Hey all, I recently purchased a 1997 Subaru Legacy Outback Wagon. It has about
125,000 miles on it, and I have no idea what sort of maintenance has been performed prior to my purchase (with the exception of the used dealer who told me he got a new battery, changed the brake pads, and changed the air filter). I know very little about cars, but a good friend of mine knows quite a bit (as he cares for his Saturn weekly to keep it running). He suggested that we change the spark plugs and wires sometime next month when we have a break. Are there any other general preventitive maintenance things we should do?There are only a few problems I can see with it so far. I think that it's going to need a new exhaust in the next few months (anyone know about much that will cost?). It's a little loud, and the mechanic mentioned the need as well.
Also, my rear wiper doesn't work (not a big deal, new motor? blown fuse?).
Once when I let the car warm up in the morning, the RPMs dropped and the engine sounded like it was going to shut off. It recovered though. Is that an indication of a problem? It only happened once...
The last thing is that I think the car got bumped on its front left side. When I pull up to a wall, I can see that my headlights aren't aligned. I opened up the hood and snapped the headlight back into place, which helped a little, but you can still see that the bumper is hanging slightly (you can move it if you lift on it). Is this something I should worry about?
I guess that's all. Let me mention again that I don't know cars very well (this is my first), so any help would really be appreciated. Thank you.