The Subaru Has Come A Long Way!

Since purchasing Cecil the Subaru in January I would say this car has really come a long way.  The previous owner was good about regular maintenance and took care of whatever needed to be repaired, but as far as keeping this car clean or dent free they definitely came up a bit short.  For many of us a car is usually the biggest investment we make after our house mortgage and nowadays a lot of people have car payments equal to a mortgage payment or their rent.  The average car payment for a new car is $745 to $1,075 and most families have two vehicles they are paying on. With that in mind I am often amazed at how a lot of people will treat their vehicles.  They don’t do regular maintenance or take care of repairs and even more shockingly is how they will trash the interiors making them into a dumpster on wheels.

 

When my friend received this car from her niece after she drove it from New York state to Idaho it became her responsibility to do something with it.  I know some, but I don’t know all of the details about how this all came to be and I don’t need to.  What I do know is that my dear friend apologized to me repeatedly over the condition of this car when I bought it.  She had already removed the first layer of grime by taking it through the carwash and then using their vacuums to remove a lot of the debris and mud that covered the floor and seats.  The smell inside that car was entirely something else.  It wasn't something you could really describe, just a collection of odors that had accumulated over the years I suppose.

 

Ouch!

Because of the condition of the car, how dirty and stinky it was, some fender dents and the mechanical issue that caused the car to vibrate if you drove it over 35 miles an hour the original owners had suggested the car should be scrapped, but my friend was hesitant.  Knowing I’m a bit of a “gear head” as she likes to say she wanted my opinion first before she did that.  After driving it and climbing underneath, looking under the hood and reading up on all the maintenance and repairs that had been done over the years I told her I thought it still had life left in it and shouldn’t go to the scrap yard.

 

Long story short, I ended up buying the car and because I was willing to fix it, drive it and love it they really wanted me to have it.  The price they wanted was the scrap value of the car - $1,000.  I was shocked, but it was put to me that they had been very blessed as a family and they wanted me to have the car at a price that would make it so repairs would be affordable and something I’d be willing to do.  Before I handed over the cash I think I asked her a half dozen times if she was sure about that price and she never wavered.  In fact, to this day she and her family are thrilled not only that I have the car, but with everything I have done to it.

 

Even though it was freezing outside the first thing I had to do was start cleaning the interior.  I sat inside with the car running, the heat on and a bucket of hot soapy water, some rags, brushes and a magic erasure.  I vacuumed out the entire car then scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed.  After four hours I called it a day and headed inside.  The next day I took the car to the mechanic who rebalanced all the tires (I was hopeful that was the issue) and oddly enough that made a huge difference in the vibration, however it didn’t take care of it completely and it didn't take long for it come right back to how it was.  Not surprising, I'm rarely that lucky.

 

I began going through every nook and cranny of this car to discover whatever might be wrong with it.  I wanted to drive it just enough to make sure the transmission was good with no slipping, no exhaust leaks or a bad head gasket, etc. etc.  I also wanted to make sure I wasn’t loosing fluids or burning oil.  Just really vet out any problems.  As it turned out it was just the U joints that needed to be addressed and because it had been driven so far, New York to Idaho, on bad U joints I also had to replace the driveshaft.  That didn't surprise me either.

 

Before

After

While vetting out potential issues I also started to work on the dents and exterior.  The headlights were refurbished too.  Once the weather was warm enough I got back into the interior, vacuuming and scrubbing it for a second time and then shampooing the upholstery and carpets.  That made a huge difference with the odor in that car as I had hoped it would.

 

Headlights refurbished - Pretty!

Engine cleaned

New battery

I have also changed the oil, replaced the air and cabin filters, topped up all of the fluids, fixed the broken mount for the wiper fluid and cleaned the engine. After the U joint/driveshaft repair was completed and the A/C was serviced I replaced the engine battery.  I had one more project on the list.

Interior cleaned & shampooed

I replaced all of the floor mats

I scraped and wire brushed the very rusty receiver hitch and found it is still in very good condition.  After coating it in rust reformer to protect it from rusting again it looks like new.  With that project completed I was officially done with everything on my list.  I enjoyed every bit of the time and effort I put into transforming this car, in fact I was a little sad when I finished.  It was a great project and kept me busy doing something I happen to really take pleasure in.

 

Before - a rusty, crusty receiver hitch

After!  😘

Buying a car was not even something I was considering this year, it just kind of fell into my lap.  Fortunately, it ended up being a very affordable unplanned expense.  With my initial $1000 investment (I mean $999.86,  I found 14¢ while cleaning the car) plus I have spent a little under $1,800 dollars on repairs and upgrades bringing the total cost for this car to just under $2,800 which has netted me a reliable daily driver and adventure mobile.  I couldn't be more pleased with the end result.  I’m thinking money well spent.