When does this stop?

guzzla

Forum Member
Joined
May 16, 2010
Messages
338
Location
Toowoomba, QLD
Aaagghh.... Just had a look under my XT and notice that passenger side inner CV boot is leaking and needs replacing. Lasted 263,000km so I shouldn't complain I guess. With the steering rack being replaced on Thursday, the springs and struts earlier in the year (252,000km), the BIG 250,000km service, the front brake pads & CV boot (238,000km), air conditioning compressor, belts & lots of other associated parts (193,000km), secondary airpump delete & ECU reflash (220,000km), 4 tyres (236,000km) this is getting a little bit expensive. I guess it's the price I pay for keeping a car that I'm rather attached to and find so useful and rewarding. I wonder what will be next - clutch? Will have to happen some time.

I'm not going to depress myself and put a $ sign after each one.
 
Much as I understand the feeling, and feel for you (and your credit card/s ... ), one has to be grateful that the car has run for 250K Kms without needing much by way of repairs. Many cars are scrap heap material by 150K Kms, even these days!

After this 'repair cycle' is completed, it should give you many more years of (relatively) trouble-free driving. Just think of it as a 'major overhaul' ... ;).

Similarly to your situation, I could see a whole lot of repairs coming over the horizon for Roo1 (236K Kms), biggest of which was the gearbox - nearly 18 years of driving it like I stole it couldn't possibly have contributed to this, could it? If it had suited my needs, I would have done the required (foreseeable) repairs, and kept it forever. Which is one reason why I turned it over for Roo2.

Roo2 has cost a bit in maintenance and repairs (new tyres; 125K Kms service; new non-SLS struts at the rear; spare chipped key; sheep seat covers), but it is really a far more suitable vehicle for my uses than the Impreza ever was. The Impreza was much more economical around town (around 10L/100 kms even in stop-start traffic with the air-con on), but Roo2 is better for my uses in every other respect. Still far cheaper than what needed doing to Roo1, and the vehicle suits me better. I'm happy.

As for the leaky head gaskets problem, our neighbour across the road needs to have them done on her 2004 SG series I at 125K Kms. It's going to cost her around $4,000 :(. It is my understanding that the series II SG uses the newer, non-leaky design gaskets as standard. Hopefully that's the case! What with the EJ-253 heads being a completely different design from those on the EJ-251, I would hope that Subaru have fixed that particular problem.

Did you get a better price on your steering rack repair?
 
I hate to say it but this is just the beginning. Yiy habe to remember that every thing else has 300k km and is tied. Age and km equal wear and tear.

Ratbag that id absolutely redicoules to pay 4k to do head gaskets. A normal mechanic wouldn't charge any more than $1800 tops. I did the job myself on a ej25 2000 outback which cost me $600 minus labour.
 
Ratbag said:
Did you get a better price on your steering rack repair?
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No, but I still have to check out another couple of places tomorrow. Either a ridiculously expensive new rack from Subaru or reconditioned one, but still expensive it seems. Otherwise it will be Advanced Service Centre on Thursday. They seem to know what they're talking about after all. They can do the CV boot at the same time.

re. the major overhauls bit. The Forester hasn't reached that stage yet (and I hope it never will) but I know from experience that around the mid 200k mark that many things need to be replaced (or repaired). Many mechanics just look at them as being normal service items. Tyres, struts, batteries, brake pads, clutch linings, CV joints & boots, coolant hoses, power steering pumps - they all have a service life. Some cars just have some of those things go before others. My Camry is now owned by one of my brothers (he swapped his 03 Forester X with another brother who I gave the Camry to - they both feel like they got the better deal lol) and has now done 400,000km - engine never opened, uses no oil, only ever had one cam belt change and the air conditioner has never ever needed servicing other than a new belt. It still blows as cold as any air con could. But it did have an oil leak, roof lining collapse, hole worn through the front seat, power steering pump need repairing which still didn't fix so needed changing, needed a clutch throwout bearing replaced twice & had 3 sets of strut replacements with costly top hat bearing replacements in its lifetime - and all of those things happened after 280,000km. In hindsight I should have given it away then.
 
