Partial surrender - no more dailying my GTA

[poohbah]

Garage update.

I feel a little bit like a surrender monkey, but I have just made the difficult decision to give my '02 156 GTA a break from the daily grind of peak hour commuting at the ripe old mileage of almost 280,000km.

This follows a frustrating 4-month period which has involved some reasonably serious expenditure (+$9k including normal servicing) and a handful of unscheduled trips on a flatbed to resolve various sudden age-related issues. I'm still in front, given I bought the car so cheap in late 2021 ($8500 and the $4k I spent then to get it up to spec for local registration) and the next two years were largely trouble free, requiring mostly just scheduled maintenance.

However, the recent issues included clutch failure/replacement (fair enough after 270,000km...), radiator fan failure/replacement, a failed injector (failed fully open, hydrolocked one cylinder but cut out before any damage - I thought I'd killed her...), coil packs replaced on rear bank at same time, snapped gear selector cable, another fuel line leak, and the engine bay fusebox failed out due to hidden corrosion and required replacement along with various associated electrical repairs (it shorted out half the instruments and electrical functions). To cap it off, I've just discovered the AC is leaking again. (*Correction - on closer inspection it is an oil leak of unknown origin, further investigation in train.)

The GTA is still the best car I've ever owned, so I'll be keeping it and using it weekends and maybe one or two days a fortnight for work, but I think its time to start backing off the mileage - I've done about 50,000km in the almost three years I've had her - and see if I can stretch out the frequency of major unscheduled repairs (I'll still service it 6 monthly).

To achieve that end, I've picked up a supercheap daily workhouse from what I reckon is the most Alfa-like Japanese manufacturer - Subaru. For the princely sum of $1800, I acquired the pictured 2002 Outback 2.5i with just over 255,000km on it.

Crazy I hear you say - all the same risks as the GTA... Sort of and not really.

For starters, I'm well acquainted with the quirks of Subaru (we've had 3 Foresters, including my wife's current 2019), and I am fully aware of their reputation for headgasket failure, transmission failure, timing belt failure, and incessant oil and coolant leaks. My new toy was owned by a pretty handy spanner twirler (now driving his Brumby ute with a Forester-swapped boxer in it) and has no leaks to speak of, the headgaskets were replaced at 225,000km with MLS ones (WRX style), the timing belt was done at the same time, along with fitment of a heavy duty clutch and single mass flywheel (yep she's a manual, no CVT worries either). Everything works - even the AC and windows, no clear coat peel, straight body and no rust, even the interior is unmarked. Plus, it's had a lift kit, HD offroad tyres, bull bar and spotties fitted - even has a working CB radio. To round it out, it came with rego til the end of January 2025. The only real job I need to get onto is to replace a couple of CV boots.

So far I love it, and without wanting to jinx it, she seems a good 'un. And hopefully it allows the GTA the dignity of more fun adventures than riding on the back of a flatbed...

And despite "encouragement" from the missus to sell the '81 GTV, I've kicked that suggestion into the weeds too ... for now at least!