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I just ran a spreadsheet on maintence costs for my 99 Forester from March 2003 to now.

In 28,051 miles I have spent about $6,200 on maintence with much of it through the dealer. I added struts, brakes, and a few other bits myself.

This also includes an exhaust pipe, clutch, oil seperator, timing belt, resealing and all services as the owner's manual specifies.

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Hi,

 

 

Wow, that's sounds like a lot of money to me. I just bought the Forester. I hope it does better than that!!!

 

My Honda Accord sedan was fantastic, but my husband wanted an SUV. The Honda SUV was too small.

 

My sedan needed the regular oil/filter changes, brake pads, belt and that's it for 8 years of ownership and 170,000 miles.

 

Bye, Capri

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I work on my car when I feel like it, but if I am busy at work I take it to a mechanic, or I used to use the dealer.

Everything listed was stock parts except the stereo which would have cost much more than the $217 I paid for an after market unit to have the stock CD player repaired.

I had rear brakes installed once by a service center when I first got the car.

Last year I installed struts and did a complete brake job myself so only cost there was about $800 in parts.

I did not list tools I bought or small items like wiper blades, bulbs, or pedal covers I intalled myself.

I bought the car four years old with about 88,000 miles on it and the former owner had driven a lot and only added tires, a battery, and oil changes.

I did not include a sway bar I added as it was not needed for normal running.

I think this represents what a person buying an older car would pay to have it well serviced by a mechanic.

Remember the 90,000 mile service on this car is a big one with all belts and seals, as well as a clutch on my car. I have put a couple of thousand bucks a year into the car. This is about $166 a month which I think is probably cheaper than a payment, more insurance, and another grand at least for a newer car in registration here in CA.

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just wondering if you consider that cheap or expensive?

 

i guess its pretty decent, 6 yrs= $1033 a year= $86 a month= $3 a day+ gas

 

you probly would pay that much for 2 repairs on a mercedes

 

You'd be surprised. We have a 1998 Mercedes in our family, bought new in the fall of 1997. It's a C230 and the eighth Benz to rest on the left side of the garage. Why? The compact MB sedans are CHEAP to drive and own. Parts are cheaper than any of the Subaru, Honda/Acura or Mazda cars we've owned. Most MB's are super-easy to DIY. I can do the front brakes (pads and discs) in less than 15 minutes and all maintenace items are simple and parts inexpensive. Major repairs are very few. Engines never wear out unless you abuse them. When I sell them they typically have at least 400,000kms (250K-miles) on them and have never had one that had any sort of engine repair. Trannies last a long time and rebuit units are inexpensive, especially considering that they last so long. Suspension parts last a long time. I've never replaced shocks before 10-12 years or 200K-miles. Not km's, but 200K-miles.

 

Our 98 C230 is at only 185,000kms (I don't drive as much now) and has never had a major repair of any kind. It drives like new, runs like new and routine service and upkeep has cost almost nothing.

 

We have loved our various Subarus (the Forester is our third) but they are NOT less costly to run than any of the MB's we've owned.

 

Now, I would never buy the upscale MB models. They are horrific money-pits, but the "normal" cars are no more expensive to run than an Accord. Of course, the 2001-2004 models are CRAP for electronic glitches, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms...

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for 15 years and about 300,000 miles. It did not cost me any more to run than this Forester, and less repairs were needed in the first 10 years. Pretty much brakes, tires, and oil changes for 10 years in fact. After that it became more and more expensive to run as stuff wore out.

What hurt with the Mercedes was inital cost, license, and insurance here in CA.

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I don't see how putting over $6000 into a car is reasonable? I've had a 96 accord and I've done front brakes, a battery and a radiator and thats. Even assuming thats on the great side of things, $6000 in 6 years sounds like a vehicles that requires a lot of work, not one that I'd say is "reliable"

 

Sorry, it just seems like a lot more money than I'd be willing to spend.

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attym, I'm with you on that. I have a 1997 Accord I'm selling since I bought the Forester. Only had the belt or is is the chain done, brakes/pads/oil changes/filter and at 170,000 it's still running perfectly. If my husband did not want an SUV, I would have gotten another Accord. Only annoyance is the road noise. We have some rough roads where I live and the Accord has no noise protection.

