Chevy Equinox Thoughts

[Big Daddy Kang]

So, I need advice and this is sorta related to the Chevy. My son's car, which he did not take to college with him, is a 2012 Subaru Outback with 145,000. We bought the car new with 4 miles. Keeps stalling, and found out it is the torque converter and it will cost $2000 to repair. Do I get it repaired? As of today he doesn't want the car at college this spring, and he may be gone all summer at an internship and won't need a car then either. Is it worth dropping that money on an old car? An old car that will need new tires this spring (I will get through winter with what he have...damn that car just eats tires).

I also drive a 2023 Subaru Outback which is leased. That lease is up in August. I am thinking of taking both to the dealer and asking them what can they do if they take both vehicles, but I am also seriously considering downsizing to something cheaper like a sedan. Sedans are $6-10,000 cheaper than an SUV, even though an Outback is a wagon, but I am also looking at an Equinox, CRV, Accord, and Kias. Subaru Legacy Sedan is in the final year of production, so I may be able to get a good deal.

Anyway, I don't know what to do. Used cars are really expensive and it may be cheaper just to keep what I have, but if it is just going to sit for the next 8 months is it worth it.

Adulting sucks.

Seems like a 2012 Outback is worth quite a bit more than $2K, which is the calculus I use when facing a big repair bill.

 

[Agclone91]

So, I need advice and this is sorta related to the Chevy. My son's car, which he did not take to college with him, is a 2012 Subaru Outback with 145,000. We bought the car new with 4 miles. Keeps stalling, and found out it is the torque converter and it will cost $2000 to repair. Do I get it repaired? As of today he doesn't want the car at college this spring, and he may be gone all summer at an internship and won't need a car then either. Is it worth dropping that money on an old car? An old car that will need new tires this spring (I will get through winter with what he have...damn that car just eats tires).

I also drive a 2023 Subaru Outback which is leased. That lease is up in August. I am thinking of taking both to the dealer and asking them what can they do if they take both vehicles, but I am also seriously considering downsizing to something cheaper like a sedan. Sedans are $6-10,000 cheaper than an SUV, even though an Outback is a wagon, but I am also looking at an Equinox, CRV, Accord, and Kias. Subaru Legacy Sedan is in the final year of production, so I may be able to get a good deal.

Anyway, I don't know what to do. Used cars are really expensive and it may be cheaper just to keep what I have, but if it is just going to sit for the next 8 months is it worth it.

Adulting sucks.

Perspective is everything, but I wouldn't really consider a 2012 vehicle with 145k to be an "old" car. Should have quite a bit of life left in it.

If your plan is to dump it, I would find out what they're willing to give you in current condition vs repaired. I'm guessing you'll lose more in trade value than the $2k it's going to cost you to fix it at it's current condition.

 

[nfrine]

Seems like a 2012 Outback is worth quite a bit more than $2K, which is the calculus I use when facing a big repair bill.

It's not worth much in it's current condition. Fix it and keep Dave Ramsey happy.

 

[MeowingCows]

So, I need advice and this is sorta related to the Chevy. My son's car, which he did not take to college with him, is a 2012 Subaru Outback with 145,000. We bought the car new with 4 miles. Keeps stalling, and found out it is the torque converter and it will cost $2000 to repair. Do I get it repaired? As of today he doesn't want the car at college this spring, and he may be gone all summer at an internship and won't need a car then either. Is it worth dropping that money on an old car? An old car that will need new tires this spring (I will get through winter with what he have...damn that car just eats tires).

I also drive a 2023 Subaru Outback which is leased. That lease is up in August. I am thinking of taking both to the dealer and asking them what can they do if they take both vehicles, but I am also seriously considering downsizing to something cheaper like a sedan. Sedans are $6-10,000 cheaper than an SUV, even though an Outback is a wagon, but I am also looking at an Equinox, CRV, Accord, and Kias. Subaru Legacy Sedan is in the final year of production, so I may be able to get a good deal.

Anyway, I don't know what to do. Used cars are really expensive and it may be cheaper just to keep what I have, but if it is just going to sit for the next 8 months is it worth it.

Adulting sucks.

Want another car payment? Replace it. Want to write a check and move on? Fix it.

