2003 Subaru Forester issues: Should I cut my losses and get a different vehicle?

[Electronic M]

If it costs more to fix it then it's worth cut your losses.

I kinda plan to drive my suburban till it rusts in half or gets totalled, then pull the LS motor and trans to reuse on some future 50s car for my collection. If it wasn't for dropping the rear end I'd almost suggest the evap as a DIY task...I pretty much do everything that I possibly can do on my truck myself (everything from oil changes on up to brake work and pulling the transfer case), unless something that can't wait unexpectedly fails in winter...Then I usually find a shop... Except that one time the battery crapped out in the driveway and the captive nut spun and I had to pull open the inner fender in the snow to fix that...Good times. :thmbsdn:

The body on my truck has multiple rust holes, a couple years into owning it I found the Bondo patches when the metal around them rusted, then lacking a welder I used a 75W soldering iron to solder in steel patched after cutting out the rust and bondoed over that...That was before the pandemic, and it's about due for round 2 of that...It looks like holes formed in exciting new places. The one good thing with mine is the frame has held up better than the body... It don't have to look great it just has to work...Till I have a house and save up enough for a better SUV.

I've heard Pennsylvania is infamous for salting their roads so bad it ruins cars. I think whoever sold it to you didn't winter drive it and lied about why it wasn't rusty.

[vortalexfan]

So I had the car in at the mechanic today and they showed me the undercarriage and they showed me that the frame is definitely rusted out in spots but its still good enough to drive for right now but I would definitely consider looking into getting a different vehicle within the next year or two, but also there is an oil leak as well that seems to be coming from the topside of the engine which I suspect might be either the head gasket or the valve cover gasket, and both of those issues are something that the Subaru Horizontally Opposed "Boxer" Engines are notorious for having failures with, and are both expensive fixes, plus I have a leaky brake cyclinder on one of my brake calipers which I think I'll have my dad help me change that this weekend.

So I guess I'll be driving it for at least another year but also saving up and also keeping an eye out for something different in the mean time.

[zeno]

The car is worn out.. Get rid of it. If you do a private sale be SURE
its to someone over 18. Have a disclosure of known problems SIGNED
by buyer. Sell as " PARTS CAR ONLY".
Or sell to junk yard. In N.H. they pay $200 for almost anything.

Go find a non fleet Crown Vic. They have very few problems that
are hard to find & expensive. MPG not bad at 28 MPG HWY. Had
I had two that went 250 K / 15 yrs before the rust got them.
No major problems, ran great till the end.

good luck
73 Zeno
LFOD !

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by vortalexfan

So I had the car in at the mechanic today and they showed me the undercarriage and they showed me that the frame is definitely rusted out in spots but its still good enough to drive for right now but I would definitely consider looking into getting a different vehicle within the next year or two, but also there is an oil leak as well that seems to be coming from the topside of the engine which I suspect might be either the head gasket or the valve cover gasket, and both of those issues are something that the Subaru Horizontally Opposed "Boxer" Engines are notorious for having failures with, and are both expensive fixes, plus I have a leaky brake cyclinder on one of my brake calipers which I think I'll have my dad help me change that this weekend.

So I guess I'll be driving it for at least another year but also saving up and also keeping an eye out for something different in the mean time.

All cars seem to have a weak point. The well-loved Toyota has water pump and wheel bearing problems, plus rust. Being in Wisconsin, rust is really a problem.