[WolfGTI]

Outbacks drive like utter crap, and feel cheap as a Coors light beer can.

Originally Posted by Alfisti

I just checked on Outback pricing, you know, wagon for wagon. Anything under 100,000KM is $20K.

Seriously???

[Alfisti]

UPDATE:

Mechanic did a full front to back, good news is brakes and suspension are fine, no further than half life, the water pump is super robust and should do another 35K miles, the drive belt is a $50 job and the hoses/rubber parts all look fine and don't need replacement.

So some of the broader problems I listed are really not going to need seeing to.

Big issue though, the stuttering on idle is a head gasket, cylinder 2. Likely a $2K job.

I told him to hold. If I could find a reliable car for $10K i'd move on but it's closer to $20K. Torn.

[MyZ4Coupe]

Sounds like you could have a reliable car for 2k? I would fix it if it was me.... Better than buying something cheap with problems you don't know about.

[Alfisti]

Looking at something to replace it with, a Mazda 6 around 2010, 60K miles, in good shape, is about $18K.

I get caught in this spiral of the higher i push the mileage the more likely i will face serious repair bills on something japanese plus the up front cost.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by MyZ4Coupe

Sounds like you could have a reliable car for 2k? I would fix it if it was me.... Better than buying something cheap with problems you don't know about.

Agree.

My position is replacing a well-operating used car with another unknown used car is pointless. The used car you have, you know the health and history of. $2K for a new cylinderhead makes sense if the rest of the car is in decent shape.

[Alfisti]

UPDATE: So the aircon died and car is hot as hell to drive. It'll be about $1500, which I am LOATHED to pay but jesus h, just did another search for a new car and amazingly prices have gone up. The cheapest 5 door i can find is a staggering $4,500 a yr to lease. Like what? Used cars are insane, anything "mildly" used at even the very low end is still over $20K.

WHAT THE HELL.

[shawnhayes]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

UPDATE: So the aircon died and car is hot as hell to drive. It'll be about $1500, which I am LOATHED to pay but jesus h, just did another search for a new car and amazingly prices have gone up. The cheapest 5 door i can find is a staggering $4,500 a yr to lease. Like what? Used cars are insane, anything "mildly" used at even the very low end is still over $20K.

WHAT THE HELL.

I just recently got a 14 F31 with 56,000 miles from carmax for $22k. Solid. May not last till 100,000 because N20, but it's a nice ride.

HOWEVER,

I strongly suggest you consider a used Hyundai in the Canadian market. You have a strong dealer network, and in my recent travels in New Brunswick, they are EVERYWHERE.

Just a suggestion.

Shawn

[stein_325i]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

UPDATE: So the aircon died and car is hot as hell to drive. It'll be about $1500, which I am LOATHED to pay but jesus h, just did another search for a new car and amazingly prices have gone up. The cheapest 5 door i can find is a staggering $4,500 a yr to lease. Like what? Used cars are insane, anything "mildly" used at even the very low end is still over $20K.

WHAT THE HELL.

Sadly the market sucks still, I’m sure its even worse in Canada. The worst part is no one sells their cars privately anymore, if you want a really cheap car to pay for in cash its impossible to find them, everyone just trades them in and they head to auction.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by shawnhayes

HOWEVER,

I strongly suggest you consider a used Hyundai in the Canadian market. You have a strong dealer network, and in my recent travels in New Brunswick, they are EVERYWHERE.

Just a suggestion.

Shawn

This would be sensible right? Thing is, the cheapest i can find under 50K KM in a form factor similar to my saab (so SUV in this case) is a 2016 Tuscon for $23K.

That's a lot of aircon fixes for the Saab.

[XutvJet]

Saabs are a bit like Porsches. You keep them running because you love them and don't care about the cost. I certainly wouldn't drive a Saab as my daily because they aren't overly reliable, rust out (like you're seeing), and can be pain to fix, especially if you aren't a serious DIYer or don't have an independent shop nearby. I have a neighbor that has 3 older Saabs in various states of repair. The amount of money he spends on those cars to keep them running is astronomical and none of them are cherry even after thousands in repairs on each one. I really don't get it.