Might want a second opinion to scan it over first to see if any other expenses will be coming up soon on it beyond just the t-case. That age and mileage can spawn other replacements needing done, if not already.

 

[BigTurk]

Want another car payment? Replace it. Want to write a check and move on? Fix it.

Might want a second opinion to scan it over first to see if any other expenses will be coming up soon on it beyond just the t-case. That age and mileage can spawn other replacements needing done, if not already.

We've done a lot to it the past two years. New suspension, new spark plugs, new seals, new(er) brakes, and the only thing coming up would be tires (again) otherwise it seems to be in great shapes. Sure, it has rattles and is loud, but it is 14 years old so that is part of it. Hmmmmmmmmm.

 

[mramseyISU]

Has GM got the oil consumption problems fixed on the Equinox? For a while it was considered "normal" to burn a quart of oil every 5000 miles. There's a class action lawsuit going on right now because of it I think.

 

[GoCy]

I wish I could permanently disable the auto stop in my wife's 2018 Equinox. The amount of fuel saved cannot possibly be worth what's happening to the engine

Several companies sell plug-in modules that auto-disable the start-stop "feature" every time the vehicle is started.

https://www.smartstopstart.com/

 

[Agclone91]

Has GM got the oil consumption problems fixed on the Equinox? For a while it was considered "normal" to burn a quart of oil every 5000 miles. There's a class action lawsuit going on right now because of it I think.

A quart every 5k is nothing TBH. Most manufacturers don't consider oil consumption "excessive" until a quart per 1k. I had consumption tests done on a 2012 Terrain and a 2009 Accord and got the same answer from both.

 

[spinback32]

If you just love Chevy - I'm sure it'll be fine. If you're driving just about anything else, currently, the Equinox is going to look/feel like a pile of poopy.

 

[mramseyISU]

A quart every 5k is nothing TBH. Most manufacturers don't consider oil consumption excessive until a quart per 1k.

I had to look it up because I wasn't sure on the details. Looks like there are years where they use a quart ever 1k miles and it's "normal". Still that seems like a lot.

 

[HOTDON]

A quart every 5k is nothing TBH. Most manufacturers don't consider oil consumption "excessive" until a quart per 1k. I had consumption tests done on a 2012 Terrain and a 2009 Accord and got the same answer from both.

You are absolutely correct about the manufacturers' standard of excessive. A quart every 5k is concerning based on the average driver's ability to manage that consumption. If there isn't a light flashing at them on the dash most people wouldn't know. And that's to say nothing of the people that ignore the warnings. Total capacity is an issue there too. Our Fusion only holds 4.5 quarts. I used to pay the LS tax on my old G8 GT; just shy of 9 quarts and around $100 15 years ago.

 

[CycloneErik]

I had to look it up because I wasn't sure on the details. Looks like there are years where they use a quart ever 1k miles and it's "normal". Still that seems like a lot.

They can burn faster than that. I really enjoy mine, but it needs some serious watching and babying.
It's definitely something I'll look into further next time we buy something.

 

[crs8975]

So, I need advice and this is sorta related to the Chevy. My son's car, which he did not take to college with him, is a 2012 Subaru Outback with 145,000. We bought the car new with 4 miles. Keeps stalling, and found out it is the torque converter and it will cost $2000 to repair. Do I get it repaired? As of today he doesn't want the car at college this spring, and he may be gone all summer at an internship and won't need a car then either. Is it worth dropping that money on an old car? An old car that will need new tires this spring (I will get through winter with what he have...damn that car just eats tires).

I also drive a 2023 Subaru Outback which is leased. That lease is up in August. I am thinking of taking both to the dealer and asking them what can they do if they take both vehicles, but I am also seriously considering downsizing to something cheaper like a sedan. Sedans are $6-10,000 cheaper than an SUV, even though an Outback is a wagon, but I am also looking at an Equinox, CRV, Accord, and Kias. Subaru Legacy Sedan is in the final year of production, so I may be able to get a good deal.

Anyway, I don't know what to do. Used cars are really expensive and it may be cheaper just to keep what I have, but if it is just going to sit for the next 8 months is it worth it.

Adulting sucks.

Out of curiosity, is there something up with the alignment that's causing the tire issues? We have a '15 and '16 Impreza, yes different models, but not all that much different. And we have no issues getting the rated mileage out of a set of tires.