New Car Advice

Considering I only drive 2700 miles per year if I live 20 more years to 90 and am still driving which are 2 big ifs my car will only have 54k miles on it so I doubt I will ever need a single repair.
Most Subarus come with a 3-year/36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. (and a 5-year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty) If your luck is anything like ours, something non-powertrain will stop working either a little over 3 years and/or 36,000 miles. I think many products are basically designed to only last as long as the warranty.
We had an ignition control module fail at 36,200 miles, but the car had been put into service about 3-1/2 years before it failed. We did buy the car used at 1-year-old, with over 20,000 miles.
Luckily the module, along with new spark plugs and plug wires was less than $200 on Amazon, and I replaced all of the parts in a little over an hour in the driveway.
 
Considering I only drive 2700 miles per year if I live 20 more years to 90 and am still driving which are 2 big ifs my car will only have 54k miles on it so I doubt I will ever need a single repair.
Age alone does cause some issues but generally I agree with you. Additionally, it’s certainly not something you need to think about now or even in the near future. Enjoy your new ride!
 
Age alone does cause some issues but generally I agree with you. Additionally, it’s certainly not something you need to think about now or even in the near future. Enjoy your new ride!
Thanks Jerry!! I guess because I haven’t had a new car for decades I’m really enjoying it.
 
Thanks Jerry!! I guess because I haven’t had a new car for decades I’m really enjoying it.
Have all the "screen" activated features been an issue with your new car? My son's Tesla probably wouldn't adjust the seats without using the screen. I'd find that difficult to adjust to but YMMV.
 
Congrats TeacherTerry. Subarus are really good cars.

I have a 2010 Subaru Legacy with 161k miles. 2 repairs outside of normal maintenance:
- Rear wheel bearings (very common)
- Small info display (time, mileage) failed

The days of blown head gaskets are done. Subaru fixed that.

Instead, they created issues with the CVT. I've had no problems, haven't even changed the fluid (and won't), but some have had catastrophic failures. When the CVT goes (chain breaks), you are where you are. Subaru extended the warranty to 10 years. I'm past that. In the last 15 years, rumors are that they have fixed that too and the CVT is much better.

AWD can be expensive to repair. Heck, you blow out a tire and you may have to replace all 4.

Overall, I'd say the Subaru experience has been excellent. Made in Indiana too. I would recommend to those who show interest.

Would I buy again? Maybe. Don't need AWD. The car has been very reliable. But you know what? The doors feel "tinny" to me. That sounds weird, but I want a nice clunk, not a clink. To care about that more than reliability may be a sign that I'm getting shallow in my old age.
 
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Have all the "screen" activated features been an issue with your new car? My son's Tesla probably wouldn't adjust the seats without using the screen. I'd find that difficult to adjust to but YMMV.
No because I have the base model so seats, etc adjust manually just like on the old cars. My son has a Tesla and I know what you mean but my car is nothing like that.

Yesterday I was going to be 15 minutes late so it was easy to hit the screen to tell my friend. In the other car I would have had to pull into a parking lot and stop to call her.
 
Can someone explain the issue with Subarus and tires? Synchronized AWD they have, so does that mean there's no differential?

My F-150 has an e- locking rear differential for off-road use. No car can have a permanently locked differential for normal use; ask me how I know.

So if one tire blows prematurely after 1/3 of tire life, a Subaru can't deal with replacing just that one tire?

Never had a Subaru but I've replaced plenty of single failure tires on my various vehicles over the decades with no ill effects...
 
My son's old beater Subaru had to be towed and they couldn't "tow" it. It had to be flat-bedded due to the all wheel drive or some such - cost almost twice as much IIRC (long time ago.).
 
My son's old beater Subaru had to be towed and they couldn't "tow" it. It had to be flat-bedded due to the all wheel drive or some such - cost almost twice as much IIRC (long time ago.).
I haven’t seen a car actually towed in a long time (except behind an RV). I think the default today is to pull them up on a flat bed. Probably quicker and definitely less potential for towing damage.
 
I haven’t seen a car actually towed in a long time (except behind an RV). I think the default today is to pull them up on a flat bed. Probably quicker and definitely less potential for towing damage.
Yeah, my understanding is that cars actually being "towed" can be damaged - especially those with AWD or 4WD. All my old cars (5 speed, rear wheel drive, back in the day) were towable (don't ask me how I know). Not sure about current front wheel drive with auto. I just assumed a front wheel drive car could be towed on its rear wheels which are connected to "nothing".
 
Can someone explain the issue with Subarus and tires? Synchronized AWD they have, so does that mean there's no differential?

My F-150 has an e- locking rear differential for off-road use. No car can have a permanently locked differential for normal use; ask me how I know.

So if one tire blows prematurely after 1/3 of tire life, a Subaru can't deal with replacing just that one tire?
1/3 thread wear is too low. You have to replace all four at this point.
Subaru's AWD system does not like it when one wheel is spinning at a different speed compared to the others (due to the different Outer Diameter).

