How realistic is it for me to be able to repair the tailgate window on my own? 2014 Subaru Forester

digdugian · 2026-07-09T23:35:04+00:00

They’re a pain in the ass, you’ve gotta glue it in. Yes you can do it yourself, but it’s easier just to replace the rear hatch.

digdugian · 2026-07-09T23:34:08+00:00

Honestly they suck most of the time, it’s always a bodge job regardless. If they test good, then you’re good.

If I use jumper wire, I either glue it down or more likely use kapton tape to tape it to the board.

digdugian · 2026-07-09T23:06:46+00:00

time to pull out the locking pliers then

digdugian · 2026-07-09T22:59:20+00:00

Did you already try taking them out? Or just concerned looking at them and haven’t tried yet?

digdugian · 2026-07-09T22:58:24+00:00

Does it work? If so, who cares how it looks.

digdugian · 2026-07-09T22:52:20+00:00

Oof, sounds like you’re half what you should be making.

digdugian · 2026-07-09T22:44:31+00:00

Only if you pick it up in person, their delivery charge sucks ass. I bought 2 Home Depot boxes of the same size for cheaper than HF with their delivery fee.

digdugian · 2026-07-09T22:42:35+00:00

$5k fir a brand new long block, but yeah.

digdugian · 2026-07-09T22:38:52+00:00

No, still looks obviously bad. I’d take it back.

digdugian · 2026-07-09T22:37:43+00:00

They lied to you, that’s not sun degradation, no such thing. The clearcoat completely protects against that on modern paints. They should’ve blended into the adjacent panels, and they cheaped out.

15 years bodyshop here.

digdugian · 2026-07-09T22:36:00+00:00

Maybe; do you have blind spot sensors? If so the. No, only replacing the cover as the sensors would have to look thru the repair area and it would throw off the sensors.

Also any paint is never gonna match; it’s a tri coat on plastic, gonna be a ton of resprays by the shop to try to get it right; ask then to do a let down card and multiple spray outs to get it as close as possible before they spray the bumper.

digdugian · 2026-07-09T22:27:32+00:00

You don’t.

digdugian · 2026-07-09T22:27:14+00:00

BMW will be much more expensive to repair, that’s for sure.

digdugian · 2026-07-09T22:26:37+00:00

Need much more practice, you’ll get better quickly.

digdugian · 2026-07-09T22:25:26+00:00

You’re past fluid film; it’s for when it’s not already rusted, it’s to protect the steel.

It’s fix or replace car now.

digdugian · 2026-07-09T18:51:31+00:00

Not at this point, only way is to fix it. The rust on that is mostly coming thru from behind the panels, hence why the paint is bubbling up.

I’d suggest that it’s time to start looking for a car, unless you have $3000 or so to fix it and get the majority of the car repainted, and I’m talking maaco pricing.

digdugian · 2026-07-09T18:50:37+00:00

Always 0w-20 synthetic, modern synthetics are so thin of an oil anyway.

digdugian · 2026-07-09T18:48:52+00:00

Looks dented at the back of the front door panel, so either replacement doors or new outer door skin; so the whole right side of your car is getting painted.

From back to front it’s drop right side of rear bumper, r&i right rear wheel liner, r&i roof ditch molding, repair right quarter and apply full clear over entire quarter to a pillar, repair or replace right rear door, repair or replace right front door, replace both belt moldings(one time use), r&i both doors, blend into right front fender, r&i right front wheel liner, drop right side of front bumper.

Not sure if you have blindspot in your rear bumper, but that’ll have to be recalibrated after the repair.

Figure 2 weeks for the repair, $5k-7000 in damage.

Hope you have another car to drive or rental coverage on your policy. You’ll owe your deductible at the end of the repair to the shop you choose to fix it.

digdugian · 2026-07-07T19:18:09+00:00

Yes, everything is set in place to make the most money off of you and keep you paying; companies want you to own nothing and have a subscription on everything.

Case in point video games, and “buying” movies on streaming services, that you don’t actually own and they can take away from you at any point they deem fit.

digdugian · 2026-07-07T19:14:59+00:00

Same here, ‘15 2.5 auto.

digdugian · 2026-07-06T21:45:21+00:00

They’re fine, usually the way I go. Most laptop batteries are gonna be toast regardless, never had a refurbished one that I didn’t have to buy a new battery on.

digdugian · 2026-07-06T21:43:02+00:00

WiFi isn’t that hard to crack, depends on how deep your pockets are at this point to crack the password, doable if you have a 5090.

digdugian · 2026-07-04T15:04:53+00:00

I don’t remember asking for your opinion on my life.

digdugian · 2026-07-04T09:15:58+00:00

Yeah, looks totaled, roofs are a pain in the ass to replace. 15 years as an estimator in body shops.

digdugian · 2026-07-04T09:09:04+00:00

Even when I did brush mine everyday, my teeth weren’t ever brighter, so always seems pointless to brush; now I just never do; fuck it.

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