Very nice, wish I had that level of craftsmanship.Originally Posted by Reynard
Very nice, wish I had that level of craftsmanship.
So after the (hopeful) move, we're gonna take a year and save up for what will be my first new-ish car. And new-ish for me, that means made in the last 10 years.
I'm jumping back and forth between small truck and small wagon. If we end up getting another 1/2-ton to use as a shop truck, I'll be leaning more toward small wagon. I've never owned a Subaru before, but a buddy of mine is a mechanic who's VERY into Subarus and knows them inside out. He's trying to prod be toward a Legacy or WRX Wagon, or maybe even and out Outback. Somewhere in the 2005-2009 range, budget is around $5000... Anyone else have some direct experience to lend to this? I know they're pretty mechanically reliable, but I'm looking for more thorough info than that.
In my limited experience, what you sign up for with Suburus of that vintage is primarily the failure of things that are not the engine & transmission. I think the headgasket and oil pump related failures had been cured by then, so it's things like AC and sunroofs not working right.
Regardless, I think having a knowledgeable friend who's willing to help out verbally or with tools is enough to sway the balance of any car-buying decision. Someone who can reliably say "Here's the problem, here's the fix" can turn any car into a wonderful ownership experience.
I have learned recently that the nice reliable $5000 car you are (and I am) looking for costs $7500 to $10,000 these days.Somewhere in the 2005-2009 range, budget is around $5000
Maybe I'll save more.
So this has gotten... interesting.
The shop diagnosed it as (exactly as TSG speculated) an ignition switch. They replaced it and everything worked fine. for three days. Then, my wife went out to meet someone for lunch on the Sunday before mem. day and when she tried to come home, it wouldn't start at all. So- towed back to shop. They try and figure it out until that thursday (the 28th), and then tell me "We think it's a communication problem between (some computer module) and (some other computer module), the only way to fix it is to take it to an actual VW dealership and get them to reprogram (one of the modules)." Pleasantly, they didn't charge me a dime for this visit, even though they went in and replaced the ign switch on the assumption it was a bad part.
So I make a service appt at a (reputedly very good) dealership for monday (yesterday) morning. Towed it over (Thank god for farm bureau's liberality with the concept of roadside assistance), I fill them in on the situation, give them the paperwork from my shop and say "Good luck." They call this afternoon and say "My tech has put 2.5 hours into trying to diagnose this thing and we cannot figure it out at all. We've been through every page of the manual, and all the TSBs, etc etc."
So that's where I'm at now. Also, we've decided that after 8 years of completely trouble free driving, it's time to demote the Rabbit to "second car" status and get something new, because I cannot screw around with something like this when I'm doing an 80 mile round trip commute every day.
-Formerly Stabulator
Time for a TDI?
That's crazy. I feel like there is a tool you plug into the car and it tells what device sent what signal where, and then you decide where in the chain the signal broke. On VAGs of this generation, I believe the ignition switch is sort of the hub of that activity and signals from the various modules all pass through the key, since it's controlling power and security. It seems like a likely culprit for this failure. But it could be any of a few modules or the actual bus between them. That's way above my pay grade, but since no faults are being set it sure seems like it's a thing that does its job until it decides to not do its job, like a keyswitch or a module, rather than wiring or a connector which sure seems like it would introduce minor communication errors and not total, spontaneous failure.
Any chance it's something like the fuel pump or a fuel pressure sensor? Both of those could be intermittent and lead to a total spontaneous shutdown. PITA to diagnose unless you happen to catch it at a time when it's dead and won't restart.
I guess I failed to mention that it no longer stops when running, that problem is as far as anyone can tell, fixed. Now, it (intermittently) won't start. Sometimes, when you put the key in and turn it, the gauges don't pop up, engine doesn't even try to turn, nothing.
As of this afternoon, the tech is apparently thinking that it's one of the modules, possibly somehow related to transmission, because I guess it thinks it's not in Park maybe?
There's an #AstonMartin DB10 under there somewhere... #JamesBond #Spectre
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