Ongoing car advice

[RobertInOntario]

The more I think about it , the more I'm inclined to give you the standard argument I made when I was in the car business . Since I was a salaried employee , the, it made NO difference to me how someone bought a car so I asked a lot of questions .
1. What about leasing a new one ? BEFORE YOU SAY " I don't like leasing " , check out your facts . If you buy a car and do a lot of driving , it depreciates like crazy and costs a lot for repairs as you are finding out . Do the math . It might be just as cost effective to lease a new one ....I don't know because I don't have your numbers in front of me . You are at a crossroads here and should check all your options .
2. Check to see what parts the repair shops are using . Chinese parts tend to be cheap ...they are also crap . Many garages use them .
3. Go on line , Google your car ...." repairs for ( your year ) Subaru . You might be enlightened , but try to discard the postings of habitual whiners and complainers ...you want real info .
Hope this helps . PM me if you want to talk more about specifics .
T

Thanks, Teejay. Leasing is an option although I've heard that it's the most expensive way to run a car.

Good point re the parts -- I have a hunch that our Subaru dealer might be using after market parts, based on a comment that one of their mechanics once made to me. I work from home as a freelancer, so I don't want to stretch us too much financially (in other words, I don't feel as secure income-wise as I did as an employee!). Because I work from home, we're putting slightly less mileage on our cars. Having said this, we do run up a fair bit of mileage as most of our family & friends live in the Kitchener-Waterloo or London areas and we also like to take trips out into the country for hiking or to visit train places!

Right now, we're putting about 20,000km/year on the Subaru and about 10,000km/yr on the Honda. The Subaru is our main family car. One option might be to get the Subaru repair done and then replace the Honda Civic with a slightly larger (mid-sized) car later this year. Then, if & when the Subaru dies, we'll still have something substantial to drive. For family use and shorter trips, we could also use this car more and it could take some of the wear & tear off the Subaru.

Thanks for your feedback! I might PM you later on if I think of anything else to add.

Cheers, Rob