2003 Subaru Forester issues: Should I cut my losses and get a different vehicle?

[vortalexfan]

Well I will actually be getting a new vehicle after all.

There was a hail storm in the town where I work and the hail storm dropped 1" Hail balls by the bucket loads for about 5 minutes and the hail damaged my car pretty badly (it didn't damage the glass but it did damage the hood and roof of the car pretty badly) it was still "drivable" but when I submitted the hail damage to the insurance they ended up totaling the car out (which I figured they would) and I ended up getting $6,033 from them for the car.

So now I will be getting a 2006 Honda Pilot EX-L which that money (and what I've already saved up which was almost $1,000) will almost completely pay off the car (my aunt is buying the car for me and I have to pay her back for it, and I'll just give her the money I got from the insurance from my Subaru and what I already saved up to go towards paying her off.)

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by vortalexfan

Well I will actually be getting a new vehicle after all.

There was a hail storm in the town where I work and the hail storm dropped 1" Hail balls by the bucket loads for about 5 minutes and the hail damaged my car pretty badly (it didn't damage the glass but it did damage the hood and roof of the car pretty badly) it was still "drivable" but when I submitted the hail damage to the insurance they ended up totaling the car out (which I figured they would) and I ended up getting $6,033 from them for the car.

So now I will be getting a 2006 Honda Pilot EX-L which that money (and what I've already saved up which was almost $1,000) will almost completely pay off the car (my aunt is buying the car for me and I have to pay her back for it, and I'll just give her the money I got from the insurance from my Subaru and what I already saved up to go towards paying her off.)

It looks like Mother Nature worked in your favor! Does the home you just bought have a garage so you can protect your newer ride?
There sure has been a bunch of strange weather patterns lately! The same thing happened in southern Wi and parts of IL.

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by vortalexfan

Well I will actually be getting a new vehicle after all.

There was a hail storm in the town where I work and the hail storm dropped 1" Hail balls by the bucket loads for about 5 minutes and the hail damaged my car pretty badly (it didn't damage the glass but it did damage the hood and roof of the car pretty badly) it was still "drivable" but when I submitted the hail damage to the insurance they ended up totaling the car out (which I figured they would) and I ended up getting $6,033 from them for the car.

So now I will be getting a 2006 Honda Pilot EX-L which that money (and what I've already saved up which was almost $1,000) will almost completely pay off the car (my aunt is buying the car for me and I have to pay her back for it, and I'll just give her the money I got from the insurance from my Subaru and what I already saved up to go towards paying her off.)

Why can't I get lucky like this? lol.

Glad everything worked out for you.

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

It looks like Mother Nature worked in your favor! Does the home you just bought have a garage so you can protect your newer ride?
There sure has been a bunch of strange weather patterns lately! The same thing happened in southern Wi and parts of IL.

Unfortunately my house doesn't have a garage anymore (that is if it ever one to begin with) so I'm just going to have to get a carport to install on the side of my house (where my driveway is which is an old concrete driveway that is starting to sink into the ground/fall apart.)

[kf4rca]

I see those forresters around here and they look like pretty nice cars. BUT, did you know they have a rubber timing belt? You don't want that to snap on you when you are on the highway. I prefer vehicles with a chain. One less thing to worry about!
Not sure about your area but the mechanics, around here, charge more to work on foreign cars than domestics. Not sure why.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by kf4rca

I see those forresters around here and they look like pretty nice cars. BUT, did you know they have a rubber timing belt? You don't want that to snap on you when you are on the highway. I prefer vehicles with a chain. One less thing to worry about!
Not sure about your area but the mechanics, around here, charge more to work on foreign cars than domestics. Not sure why.

The car he's replacing it with is a Honda!
Maybe Honda uses a chain.

[Electronic M]

Belt VS Chain isn't the isn't that much of an issue as long as the engine uses Non-interference valves. Belt or chain can fail on you if you don't keep up with the recommended service interval, and both can leave you on the side of the road. Chain is usually better, but can be as bad as belts on over head cam engines with complex chain paths .

What's worse is interference engines where when the timing linkage device snapps or jumps too many teeth, the pistons (which keep spinning longer) smack into the open valves....This often completely destroys an engine, and usually requires a new head, pistons and honing.