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Guzzla,
You are not doing too badly really.
My MY03 with 308 000kms has gone through a few more parts replacement than your car. Mind you it has had a fairly intensive life. I do however, to my constant amazement, have the original front brake pads on. Not for much longer though.
When they repair the inner boot if you only want the boot changed then insist on that or you may end up with a swap half shaft which value adds for the workshop and you have no idea of its history. You do receive two new boots for your money, inner and outer, but what the joints inside are like you do not know.
All Drive replaced my inner boot with a swap half shaft, without prior informing me they would so do, and grease started leaking from it under the clip out near Alice Springs a short time after. Not the most convenient time or place.
I was not happy.
 
Gidday Taza

taza said:
I hate to say it but this is just the beginning. Yiy habe to remember that every thing else has 300k km and is tied. Age and km equal wear and tear.
Click to expand...

True enough, but as long as the body integrity is OK, then most bits should be fine on a 7 y.o. car, regardless of mileage.

Ratbag that id absolutely redicoules to pay 4k to do head gaskets. A normal mechanic wouldn't charge any more than $1800 tops. I did the job myself on a ej25 2000 outback which cost me $600 minus labour.
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My thoughts too. I suggested that she get another quote from Lucas, which she did, but it was much the same. I reckon that Ross would probably do the job for less than $2,000, but she seemed disinclined to get yet another quote.

She's a lovely person - salt of the Earth, so I might just give Ross a call tomorrow on her behalf. It beggars belief that her normal mechanic didn't notice it when the timing belt was done. At that point, half the labour charges are already accounted for ...
 
^ ^ When Roo1 or the Camry needed CVs done, Ross always replaced them with fully re-con ones. As he said, he couldn't remove, clean, re-grease and replace one CV boot for the price of fitting a re-co shaft, and it has oversized balls, cages, new boots, re-machined races, etc, as necessary. If a particular returned shaft were too badly damaged, the factory would just rescue the re-usable parts and chuck the rest in the recycle bin ... .

No way would I fit a s/h shaft unless I was desperately short of the green folding stuff.
 
Hi ateday - Thanks for that advice. I have been wondering what they will do. I have just checked the invoice of the 238,000km service done by Wippells Subaru here in Toowoomba where the drivers side inner boot was replaced and it says, "Removed and replaced RHF inner CV boot as it had split. Cleaned off excess grease and checked, all ok." It cost $172.50 + GST in labour and the replacement parts were CV boot clip $2.80, grease package SFJ $38.86, boot drive shaft $58.23, all + GST. That looks like they replaced the whole shaft doesn't it. But then I wouldn't expect a dealer service to do anything different than the expensive way.

btw It was at that service where they also replaced the original front brake pads for the first time and I never did get to see how worn the old ones were. I am a bit suspicious because the original rears still have plenty of service life left in them according to the mechanic at Advanced Service Centre where I now go.

I'm not complaining about the durability of my Forester at all - like other Subaru owners I know, I have found it to be a very durable, trouble free car. It's more the sad recognition that it has come to and is going through a time of replacement and renewal. The alternative is the expensive merry-go-round of 3 year replacements and subsequent big depreciations. I saw my brother go through that with a new $70,000 Volvo XC90 that 5 years and 130,000km later was traded for $20,000. Now that's depreciation! That was followed by a $35,000 VW Jetta that returned $6,700 4 years and 130,000km later. Makes our maintenance costs seem insignificant heh?
 
^ That's why I almost always buy s/h cars, unless tax deductible ... Someone else has taken that huge depreciation hit ... No more tax deductions for me. We're on the federal government "payroll" now, :iconwink: :lol:.

Roo1 cost { DELETE this figure - around $500 p.a. } In repairs and maintenance over its life. Bought new, it was deductible ... :biggrin:

From my Batphone

[EDIT]

Costs were actually around $4,000 over nearly 18 years. i.e. about $250 p.a.

