Should i consider trying to trade in or sell my 2005 2.5RS?

[trainergames]

Ok I have my 2005 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS(Red in color) it has mostly been a great car,but it is having some problems due to a small stupid mistake i made...

 

 

Ok it is at about 161k miles i have had it since 138k,and i have had it for over a year and a half.

 

 

About 2 months had to pay $600+ to replace both rear wheel bearings and rear brake pads.

 

The center diff failed 6 months after i bought it,but i have a fuse in the fuse box that puts it into FWD mode,so i can drive it just fine till i replace the diff.

 

 

That was just the past problems...now on to the current,i made very stupid mistake,one morning i went to the store and my car went into limp mode...it had happened once before when it had gotten low on oil while waiting for a paycheck to do an oil change.

 

 

So i stopped at a gas station and put in 2 quarts of oil to last until payday to do an oil change....big mistake,i should have checked the dipstick,it was stupid,i was tired and didn't think.

 

 

So i way overfilled it it was running fine at first to the store(less than 2 miles from my house),then on the drive back it started smoking white out the exhaust.

 

 

I have parked it and have not driven it since unless it was for trying to fix it.

 

 

I did notice oil on the valve cover and down the the spark tube.

 

.

I have already changed the oil and when i am off next i plan to clean the spark plugs and wires.

 

 

There are no signs of a head gasket failure,no overheating,and my coolant looks the same as the day i bought it.

 

 

If cleaning does not work i will be looking into replacing the valve cover gasket.

 

 

But i am worried that may not fix it because that tends to be my luck...

 

 

 

I am starting to consider trying to sell it or trade it in on another subaru...but one small problem i still owe $2000+ on the car...

 

I am looking at a local subaru dealership it has 2 i might be interested in,but they are like $7k and i don't know if my finance company would let me roll it over to another car,and even if the did i don't know if i could afford the payments on over $9000...(MABYE if the let me have a longer loan time instead of my current 36 months) because my interest rate is not good,i know it is over 20% do to my poor credit score of 585.....

 

 

 

What do you guys think i should do?

Edited August 13, 2017 by trainergames

[dfoyl]

I don't think over-filling your oil is going to cause a major problem. I'd be draining it, refilling to the correct level (which it sounds like you have already done), and start it up. You'll get white smoke as you burn the excess but it should still run and will clear up.

 

I certainly wouldn't be spending another $7k on another car - Subaru or otherwise - given your financial situation.

[AdventureSubaru]

Take a deep breath and figure the current situation out. Either way - whether you drive the car or sell it, you're better off with it fixed. The smoke may well be the burning of excess oil. Or it could be bigger issues. Absolute worse case scenario is to put a used motor in from car-part.com and proceed.

 

As a rule, unless you are in a rush or get some crazy deal NEVER trade a car in. You will get far below market value as dealers ensure they wont lose money by reselling the car or sending it to auction and they plan for possible unknowns as well. It's not shady, it's good business, but they will offer thousands less than what it can be sold for privately.

 

Also - NEVER take out loans/make payments on cars. It's about the worst financial procedure to get into other than borrowing from the mafia. If you need to sell your 05 for $500 and buy a $500 1992 legacy with 200,000+ miles, do that and own the thing and start putting money in the bank to save for what you really want. But when buying a car and making payments you are usually paying over value on something that quickly decreases in value.

 

Try and get this one running right, baby it and put some $$$ in the bank so if anything does go wrong in the future, it wont put you in such a bind.

 

If the car is not fixable in your current situation, sell it via craigslist, ebay etc. there's decent demand for sporty RSs even in project states as lots of us wrench on them - they are easy. Make whatever the sale price is your budget for a new car and work your way up from there, but more debt can be a black hole to jump into. Usually best to swallow a bit of pride, put on our work boots and move forward. It nearly always pays off better over time.

[trainergames]

I don't think over-filling your oil is going to cause a major problem. I'd be draining it, refilling to the correct level (which it sounds like you have already done), and start it up. You'll get white smoke as you burn the excess but it should still run and will clear up.

 

I certainly wouldn't be spending another $7k on another car - Subaru or otherwise - given your financial situation.

 

How long do you think it would take to burn off all the excess oil?

Take a deep breath and figure the current situation out. Either way - whether you drive the car or sell it, you're better off with it fixed. The smoke may well be the burning of excess oil. Or it could be bigger issues. Absolute worse case scenario is to put a used motor in from car-part.com and proceed.

