Hey guys,
I’m a recent college grad. I’ve put 60K miles on a 1995 Audi 90 that I’ve had for 5-6 years now, for a total of 150K almost to the dot. I’m seeking a replacement car, but I have a limited budget of $10K in cash. I don’t want any more monthly payments, I don’t like debt.
There is a guy that specializes in rebuilding Subarus that were flooded… They look pretty good cosmetically, but I worry that there will be lingering time-bomb sorts of damage later. He says he strips it all down, throws away anything that got wet, washes the frame, and rebuilds with organ donor cars or new parts if he can’t find in a junkyard. In the end, he says, the cars pass the Subaru multipoint inspection and drive like new.
I do most of my own car work- I can replace most parts but I have limited garage space and time, since this will be my work car. In other words, I don’t mind replacing some speakers or an oil pan gasket, but I don’t want to find out that the transmission is acting up, or there is a fault in the deep wiring in the firewall or something. The advantage is I could get an 08-or-so Impreza with only 45K-or-so miles on it.
So I’m asking, is it possible to truly bring a flood car back to life? Or does it give it an extra two years and then my $10K is wasted on a car that can’t run and can’t sell? If it would last like this one has (18 years and kicking, 89K miles when I bought it), and I could run it into the ground or until I had money to buy another car, I might do it. But I don’t want to be nickel and dimed to death.
I plan on calling the local Subie dealership and asking what they think of him, since he’s done hundreds he says I’m sure they’ve dealt with them.
So, thoughts?
The other considerations I have are about a 06 Legacy Limited with ~100K miles, or a 06 VW GTI with about 90-100K miles. Sill considering those, but wanted to see what I could pan out about this kind of option as well.
Thanks!