WWGRMD? Subaru Forester Content ITT!

Good morning GRM!

Through a series of vehicle purchases and swaps throughout my family, I have the opportunity to get my mother's 2008 Subaru Forester for free.  I DD a '96 Ranger single cab that's a 5 speed and my wife has a Honda Odyssey.  We have no real need for another vehicle, but why would you turn down a free car?  I believe it has ~180k miles and it's been fairly well maintained.  The only reason my mom is getting rid of it is because she doesn't really need it anymore.  

Where I live, we sometimes get some rough weather, but it hasn't really been something my Ranger couldn't handle.  I know the Subaru is AWD, but again, the Ranger hasn't had any issues that the Subaru wouldn't also have, IMO.  

I've called my insurance agent and it will go on our property taxes too, but really, that spare car sure would be nice...especially one the wife can drive.  

So, what would GRM do?  There's no real rush on an answer to my parents, but my wife is one of those "make a decision now" kind of people.  

If it's the cost for insurance isn't too high, I'd say go for it.  It's always nice to have a "spare" car if one of the DD's needs work that takes longer than a few hours. 

If you really don't use it after 6 months or so, you can always sell it or have fun modifying it or budget racing it.

-Rob

In reply to rob_lewis :

X2

A spare car is one of those things that you just didn't realize you needed until you have one, especially if it is free or cheap.  Even something as minor as a flat tire is so much easier when you can just pull it off the car, throw it in the spare vehicle, and get it plugged on your way to work.

Absolutely go for it.  Insurance should be relatively minimal on a car that isn't marked as a daily commuter.  Less than 5k / year reduces your rates.  To me it's well worth the extra insurance cost.

Drive it once every couple of weeks, and otherwise, just enjoy the relief of a minor stress you probably didn't know you had.

Free cars are my weakness. How can you say no??

Don’t let it sit though! DRIVE the thing! 

You have my blessing to make the danger ranger a rallycross competitor. Lol. The Subaru is safer for the family anyways. 

Free? Sure! And if you've never driven a Subaru in nasty weather, you'll be amazed. A Subaru with good tires is like playing a video game with a cheat code on,

Duke said:

A spare car is one of those things that you just didn't realize you needed until you have one, especially if it is free or cheap.  Even something as minor as a flat tire is so much easier when you can just pull it off the car, throw it in the spare vehicle, and get it plugged on your way to work.

Absolutely go for it.  Insurance should be relatively minimal on a car that isn't marked as a daily commuter.  Less than 5k / year reduces your rates.  To me it's well worth the extra insurance cost.

Drive it once every couple of weeks, and otherwise, just enjoy the relief of a minor stress you probably didn't know you had.

No doubt.   This makes owning cars sooo much easier.  Brake job not going well and it's almost midnight?  Eff it.  Do it tomorrow.   Take the spare for a day or two.

Insurance quote came back and it will be basically half of what we pay now to get the Forester on our insurance.  SWMBO said she is fine with it, so I feel like this is going to happen.

Any major issues with these things I need to be on the lookout for?  This is the non-turbo engine.  My dad has also replaced both rear wheel bearings (1 of them twice...), so I was wondering if that is a common issue.  

In reply to jmabarone :

Rear wheel bearings are reasonably common. If it hasn't had a timing belt done any time recently, I would do one now.