Subarupusher

Sorry...I was around a lot of ignorant sales people this week when we were narrowing our choice down to a new Forester!!!!! V4 and V6 got thrown out a lot to describe the engine. I corrected by previous post to use the "technical" description. My wife has the same opinion about the Forester, Outback, and Tribeca being hard to tell apart from the outside. It would have helped if the Tribeca kept its original snout and rounded back.

Thanks for all the info. We took it around to a couple of alignment places. Nobody really wants to give it more than a tire spin and eyeballing it unless you front them some cash. The insurance did officially total it and we raised their initial offer by showing maintenance receipts and talking to our local dealer on what they would sell it for pre accident condition. It was tempting to keep it and lose $600 on the settlement but my girlfriend had been saving up for years for a Forester and she pulled the trigger. So Monday we will drive it down to the salvage auction yard and pick up the insurance check. So it will immediately be auctioned next week near Tacoma, Washington (heads up for anybody in the area).

Outback 4 banger to 6 banger depending on what type you want Tribeca 6 banger Outback actual gas mileage with a 4 banger CVT 26-29 Tribeca 21-22 The Tribeca has extra seats that pop up to seat 7 total. My impression after owning both is that the Outback is configured better to hold more cargo with the seats down compared to the Tribeca. Outback has higher clearance Outback selling like hotcakes Tribeca selling like typewriters

My girlfriend got knocked pretty good on the freeway in her 1996 AT Impreza Wagon with most of the damage on the rear right panel, wheel well, and a hub cap was sheared off. She drove it home about 10 miles and thought it was still handling OK and the insurance has started to figure out the body damage which may total it anyway. I drove the car on a cold morning where we had several long patches of ice. The car felt very unstable at 25 mph on black ice. I was coasting with my foot off the gas and the rear end was skittering pretty good. I have never felt this in a Subaru and the AWD drive vehicle behind me was not having any problem and ended up passing me. So my guess is the AWD drive is damaged and either locked in the rear or the right wheel is dragging with the left trying to compensate. Any expert opinions on what could be going on? The steering wheel is also slightly off.

Have it on my new Outback and I am impressed in terms of mileage and it really makes our old Impreza feel clunky by comparison when you go back to driving the old Subaru AT. Don't forget that the Prius uses a variant of the CVT and this does not worry people as much as mysterious accelerations and how long the batteries will last. So far the CVT Subarus sell almost as fast as they arrive and they have the highest resale value. I know of one Legacy CVT that depreciated 7% when traded in after one year. My guess is the old AT will be the most bullet proof and that matters for people that want to push 200K on their Subarus. Getting to 120K on a more fuel efficient transmission and then getting a new Subaru works for a lot of owners. At that point there will be a proven Subaru hybrid to purchase with a well tested CVT.

When you buy a brand new Subaru and you fend off the dealer for their "official" over priced warranty, Subaru will send "Added Security" offers for the first year of ownership. $840 gets you a total warranty of 5 years or 80K miles whichever comes first. If you get a decent warranty from a legitimate company, you can cancel anytime and you will get a pro rated refund. I still got a decent chunk of change when I traded my car in after 3 years into a 5 year warranty. You actually get most of your warranty purchase price back if you cancel within the first 6 months. Been there, done that, too. I have bitten on the warranty a few times but only made the dealer warranty mistake once. However the dealer warranty was on a 3 year old Subaru XT Turbo back in 1989 and that car was in the shop every few months its first year and I more than made my money back on the warranty. All Subarus are much more reliable these days and I have not gotten an extended warranty on a Subaru since 1989.

I had a 2007 Impreza 2.5i AT and averaged 29 mpg on mostly freeway and it would dip to 25 in mixed driving. It surprised me once by getting 31 mpg. My 2010 Legacy 2.5 Limited with CVT has never dipped below 28 mpg in City and Highway driving and hit 36 mpg on it first official long road trip over the mountains and back. It will be interesting to see what the Imprezas get once they have CVT. I would guess the Forester CVT mpg will be similar to the current CVT Outback.

