fair price to replace heater core?

[tbolt1003]

The heater core in my '95 Impreza wagon went south. I've researched the repair and know what's involved. Basically the car was built around the core. While I'm not deterred from fixing it myself, I really don't have the time right now to dedicate to it, with the job and family demanding so much of my time.

 

What is a fair price to pay to have a shop or dealer do the complete job? I'm sure it's more than the car is worth, but with only 100,000 miles, she runs and rides like a dream and I want to hold onto the car. Thoughts? Thanks!

Edited July 30, 2014 by tbolt1003

[idosubaru]

call the dealer first and ask - since they go by book rates they can simply tell you over the phone. 

in the end it should be cheaper somewhere else as long as you can find someone will to do it.

 

this site says $300 - $400 and change.

 

yes, totally worth keeping.  that's one of the most inexpensive, reliable, and cheapest to maintain vehicles Subaru ever made.  don't overheat or run it low on oil and it'll last as long as you care to maintain it.

[Pgh_Scoob]

I was actually just looking up labor rates for that and evaporator on my 96 legacy and it called for 8.6 hrs book time IIRC. It is a rather involved job which does include pulling the whole dash... I have heard of shops charging 800-900 for heater core jobs on other vehicles.

Hope this helps

[1 Lucky Texan]

it would def. suck in the winter but, you could bypass the core.

[AdventureSubaru]

x2 on bypassing the core. It's summer and it can buy you some time to get it done.

 

You can save some money by shopping for the part for yourself on Rockauto, Ebay etc.

 

It's not a terrible job, just involved since theres a lot of tight spaces and parts removed to get to it. Would take about half a day to someone with some subaru skills. Longer if it's your first time. 

 

If you shop around, you should be able to find a place that will do it affordably. Orbachs Automotive in Denver PA are Subaru specific. They are wizards who aren't above doing cheaper fixes with used parts if thats what serves a customer best. And they do superior work to the dealers at a much lower cost. It's about an hour from you, but they may be a good option to save you some $$$.

[tbolt1003]

I've already bypassed the core temporarily. I had coolant dripping out onto my passenger side floor.

 

I called the dealer and they quoted me a hair under $1400 for everything. Apparently, there were multiple bulletins on the core over the years and they're on revision #4. There is a new heater box to adapt to the revised core that I'll need in addition to the core itself.Not what I was expecting to hear numbers wise

[upnorthguy]

If you did end up tackling this, Beer Garage has a nice write up (two pages!) with pics for a Legacy Outback- maybe it would have some similarities to yours.  Lots of screws to remove from the looks of it.

 

http://beergarage.com/SubyHeaterCore.aspx

http://beergarage.com/SubyHeaterCore2.aspx

[tbolt1003]

That was a really excellent write-up. The Legacy dash does look similar to my Impreza. Doesn't seem that hard to do...just very time consuming. Probably why the dealer is charging what they are.

[ocei77]

The first time I did it, it took me three hours to remove the dash and a little over two to install.

I was being slow and labeling things that I figured needed to be mated.

Don't know what the actual book rate is tho.

If you decide to tackle it, make sure you print the fsm relevant pages, Especially the one that shows the number of screws that secure the dash. Some are hidden.

 

O.