You could pile $5K into that Saab and there is still a strong likelihood that it's going to leave you stranded in the next year or two. These cars just don't age well and since they no longer exist as a brand and not many were sold, finding the parts and shops to support these cars are dwindling. You also own two very expensive to maintain and repair vehicles, neither of which has stellar long term reliability and one of which could develop bore score out of the blue and leave you with a $30K repair bill.

Given you own a 911 and an Alfa, it sounds to me like you have the means. It it were me, I'd be getting a used or new current gen Civic Si 6MT or Mazda 3 hatch and enjoying the drive, quality, and reliability. I certainly wouldn't be entertaining the idea of a used European car as my daily given the other cars in your stable. At least have one that's reliable and you can drive for a long time.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Saabs are a bit like Porsches. You keep them running because you love them and don't care about the cost. I certainly wouldn't drive a Saab as my daily because they aren't overly reliable, rust out (like you're seeing), and can be pain to fix, especially if you aren't a serious DIYer or don't have an independent shop nearby. I have a neighbor that has 3 older Saabs in various states of repair. The amount of money he spends on those cars to keep them running is astronomical and none of them are cherry even after thousands in repairs on each one. I really don't get it.

You could pile $5K into that Saab and there is still a strong likelihood that it's going to leave you stranded in the next year or two. These cars just don't age well and since they no longer exist as a brand and not many were sold, finding the parts and shops to support these cars are dwindling. You also own two very expensive to maintain and repair vehicles, neither of which has stellar long term reliability and one of which could develop bore score out of the blue and leave you with a $30K repair bill.

Given you own a 911 and an Alfa, it sounds to me like you have the means. It it were me, I'd be getting a used or new current gen Civic Si 6MT or Mazda 3 hatch and enjoying the drive, quality, and reliability. I certainly wouldn't be entertaining the idea of a used European car as my daily given the other cars in your stable. At least have one that's reliable and you can drive for a long time.

Thanks for the input but..........

- I drive about 2K miles a year, a new car makes no sense unless the lease is old school $250 a month, I am finding near double that

- Saab has never stranded me

- Saab is not rusting out body panels, more the brackets, screws, nuts etc

- I am spending about $2K a yr, new car will be about $4,500 minimum

- I have a great specialist indy right near me, parts zero issue

In saying all that I am falling for the "jesus it's $1,500 to fix this!" and not doing the math that this is all but 3 months on a lease. I'm ready to pay a little more than i expect this car to cost me to keep just to have something newer but the prices are absolutely INSANE. A 2018 Kona, WITH 120K KMS, is over $20K. Like fucking what?

[shawnhayes]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Thanks for the input but..........

- I drive about 2K miles a year, a new car makes no sense unless the lease is old school $250 a month, I am finding near double that

I know it's canada. I know.

This is almost perfect used electric car application.

Shawn

[bosstones]

I don't know the medium/long-term outlook for Saab but poke around on a Saab forum. All cars have their nuance (e.g. most would say pre-mature failure of BMW cooling systems, VCG/VC, OFHG, etc .. are insane) so how does your list compare to that of your make/model? And what else are you creeping up on?

Most items on your list are wear and tear and the car is getting around that 100k+ range where those things tend to fail.

Sucks about the A/C but you knew there was an issue with it. Most other items on your list shouldn't be that expensive to repair.

Given car prices and options for what you're seeing, I'd put the money into the Saab for now to get it whole again. If it takes a nose dive in MX cost and/or reliability over the next couple years, then it'd be time to dump it.

[kyriian]

Originally Posted by shawnhayes

I know it's canada. I know.

This is almost perfect used electric car application.

Shawn

Sadly, meeting what he has mentioned yield slim pickins unless he wants to shell out high 20k to low 30k CAD for an Ioniq EV/early 2G Leaf/MK6 eGolf with 40k-45k miles on the clock.