I remember when I had the typical 2-wheel drive, and I could replace two tires at a time. New tires would always go up front on a front, wheel-drive car. Alternatively, the two best tires, but with even wear, would go up front. If a worn, rear tire had to be replaced, you could get away with putting the one, new tire on the rear. It does not matter, as it concerns wheel speed, if the rear wheels with no drive power, spin at different speeds. Recommendation is to replace two tires at a time, and put them up front (for front wheel drive cars).
 
1/3 thread wear is too low. You have to replace all four at this point.
Subaru's AWD system does not like it when one wheel is spinning at a different speed compared to the others (due to the different Outer Diameter).
That's the essence of it. "not liking" the different wheel rotation results in the system activating the clutches and plates in the various torque transfer systems causing premature wear of the devices.
 
Can someone explain the issue with Subarus and tires? Synchronized AWD they have, so does that mean there's no differential?

My F-150 has an e- locking rear differential for off-road use. No car can have a permanently locked differential for normal use; ask me how I know.

So if one tire blows prematurely after 1/3 of tire life, a Subaru can't deal with replacing just that one tire?

Never had a Subaru but I've replaced plenty of single failure tires on my various vehicles over the decades with no ill effects...

One of the transmission solenoids controls front & rear power distribution.

Had that fail after a decade, bought (~$150) a 3rd party one (Subaru only sells the entire solenoid pack @ ~$1,000) paid my independent mechanic to replace...about $500 all-in.

Tires should wear evenly so with that much wear you'd be replacing all of them at once, as mentioned.

If they were closer to new I'm sure a local tire shop could shave down a replacement for the blown one.

And as I've said before, although I got my Subarus for free, if I wanted AWD (not 4WD) today I'd buy something that used an electric motor for the rear like the RAV4 hybrid.
 
Considering I only drive 2700 miles per year if I live 20 more years to 90 and am still driving which are 2 big ifs my car will only have 54k miles on it so I doubt I will ever need a single repair.
My two friends who recently bought Crosstreks were in a similar place, age 70+ and don't drive many miles. I opted against replacing my Subaru with another because I drive so much that I had to make extra payments to pay off my last two cars (bought new) by 100K miles.
 
My two friends who recently bought Crosstreks were in a similar place, age 70+ and don't drive many miles. I opted against replacing my Subaru with another because I drive so much that I had to make extra payments to pay off my last two cars (bought new) by 100K miles.
My sister drives about 11k miles a year because she lives in a much bigger metropolitan area and has a ton of appointments every week. I’m glad that I live close to everything because I have never enjoyed driving. But I love the freedom to just get in my car and go wherever I want to.

I’m absolutely loving the safety features such as the back up camera. When I go to cvs it’s so hard to back out safely because it’s a busy parking lot and people drive fast through it. I used to have to crawl out very slowly constantly twisting my head looking for cars. Now the camera makes it easier.
 
My sister drives about 11k miles a year because she lives in a much bigger metropolitan area and has a ton of appointments every week. I’m glad that I live close to everything because I have never enjoyed driving. But I love the freedom to just get in my car and go wherever I want to.

I’m absolutely loving the safety features such as the back up camera. When I go to cvs it’s so hard to back out safely because it’s a busy parking lot and people drive fast through it. I used to have to crawl out very slowly constantly twisting my head looking for cars. Now the camera makes it easier.
Not just the camera, but the cross traffic alert...
 
Have all the "screen" activated features been an issue with your new car? My son's Tesla probably wouldn't adjust the seats without using the screen. I'd find that difficult to adjust to but YMMV.
The Tesla retains driver profiles. If you enter using your phone it "knows." If not, you can select the profile from the list.
 
Yeah, piece of cake.
My son loves his Mod 3. Heh, heh, so far, he's never offered to let me drive it. The technology is pretty cool but I can't always tell what's happening.
 
Most Subarus come with a 3-year/36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. (and a 5-year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty) If your luck is anything like ours, something non-powertrain will stop working either a little over 3 years and/or 36,000 miles. I think many products are basically designed to only last as long as the warranty.
We had an ignition control module fail at 36,200 miles, but the car had been put into service about 3-1/2 years before it failed. We did buy the car used at 1-year-old, with over 20,000 miles.
Luckily the module, along with new spark plugs and plug wires was less than $200 on Amazon, and I replaced all of the parts in a little over an hour in the driveway.
Anyone can get unlucky with car problems. However, I know a number of people with Subarus that have had no repairs just like my experience was with Toyota. I was unlucky with my Volvo as was a friend of mine although in general back when I bought they were great cars.
 
Congrats on your new car! Glad you got what you wanted. I love the safety features on new vehicles. Back up camera, etc. is why I bought a new Honda six years ago.

DH has a 15 year old Forester and is still happy with it.
 

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