The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: justchecking on November 08, 2018, 03:28:43 PM
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Today marks the day that the engine died on our 2004 Subaru Outback. It is a sad day indeed. We are a one car family and need something to replace it. We are open to possibilities. We have two kids. I have some rental properties and do a fair piece of the work myself. I need to haul things on a regular basis and the outback was enough room to make that happen. My SO is much more interested in getting something with better gas mileage than the Outback had and I want something where I can still put some stuff on the roof or in the hatchback. We are of course buying used and looking for something that is cheap, reliable, and spacious. We live in a snowy place, but I grew up in it driving a Chevette, so I really do not believe the hype about snowy weather. We would love any recommendations for something that is going to last at least 7-10 years.
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What happened to the engine that it is dead and not fixable?
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Our 08 Honda Odyssey has 110k and going strong. Maintenance is straightforward and it can haul people or cargo. I frequent the odyssey for DIY stuff and they typically go 150-200k without too much high end repair work
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The engine died in it and the replacement cost far exceeds the price of the car.
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I would look for a used Toyota Matrix. They stopped making them in 2013. Ours is a 2005 and it is going strong with over 206K miles. It is also a manual transmission and gets what I think is pretty good mileage, averaging in the mid-thirties with "city" (town) driving.
Good luck finding something suitable!
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Junk yard engine? It may buy some time.
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A quick search indicates the 2004 Outback to be 22mpg city / 28 highway, and to have ~12 cu ft cargo space with the back seats up and ~68 with the seats down.
Prius V could be a good choice with ~67 cubic feet of cargo space and an EPA rating of 43 city / 39 highway. I couldn't find the numbers for the regular Prius 2nd or 3rd gen, but the 4th gen also has ~68 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats down, and I don't expect the others are too far behind.
2nd gen Prius - 48 city / 45 highway
3rd gen Prius - 51 city / 48 highway
4th gen Prius - 58 city / 53 highway
A manual Honda Fit will have around half the cargo volume (though perhaps 75% the usable space) and an Odyssey or Sienna will have around 2x.
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Ouch! A 2.5L is going for $3646.00 from Auto Zone. 3.0 L 6 cyl is $5050.
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We have checked the prices on replacement engines and also looked at replacement cars. It looks like we are going to go with the prius and try to get a good deal on a used one somewhere between 2009-2011 and 100,000 miles. I will keep you all posted. Thanks for the advice.
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We would love any recommendations for something that is going to last at least 7-10 years.
Put a junkyard motor in from a Subaru with rear end damage from a collision. It's a Subaru, pretty easy to do yourself or with a few friends. Or shouldn't be that bad for a junkyard to install the motor - many of them do that sort of work.
And then keep an eye on your coolant. I'm guessing you had a head gasket leak that caused the oil to stop being oil.
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Right.. But what happened to the engine? Typically you can go to a salvage yard or pick and pull and nab a replacement for $400 - $800. Timing belt break? Non interference engines I believe these are, easy fix. Blown head gasket? Mostly easy fix. Unless you dropped a valve or had a rod go through the side of the block you can keep her goin'.... If you wanna :)
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Timing belt break? Non interference engines I believe these are, easy fix.
The EAs were non-interference. The EJs (which a 2004 has) are interference.
It was... considered good form, on a forum I used to frequent, to have a friend help you tow an EA-82 Subaru around the corner from where you bought it for $100 with "a bad engine" before you put on new timing belts and drove it the rest of the way home. Apparently there were more than a few really upset former owners who'd sold their car for $100, on assurance of their mechanic that the engine was junk, after the new owner spent half an hour fiddling with it and drove it off.
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Subarus are kind of like bug engines aren't they? Pancake engines? I used to swap bug engines when i was a kid with two scissors jacks.
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I think the technical term is "horizontally opposed." But, yes, they're flat 180 degree engines, either 4 or 6 cylinders (mostly 4).
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Subarus are kind of like bug engines aren't they? Pancake engines? I used to swap bug engines when i was a kid with two scissors jacks.
I did one in a 98 Forester. Takes more than two scissors jacks but it's not too bad.