I have a 2004 Forester XS 5 Speed- Full Package (moon roof, heated seats, AC all work - CD player doesn't work anymore sadly). Thing drives like a champ still at 174k miles (with your standard leaky head gasket now days). Pretty Rusty but in tact and pretty sure it'll drive for a few more years if the HG doesn't kill it, just replaced the full exhaust due to rust. Tires will last another year or two, brakes in good shape, no transmission issues, oil leaks have also been resolved + a few hoses replaced. I got a cash offer of $1500 before I replaced the exhaust (seemed a bit low since it's fairly clean), I was thinking if it's running and driving and leaks are minimal I could fetch at least $4-5k for it, which opted me to get it road worthy again and now I remember why I still have the car, its pretty nice to drive. Trying to find get some feedback on: - What's the proper value in the condition it's in? - Is it worth replacing the head gasket and what kind of price should I pay / would it fetch if I did this (I'm not a great mechanic so would probably find someone to do it). - Should I just keep it as it is and drive her till she dies as my winter beater?
Considering it's not an XT and you have leaking head gaskets. That $1500 offer was pretty fair, to be honest. Maybe $2k considering it's a manual.
I vote to drive her into the ground! You might as well enjoy the car. I’m sure that you will get at least $1500 in smiles and miles before it “gives up the ghost”.
Put a bottle of Slick-50 in it, drive it for a while, drain the oil out and drive it 'til it quits. You might be too young to not understand this though.
Yea, I would guess $1500-2k as-is, $4-5k with fresh head gasket repair/timing components and pop out that Camry dent in the front bumper. EJ251/253 head gaskets are out of my professional wheelhouse now, so I'm not sure what a fair customer price would be. But I imagine you'll be hard pressed to pay someone to do it for less than $2k.
I guess it kinda depends on what you want out of the car in the long run. If its mechanically in good shape aside from the rust, or the rust is to body panels/etc rather than critical parts, $2k or even a bit more is not a bad deal at all to get at least a few good years out of an otherwise trustworthy car. Especially given the Used car market, anything in that price range is going to be a real roll of the dice. They just don't make simple fun, especially manual, cars like that generation Fozzy any more. There's a case for keeping it on the road, especially if you like it and it makes you smile to drive. My old beater manual Subaru (a 98 Impreza wagon) made any commute more fun. Personally I'd get a quote from a few different independent mechanics with Subaru experience. JM may or may not be the cheapest but they do great work and would be worth being one of your quotes. If the price isn't right to fix it, then sure drive it till it dies and donate it. But to me, that seems like a car with life left in it, if you want to keep it around.
