New Subarus and Problems!!!!

[Capri]

Hi,

 

I just bought the Forester 2006. I am reading about all the problems I never experienced at the mileage people are having with their subs with my old Honda Accord. I don't understand why it's called a marvel in engineering unless the engine is great and everything else falls apart. I'm keeping this SUV until the first timing belt or chain needs to be done and after that, I will keep it before another belt or chain is needed or any big repairs are needed.

 

2006 gave it good reviews, but they didn't have enough info. I will look at Consumer's Report next year and see what they really have to say about the 2006 and base my selling it on how long it will last before it needs repairs.

 

I think to get your money's worth out of a vehicle, you have to have a loan for 5 years, the ride it for free for a year or two without payments, then buy a new car before the big repairs hit. Buying too early just makes you pay that big sales tax on the vehicle too soon.

 

Bye, Capri

[wrxman]

I have had 6 forresters 1 obk sport and a legacy sdn and have never had a problem with any of them. I am currently driving a 06 llbean forrester and it drives like a dream.

[Dickensheets]

Capri, you have the right idea but...what is a big repair?

 

 

I bought my pickup new 14 years ago. It's been paid off for more than 10 years. Yes I occasionally need a part, recently a radiator, but that was $150 and 2 hours in the driveway. I just don't see how you can justify buying a new vehicle every 6 or 7 years unless money is no object. Most cars, not just the ones we all like, will last 250,000 miles if properly maintained and not abused.

 

Think what you could do with that $25,000 every 6 years.....retire early!

 

Ryan

[RallyKeith]

Yeah, what do you call a big repair? If you average car payment is lets say $200 a month on a 5 year loan, you could spend $2400 a year on repairs (that's a lot in my book) and still be no worse off than if you were making payments on a loan. Lets also not forget that any car you have a lein against must be FULLY insured. As long as you are a good driver you could take collision off after the loan is done and actually save money. It all comes down to you and your life style. I can do all of my own repairs, and generally don't mind. So for me having a brand new car isn't a must.

[jimscat]

i generally do all my repairs but it would be nice to have a new car. with a proven reliable car yoy wouldnt have much for repairs but the needed maintenance fee that the warrenty requires will empty your wallet in a hurry.

[Bad Brat-No Cookie]

I am with capri, personaly I hate gas stations, so when the tank gets low I go and trade it in and the dealership always gives me a full tank...But maybee I should cut back to when they need the oil changed because that just takes too long to get done...

 

I personaly would like to thank Capri for making it so easy to find 6 to 7 year old cars cheaply that have DECADES of use left in them...

 

PROUD owner of a 21 year old BRAT that has cost me a whopping $400 to drive over the last 6 months...

[northguy]

92 Legacy - paid $3800 3 years ago

 

89 xt6 - paid $2500 4 months ago

 

83 Brat - paid $2700 2 years ago

 

All run great, limited repairs, average less than $500 a year, with depreciation, that comes out way less than the average car payment. I buy used; it's cheaper in the long run. If I spend 3 grand on a vehicle and it lasts 3 years, that's a grand a year, about 3 car payments on a new ride.

[Gnuman]

I got you beat, northguy. My 92 Legacy wagon was given to me just over a year ago. Granted I've dropped a bit over a grand in it on upgrades, and a few repairs (the largest being a new clutch) and I plan on a big refurb in about 7K miles (stocking up on parts now: Timing belt, valve cover gaskets, rear main seal, I may do the heads and the rest of the seals along with a new WP) and annother one when I get the parts together (4 new AGX struts, new Subaru ball joints, perhaps outer tie rod ends, alignment then tires)between the tires and struts that will be annother grand right there. . .

 

So why do I keep a car that needs that kind of work? Well, to start with, it is reliable as hell, twice as versitle, and handles great. Oh, and I can say that I own a NA 4cyl wagon that will take 120MPH and hold it onlevel ground with the ride still being stable. . .on bad struts. with good ones, I'm sure the ride at high speeds will improve greatly. . .

[Capri]

Hi,

 

My Honda Accord has 171,000 miles on it. It will need a timing belt job done for $500+ dollars soon, so I would rather put that into a downpayment on a new vehicle. We put miles on very quickly. This car is only a 1997. It will need new tires soon also and I would rather use the funds from selling the Honda and not buying new tires and no belt replacement on a new car to have a smaller payment rather than selling it when it's not worth as much.

 

Let's see, what have I had done on my Honda Accord....regular oil & filter changes, brakes and pads and rotors.