Put it down to CRAFT disease, and gardening stress ... :raz:

[end edit]
 
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Ratbag said:
^ That's why I almost always buy s/h cars, unless tax deductible ... Someone else has taken that huge depreciation hit ... No more tax deductions for me. We're on the federal government "payroll" now, :iconwink: :lol:.
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I've got to wait another 18 months to join your payroll so for the last 7 years since retirement I've had to be payrolling myself ;)

Yeah s/h cars are the way to go - the art is finding one that the previous owner has treasured. And then you never really know what it's been through. It's comforting knowing I have 3 years unlimited km warranty on my new Golf (and the Forester before that) though. And that new car smell, feel, unmarked cleanliness and latest tech advancements. And 12 months rego and new battery. It does count for something. And new cars are just so relatively cheap now. I have been through both scenarios a number of times in my car owning career. moneywise = s/h satisfaction = new
 
Hmm...keep or dispose is a very tough call and it depends way too much on one's personal circumstances for our opinions to matter much.

Personally, I have been over 200,000, if you want to work in km, twice. The first time, I sold the car after incurring some expenses but while I could get some decent money for it. The second time was the 95 Legacy which was fine for a second car running errands in a 6 mile radius from home. It had 180,000+ miles (closing on 300,000 km) but almost 20 y.o. and no longer satisfied us in terms of safety (plus we got tired of having to share two cars, plus my spouse REALLY wanted another Tribeca).

I am actually getting over 200,000 km for the third time in the near future as the current Tribeca has 113,000 miles now. My intention with respect to this Tribeca is to overhaul all that is needed, doing as much as possible at once when need be. If something major begins to brew, however, I will probably try to negotiate a deal with the dealer (well, so long as the sales guy I like remains there) in order to get out of it. By major I understand any single repair that is a/over 1,000$ in itself and b/something that is unexpected (like major engine work on the H6).

Then, it all becomes all the more difficult if the car is primarily used for off-road. If you can diagnose issues and carry out some repairs on the spot, as many here do, you can live with it. If you are like me, travel solo and cannot rely on self-help, then you probably want a newer vehicle...

How about you sell both the old Foz and the Golf and get a new FXT:lildevil:

As fast as reasonable and with minor mods quite off-road worthy, too. :poke:
 
guzzla said:
I've got to wait another 18 months to join your payroll so for the last 7 years since retirement I've had to be payrolling myself ;)
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That's an ugly situation to be in. Money just seems to evaporate in those circumstances ... :( :cry:.
Yeah s/h cars are the way to go - the art is finding one that the previous owner has treasured. And then you never really know what it's been through.
Click to expand...

I know the odd thing or two about cars, so buying s/h isn't so scary. Always some risk, I'll freely admit.

Roo2 I went over with a fine toothed comb over two days. 100K Kms on it, and 5 y.o. It came with a dealer's engine and drive train warranty that isn't generally worth much, but a huge amount more the zilch you get with a private sale buy. If the dealer has been in business for a long time, they are a sitting duck if anything really major goes wrong. I didn't even bother getting the RACV to look at it. If they had their Roadies doing them, I wouldn't hesitate, but they stopped doing that a long time ago ...

It's comforting knowing I have 3 years unlimited km warranty on my new Golf (and the Forester before that) though. And that new car smell, feel, unmarked cleanliness and latest tech advancements. And 12 months rego and new battery. It does count for something. And new cars are just so relatively cheap now. I have been through both scenarios a number of times in my car owning career. moneywise = s/h satisfaction = new
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The trick is to know exactly what you are looking for; have the money to hand; when you see it - POUNCE.

Roo2 is in as new condition, but of course things like tyres and servicing need to be done. I am as happy as the proverbial pig with it. Nearly three years down the track, and no nasty surprises. One owner car, delivered with about 5 kms on it.

RonnyRoo was the same. Still under new car warranty. 2y8m old, with 63K Kms on it. Perfect condition, near as damnit. I saw it go on the dealer's web site at about 1910H on Friday night, and was booking the viewing at 0900H Saturday morning. Two others rang in after me, but tough luck for them. By 1030H we were there checking it out. By 1330H the wrangling had been done and the contracts signed. The only thing it has needed was brake shoes etc all round at 80,000 Kms. Again, a one owner car, delivered with about 5 kms on it.
 
