I have a crappy communte, what is this doing to my car?

[Rebecca B.]

Hi everyone,

I drive the majority of my way to work on a really crappy road. It is
uneven, full of potholes, and under construction so the road is uneven.


I know this can't be good for my car, but I don't know what to have the
mechanic look at because I don't know anything about cars. I haven't
had any problems, I just am getting new tires in a couple of weeks and
thought I would have everything checked out while it is there. My best
guess is alinement or maybe struts? Any suggestions would really be
appreciated.

 

[Rebecca B.]

Thanks Todd,

That sets my mind at ease. I'm kind of a worrywart, this (2000 Legacy)
is the first car I have ever owned and I've only been a car owner for
like 9 months.

 

[Todd H.]

Hi everyone,

I drive the majority of my way to work on a really crappy road. It is
uneven, full of potholes, and under construction so the road is uneven.


I know this can't be good for my car, but I don't know what to have the
mechanic look at because I don't know anything about cars. I haven't
had any problems, I just am getting new tires in a couple of weeks and
thought I would have everything checked out while it is there. My best
guess is alinement or maybe struts? Any suggestions would really be
appreciated.

You've hit the list of the usual suspects. As part of 30k and/or 60k
service I believe is a "tighten every bolt you can get your hands on"
punch item they're supposed to do, but hard to verify if they actually
do it.

If your car isn't pulling one way or the other though, no sense doing
an alignment. They'd have to put it on the rack and if it doesn't
need one, who knows what they'd charge you for checking. If it's
free, hell why not. But I ssupect it wouldn't be or they'd find just
enough wrong to sell you an alignment. I think the dealer price for a
4 wheel align is like $170.

If it's not broken, no need to fix it I guess. Just keep up on the
maintenance schedule. And keep in mind that dealer recommended
maintenance schedules exceed the service the factory recommends. It's
profitable that way.

 

[Edward Hayes]

I think Todd has the answer. Just keep up with the maintenance as per
your "Owners manual" and avoid dealer extras The best way to save
your car, in addition to the above is to try to avoid severe pot-holes
& bumps whenever possible by keeping speeds as low as reasonable. Ed

 

[Todd H.]

Thanks Todd,

That sets my mind at ease. I'm kind of a worrywart, this (2000 Legacy)
is the first car I have ever owned and I've only been a car owner for
like 9 months.

Look at the maintenance schedule in the owners manual packet. The
maint schedule is a separate little booklet. At that age you'll want
to make sure the timing belt has been replaced, for instance. And
that they did the coolant conditioner recall etc.

 

[Rebecca B.]

I don't actually have a maintence schedule, it wasn't with the rest of
the stuff they gave me when I bought my car. I've just been using the
one on the Subraru website, is that just as good or should I whine at
the dealer I bought it from to get me a replacement one?

 

[nobody >]

I don't actually have a maintence schedule, it wasn't with the rest of
the stuff they gave me when I bought my car. I've just been using the
one on the Subraru website, is that just as good or should I whine at
the dealer I bought it from to get me a replacement one?

The website's probably fine on maintenance schedules but the website
will never tell you about fuse locations or the infamous mystery-switch.

You could try that and see what happens, but not many dealers stock
older owner's manuals.

One source:
http://www.subaruparts.com/catalog/?section=380 (about mid-page)
They show the whole "Owners Information Kit" but not just the manual for
a 2000 Legacy. Oh,and... "Subject to Stock on hand".