 

I see other people do radiator replacements, and are told to be safe when changing it's belt or chain to change oil seals and other things, one guy, don't know how many miles his car has, but it needs a new strut assembly. A 1999 Forester is misfiring and the dealer is talking about a new valve, another with a transmission out for a leak, valve filler neck problems and 02 sensors, can't totally full up car with gas!!!!

 

We also wanted a 4wd or awd and a high clearance vehicle, so it all worked out for the best that we sell the Honda now. The Honda is running fine, but soon it won't and if we keep it, we will be throwing good money after bad. You have to know when to fish or cut bait and buy a new vehicle.

[Dickensheets]

To each his own.

 

Anyway welcome to Soob land.

 

Ryan

[subiefan]

That's nothing. When my windshield gets dirty, I take my car to the dealership and trade it in. To each his own. But my motto concerning car ownership is "till death or deer, which ever comes first." So once I get a car, I plan on keeping it until something goes terribly wrong and it's no longer worth fixing. The average age of American cars is 9-11 years. My '93 Sube is still providing excellent service, and I haven't done much else than regular oil changes/tires/brakes/timing belt. There are people on this board who have 25+ year old Subes still providing good service. It's probably a good guess to say that mantaining one's car (unless LOTS, and I mean LOTS of major things start falling apart) is quite a bit cheaper than regular car payments AND full coverage insurance.

 

Just my .02 cents, so please don't harass me over this.

[mikkl]

It's probably a good guess to say that mantaining one's car (unless LOTS, and I mean LOTS of major things start falling apart) is quite a bit cheaper than regular car payments AND full coverage insurance.

 

Agreed. The challenge is the definition of LOTS. In the past 16 months, I have replaced the windshield, struts, tires, and exhaust system on a 10 year old Geo Prizm (103k miles, original clutch). The crank pully key just failed, costing me $1100 to fix. For me, this has become LOTS and my first Subaru is in the driveway as a result (a 2005 Legacy Sedan).

 

Knowing when to stay "enough" is a tough point. Wish I would have done it a couple of months ago...

 

mikkl

[Capri]

subie, I would not harrass you or anyone about their theories on when to sell their vehicle.

 

Other things do come into play, like can you afford to take off of work to bring the vehicle into be fixed? Do you have another way to get to work? My husband doesn't. We don't live near anyone at his job and forget about transportation there. He'd have to get up two hours early.

 

We drive up desolate roads for hiking where we don't want to be stuck or up to Canada or down to Oregon and I'm telling you we do trips that are hours long one way. One area is to an Indian reservation where you can't even get cell phone service on the WA coast. We drive on roads where no one will ever find you for days if you break down. We really need the car to be always functioning with no surprises, so maybe that's what pushed me to get another vehicle though 171,000 mile isn't like I'm getting rid of it that soon. I have no doubt we could do 200,000 miles, but those other factors come into play that I mentioned, but we would hit that mileage in 1-1/2 years.

 

I didn't mean to be so harsh or imply that Subies are crap or anything like that. I'm just spoiled from owning the Honda Accord Sedan. I love my new 2006 Forester. It has some nice features. You know the Camrys and Accords are BASIC. You're lucky they give you a glove compartment. I like the way this vehicle handles, the pick up and everything else that goes with it.

 

One thing is that the booklet that comes with the car is half full with "warnings". Don't put a pillow between you and your seat. Don't put anything in front of you. They give you more warnings. I don't think I saw one that said to not put anything on the dash where the bag may push whatever it is into your face like sunglasses etc.

 

Who knows, maybe in the end, with no payments and not so bad repairs, it does work out better to keep the vehicle. I don't know what my husband's friend has, but it cost $3,000 for a new transmission. Now there's no way you are going to come out on top with things like that happening. If you have a good car, and you kept it a long time, it would be interesting to crunch some numbers and see what you paid in as opposed to what you would have paid in monthly payments with a possibly newer and more safely built vehicle.

 

I wish you all the best of luck with your subies and that they all go way over 100,000 miles effortlessly.

 

Bye, Capri

[Seahag1978]

My Brat has been a money pit, but it's pennies compared to the payments, insurance and excise tax on my Baja. It's running great now (just have to change the hub and bearings). I wouldn't trade it for anything, when something breaks we'll fix it.

