speedemon90

So a question came up when I was talking to a friend about buying a new car (for him).

I suggested a subaru and he said awd has higher maintenance costs. Is that true?

I wouldnt think it would, but I just thought I'd ask here to see if I can get an actual answer.

PortlandRL

The all-wheel drive system was the weak link in the chain that finally sent my '04 Hyundai Santa Fe packing. There was excessive play in the driveshaft due to a weakening link within the transfer case and the only way to fix it was to replace the entire transfer box. I opted to buy a new car rather than fix it simply due to the diminished value (it had 146,000 miles on it).

Now...that's not to say that it will happen to every AWD or 4WD vehicle on the road but it is something to consider. I've also heard rumors that All/Four-Wheel Drive vehicles cost more to insure than their FWD counterparts because they cost more to fix if they get rear-ended. I'll have to check and see how the rates compare between my old Santa Fe and the new one as my new one is FWD.

Rick_TL-S

I think this may be something that depends on the car itself. There have been some very bulletproof AWD cars that are easier to maintain than some RWD/FWD cars.

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

true... a little, but not really that much though; depending on if it is a manual subaru or not, you may have to change the front diff fluid out seperate of the tranny (automatics are seperate, where the manuals share the fluid)
and the rear diff also needs periodically replaceing also, but you are talking about minimal increases in maintenance costs every 30k miles (if followed per sever maintenance schedule, which 95% fall under)
both are very easy to replace, and they just take standard GL-5 gear oil, nothing special





now if you want to talk about gas mileage, yes AWD vehicles do suffer there, especially compared to FWD vehicles, but what you get back though is mobility when the weather takes a shit for the worse though (even rain)
but also very neutral steering too, which on the turbo subies, will actually start to powerslide if you want it to (otherwise it understeers some)




btw the wife can average like 28 mpg out of her 2009 WRX over an entire tank of gas, but it's also how she drives though too, like right at the speed limit




edit: a clutch also take a little longer to replace too because of the rear driveshaft (but you are talking about 6 bolts though), but the funny thing about that though, is that it is alot easier and quicker to to replace a clutch in a subie, then it is to do it like in a 3g TL 6-speed, because you do not have to drop the crossmember and such


also if your friend is also in socal, unless he likes to go skiing or boarding or something along those lines, i would not worry too much about actually getting a AWD vehicle all that much (since the weather is alot nicer there then other parts of the country)

maybe if they get rear ended severely, but as long as the rear suspension and such does not get hit, not really


also subie awd systems are near bulletproof, probably the biggest issue is the center diff wearing out, and that is normally at 200k+ miles (and even then not every one does go out, cause it also depends on it's life and if it has been abuse any), but also not always keeping the tires rotated (to minimize any size variences, and making the center diff work harder then needed


edit: and you can can replace the center diff with the transmission still in the vehicle too, and basically you just buy the clutch packs for it, not a "whole" case

subies are quite easy to work on

KillerG

its like driving on 4 wheels bro, so thats like 2x the amount of wheels of a regular car. so it makes sense that youd pay like exactly double the amount of maintenance costs

ur welcome

mrmako

Um, no.




From my experience, my Subaru has been very good to me. The service costs are the same or less than my Honda. Plus they have always been good about a loaner vehicle.

As long as you follow the schedule, the car should not be any more of a drain on your finances than an Acura. hell, it might be less. Gas, well, that's different.

Shift_Acura

Pure Sigworthy Gold

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

I lol'ed.

OP my dad has a 2005 G35x and his maintenance costs are about the same as my TL.

TheMirror

F**king awesome

vwong

What kinda stupid response is that?

KillerG

wut guys? u cant do math?

charliemike

You asked for it

It's not double the costs because there aren't TWO engines and two transmissions (for starters).

There's some extra complexity that would add potential maintenance costs but it's not like it's DOUBLE.

You made a ridiculous response and the rest of us are just at it.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^you must not know, Killer(underthe)G

He has a bugatti and its not a joke

charliemike

I think we need context.

If you're looking at two cars over the same period then yes, maybe there are things like Haldex maintenance (on cars that have it) that a FWD or RWD car wouldn't.

But if you're talking about buying a car used for three years and racking up 75k miles total then I don't think you'd be any worse off with an AWD car.

The AWD cars like Audis that pound people in the ass are more about Audi and less about the fact it's AWD.

If you took a FWD A4 and an AWD A4 and ran them identically for the same mileage I think they'd both end up close to the same in terms of maintenance costs.

Again this is within resonable usage.

If you're talking about keeping a Subaru for 300k miles then yes, maybe at some point you'd have an issue that a FWD Honda wouldn't.

But very, very few people keep their car that long.

I'm looking at used Audis right now and the issues people have with them are the timing belt tensioners, the gauge clusters, etc ... None of that has to do with AWD and these cars are already into the 130-150k mile range.

TSXKid2010

KillerG would know all about those kinda expenses. He has a freakin' Bugatti.