[Alfisti]

I'm absolutely floored by used car prices, wow, anything under 100km and 2016 or later is over 20K, even for a penalty box. Like wow.

[kyriian]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

I'm absolutely floored by used car prices, wow, anything under 100km and 2016 or later is over 20K, even for a penalty box. Like wow.

I have been looking the odd time to see if I can replace my daily, and frankly I feel I might as well just swallow my pride and keep my tC until my 6 year old can drive.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by kyriian

I have been looking the odd time to see if I can replace my daily, and frankly I feel I might as well just swallow my pride and keep my tC until my 6 year old can drive.

Seriously.

My Saab has 145KM, engine and tranny feel strong, no rust on panels. I could drop $10K on it, as in fix the aircon, replace tired suspension, fix the dings and scratches etc and still be $10K in front of buying a used Kona with similar miles, half the space and far less power.

Does my head in.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

I'm absolutely floored by used car prices, wow, anything under 100km and 2016 or later is over 20K, even for a penalty box. Like wow.

Used car prices have been climbing, even well before COVID. The COVID days were bonkers, but prices have been falling fairly strongly over the past 3 months and will continue to do so because of interest rates.

$20K in Canada is $15K in the US. $15K for a 2016ish Japanese car is about what I'd expect to pay.

Are you just adverse to spending $20-25K for a solid used car just because of the price or is it more of a financial thing?

Saabs (and Porsches) aren't particularly hard to work and there is a YouTube video out there for damn near every repair. Why not invest $1000 in some good tools and do most of the work yourself and save at least 50%+ of the cost to fix your Saab? You could fix the A/C and have a shop recharge it. The worst that can happen is that you can't do it and need the shop to do it for you. The tools will be useful in maintaining your other cars and God knows that 911 will need work every year

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Are you just adverse to spending $20-25K for a solid used car just because of the price or is it more of a financial thing?

Saabs (and Porsches) aren't particularly hard to work and there is a YouTube video out there for damn near every repair. Why not invest $1000 in some good tools and do most of the work yourself and save at least 50%+ of the cost to fix your Saab? You could fix the A/C and have a shop recharge it. The worst that can happen is that you can't do it and need the shop to do it for you. The tools will be useful in maintaining your other cars and God knows that 911 will need work every year

It's the price, I cannot justify it for 2K miles per year. Exchange doesn't really matter in this case, the price is the price, our salaries are no higher than yours so we see 20K the same way you do. I can't justify 20K to do 2K miles per year, that's what's bothering me.

I cannot do the work myself, just not gonna happen skill set wise, facility wise or time wise.

[shawnhayes]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

It's the price, I cannot justify it for 2K miles per year. Exchange doesn't really matter in this case, the price is the price, our salaries are no higher than yours so we see 20K the same way you do. I can't justify 20K to do 2K miles per year, that's what's bothering me.

I cannot do the work myself, just not gonna happen skill set wise, facility wise or time wise.

Choices made. I don't see how we would persuade you to buy another, unless they were cheaper.

Shawn

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by shawnhayes

Choices made. I don't see how we would persuade you to buy another, unless they were cheaper.

Shawn

Yeah I realise I am answering my own question which is annoying but sometime sit helps to walk things through a thought process here to clarify things.

[Donatello.]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Seriously.

My Saab has 145KM, engine and tranny feel strong, no rust on panels. I could drop $10K on it, as in fix the aircon, replace tired suspension, fix the dings and scratches etc and still be $10K in front of buying a used Kona with similar miles, half the space and far less power.

Does my head in.

Folks never factor in their time. Time is $ & the 1 thing we cannot buy.

I'll take a reliable beater/daily that I don't have to worry about messing with all the time for a few extra bucks vs a headache. One of the reasons we're getting the wife a new car. Her current will just become my beater and I'll deal with it. Only use it hauling parts or winter drive if I have to go out & she's not around. Then my Hellcat also will likely no longer see snow