Hi Guzzla,
Not all that sure if they did do a swap. The labour cost, while extortionate is about 2.5 or 3 hours. Given that an apprentice would probably have done the job. I used to regularly change the front inner boots on my MY80 wagon and the whole job, from memory, was about 2 hours including a good clean and regrease of the CV joint. I think the Forester is possibly a bit harder to pull out and apart but for a skilled mechanic 2 to 3 hours maximum I would estimate. I am getting both too lazy and too old to bother doing those things these days. A quick look at the state of the outer boot should tell you.
Re brakes, my rear pads were changed out at about 150000 kms which I thought far too soon. Like you I did not see the pads but relied on the honesty of my mechanic. All Drive wanted to replace the fronts at 200000 kms and they are still there. Last time I checked the rears they had plenty of meat left. My regular service man gave up suggesting the fronts needed replacing but they do now, almost.
Value adding by repair shops is certainly alive and well!!!!!!
I have always consider Subarus to be a high maintenance but reliable car. Not to the point of Land Rovers though which were both high maintenance and unreliable. Mine has not yet let me down and has crossed then Simpson twice and been to Cape York once as well as many other less than smooth roads and tracks.
 
ateday said:
Hi Guzzla,
The joys of age. Just reread your comment where they do state drive shaft.
Sorry my mistake.
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You only thought you were wrong ... :iconwink: :lol:.

That should be "drive shaft, boot", IMO. No way does he need both a re-co drive shaft (cost = about $250 fitted" and a drive shaft (cost = A lot more than $58 ... ), or a boot for the drive shaft. A re-co unit would come with all this stuff already fitted.

IMO, the invoice description is for a drive shaft to CV joint boot, which would cost around $58 ...
 
Ratbag said:
Roo1 cost around $500 p.a. In repairs and maintenance over its life. Bought new, it was deductible ... :biggrin:
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The above figure should be "around $250 p.a.". Roo1 cost about $4,000 over nearly 18 years for maintenance and repairs. I will amend my post accordingly.
 
^ Hehehe ... :lol:

That happened to me once.

I thought I was wrong about something, but then discovered that I was mistaken ... :rotfl:.

It must be CRAFT disease, mate - Can't Remember A F***ing Thing.
 
Back again - needed an afternoon siesta :)

re. the CV boot The workshop service invoice says
part number: 28323 SA030 BOOT DRIVE SHAFT 88A $58.23
part number: 28495 AE010 GREASE PACKAGE SFJ $38.86
the CV boot clip didn't even have a part number

At those prices I assumed that I only got the boot replaced but the wording seems to suggest otherwise. However the wording of the labour charge does not mention anything about a shaft. and if the shaft was part of it wouldn't it have already come packed with the grease?

With parts, labour and GST that part of the service cost $299.63 and Wippells actually separated that part of the service from the rest on the invoice. Be interesting to see what Advanced Service Centre charge. The leak must have just happened as it was only up on the hoist at their garage last Monday so they could get a part number off it for the steering rack. I feel confident no damage has been done to the joint.

At that same 238,000km Wipells service the spark plugs were replaced for $101.44 and the front pads $150.00. All those prices need GST added.
 
Ratbag said:
That's an ugly situation to be in. Money just seems to evaporate in those circumstances ... :( :cry:.
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Not too bad really - the superannuation investment has earned more tax free the last couple of years than we have spent (including the new Golf)but I do look forward to getting discounts on rates, car registrations, electricity etc when I get a part pension. It's just scary thinking how inflation will erode the nest egg over time. We've just had our biggest electricity bill ever, in spite of solar hot water. My son bought his first home last year and borrowed 10 times what we did 26 years ago but at least he's only paying 5% interest whereas we were hit with 17% for awhile there. I can still remember paying 12c/L for petrol back in Cairns in the late 70's.
 
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