We've been having car problems with the 99 Subaru Forester we bought last year for hubby. Apparently the previous owner did shit for maintanance (someone had replaced the recommended sparkplugs with cheap autolites, which were burnt beyond recognition when we took it in for a tune up) and we are paying the price. Once the car has been running a while, when we go to make a tight turn, like out of a parking space, it feels like it is grabbing somewhere and making thunk thunk noises. It is starting to do this when we make a tight turn forwards.
I think it is from the back, hubby thinks it is from the front and our mechanic thinks one of the axels needs to be replaced, but no one knows which one. Unless the car has been run a while, we can't get it to duplicate the problem at the mechanics. Hubby is out now driving all over the place before heading to the mechanics.
We are supposed to be heading over to the Portland/Vancouver area for the weekend (part vacation, part money making for hubby working on friends computers) so we HAVE to get the car fixed before Friday. We could park the Subaru and take the Escort, but we would have to get a new battery, tags and insurance and since we have 108,000+ miles on it, are rather loath to drive it that far (once we get it back up and running, it will be my running around town car). Other problem with it is it is no longer comfortable for driving long distances in. The last time we drove out that way we were both in pain and exhausted, even with frequent stops and switching drivers.
Hubby is half tempted to sell the car once we get it fixed and let any other problems fall to someone else. Me, I tend to think of cars as one of the family (it's a big pet we feed gasoline to, instead of kitty chow and its got feelings too :D ) and tend to find some solution that doesn't involve giving away/selling just becasue it has gotten to be an inconvenience.
So fingers crossed the mechanic can finally pinpoint the problem (it's been into two different mechanics who deal with Subarus, our regular guy, and the guy down the road from him who has the more up-to-date equipment. We are extremely reluctant to take it back to the dealer as we are highly un-impressed with their service) and it will be an easy and cheap fix.
I think it is from the back, hubby thinks it is from the front and our mechanic thinks one of the axels needs to be replaced, but no one knows which one. Unless the car has been run a while, we can't get it to duplicate the problem at the mechanics. Hubby is out now driving all over the place before heading to the mechanics.
We are supposed to be heading over to the Portland/Vancouver area for the weekend (part vacation, part money making for hubby working on friends computers) so we HAVE to get the car fixed before Friday. We could park the Subaru and take the Escort, but we would have to get a new battery, tags and insurance and since we have 108,000+ miles on it, are rather loath to drive it that far (once we get it back up and running, it will be my running around town car). Other problem with it is it is no longer comfortable for driving long distances in. The last time we drove out that way we were both in pain and exhausted, even with frequent stops and switching drivers.
Hubby is half tempted to sell the car once we get it fixed and let any other problems fall to someone else. Me, I tend to think of cars as one of the family (it's a big pet we feed gasoline to, instead of kitty chow and its got feelings too :D ) and tend to find some solution that doesn't involve giving away/selling just becasue it has gotten to be an inconvenience.
So fingers crossed the mechanic can finally pinpoint the problem (it's been into two different mechanics who deal with Subarus, our regular guy, and the guy down the road from him who has the more up-to-date equipment. We are extremely reluctant to take it back to the dealer as we are highly un-impressed with their service) and it will be an easy and cheap fix.
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