Hello.
I have a 98 Subaru Forester with 135000 miles. I drive in the city and park outside but have been vigilant about repairs and maintenance (changing oil every 3000 miles, tune ups, replacing brakes, tires, etc). I was just told by my mechanic that a rattling that I was hearing had to do with the catalytic converter and exhaust system coming lose and breaking down. He said the whole system needed to be replaced and he could do so for $1200.
My question is this, since the car is not worth much more than this, is it worth replacing the system and trying to get a few more years out of the car, or am I only pouring money into a pit? My preference is to fix it and try to get as many more miles out of the car as possible, but I’m not sure if this is realistic or efficient.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
It’s hard to say what other potential problems the car has; unless you take it to a good mechanic to take a look at it.
If it’s more or less OK, I would probably just do the repair - think about it: what’s cheaper - pay $1200 - $3000 and drive for another two years, or $300-500 car payments EVERY month?
Exhaust systems wear out. This is normal. Fix it and drive it another 135,000 miles. $1,200 is not that much money. You can’t replace the car for that.
Assuming there is nothing wrong with the engine that led to the cat failure, I’d do the work, this is not unusual for a 13-year-old car. The other common problems for these is head gaskets - has that happened to you?