So my 2002 Pontiac Grand Am finally “bit the biscuit” a while back, going from a “tic-tic-tic” noise to a “BANG-BANG-BANG!” about halfway into a trip into town. She held together long enough to get back to the house, but that was the last time I turned the key. RIP Gina.
Yes I name my cars. Feel free to judge me.
I do have a pickup yes (Tammy Tundra), but I’m cheap and don’t want to dump that much money into the tank just to get to work every day.
My Auction Addiction
I visited the web site of nearly every auction in the area looking for something that would fit my needs. Ignoring the surprisingly large number of lots that were ‘salvage status’, ‘out of province’ ‘check engine light is on’,’parts only’ etc. I missed out on a bunch, either being outbid or missing the last few minutes before the lot closed.
Getting desperate and already into my work week, I started bidding on the last one I could think of: Michener-Allen in Edmonton. The problem was that there was no way I was going to get in there to look at the lots. Sight unseen except for pictures, I start bidding.
Long story short, I ended up with a 2012 Subaru Forester. Newer than anything I’ve owned to date but not so new that it’s full of “we know what’s best for you” safety features. ABS is fine, but when the car tries to steer itself because it thinks that squiggly crack patch is the centreline, I get pissy.
Anyway, I borrowed a friend’s car trailer and headed into the city. They were really easy to deal with and it took no time to get the car out of there.
RED FLAG #1
The car started and ran just fine, after an initial “tic-tic-tic” scared me.
Probably just dry from sitting a while. My pickup had recently sat a whole long weekend and did the same thing when I started it. No problem, just let it warm up a bit, get the oil flowing, then drive it over to the trailer.
The ticking came back.
RED FLAG #2
I turned on the radio. Nothing happened. Turn up the volume. Nothing. Press the power button and turn up the volume again and I have music! Okay it was static. YAY anyway! But still no display.
Did I Buy A Lemon?
I insured and registered her on the way home so she was ready to go the next day. I fill my water cooler jugs from my cousin’s well (since my well water is GROSS) so I headed over there to show off my new toy.
Our discussion came around to the engine noise and he told me that a friend has a Subaru and it’s been making the same noise for a couple of years now, and he’s had no problems.
I’ve put about a thousand kilometers on it so far, and it sounds exactly the same. I did break down and buy a new valve cover gasket set recently, so I’m going to pull those off and check my valve clearances soon.
I picked up a new nav system to replace the radio at the same time. That got installed this past week and I’m presently working out the bugs. So far it’s okay, but I’m finding quirks here and there. I have extensive experience with “you get what you pay for” situations, but I can sometimes find workarounds to mitigate the problems. I’ll keep you posted on that.