 

Where is the marvelous engineering or is it just the engine and the rest of the vehicle is problematic? I sure hope not. I think my husband will be shocked if we have to actually "fix" anything. I'm thinking I will sell this vehicle sooner than I did am my Accord so I can sell it while it's still running well.

 

I have been told the engine is changed slightly to add more horsepower this year, but I don't know how far back the engine goes otherwise inorder to check the reliability. I went with current reviews.

 

Bye, Capri

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I spent about $1100 every 8 months or so on a Mercedes Benz ML500's brake pads and rotors. Back to Subie I am! Honestly, the B9 is far more "user-friendly" than that Benz, period!

 

Yeah, buy the ML and get the V-8 model! You're asking for big bills. You could have done worse and bought an S-Class.

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Bought the '96 in 2001. Since then I've replaced 2 clutches at $650 each, the VC unit at $1000, 3 timing belts (first was a "just in case because I have no idea as to PO's maintenance habits," 2nd was oil leak on from oil pump seal leading to a TB change just cuz we're there, 3rd was when it snapped, presumably because the water pump went - grand total of $1500, including the water pump on the last repair); 2 or 3 CV axles $150ea., a brake master cylinder ($200) in addition to standard maintenance, much of which I've been doing myself. So, a total of ~ $4450 in 4 years. ~$92/month, or $.07 per mile. I rationalize it in that it's still considerably less than a car payment, and it's generally much cheaper to repair than replace. Some friends tell me I should just buy another car, but any car that I could afford right now would be of similar age and mileage and would likely need similar repairs over time.

 

As it is now, I figure I have at least 40K on the newest clutch (that's what I got on the last one, but much of its earlier life was victim to an inexperienced user in the hills of East Tennessee) another 160K on the new VCU, another 65K on the timing belt ... plenty more life on all the other stuff I've recently replaced. As long as the engine doesn't go out and the tranny holds up, I should be set until I decide to get rid of it ... if I even do. The only thing I haven't had much issue with is the suspension, but I'm sure I'll need new shocks and struts sometime soon, but that would be considered regular maintenance, anyway.

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it's generally much cheaper to repair than replace.
Your maintenance costs are about what I paid for my '99 with half the mileage, and far more $ than the '98 I just looked at with 170k. I've driven many cars to over 200k, never spent that much to maintain any of them, perhaps I've been lucky.
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I admit that driving an accord for a few years can jade you on what is really needed for car repairs. The justification of its less to fix than to make a payment is a good justification, it works out to be far less. I'm just saying that if my subaru started to take on a few $500 or $1000 bills, I'd quickly put a for sale sign on it. $200 here and there is one thing $500 and $1000, I just don't have the cake to float that kind of leaky ship.

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Subie, thanks for the offer, but I'm in the PNW.

 

attym, the trick is to know that the vehicle is going to start costing you money and that's when you get rid of it. No one wants a vehicle that shows it needs repairs and you don't want to repair it, then sell it to maybe just break even. My Accord will need a belt or chain done, I forget which in 10,000 miles, so I wanted to get a new car now. The cost will be between $500 & $600 for the chain/belt. I put that towards a new car. Drive the vehicle and get rid of it while it's still in good running condition. You'll feel better about selling a good running vehicle too.

 

If I see down the road that this vehicle has problems at a certain year, it's going to be sold before that. I only plan to do maintenance and smaller things for wear and tear like break pads etc. If any other repairs are insight, bye, bye Forester. Consumers has it rated as very good for 2006, but that is just looking forward, but with no real knowledge since it's new and they are really going by last years model. This year is supposed to have an extra boost for power to the engine. I'm going to be watching this vehicle closely over the years for possible repairs.

 

Another thing about buying a car, forget "employee pricing" or whatever they call it. It just makes you think that's the bottom line, but it's not. I did not even go in asking about that or the commercial on tv for $500 off a new Subaru until Sept 6th. I want much more than that off the vehicle. Again, offering $500 if you come in right now makes a person think they can't more money off the vehicle they are buying.

 

Bye, Capri

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I have an automatic. We have alot of hills, so an automatic comes in handy. I have a motorcylce I have to shift, so that's enough for me, and with that I try to avoid the really steep hills so I don't have to work the clutch and brake and gas all at once.

 

Bye, Capri

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