I have a 2000 Subaru Forester, (78000miles) which I recently had to pay $400 to replace a rear wheel bearing. This seemed a bit high to me. My husband as saying that because it is all wheel drive any repairs will cost more then for other cars of comparable size. Is this true? If I sell this car I’ll probably get around $7000 for it. Can someone recommend a small car that is reliable for this price?
$7000 can get some decent used cars, depending on what you’re looking for. You can get an almost new Hyundai Accent for that price, or a couple years old ex-police Crown Vic, or perhaps a slightly older Crown Vic/Grand Marquis. Your possibilities are almost endless. What kind of car are you looking for, if any?
Keep it, you have a reliable car.
You will have a hard time finding a reliable used car for the price you claim you can get for your Forester. I suggest you keep the car and continue driving it. There is no reason to think anything else will go wrong in the near future. The Forester continues to get high reliability ratings from Consumer Reports, and I think you will regret it if you dump this car just because you spent $400 on it. In the real world that’s NOTHING.
I’ve spent several thousand dollars repairing/maintaining my Subaru, and while I’m not happy about the repair bills, they are still less than the cost of a new car, or even a good used car.
It’s almost ALWAYS less expensive to repair a car than to replace a car.
the problem with repairs is that my husband used to do the simple things, but because of the all wheel drive , it requires special tools.
something that isn’t all wheel drive, I live in Florida and don’t need it, and gets good gas mileage
It’s not like he will be always having to work on it though. A few hundred more here and there because of the AWD. I seriously don’t think you’ll be happy with a used car for around $7k. The Forrester is a useful car.
Unless you just want a new car…that’s a different story.
Get a BMW or something
You’ll be able to get a car one dent away from being a POS. Stick with the Forrester, it’ll still look cool even when it’s banged up - it has utility.
While I think it would be cheaper to keep the Subaru, some other cars to consider are:
-Hyundai Accent, Elantra, make sure they’re made after 2000 - they are also very easy to work on, and cheap to insure, and I think your best bet for your budget
-Honda Civic, just make sure it’s in good shape - it’ll be hard to find a newer one for that price
-Toyota Echo, Corolla, the Echo is tiny, but it’s cheap and reliable, same with the Corolla
-Ford Focus, just make sure to get one 2002 or newer, the first 2 model years had a number of problems
-Chevy Aveo (chances are you won’t find one under $7000, but still)
If you’re willing to go a little larger than a compact car:
-Hyundai Sonata (again, newer than 2000)
-2000 or 2001 Chevy Impala (any newer would be better, but likely a good one will be out of your price range) -Honda Accord/Toyota Camry (again, a newer one will be too expensive, so make sure to get a prospective car checked by a mechanic, actually, get any prospective used car checked out)
-Ford Taurus (though I’d avoid them, but they are cheap)
-any Buick, which will likely be plentiful in Florida and likely in decent condition
-and lastly, if you don’t get too concerned with gas mileage, a Ford Crown Victoria or Mercury Grand Marquis
Think of it this way $400 is about one month car payment on a new car. If i was you i would keep your car.
I think your husband is back in the times of his youth possibly. $400 for a wheel bearing is not a low price nor high. The price has nothing to do with the AWD.
Also he is wrong stating that AWD affect the entire vehicle. It only affects certain repairs in the driveline(wheel bearing excluded). The great thing on Subaru is that AWD rarely fails.
$400 is a drop in the bucket and REPAIRS are normal course of vehicle ownership.
For $7000 your setting up yourself for a small used car potentially in need of lots of repairs. Stick with what you know if the Forester suits your needs.
Buy him the special tools for Father’s Day. Give him the opportunity to learn how to fix the car. Worst case, you tow it to be fixed properly the very very very few times it will be necessary for the AWD.
Every car needs repairs from time to time. Keep the Forester if you like it. As for the special tools, they are probably too expensive. Just pay for the drive train repairs if you ever need them again. Remember that the $400 was for parts and labor. The tools are probably severa hundred bucks.