Comments on: This $2,000 Subaru was a cheap fixer-upper

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 22:58:31 +0000

This is an outstanding article. Let me tell you I have worked for a large asian auto manufacturer in Ontario and it is robbery how much car companies charge for cars that are made in one day. Lots of it goes to bloated salaries to unskilled autoworkers. (Caused in turn by union pressures to keep wages going up even thought the average consumers wage has stagnated.

If more people did this the manufacturers would have to lower prices way down.

There is no way a tiny little compact car should cost upwards of 20 grand.

I am also tired of auto sections of papers constantly trumpeting new cars. People simply can’t afford them

By: Prot

Prot — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:50:46 +0000

Great article Costa. Thanks for all the tips. I didn’t know people still did these kind of things.

By: Prot

Prot — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:49:40 +0000

Great article Costa. Thanks for all the tips. I didn’t know people still did this kind of thing.

By: Daniel Hunter

Daniel Hunter — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:19:07 +0000

The paint isn’t remotely close to matching on the fender, its much darker. Whats the point in fixing it if it stands out.

By: Frontenac303

Frontenac303 — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:15:26 +0000

My time is more valuable than the financial savings outlined. Enjoy your weekends at scrap yards and evenings on parts websites.

By: jj72

jj72 — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:13:23 +0000

Sorry, lost all credibility when he stated that he bought a cheapo ebay part. Do you know how many knock off parts are sold on ebay and how many cars have been ruined by using them. No thanks.

By: TheRealMeatloaf

TheRealMeatloaf — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:05:08 +0000

I’d like to post some math that shows how this may not, in fact, be the best way to inexpensive driving. The author states he’s owned “a dozen” vehicles in “more than 2 decades” and one of them was purchased brand-new. I’ll go conservative on my figures and use the numbers from the Impreza as my example and I’ll use 20 years as the benchmark. So in 20 years he’s owned 12 cars, factor a cost of $2984 per car (allowing for ZERO further maintenance and repair costs after the initial outlay) equals a grand total of $35,808. For that price, 20 years ago he could have bought a brand-new, reasonably equipped vehicle with full factory warranty for $15,000 and again 10 years ago done the same thing but spent $20,000. With reasonable regular maintenance he could have easily kept these vehicles on the road for 10 years apiece and seen a moderate return by selling these vehicles to “fixer-upper types” such as himself (the money he got by selling the cars could have compensated for much of the routine maintenance thereby zero’ing out the two factors). Now let’s factor in how much time he spent searching and scouring for parts, tearing things apart to repair and replace parts and the fact that he’s always starting out with a vehicle that’s behind the times in terms of safety, fuel economy and technological advancements. Sometimes the cheapest solution isn’t always the cheapest solution.

By: Promoguy

Promoguy — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:05:28 +0000

This article although informative is bogus.
The car would NEVER sell for 6,000.00
The car when time is factored in probably cost the buyer an additional $2000.00 at rate of $50.00/hour.
Certainly if you have the confidence and interest in car repair this is a great way to go but this really an option for a very small minority of people. It’s like building your own house for 20k. You can do it but you have to have skills.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:10:49 +0000

Good job. I drive a beater while my wife has the “newish” car. My latest score was a 99 f150 4×4 (I work on boats so need to haul) that needed an engine. I got it for 1500, bought a low mileage engine for 500, and did the install myself. I then got a garage to do a few odds and ends (ball joints etc) and one year later its still a reliable daily driver.

Its not impossible to be a “backyard” mechanic in this day and age, you just have to know what you are capable of doing and not capable of doing. You are right with the internet being a great resource of information. In the few repairs Ive had to tackle since I have found step by step documents that anyone could understand.

By: W115

W115 — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:29:24 +0000

@Misha – You don’t have to do the “used car experience” as this guy did…

I own 2 cars – a 2010 Volkswagen Golf that I bought new (the last car I will ever buy new) and a 1971 Mercedes Benz that I bought in 2008. The Volkswagen cost me an outlay of about $25,000, and the Mercedes was $2500. The VW costs me about $500 to $1000 (dependant on year) to keep on warranty.

The Mercedes cost me an additional $2500 getting things sorted – I had a mechanic doing this though, because at the time I didn’t have the place to work on it. My mechanic charges me roughly $200 a year for service – that’s all it takes. The MB only has about 100,000km on it, and the engine is so simple that, should I choose to, I can work on it. If I wanted to sell the Benz today I’d likely get about $6000 – $7000 out of it. Were I to se1l the VW, I’d be lucky to get about $15000.

The problem with new cars is that they are expensive to service (all the computer stuff) and they lose a quarter of their value (or more) as soon as you drive them off the lot. I’ve owned 2 new cars in my life. Never again.