yodannyc Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Alright, so here is the deal. Short story of myself, i'm 18, short income and i have a 87 subaru wagon, new engine, exhaust, and tons of little things that add up to a lot of money that is in to this wagon of mine. Recently i found out that i need new tie rod ends and new axles. If i do the work myself i figure bout $250 to do it all. not bad. I just got a deal from my mom though. she said she would sell me her 96' toyota camery, which she has been the only owner of and it has been in maculate condition, awesome maintenance and premo wheels. for a $1000 less from blue book. $3000 which i can afford if i sell the suby. I really dont know what i want to do. I am pretty indecisive. I love the wagon but it seems like things keep costing money. but i have replaced almost everypart so i dont what more could go wrong. my tranmission? jk! knock on wood! I mean the toyota is nice! and i could resell it for bout $4000 after i buy it. shhhhh dont tell my mom that or she wont sell it to me. she is just tired of me sinking money in to a 18 yr old car. So here is the plan for the wagon if i do keep it. convert to spfi, 3" lift, cargo basket with lights on top, rear disk brakes. bout $1500 or more. but i would have the ultimate(to me that is) subaru wagon. Then again, my mom is offering a 1 year warrenty on the toyota too! RRRRR!!! this very frustrating i really cant decide. HELP PLEASE! I NEED OPINIONS AND PRO'S VS. CONS THANKS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 You won't have nearly as much fun with a 2WD 4 door sedan. Hard to pick up chicks with it too - want to check out the rims on my beige sedan baby? GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeshoup Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 You won't have nearly as much fun with a 2WD 4 door sedan. Hard to pick up chicks with it too - want to check out the rims on my beige sedan baby? GD I'd say it'd be hard to pick up chicks in a wagon too. Wanna check out the rims on my white wagon? Hm... Just doesn't quite work either I'd go with whatever one will be more fun. The Camry may be a bit more reliable (it is like 9 years newer ) but, the wagon, well, you just can't beat a wagon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Actually I've picked up a number with my wagon - the 5 inches of lift, mud tires, custom bumpers, stickers, dents, mud, etc are what does it, not the wagon. If it were stock...... yeah... the camry would be better just cause it's clean and not old. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffast Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 fwd makes drifting in dirt boring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbone Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Fold down rear seats in the wagon:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Just imagine what you could do to your wagon with $3000. Your talking about buying a $3000 car cause you dont want to do $250 worth of work on your wagon? Doesnt make sence. Sure the toyota is newer, sure it will run forever.. but if you do a good job of maintaning your Subaru, it will too and you'll have saved $2750 since you didnt buy your moms toyota. Now, if you can get it for $3000 and turn it for $4000... then go for it, that gives you $1000 to fix your wagon. -Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebz Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 I'd say it'd be hard to pick up chicks in a wagon too. Wanna check out the rims on my white wagon? Hm... Just doesn't quite work either Seems to work for me Seriously though, I am going to play devil's advocate for a minute. Is the camy a 4cylinder or V6 LE/XLE? If it is the 4, its a tough choice. Its a good deal, a good motor and a solid car. If its a 6, I would lean toward the camry. More power, better brakes and still a very solid car. The biggest complaint about those cars is the 'sludge problem', that I believe to be largely mythical. And the imminent power steering rack leak. The rack is a little pricey, but I controlled my leak by putting some transmission stop leak in there ever 3-4 months. I just sold my 94 XLE V6, which is the same as the 96. It had 200k on it and never suffered a mechaincal or electrcal breakdown that I know of (with the exception of the above mentioned PS leak). It still passed emissions. I got $1200 for it. Better than trade in value, less than private party. The catch is that I owned it free and clear, my wife drove it for 2 years virtually cost free. Plus, it had been hit 5 times in the time she drove it. The car was cursed.. I wanted to get rid of it. It was, however, extremely reliable. The same cannot be said of my 87 wagon.. but most of that is my own fault $3k for a 96 with a good service history is not bad. If you want a car that is going to last you for a while with few problems and able to take you lotsa miles, the camry might be the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yodannyc Posted July 10, 2006 Author Share Posted July 10, 2006 hey thanks for all the help so far. It a v6 xle. Anyway, i know i will have more fun overall with the wagon but, i just wonder how much more money will go in to this beast! lol hopefully not to much more if i keep it. Still cant decide keep the opinions and thoughts comin thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 what exact engine/trans/driveline do you have in your car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djkindt Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Don't take me too seriously here... but think about what you are saying: I'm 18, and about to buy my mom's car... you're 18, you need to drive cars for your age, right?? I don't know. For 3000, I could think of a lot better ways to spend my money on a vehicle. But my priorities may lie differently than yours. Good luck on your decision! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baccaruda Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Regarding your wagon's axles, here are two things that you can do to prevent them from wearing out prematurely: Get new transmission mounts (motor mounts would be good too). Your old sloppy trans mounts are letting your axles absorb all of the lateral torsional mystical etc. forces that occur whenever you so much as look at the gas pedal. Ebay has deals on mounts sometimes, or perhaps you can go through Jamie or Richie or someone here who works at a dealership. Make sure your catalytic converter has a heat shield between it and the axle. This will obviously keep your axle boot from absorbing as much heat as it would with the cat unshielded. I prefer to throw a crapload of money and new parts into a car I plan to keep. It's the "fountain of youth" theory. If I replace/upgrade parts that will wear out, then there are fewer things that can go wrong with the car. And when something does, it's easier to know where to start looking. Does your wagon have any rust on the body? It's nice to have new tie rod ends but I can't recall how much they cost. If you replace the tie rod ends, consider replacing the ball joints as well. They'll wear out at similar rates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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