Permanent Air Filter My Car Needs A New Air Filter Meter What Does This Mean?

My car needs a new air filter meter what does this mean? - permanent air filter

There were a number of problems with my 97 Subaru Legacy GTB .. recently replaced the fuel pump. Only a few weeks later, and the car starts cutting again, not all the time just happened .. during the sudden acceleration of speed dramatically drop for a few seconds .. again the case .. Idle while the sounds of gagging and sometimes like trembling, sometimes together closed shot, but always starts again. Mechanic says I need a new air filter meter at a cost of about $ 200 .. THE sale of the car anyway and do not want to spend more money for it, so is that you can travel in time without the risk of permanent damage? What to do about a meter and air filter? Any mechanics out there?