I own an 01 Subaru Forester and it has about 245000 miles on it. I drive the car about 1000 miles a week. I have put about $5000 into the car not including brakes and oil. Well I am including two timing belts in that $5000 if that counts as repairs. Mainly my repairs are wheel bearings, ball joints, sensors, and one cat converter. I currently need a clutch and a new wheel bearing, cost about $1000. I will need a new timing belt soon as well. Do I try to milk this thing for another year or is it time to let her go?? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks
Milk it. There’s nothing on your list that suggests that the engine or drivetrain are worn out. Everything you’ve mentioned can be considered normal wear on a car with 245,000 miles.
Drive it until it’s less expensive to replace it than to fix it.
Maintenance is a cost of operation, so trading in your car for a new one won’t eliminate the cost of maintenance. The cost of the clutch, which can be considered a repair, should be your only consideration. I would do the clutch job and keep the car.
When you consider historical repair costs, you have already spent the money. You may as well get your money’s worth from those repairs.
It’s getting close, so now other things are worth considering: do you like the car still? Is a breakdown a major inconvenience or not a big problem? Are you financially set up to move on?
If I liked the car, I’d fix it (and have the timing belt done if it’s coming up soon), and hope I’d get another year (50k miles) out of it.
Keep it running with the required maintenance; you would have to do that also if someone GAVE you a new car. A total of $5000 in 245,000 miles is cheap, only about 2 cents per mile!
When very major items occur, such as a transmission failure or engine rebuild, it’s time to say goodby!
Happy motoring till then!
I have decided to do the work on the car!! I do love her and this is my first clutch, and the engine is good. So why not, right? It’s strange how attached you can get to a car, we have been all over the country together, she deserves the $1000. Thanks for your help everyone, this totally sealed the deal.
That’s a little over $500 per year, or 2-cents per mile for maintenance. I think you’ve done very well. Keep it until something really expensive shows up. If you are really concerned, get another car and continue to commute in this one. You won’t ge much if you sell the Subie anyway.
$5000 into the car is a bargain if over 245k miles. Just FYI your timing belts are due every 105k miles so not sure why you are due soon especially performing it twice already.
I honestly can say flip the coin on this one. Given your excess mileage which is likely easy on the car I would motor on vs new car payments.
My inlaws had similar luck spending about $3500 in repairs over 245k miles also with a 2001 Forester. The broken AC was pushing the car out before summer however it blew the headgasket. A can of $10 stop leak it was trading into the dealer for a decent amount.
What is the deal with the timing belts? I guess I have so much fear of one going that I get them done more than I should. My Ac has not worked in years I just don’t use it, which makes for a really hard summer. Windows down and hand out the window. How do I avoid a blown headgasket? Is there a way to avoid such a thing?