[kf4rca]

The early Ford Focus 2.0's were belt but they were non-interference. But after 2005 they switched over to chain. The Hyundais use belts and its an interference engine that self destructs. There's a Hyundai/Kia plant not far from here. They also use a soy based wiring that is favored by rodents. But I still see a lot of Kia's/Hyundai's around here.
There is a company that's advertised on the CarDoctor radio show that's called New Hampshire Oil Undercoating that sells a product that inhibits corrosion. Probably just used motor oil.
As I understand it, the first thing to corrode thru are the aluminum brake lines. So be careful.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by kf4rca

The early Ford Focus 2.0's were belt but they were non-interference. But after 2005 they switched over to chain. The Hyundais use belts and its an interference engine that self destructs. There's a Hyundai/Kia plant not far from here. They also use a soy based wiring that is favored by rodents. But I still see a lot of Kia's/Hyundai's around here.
There is a company that's advertised on the CarDoctor radio show that's called New Hampshire Oil Undercoating that sells a product that inhibits corrosion. Probably just used motor oil.
As I understand it, the first thing to corrode thru are the aluminum brake lines. So be careful.

The 100K warrantee coverage on the KIA states that the timing belt be changed at 60K miles and you must show proof, otherwise warrantee voided!

[Username1]

Hey, it's good you got a nice insurance payment on a car you otherwise would not
have gotten much for with a bad frame...... Just to set the record straight though,
Pennsylvania does salt the road in the winter. They even use more in a good part
of the state because it's more mountainous than the part of NY that I am in....
So that car was in salt for 20 years, It most likely did not rust out the frame
in the short time you had it. Also Those Subadoo's have head gasket problems
that often show up before 200K miles. And the engine has to be removed to
fix that so you got a really good deal in that weather-related trade-in....
I would almost say you dodged 2 bullets there......


.

[kf4rca]

I once saw an Asian lady in a parking lot getting in a 2005 Kia Sorento. I told her it was a pretty car. She immediately started laughing asking if I wanted to buy it. Turns out it had stranded her and she just spent over $1K on a new CPS sensor and they did the timing belt also.
The GA. governor was so happy when he landed the Kia plant near here. But he didn't know they would import their labor force also. The operating language is Korean. So, if you worked for the Ford or GM plants (that had closed down) you were $#!+ out of luck!

[vortalexfan]

The other issue I had with my Forester that was kind of annoying (and it was a common issue on the 2003-2008 model year Foresters) was that the door seals had failed on the car so when I would drive at highway speeds I would hear a lot of road noise (wind noise) coming through the doors, this was because the 2003-2008 model year Foresters used a pillarless design for the doors (the A-Pillar was absent on the doors like on many of the old American Cars back in the 1960s where the windows had no frame around them.)

[mr_rye89]

Everything has an interference engine now. I prefer timing belts, they are easier to replace. and in Subarus the engines are longitudinally mounted for ease of access. Lots of domestic cars with OHC engines have timing chains that love to break and guides that get trashed ('08-12 GM 3.6 V6 especially) or the chains get loose and rub a hole in something. The 2.0 DI turbo 4 in my Audi has belts and chains, the belt runs the water pump and the exhaust cam (I think) then there's a little chain on the back of the head going between the exhaust and intake cams. it stretched out and the guide broke. Luckily the previous owner fixed that. Also the timing chain in my truck stretched pretty bad (Mopar 318).

Toyota 1UZ/2UZ V8s can last and last and last if you keep that timing belt changed every 90k

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by mr_rye89

Everything has an interference engine now. I prefer timing belts, they are easier to replace. and in Subarus the engines are longitudinally mounted for ease of access. Lots of domestic cars with OHC engines have timing chains that love to break and guides that get trashed ('08-12 GM 3.6 V6 especially) or the chains get loose and rub a hole in something. The 2.0 DI turbo 4 in my Audi has belts and chains, the belt runs the water pump and the exhaust cam (I think) then there's a little chain on the back of the head going between the exhaust and intake cams. it stretched out and the guide broke. Luckily the previous owner fixed that. Also the timing chain in my truck stretched pretty bad (Mopar 318).

Toyota 1UZ/2UZ V8s can last and last and last if you keep that timing belt changed every 90k

Sorry, belts are rubbish and those GM 3.6 chains that failed were mostly neglected engines that owners failed to change the oil on.

[vortalexfan]

If you want a nearly bullet proof American Car Engine the old GM 3800 engines were nearly bullet proof and could easily go 300k+ miles without any major issues if well maintained, its not uncommon to see listed on Facebook Market Place a Buick LeSabre or Oldsmobile 98 or 88 with a 3800 in it that has over 200k miles on them that are still in good running order.

Another good engine was the 4.0 L Straight Six that Jeep used on their Grand Cherokees and Cherokees for many years, those engines were nearly indestructable and could easily go 300k+ miles without any major issues as well with good maintenance habits, you don't know how many times I've seen people listing Jeep Grand Cherokees or Cherokees with 250k+ miles on them that were still in good running order.