 

As a rule, unless you are in a rush or get some crazy deal NEVER trade a car in. You will get far below market value as dealers ensure they wont lose money by reselling the car or sending it to auction and they plan for possible unknowns as well. It's not shady, it's good business, but they will offer thousands less than what it can be sold for privately.

 

Also - NEVER take out loans/make payments on cars. It's about the worst financial procedure to get into other than borrowing from the mafia. If you need to sell your 05 for $500 and buy a $500 1992 legacy with 200,000+ miles, do that and own the thing and start putting money in the bank to save for what you really want. But when buying a car and making payments you are usually paying over value on something that quickly decreases in value.

 

Try and get this one running right, baby it and put some $$$ in the bank so if anything does go wrong in the future, it wont put you in such a bind.

 

If the car is not fixable in your current situation, sell it via craigslist, ebay etc. there's decent demand for sporty RSs even in project states as lots of us wrench on them - they are easy. Make whatever the sale price is your budget for a new car and work your way up from there, but more debt can be a black hole to jump into. Usually best to swallow a bit of pride, put on our work boots and move forward. It nearly always pays off better over time.

One problem is i live in apartments so i really don't think they would be okay with my doing an engine swap in the parking lot lol.

 

I took the current loan on my car for 2 reasons,one is i needed a car quickly,because my last car(civic) had it's head gasket and water pump go out at the same time,and was told the engine was likely shot, i only had $750 and there was no driveable cars on craigslist at the time for under $750...

The other reason was i was hoping to use it to build my credit, because the only reason my credit is as bad as it is,is because of ER visits that i can't afford to pay...

 

 

How long do you think it will take to burn off the excess oil?

 

What could the bigger issue be?

[Fairtax4me]

It's sucking oil through the breather tubes and burning it in the engine. Drain the oil, clean out the breather and PCV hoses, intake tube if there's oil in there, and any that's in the intake manifold/throttle body will burn off in a short time.

Valve cover gasket leaks/oil in the spark plug tubes is common. Replace the valve cover gaskets.

[idosubaru]

So far you haven't explained any issues.

 

Get the oil level proper.

 

Read check engine codes and post them here. And describe symptoms exactly without long stories.

 

I get that you need a vehicle. Getting into higher debt load is a terrible idea. i would think long and hard about people you know and trust about finances - make sure they're really good. think of a local organization that helps coach people. I know of orgs that coach people through high medical costs and connect them to Resources.

 

Ask them

Listen

Make the changes they suggest

 

What you really want is to make decisions now that set you up to be better off in 5 years. So far what I'm hearing isn't going to do that. You'll be better off for a little while but not the long run.

 

Car decisions can mitigate a little bit - for now keep yours and try to properly diagnose it first.

[heartless]

could not agree more on the "don't dig yourself a deeper debt hole" discussion.

 

From the limited description of your issues, I think both AdventureSubaru and Fairtax4me have hit the nail on the head... clean things up, proper oil level, and the smoking should clear up in a couple of days (depending on how much you drive - how far, how long at a time, etc). the longer you can drive at one time, the faster it will clear out.

 

As for the medical bills - trust me, you are NOT alone. Go to the hospital financial office and talk to someone - be honest, and try to set up a payment plan that you can afford to get these debts taken care of. If they are not willing to work with you directly, they may be able to point you to who can help, and there are other advocacy groups that may be able to help you get things sorted out and get you on the road to better credit.

 

Paying off outstanding debts will go much further in bringing up your credit score than adding to your debt load will - even if it takes a few years to do so. This is not something that can be corrected over night.

 

Yes, at times it can seem hopeless (been there, done that, still working on it myself), but in the long run, it does get better if you make smart decisions now.

When I got divorced i had a car repossessed - talk about killing your credit rating... add to that back child support (when I wasn't working and couldn't pay it), medical bills, etc, etc... yeah, I feel your pain.

 

It has been a long road, but my score is now over 700 for the first time in MANY years, so yes, it can be done. Just don't expect it to happen next week, or even next year. I have spent years driving cars that cost $500 or less (my first Subaru was a $150 beater that i nursed along for over 8 years) and doing as much work on them as possible myself to save a few dollars. Last year I finally got a car that was over that $500 thresh-hold - it was  $1400, 2002 Subaru Forester - but it was still a cash purchase - no financing.

[Olnick]

Wise counsel, heartless.  Thank you for sharing.