idea. I should also add that I didn't buy the car expecting it to be perfect, I bought it knowing that it needed some work. I haven't investigated the exhaust yet to see what it needs, so I'm not sure how much of that will need to be replaced. While brake work does cost a bit, being a safety item, I consider brakes a worthwhile investment if you plan to keep a car for a while.

 

 

 

A lot of people get scared nowadays when they see repair bills for old cars, and don't really think about what the end result will be when their car is repaired. They sell their used cars, and buy other used cars, spending much more in the process than it would have cost to fix their current used car up to perfect shape. If you're just after basic transportation, "exceeding the value of the car" is a bit of a misnomer I think.

 

 

 

Same with the gas tank, a patch is nice but doesnt fix it. Infact the very man bheinen might have a gas tank and exhaust system to sell you.

 

Thanks. Yes, I'm 100% with you on the tank issue, and trust me, should I decide that the rest of the car is worth the investment, the tank will be replaced. The patch is just a way to keep it from leaking for now, so that the car isn't a rolling safety/environmental hazard while I decide what to do.

 

 

Thanks everyone for the help and replies so far. :cool:

[The Dude Abides]

At least if the header pipes and cat converter are good you just need to replace the pipe back from there which shouldnt be to bad. Brake lines, ive known people to junk cars because the expensive of replaceing whole lines front to back. Just look into costs and go from there. These are truly great cars and are worth investing some money into them.

[Red92]

These are truly great cars and are worth investing some money into them.

 

Thanks for the encouragement. My uncle had an '86 GL that I always thought was a cool car... I think it was getting close to 300k miles on it when the rust finally killed it. They put it on a chassis lift at a shop, and the lift went up while the car stayed down. Oops! haha.

 

So yeah, I've always had a soft spot for these cars.

[TheLoyale]

I dunno, I have seen an '84 GL sedan from Monona at a Junkyard, and it was not "Swiss-Cheese" But either way, a lot of structure rust can be fixed as I have seen.

 

EA82s are good vehicles, just give it some basic care and it'll last (Mine has)

 

-Tom

[TheLoyale]

Check for rust in the rear wheel wells (Where the coil over bolts to the body) also check out the rockers under the car and the sub-frame rails, these are typical spots on the older Subarus (Along with newer Subarus)

 

Don't be afraid to pick at it, its best to remove stuff and discover the rust before it gets out of hand

 

Cheers.

[xbeerd]

hey man, after i bought my car and drive it for like 6-7 months i came to find i had barely any front half of my rear wheel wells left. the bumpstop things were completely gone, i pulled my rear seatbelt mounts completely thru the body when unbolting them, and my rear suspension tube rusted thru on the ends. its still alive!

 

just have to put some time and effort into an old subaru in wi, i definatly have a better idea of what to look for next time i buy an old car tho, thats for sure.

 

i still have more work to do on my car, that'll come after i finish my motor swap, and before winter. (because there are HOLES in the car. LOL)

 

i love my rusty piece of ************.:banana: