Is Classic Subaru the New Classic Alfa?

"Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig" (AndySheehan-StreetsideStig)
07/22/2014 at 15:38 • Filed to: None

We all know about classic Italian cars. They have soul and passion , but they tend to fall apart. They're great hobbyist cars, but nothing you'll want to rely upon as your daily driver, as your only car .

So as much as I'd love to run my errands in a Lancia or Alfa or Fiat, since I don't have a garage or the means for a hobby car, it's probably not going to happen any time soon.

Instead, I bought a Subaru. It was Japanese, like Honda, Toyota, and Nissan, so reliability was a given. It was a WRX, so it would be fun. It was a wagon and AWD, so it would be practical and safe. And it was a 2002, so it would be inexpensive, despite the low miles.

I bought it from a fellow Jalop 3 years ago for $6800. The odo read 118,000, and aside from a broken drivers seat and a bit of clearcoat flaking on the roof from a crappy Maaco paint job, it was brilliant.

Since then, I've put another 40k on it, and man, do I love that car. It's such great fun, so versatile, and so pretty (despite the still-present Maaco tracks).

But it has not been reliable. After I replaced the seats, a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in the center differential decided to take a walk and shredded the whole unit. I learned with this job not to pay people to work on my car. Parts and labor were $1700.

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Then the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . I drive fast, but I'm not a launcher. I've only ever seen the redline a handful of times. But, per its reputation, the glass gearbox ended itself. That only cost me $900: $500 for a rebuilt part, which I installed myself, $300 for the installation of a replacement rebuilt part after the original rebuilt part also broke, (the part was warrantied by the guy who rebuilt it, but the work was not), and $100 as the insurance leavings after I destroyed my hand on the old transmission.

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A few weeks ago, my plastic (really?) radiator exploded. That cost me $310 in a replacement aluminum radiator and silicone hoses, all used, and fresh coolant.

I can't whine about the consumables - clutch, brake pads, CV axles, wheel bearings, struts, premium gas, etc, because that's all my driving. I will complain about the two sets of tires I've eaten through, though, as the factory camber settings wear them quickly. And that stupid, broken seat. The (used) replacements cost me $400. There were little things, too. The AC compressor pulley, the battery cables, the intercooler, the TGVs.

Then, last night, on my way back from the airport, while ferrying my best friend and his wife home from their honeymoon, I started to hear a rattle. This was followed by a whole album of varied and angry noises and power loss until the car finally quit about 4 miles from home.

I haven't been able to take a close enough look to know what's wrong, but it seems major. It reminds me of the engine in the crappy 2001 Impala I used to drive. It threw a rod after 142k and was scrapped.

If this is the death of my engine, I'm going to have to sell the car. I still owe $1,800 on it. I love the car so much that I would find a way. I'd buy a different engine and install it myself and find a way to pay for it. But I just can't believe in the car anymore as a reliable daily driver. What's the point of keeping a car to will to my kids if it's just a giant piece?

If I get another WRX, it will be a weekender, a second car, a hobby machine, to roll out to the track and shows. Like some old Italian car. It will be a blast to drive, but a nightmare to own.

DISCUSSION (8)

MonkeePuzzle > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
07/22/2014 at 16:27

I've said numerous times, in the US ownership of an older Subaru should be a requirement for jalops, just as in the UK ownership of an Alfa is a requirement

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > MonkeePuzzle
07/22/2014 at 16:31

I'm too poor to be a Jalop.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
07/22/2014 at 16:39

Exactly why I'd never own an Alfa OR a Subaru.

Side note, I do hope you're referring to your Subaru being a "classic" when you intend to hand it down to children and not currently a classic.

Because if you think a 2002 is a classic we need to have a conversation lol

anonsagainstanonymous > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
07/22/2014 at 19:01

Unlike Alfas, though, I feel like subies come with a certain stigma. Especially here on the British isles. You're not much older than twenty before you start looking like a complete doofus driving a flatulent WRX.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > anonsagainstanonymous
07/23/2014 at 08:46

That might not be the case in 20 years.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
07/23/2014 at 08:48

Right. I don't consider my 13-year-old car to be a classic. This is a classic Subaru.

Kinja'd!!!

anonsagainstanonymous > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
07/23/2014 at 10:34

True! This might be the correct point in time to mothball a couple of old STis for the future.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
07/25/2014 at 19:20

Oh thank god. i'm glad we don't have to have that talk lol