10 years, 11 months. 116,850 miles. That’s how long the factory head gaskets lasted on my 2009 Forester 2.5X. It’s in getting an official diagnosis currently, but I suspect that the time has come. And I was thinking of moving on to something new soon, too. Darn...
We’ll see what the estimate is, but it’s time to decide what to do. This won’t be cheap. It could also use new struts and new tires. The maintenance hurdle at 100,000+ miles is a challenging one, especially without access to a garage. The the book value, while still sorta there, isn’t what is used to be. Still, it’s kinda hard to move a car with a mechanical fault...
Now I know what you’re thinking (haha, Subaru head gasket joke), but you can save it.
My over 10 years of Subaru ownership has generally been very good. I still think the highs have outweighed the lows, even with this (and a under-warranty CVT replacement on the ‘15 Forester). Looking at other makes, there really isn’t anything that speaks to me in this price range for what you get/ what I need. These aren’t Toyota reliable (we did ~20 years of Toyota as a family - it was alright), but it’s understood.
I sat in both a ‘19 Forester and Crosstrek while at the dealer; they were nice. Now, to determine how much of a masochist I am...