Potential new owner debating what to buy

That is good to know, thanks. I was originally looking to repair the engine until I realized the cost could potentially exceed the value of the car when it was still running. The short block is trashed, and a new one goes for $2000 - $2300. If the heads were also damaged, new ones cost $700 each. It looks like the seals are also shot in the turbo, and a new one goes for around $1300. Between those components, various other parts and labor, I was looking at $5000 to $8000 for the repair. With having to spend that much out of pocket, I figured I should look at all of my options.

 

Good thinker. Also consider how much resale value you lost in your WRX by killing the motor, and how that compares to your estimated repair. Consider: you can recoup some of your repair cost when you sell your WRX, but you never get property tax, sales tax, and depreciation back from your Short term ownership of the Tacoma.

 

Yeah, I was going back and forth whether I should repair the WRX and continue driving it, repair it and sell it to maybe break even, sell it as is to someone looking for a project car, or possibly even keep it and rebuild it later. After rereading some of my posts, I see I came across as buying a new Tacoma for a short term vehicle. Sorry for the confusion, that is not what I meant. That would not be a financially wise decision as people have mentioned. The Tacoma made my short list of vehicles that would permanently replace my WRX. My thoughts on resale of the Tacoma were about it being easy to sell if I decided I didn't like it or want it later on down the road.

Thanks for all of the help guys. This site is a wealth of information.

 

I'm a gear head as well. My previous car right before my '16 Tacoma was my 6-speed '15 WRX. Fun car, but got boring really fast. With the Tacoma, I didn't want to row gears, just wanted to cruise. I have not been disappointed in the AT. My previous 2nd Gen Taco was 6-speed as well.

I honestly prefer driving the Tacoma over the WRX.

 

Awesome. Thanks for the great feedback.

 

When I say preference - I mean the Taco is pretty fun to drive, and I like sitting up high. There are a ton of ex WRX owners here. Seems both the Taco and the WRX are drawn to enthusiasts.

My other car is a Porsche 911, and honestly when I go to the garage in the morning, I pick the taco most of the time.

 

You don't happen to work in the automotive world do you?

 

Wow, that says a lot. It would be hard to pass up on any 911.

 

While the Taco is not a luxury car by any means, it's definitely a lot more comfortable in stop and go traffic compared to the Porsche. So, the Taco gets most of the commuting duties.

 

This sounds like you are pricing a worst case scenario.

When a turbo Subaru "blows" the engine, it's usually either the head gaskets (not that big of a deal) or the turbo came apart and the engine ingested metal (ummmm, can be a pretty big deal).

In rare cases the piston lands can break and that is a pretty big deal as well.

Do you know which yours is?

Remember that if a dealer gave you a quote, they are going to replace EVERYTHING if for no other reason than to hopefully prevent you bringing it back for the "same problem".

If it's just head gaskets, you can do it yourself for <$500 if you are mechanically handy. Actually well under $500

I bought my turbo Subaru with a blown engine because the dealer was quoting an outrageous price to repair it.

I repaired it myself for ~ $600 and been driving it 3 years now (was going to fix it and sell it, but liked it so much I kept it)

If you decide to dump it, where are you located and how much?

 

Unfortunately the short block is trashed. When it happened, I was driving up to go skiing and the engine began violently knocking causing a massive loss of power. I had the car towed back home and I read the CEL code as a misfire in cylinder 1. I pulled the spark plug which looked like it was covered in baked on oil. The other plugs looked normal. I then took it to an independent Subaru shop who also figured it was just a gasket issue. Their plan was to pull the engine and replace all of the gaskets. Once the engine was pulled, they found a hole in piston 1 which damaged the cylinder wall.

I suppose the block could be machined, but the shop said it wouldn't be worth going that route. The heads look like they can be cleaned up, but a machine shop would still need to check the valve seats.

 

Found a hole in the piston? What?! So not your typical ringland failure. I assume other than the scored cylinder walls, there is no other issue?

 

You don't happen to have a picture of your blown piston, do you?

 

Manual hands down, trust me.

 

Buy a 4Runner

 

Crazy right? That is the main issue, though there may be others. The heads look ok but should be checked by a machine shop. The shaft in the turbo doesn't appear to have any play, however the seals appear to be leaking, so a rebuild or replacement would be in order.

 

That I do. I'll post it up later when I have some time.

 

And here is the damaged piston.

 

I have done that before. You melted that piston. Possibly a lean condition that caused a hot spot. You can't hone that cylinder and replace that piston?

 

I figured it was probably a lean condition, just not sure what caused it. I asked the shop about machining the block and replacing the piston as well, however they stated it wasn't worth the trouble; that I would be better off going with a new short block instead.