[SpicyMango]

So I bought a 2013 STi hatchback 2 and a half years ago. Been a great car with minimal issues. Took care of a few loose ends and got it happy and healthy. 130k on the clock.

It started running rough about a month ago. Took it to a reputable Subaru performance shop near me and had it diagnosed. Turned out to be a timing issue and needs all 4 cam sprockets, AVCS solenoids, and the regular while-youre-in-theres. Bill was looking at $4,300. Shop was going to start the work today and called and said they noticed head gaskets are leaking and they would need to pull the engine to perform the work. Updated total bill is now $9760 with everything.

Simply put I am a 24 year old who maybe got a little in over my head with this car and I can’t afford to fix it. I also still owe $7,000 to the bank on this car. I don’t know what to do.

I doubt I can recoup my money selling the car as is, even if i can find someone who wants to buy it. I planned on fixing whatever may come up on it but this is more than I would’ve ever expected and I can’t see any way out of this without taking out a personal loan at some crazy apr and living off ramen for the next 2 years.

Any advice or alternative solutions would be incredibly appreciated. Or if anyone wants a ‘13 snow pearl white hatch with a busted engine let me know. Hah.

 

[Karlot]

That seems expensive. I know I reused some parts but my total bill was like 10500 for a new iag shortblock, rebuilt heads, and I think 2 of those can sprockets. Not sure if I had to replace any of the avcs solenoids. That bill just seems a little high for that work….I’m guessing most is labor.

you could replace the oem shortblock with an oem type ra and be in that price range I’d guess. Idk just seems a tad high to me. Maybe not. I’d have to see all the little things.

so far as if it’s worth it, that’s up to you. To me, I haven’t found anything as fun as these cars so I’d say yes it is. But you may feel different. Tough call

 

[Jedi03]

where are you located, theres alot of people with experience who could take care of this for much less....

 

[Jay11STI]

Damn man im sorry to hear. Yeah this is definitely bad news. Id be a bit suspicious of a timing issue requiring all 4 cam gears and avcs solenoids. Im sure there is more to it than that honestly. Im a bit curious, they noticed the headgaskets leaking?? They can visibly see a coolant leak from the headgaskets? Thats kind of rare. Or are they saying the headgaskets are leaking because there is oil and coolant mixing, engine overheating ect ect??

I think you may want to have a second opinion on this before making a decision. Given you're situation, you have to ask yourself, do you really want to invest lets say another 10K into a 10year old car with 130K on the clock? That fact that you owe money on it makes it even worse. As a last ditch effort, maybe try to get it running and sell it fast and or trade it in.

 

[praha-sti]

While I just replaced my cam gears, I didn't need to. What is the issue with them? I doubt you need replacement. And I doubt you need new solenoids. If they didn't get any reason WHY you need these parts, and/or didn't show you how they're failing, tell them to eat a bag of Ds. Do the work yourself ...

Maybe the belt jumped 1 tooth and it just needs to be replaced.

 

[Parker]

I'd get a second opinion, personally.

 

[LongFist]

As a fellow STi maniac who just did a short-block replacement for a tad less than your revised total I have to agree with the overwhelming opinion that you need to (somehow) get a second opinion. If they've got the car apart (you never said whether they had or hadn't) it will be a bit awkward, but I suspect your current shop is trying to take advantage of you. Yeah, I'd engage them (hopefully the lead mechanic working on it) and find out what they saw or how they came to these findings, because that's not normal. Not normal at all.

Sorry this happened to you. While they can be expensive from time to time, they are also a dream to drive, so I find (IMHO) that it balances out, mostly.

 

[mheyman]

Another who agrees with all the above. Where are you?

So, are they trying to take advantage of you? Perhaps. I suspect they really don't know they best way to go about this. Assuming they got the HG diagnosis correct, I'd suspect that was the original issue, not the ACVS system. I'm not sure the amount is so far off, but you should ending up with a "new engine" assuming it needs to come out.

You might get by for a lot less. But it will require someone knowing whether you can use the SB as is - understanding it will have a limited life. The issue is money. Otherwise a clutch should be considered if the engine comes out.