No More Subaru

No More Subaru - AND THERE WAS MUCH REJOICING!!!!!

Well last night we turned in the old Subaru for a new Pontiac G5. I have to say it was mixed emotions to part with it. It hurt a bit as it was Dad’s car and all but what hurt more was that it was paid for. Of course the fact that the car was paid for was the only reason I kept it since it was a Subaru and SUCKED as a car but for the most part it ran and was paid off.

Now it finally will cost more to fix than a new car so it is toast. I took it to a non Subaru mechanic I trust and was told that if I was thinking of a new car now would be a good time. . . The ox sensor was gone and the catalytic converter was gone (both have already been replaced once in the three years I have had the car. He also told me the catalytic converters in these car tend to fail ever few years due to the gas additives or something, so I can expect to keep replacing them every few years for big $$. Those two things were $900 to fix (don’t want to think about what the dealer would have wanted for it). Then you can add the water pump and timing belt were over due and could fail any time $1200 bucks in the next few months. Add to that breaks and tiers that are worn and I was looking at $2500 to $3K in the next six months assuming nothing else died on that piece of crap. Not to mention that I have already had to change the alternator twice, Spark plug wires, took an act of god to replace the air filter, and a number of other things (usually they wanted a grand to fix things every time it went in the shop for an oil change or sticker) and I don’t know what Dad fixed while he had it. . . .

So it is gone. Don’t ever buy a Subaru, they suck. My GM cars have all gone over 100K mile with none of these problems. My S-10 Blazer had 180K on it when I traded it in after 8 years on the road. My pick up has 110K miles on it now and the only repair other than tires on it has been break lines after 10 years on the road and a fuel pump and alternator at 9 year on the road. Now that is a good car.

Add to that the fact that I work for a Japanese company and know how they screw the workers so if I am spending that kind of money I want to spend it with a US firm. I want to keep the money here in the US. I don’t care if Toyota or whoever build the cars here, the money goes there to corporate so sorry folks, can’t do. . . .

I will post a photo tonight or in the next few days when I can, rather booked for the next day or so.

Thoughts on the G5 so far? Great car for what it is. It is a 4 cylinder econo box. Not a lot of pick up but the ride is smooth and she handles well. OnStar seems cool and I like the fact it can play MP3 CDs and I can also tie in my MP3 player to the stereo. It came with XM Satellite too but I can’t see paying for that when I can put in a cd or listen to local radio. I would have killed for XM years ago when I traveled a lot and lost radio stations but that is not an issue now. OnStar does a bunch of cool stuff beyond just unlocking doors or calling 911 for you. They also check the car monthly and send me a report by email on anything it needs like air in the tier or an oil change – now that is cool. . . I will post more in it as I drive it and believe me you will hear the good and bad if there is anything worth posting. . .

Subaru continues to blow chunks

Update on the car problems. . .

The Subaru has had problems starting in wet weather for a while now and I finally got around to getting new spark plug wires for it. I went to change them and what a pain in the ass that was. . . .

The front one on each side could be done with difficulty as is. To get to the back one on the drivers side I had to take out the washer fluid reservoir. To do the back one on the passengers side I had to take out part of the air intake system. Again I say this is a sign of a bad design. God help me when it comes time for new plugs I have no idea how you would get to them where they are – I will have to pay a shop to fix that one.

Subaru you still suck. I can’t wait till I can afford another car payment – that piece of crap is so gone when I can. . . .

Subaru still sucks

Well I had to do some work on my Subaru yesterday. Seems she don’t want to run in wet weather. . . I was told by the shop of horrors that the air filter needed changing so I figured what the heck, that may be part of it. . . . I think it was, boy it was clogged up good. The issue I have is it took me 20min + and a socket wrench and a screw driver to get to the damn filter. They buried it in the back of the engine under some pipes so I had to fight with it to get it out and the new one back in. Still damaged the seals on the new one a bit getting it in.

Further proof that the designers of this car were clueless as to what they were doing. Sure it runs but if you don’t design for routine maintenance then you are a bad engineer. . . I think air filters should count as routine maintenance. . . . and with degrees in engineering and engineering management I think I know a bit about how to design something. . . .

Subaru you guys need to go back to school. . ..

Subaru Repairs $$$$$

In interest of fairness I got a comment from Deb on my post about the issues I am having with my Subaru which you can read below. It looks like Deb may work at the place I am having issues with. Now from her blog she has a lot of fans and I must say that the people behind the desk that I have dealt with there are sales folks, I work while the shop is open so tend to drop my car and get it after the shop is closed. The sales folks have always been nice to me and quick to get my bill and keys so I can pay and get on with my night. It is a shame that the service folks don't seem to have the same customer focus. . . .

Now it may be my car, it has 120K on it but as I said I have had GMs with more on them and less problems from them so I give that I may have a bad car here but such is life. I just wish I could bring it in for a repair and not have them come up with a list of extras that need fixing, and when I get it back the one thing I asked them to fix (other than the oil change) was not fixed. . . . they said it was but it don't work. . . . and folks, I really can't get past the $95 for plugging the car into the computer. . . if I even dreamed it would cost that much I would not have bothered. And another $80 to replace a front blinker light. . . I was told it was hard to get to. As an engineer that sounds like a poor design to me. You know that is a part you will need to replace during the life of the car, maybe a few times. It should not be that hard to get to that you can justify $80 buck when the bulb is less than $5 at the local Wall Mart. . . .

Now I am going to do my own break pads since I can't justify the $350 for a job I can do for between $40 and $80 in parts depending on who's pads I buy and a few hours of my own time on the weekend. The rotors I can see if they need turning by looking at them, I don't need to turn them to see if they are good. . . This will be another chance to see how well the car is designed. . . a well designed car should not be that hard to replace break pads on - another item you know wears out so should be easy to replace. . . If I remember I will post the results after I fix them. . . . .

Subaru, the cost is just too high

Took my old Subaru in to the shop today to have it looked at due to the accident I was in last week. . . Got rear ended at the Braintree split. . . Anyway I figured OK, it needs an oil change while it is at it and the engine light is on so they can plug in the computer and tell me what is wrong.

To do an oil change and plug in the computer they want something like $130 bucks out of me ($95 just to plug in the computer and read the screen)! This is nuts. Then add in that they think the OX sensor is bad ($300+ to repair/replace) there is a leak near the axel ($350 to fix) the front blinker on one side is out ($80 to fix – it’s hard to get to) and they say I need new break pads ($350 to start) and they can’t tell me if the rotors are good until they resurface them. . . IF they are good why are you resurfacing them???

I want to warn anyone thinking about a Subaru to run away fast. If I had the money to dump this car and go get something else I would in a minute. I got this after my Dad passed, I didn’t pick it and I can tell you I will NEVER buy a Subaru for myself! I don’t know if I just got a lemon or if these guys at the dealer have a magic number they need to hit every time they see the car but I have yet to bring it in there when they haven’t found $1000+ worth of things I should pay them to fix. . . . what a rip off. As an engineer all I can say is this car is crap and the cost of ownership is way too high. I have owned GMs with much more mileage on them that don’t need this much fixing to keep running. . .

Update, just got home with the car, the front blinkers work fine, no problem, and the hazard lights they said work don't. . . . . . Never buy a Subaru folks, just say no