Car advice re 2003 Subaru?

[RobertInOntario]

I, too, am surprised, puzzled and somewhat suspicious by the seemingly abnormal clutch wear and the failed tranny!
Besides you and your wife, who I must assume are familiar with use of a clutch and manual transmission (and don't rest your foot on the clutch pedal while driving,) who else is driving this vehicle. My little '94 Festiva has 221,000+ miles on it and is on its second clutch. The original one had to be replaced not long after I got it in '97 with 46,000 on the clock. I assumed that the original owners should have been driving a car with an automatic transmission.
Now, I don't abuse a clutch, but I do use it, going up and down through the gearbox as needed ... I "drive the doors off" that little hopped-up box, auto-crossing it several times a year, with a couple trophies for my efforts. I don’t “slip” a clutch – it’s either in or out! On shifting down a gear, I (very quickly) “double-clutch,” and “blip” the throttle, matching the engine rpm’s for the lower gear … no clutch slippage. The clutch is still strong! (That would be 175,000 miles on this clutch. But it was an almost "sterile" installation, being handled only by nitrile gloves from its box to the engine's output shaft during this install.)
A glimpse of the "Festiva House." The one under the cover is the "Hot Rod" with all the imported European Mazda 121 body panels and the pumped-up 1.6 liter Mazda 323 engine (now producing 138 hp - the stock 1.3 liter had 64 hp) and full competition suspension ... should be a real runner when completed ... I'm working on making the body pristine and flawless now.)

I can't imaging why a manual gearbox would fail unless fluid levels were not maintained (normally a problem only when there's a leaky gasket or seal) or the gearbox was "abused" (missed high rpm shifts, failure to depress the clutch fully causing the "Hey, Buddy …grind me a pound" comment by someone close by. Is there a young son who is possibly drag racing or a young daughter prone to slip the clutch a lot ... I don't know why many girls do that, but they do! And slamming drag racing shifts (and missing one on occasion) will do a number on the old gearbox!
But I’d say if the car’s body does not show salt damage from winter driving and all else mechanical is in decent shape and the outlook, based on vehicle history, is one of reliable performance, and you like the car, I'd say fix it and drive it a few more years, but check ALL fluids weekly as well as park over a sheet of corrugated cardboard at least once a month after a lengthy drive (when everything is good and warm) to observe any leaks, which should be addressed immediately!
That’s my opinion, for what it’s worth. :mrgreen:

Thanks -- appreciate your feedback!

Yes, that is the bizarre thing about the 3rd clutch. My wife and I have been the only drivers on this car and we have driven standard / manual shift cars since the 1980s (or earlier in my case! ) I have a theory that they're using second-rate parts, especially with the clutches. Our local garage quote $2,000 to fix the clutch while the dealer quoted $800-900, so I naturally went to the dealer -- now I think I know why the dealer was so much cheaper.

It probably makes sense to keep it going but I"m worried about paying another (say) $1,000+ on it with possibly more problems to come. I'll try to stay on top of the gearbox fluids as well -- it's possible that they weren't maintained as well as they should have.

Rob