Just to clarify, you serviced your Subaru over in Bremerton (technically the dealership is in Gorst) but you bought it over in Auburn? Scarff did the original repair on the gaskets? I have had the opposite experience with Scarff. They are not so good on the sales side (we quit buying there back in 1996) but are excellent in the service department. We tried an independent for a few years but Scarff won us back with quality work and only recommending service that was neccessary. I see this as more of a sales issue and the service department cannot honor spoken promises about a warranty. So don't throw the mechs under the bus when it is the owner and salesman that you have an issue with. If I were in your situation during the sale and I had a bad feeling about the head gasket, I would have demanded an extended warranty to close the sale. The problem is dealers will not usually do this. They will reduce the price a little and move on to the next person that does not do their homework when checking out the car.

I picked up on "New or late model" Legacy requirements. The only option is to get a 2010 Legacy. The style change is well worth it (bigger and more comfortable) and if you are looking for economy, the CVT option is a must. I have tried to own a couple German cars over the years and they are high maintenance but really fun when everything works. Subarus are low maintenance but take some work or options to be really fun.

Temperature has never been an issue on Subarus that are well maintained in my family. The idiot light works just as well. My experience with hot engines in various other cars is that your nose is the best sensor. It detects coolant leaks and the hot oil smell is usually accompanied by elevated engine temps. The tpms works really well and helped point out the 3 inch screw in my tire before the tire looked flat. The result is the car went straight to the dealer for a free flat repair rather than going flat on the freeway on my usual morning commute.

All I can say is that I love it and no problems so far with 2.5 K miles on her. The difference is really noticeable when you drive all day with the CVT and then drive around the wife's 96 Imp. The standard automatic feels clunky. I passed a 4 door Justy on the freeway the other morning so there are some original CVTs going strong after 2 decades.

The wife and I always thought the Forester was comfortable and well made until we test drove a 2010 Forester and a 2010 Outback on the same day. The Outback does make the Forester seem cheaper on the interior and a little bit stiffer on the ride. But you are paying thousands of dollars more for the Outback and they are selling here in the NW as fast as they arriive and thus not a lot of dickering. The Forester has a nice selection and is definitely easier on the pocket book. I have the CVT in the Legacy and it may be a little louder and constant but I have gotten used to it and now I notice the "clunks" in normal AT shifting when riding in other cars or driving a vacation rental.

Turbos do need more oil changes and the old Subaru XT Turbos I had really cooked the hoses. My best average mileage for a Subaru was 30-32 with a MT FWD 4 cyl Subaru XT Turbo with a lot of highway driving. The 4WD version averaged 25+ in mixed driving. Keep it well maintained, check the hoses on a regular basis, and worry about taking the turbo out when it breaks.

2003 was a transition year for Onstar. I had it in a 2002 Chevy and some of the vehicles could be upgraded to digital and some could not. Mine was on the "not" list but it was not broken down by model but by VIN. I have had it before in a newer Chevy and liked it as a back up for places where my cell phone did not work. As for the privacy issues about them being "big brother"...I would be more concerned about cell phones which can also be tracked via GPS and conversations are time stamped to see if they were occurring during accidents. Privacy advocates love to bash Onstar but never bother to read the fine print on their cell phone contracts. They should also read their car insurance contracts which are also driving this need for your personal information when driving. I was not even aware that Subaru dabbled with Onstar and it would make sense that it is no longer supported in any Subaru.

If it is like the 06 Impreza I had, you pull off the trim piece and the radio will have screws holding it in. Unscrew those and it slides right out. I did have a HD radio in that car and it worked really well in the greater Seattle area. There are a few dead spots but it even worked well in Bremerton (above posters general area). FM radio is funny. I live 35 miles from Seattle and yet the stations come in better than when I am driving around downtown Seattle. The location of the transmitter towers and terrain have more to do with getting the HD signal. Definitely worth the cost if you have the stations in the area. The sound is much better than sat.