[Gnuman]

Hi,

 

My Honda Accord has 171,000 miles on it. It will need a timing belt job done for $500+ dollars soon, so I would rather put that into a downpayment on a new vehicle. We put miles on very quickly. This car is only a 1997. It will need new tires soon also and I would rather use the funds from selling the Honda and not buying new tires and no belt replacement on a new car to have a smaller payment rather than selling it when it's not worth as much.

 

Let's see, what have I had done on my Honda Accord....regular oil & filter changes, brakes and pads and rotors.

 

I see other people do radiator replacements, and are told to be safe when changing it's belt or chain to change oil seals and other things, one guy, don't know how many miles his car has, but it needs a new strut assembly. A 1999 Forester is misfiring and the dealer is talking about a new valve, another with a transmission out for a leak, valve filler neck problems and 02 sensors, can't totally full up car with gas!!!!

 

We also wanted a 4wd or awd and a high clearance vehicle, so it all worked out for the best that we sell the Honda now. The Honda is running fine, but soon it won't and if we keep it, we will be throwing good money after bad. You have to know when to fish or cut bait and buy a new vehicle.

 

I'm the guy with the struts. My milage is in my signature. the timing belt is coming up, and much of the work I'm doing at the same time is because I plan on keeping the car for at least annother 100K miles (perhaps 200K). Most of the work Ive done to my car has been upgrades (better seats, better stereo, better wheels, roof rack, deflector). Part of the strut replacement is upgrade, part because with 170Kmiles on the car, the struts wear out. I'm getting AGX struts because I got a towing hitch, and want the ability to stiffen the rear end when I have a trailer attached. They cost twice as much, but I love my 14 year old car and plan on driving it until the chasis falls apart.

 

Oh, and when I do finally retire Emily, I'll be buying annother used Subaru. I figure that is the safest bet I can make in any respect. . .

[Bmm001]

Capri, I don't mean to cut you down, but cars are like anything else. You can get good ones or bad ones. I think a lot of it is luck. Doesn't matter whether it's a Honda or a Toyota or a Subaru. Sure, my mom's clutch went in her '98 Legacy at 88,000 miles. Bad luck...yes... a problem with Subaru's reliability? Maybe, probably a bad clutch to begin with. We didn't get rid of the car because of it.

On the same token, my brother's '91 Toyota has been burning oil ( a quart per 500 miles or so) and fouling its spark plugs every 10,000 miles since 80,000 miles (it has 135,000 miles on it now) due to bad valve seals. I thought Toyotas were supposed to be so reliable and trouble-free. See what I mean? A friend of mine needed the entire axle assembly replaced on her Civic (which only had about 90,000 miles on it.

I have had no major issues with my '95 Legacy, nor has my dad on his '97 Impreza, with over 110,000 miles.

I guess what I'm getting at is that you can't make generalizations about a brand of cars just based on ratings. Remember that ratings are for the brand overall, and do not always reflect individual experiences of owners. Almost any Japanese car, with proper care and maintenence, will last a heck of a long time. Just enjoy your car, take care of it, and it should last you a long time.

 

Brian

[Zephyr]

My prior car was a Civic- 130k miles. I had to replace the radiator and a water pump here and there of course then the little things.

 

But I have to admit, I am shocked at the (what I consider) high prices people find acceptable to spend on maintenance for their non honda or toyota cars.

 

After my new subee is paid for, I'm going to crash my wive's car through the front glass of the Ford dealership where we got her car and leave it there as we go to buy her a new Japanese model. That Ford encounters the most annoying repairs I have ever experienced. And it seems like I have talked to other ford owners who consider having to take their vehicle in for repairs every 6 or 7 months to be pretty good! Uggghhhhh, that's pitiful!

[Gnuman]

Capri, looking at your post again, I notice that you are taking your reliability stats from the posts here. This is a place where enthusiasts come to get advice|rant about trouble they are having with thier cars. Not a good representation at all. Moreover there is a wide range of ages on these cars, and a lot of what is talked about cannot be attributed to the 2006 model year. there is also a wide range of vehicles being talked about. . .

 

Perhaps if all the posts were about a single late model car I could see your point on " a lot of repairs". . .

[cookie]

many years. I don't claim to have a solution myself. As I get older I have much less tolerance for the occasional breakdown I used to laugh off.

I also used to be much easier to patch a car up to get home than it is now. When a chip fails a piece of sandpaper and a matchbook cover is not much help.

I think at this point my best experiences have been buying cars with several thousand miles on them, the less the better.

