10-19-2009, 06:38 PM
davester wrote:
Well, it may be mechanic time but why are people trying to send him to the dealer? In my experience, dealer repair costs are always the highest. Better to find a highly rated independent mechanic who specializes in Subarus. Any mechanic will be able to pull the codes. At this point there are a ton of things that could be causing the problem. I doubt that you can diagnose this via the internet. If you don't have some kind of local rating service, check out the car talk website which does have mechanic ratings.
In my experience an independent who specializes in a certain make of care will have prices that hover pretty close to the dealer. I'd say 90% on average.
One difference though is you can save through an indy, if you make it clear that you're willing to put in non-OEM parts. Don't know how much life you'd expect to get out of a 161k Forrester but I'd certainly consider non-OEM for a car that has that much experience.