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I came across your forum while researching some local mechanics, and thought I might see if I could pester you all with a question or two. You see, I'm in a little bit of a bind...I'm new-ish to the area (I've been here almost a year), and I'm afraid my car is going to need some major repair work. The problem is, I didn't take the time to find a good mechanic and get to know him/her with simpler jobs when I first got here. Yeah, I know, I know. I meant to do that when I first got here...but just didn't make myself follow through on checking out mechanics when I didn't immediately need one. I try to do as much general maintenance on my own as I can...but I definitely need a mechanic now, for a potentially expensive job, and don't have any personal experience with any in the area. I have a little list of mechanics I've been compiling and cross-checking against various sources (people I know, the BBB, consumer checkbook, the cartalk database, etc), but I'm not sure how well any places handle Subarus (I'm originally from south Texas, where Subarus are nigh unheard of...although that seems like less of a concern here). So my question for you all is: does anyone have a recommendation for a good mechanic for a Subaru you wouldn't mind sharing? I would ridiculously appreciate it.

And I'm going to apologize now for being "that guy." I don't really have much to contribute; I can change oil and brake pads, but my experience/knowledge about ends there (so far). I almost didn't post for that reason, but man I really like my little car, and really want to get it healthy again if possible...and it seems like getting a little advice from folks here might improve the chances of that. (My Subaru, btw, is a little "Rio Red" Canadian model '98 GT sedan. I got it for a steal almost two years ago because no one believed the odometer was in kilometers. GREAT purchase.)

Well either way, thanks for taking the time to give this a read-through; I hope y'all have a great rest of the week! (whoops, there's some of that slang slipping through...)

what sort of major repairs are we talking about? lots of people have good things to say about AndrewTech, but they're in Gaithersburg, MD and usually have a waiting list. for maintenance I take my WRX to Don Beyer Subaru in Alexandria. PTuning is a good shop but they usually do tuning and not "major repairs."


oh, welcome to the club. don't be surprised if somebody hijacks your thread....

Don't worry about being "that guy". We have all different levels of experience here. From ex-mechanics to people who work on cars in the clothes they went clubbing in the night before.

Welcome to the boards! I hope you stick around for a while and maybe come out to a few meets. Also, to reiterate what Mr Kleen said:

Based off of experience, I can highly recommend Don Beyer Subaru in Alexandria. Everything from oil changes, to alignments, to complete transmission rebuilds. Good techs for sure.

Andrewtech is a shop that specializes in Subys. They are also one of the biggest installers on the east coast for PPG gears. Amazing techs there as well, but usually a waiting list.

That's about the extent of my Suby mechanic experience... I tend to do as much of my own work as possible.

And welcome to DCAWD!

complacent wrote:Based off of experience, I can highly recommend Don Beyer Subaru in Alexandria. Everything from oil changes, to alignments, to complete transmission rebuilds. Good techs for sure.

just be careful about taking your car there for warranty work. they've become a little uptight.

Hey Fedsub,
Welcome to the club! Depending on the type of service that you need, we can definitely make some recommendations. There are a good few shops around the area, but a good few of them specialize in aftermarket service. For routine maintenance, usually a good dealership (such as Don Beyer in Alexandria) are the norm unless you want to do the work yourself.

What work needs to be done?

Definitely try to make it out to a meet, would be cool to see the GT!

Thanks for the welcome! Yeah, I've been pretty darn happy to see so many Subarus around here; down in San Antonio (my hometown), you could count 30 cars and not see one. Sad.

I'm not certain what works needs to be done yet. The problem is that my subie is wobbling when I drive it. Yeah, not good; I'm just not sure *how* not good. A fellow I know in town who grew up working on cars and trucks was significantly concerned that it might be an axle or rim problem when I took him for a spin. That's the sort of prognosis that makes me take a bit longer to settle on a mechanic. Oog.

But on that note, much thanks for the recommendations so far! I'd poked around the forum for a bit earlier and noticed good things said about Don Beyer in a thread started by zaxrex back in '04, about some rather unpleasant times had with another dealer (I somehow found that thread first, while missing the Don Beyer thread in the Vendor Reviews section...). I hadn't heard of AndrewTech before, glad to get the recommendation.

Libra Monkee...your icon leaves me speechless. I just don't think I've ever seen one quite as glorious before.

...and hijacked threads are half the fun of forums.

RJ, moving to Texas in July myself, actually. Anyway, what's up with the Icelandic flag avatar? Heritage?

fedsub wrote:Libra Monkee...your icon leaves me speechless. I just don't think I've ever seen one quite as glorious before.

You think that one was good? You should have seen his last one!

Welcome! I'm the mooch! I'm sure I'll meet you some day..(just like everyone else here) but not until i get my butt down to the DC area.

Don't have any shop advice (as everyone is quick to point out, my car is unmodded after almost 4 years), but will offer 'welcome!'

fedsub wrote:...and hijacked threads are half the fun of forums.

unleash the hounds!

Mr Kleen wrote:

fedsub wrote:...and hijacked threads are half the fun of forums.

unleash the hounds!

fedsub wrote:Libra Monkee...your icon leaves me speechless. I just don't think I've ever seen one quite as glorious before.

Thank you!

Now...

I need to learn the Nordic flags better, so I decided to use some of the ones I confuse a lot as my icon. This month, I've decided, is "Iceland month." I do have a fair bit of Nordic heritage, but not much Icelandic. Mostly Danish. (Denmark's flag is ridiculously easy to remember) Also, the icon I wanted to use was a little too big, and I haven't taken the 5 minutes to scale it down a little so I can use it.

Where are you moving to in Texas?

ElZorro: Thanks!

Cereb: "down to the DC area," eh? You mean you don't live in this glorious nation's capitol of ours? Where abouts are ya?

^^-- me thinks we have a new regular

I'm up in pittsburgh! I met julian via nasioc while looking to buy something and he invited me on over here to this forum. These guys were much better than most of the idiots on nasioc so i just stuck around here. Almost 2000 posts later.. I'm still here!

I haven't actually met any of these guys face to face except for sirwilliam and izzodesh (who doesnt hang around these forums anymore) however coming down for a meet is high on my list of things to do.

fedsub wrote:I need to learn the Nordic flags better, so I decided to use some of the ones I confuse a lot as my icon. This month, I've decided, is "Iceland month." I do have a fair bit of Nordic heritage, but not much Icelandic. Mostly Danish. (Denmark's flag is ridiculously easy to remember) Also, the icon I wanted to use was a little too big, and I haven't taken the 5 minutes to scale it down a little so I can use it.

Where are you moving to in Texas?

Bravo for the effort! I thought it was Norway at first, but I double checked, since they all look the same.

I am moving to Houston

Dude, you actually got something from one of my posts? I like this guy already, hehe.

The mechanics from Sprigfield Subaru moved over with the Sheehey buyout, but not the management. So far, they have mis-diagnosed an alternator problem, flubbed a brake system flush and bleed, denied warranty support from a battery they sold me, and wouldn't do an alignment b/c I had aftermarket parts (even though they charged me for an alignement when it was in the accident).

Short story, Sheehey Subaru sucks for service. I disn't mean for that to happen, it just did.


If it were me, I'd rotate the rear wheels to the front and see if the wobble changes. If it does, then you have a bent wheel or two. You could also borrow some of my wheels and do a total replacement to isolate the wheel variable completely. If you still get the problem, then you would need to take it to a shop and have the suspension/driveline components checked.

Just my thoughts.