[dan gleesac]

I've been thinking about upgrading from my basic 2001 outback to a 2005...i have had a lot of mechanical problems with my 01' and I'm hoping the 05' will be a little bit better...I got the car with 100,000 miles on it and 42,000 miles later I've had to replace a lot of parts...

HG was done as 25,000 miles ago and I think I need to do it again..
Front brakes and Rotors at 135,000
Headlights don't always work
radio/windshield wipers dont always come on
timing belt/water pump 120,000
radiator got replaced at 105,000 and again at 138,000
My mechanic says my fuel pump needs to be replaced
both back struts are leaking
both inner tie rods have broken multiple times

this will also give me a chance to get a 5 speed manual since I cannot stand the 4 speed auto I currently have...I love my subaru its the only car that fits my kind of lifestyle but I cannot afford to making constant repairs on my vehicle...I need something more reliable and I really want to stick with subarus! any help or knowledge would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[punt speedchunk]

If your HGs were done, and your timing belt WASN'T done at that time, you need to find a new mechanic.

If your HGs need to be redone 25k after they were done the first time, your mechanic is effing incompetent.

I would give serious thought to not listening to a single thing that comes out of his mouth.

 

[dan gleesac]

If your HGs were done, and your timing belt WASN'T done at that time, you need to find a new mechanic.

If your HGs need to be redone 25k after they were done the first time, your mechanic is effing incompetent.

I would give serious thought to not listening to a single thing that comes out of his mouth.

I have gotten several different mechanics since owning this car...
the timing belt got done because it says to do it at 105,000 in the owners manual...I had him check the HG he said there was a small leak and not to worry about it till it got worse? It went out shortly there after so I went to a new mechanic n got it replaced...

this mechanic is an absolute thief and did more damage to my car then good and I have since switched to yet another new mechanic...(this guy was recommended by a friend with a 98' outback) He's been more than helpful with a bent heat shield and some other small problems he recommended a new fuel pump...

I'm tired of putting so much money into this pit of a car thats why I'm thinking about just upgrading to a newer one

 

[punt speedchunk]

The stuff you've had to do really isn't uncommon or unreasonable, apart from the tie rods and the radiator. I don't mean to be unhelpful, but it's very hard to have a good ownership experience when the guy working on the car seems to be primarily focused on making your wallet easier to lift. Your list of repairs on the car is not really excessive for a car at 150k miles, but needing things done twice at short intervals is a huge red flag.

Needing a radiator is a little outside the usual repair history, but needing two is unthinkable unless there's an underlying cause like driving the car repeatedly into iron spikes. Did the radiator need to be replaced independently of the other repairs? It's very easy to puncture the radiator while doing the timing belt if the mechanic isn't careful.

Going through multiple inner tie rod ends indicates another underlying cause. I've done quite a few outers, but only one inner. There's something wrong, and throwing parts at it doesn't seem to be fixing it.

Headlights/wipers going intermittent is not an acceptable condition, and needs to be fixed for safety reasons. Electrical problems are sometimes challenging,but this isn't rocket science. Get the car to someone who knows what they're doing, and pay him what he asks.

Head gaskets needing to be redone indicates that the first job was done in-frame, and the heads were not torqued properly; alternately, the heads were warped and not resurfaced. Either way, the repair includes a new mechanic.

 

[cmill1154]

HG was done as 25,000 miles ago and I think I need to do it again.. If this needs done, it should only be once, someone messed up
Front brakes and Rotors at 135,000 Really? Did the oil need changed too?
Headlights don't always work You have a wiring issue
radio/windshield wipers dont always come on same, has this car been through a flood?
timing belt/water pump 120,000 ...Again, normal maintenance.
radiator got replaced at 105,000 and again at 138,000 Same as headgaskets, shouldn't be twice.
My mechanic says my fuel pump needs to be replaced Why?
both back struts are leaking There isn't a shock in the world that will function as new after 100k
both inner tie rods have broken multiple times Why? Inners almost never need replaced even once

You seem to be the perfect candidate for a leased vehicle.

 

[dan gleesac]

I have driven my current OB into the ground... a lot of the miles were up unpaved trails through the mountains...

I found a 2005 3.0R LL Bean edition that is within my price range only has 87,xxx miles on err.....Do these cars suffer the same kind of HG failures that other OB's tend to experience? And do the 6 cylinder engines add more low end power for crawling up steep and rough inclines? And did this model come with a manual transmission?

 

[AWDFTW]

No HG issues.
Runs best on the recommended premium fuel.
Automatic only.

 

[dan gleesac]

No HG issues.
Runs best on the recommended premium fuel.
Automatic only.

thank you AWDFTW! that was exactly the answer i was looking for! short sweet and exactly to the point! hopefully this OB is in good working order and i can buy her n get some pics up for everybody