When I was a kid I preferred to buy with a blown engine so I could rebuild and know what I had. This sort of thing also can be controlled by where and how you drive. If you live in an urban area with good bus and train service it is much easier to deal with a breakdown. If you can work on your own car like many of our members service and breakdowns are much more tolerable.

I have sold my last few cars when the irritation from unrelibility passed my tolerance level.

Now I sell cars exactly at the condition I used to buy them in. I used to love to buy cars from finicky over serviceing old farts like me with all the records I keep.

[nipper]

There used to be a time when you sat there and asked yourself if it was time for a new car. Now with a new car running on avg 22,000 dollars, plus insurance, as long as the body is fine on the car, and the car is liked, it pays to stick with the older one. Il'd rather put a new drivetrain in the car and be done with it then buy a new on, unless there is some new huge design feature I have to have. My point of getting a new car is if the interior is shot to hell, and its rusted out.

I have a 97 OBW with 180K on it, and im leaning towards a new drivetrain (when that time comes)instead of the expense of a new car.

[1 Lucky Texan]

There used to be a time when you sat there and asked yourself if it was time for a new car. Now with a new car running on avg 22,000 dollars, plus insurance, as long as the body is fine on the car, and the car is liked, it pays to stick with the older one. Il'd rather put a new drivetrain in the car and be done with it then buy a new on, unless there is some new huge design feature I have to have. My point of getting a new car is if the interior is shot to hell, and its rusted out.

I have a 97 OBW with 180K on it, and im leaning towards a new drivetrain (when that time comes)instead of the expense of a new car.

 

Yeah, its like, as long as the airbags are intact,ECU and tranny and engine OK, keep the car no matter what. Airbags are, like, $800 each! My new Soob has 4 of 'em!

[blitz]

rear main seal

Just stumbled across this. The engine has to be removed for this right?

[forester01]

2001 Forester purchased new. Blown headgasket at 15K, ruined sensors and cat converters, 30K broken knock sensor. All work done under warranty so no bucks just a hassle. Currently have 75K and no trouble since the sensor. Spent 200 to get a code scanner for the obdII so I can at least trouble-shoot a little. I still drive an 89 Mazda 929 with 210K. Bought it with 30K and it has never been in the shop. Oil changes, brakes, this and that is about all. Yes, it now needs about 1500 to bring it to full glory, new struts, some front-end bushings and a set of tires but it has been one trouble free car for the past many years. The Subaru is beginning to look like it will last but it was an unhappy time there in the beginning.

[rweddy]

I just bought the Forester 2006. I am reading about all the problems I never experienced at the mileage people are having with their subs with my old Honda Accord. I don't understand why it's called a marvel in engineering unless the engine is great and everything else falls apart. I'm keeping this SUV until the first timing belt or chain needs to be done and after that, I will keep it before another belt or chain is needed or any big repairs are needed.

 

Just to reiterate what was been said already, Subaru’s are very reliable vehicles. I have owned lots of Subaru’s and Hondas. Hondas are great cars; actually have a 03 right now. This board is for venting, I have taken multiple Subaru’s over 200k and have one right now with over 100k and have not done a thing to it. There are some HG issues which are pretty rare but even Toyota and Honda are having these issues also.

 

Subaru’s fill a nitch that Honda does not, they have a good AWD system. Honda only brings their Real time AWD system to the states which is a joke. And you cannot get an Accord or Civic wagon here in the States, can you in Canada?

 

Don't be scared of the things you read hear for every person who has an issue on this board, there are five that have had no issues at all.

[Capri]

Hi,

 

I have nothing to go by as to what subaru problems are except this site which is the best indicator. BMM001, Now a clutch problem can be from the way a person drives, then again you always hear about those cars that were made on a Friday (done quickly as everyone wanted to go home)!!! Or maybe it's just to indicate an odd lemon out of a bunch of what are considered to be otherwise good cars.

 

I drove my Honda for 3 years w/o payments or having to repair anything, so I'm happy with that. I listed my reasons for wanting a new vehicle besides that I feel mine has a lot of miles on it. Other people may have second cars they can depend on or they don't do the kind of traveling my husband and I do where we can't afford to get stuck in the middle of no where with no cell phone reception, so that plays into getting a new vehicle also.

 

The last hike I did started at about 4,500 ft. There are no such things as guardrails and the road are very narrow. I can't imagine a tow truck going up there to get my car on the winding steep roads. I'm really not sure if it could tow it back to level ground, but I'm have no intention of putting it to the test with an older vehicle.

 

Bye, Capri