rizzo

dumb question, but isn't this covered under the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty?

i'll third this, although i have an issue with midas... i don't know if it was them exactly or just the natural lifespan of parts... on my old car, which i had for 5 years before it was totalled, i went through 3 mufflers. the first was shortly after i bought the car. it sounded like a loud motorboat. they replaced the muffler and the mid-pipe (or something like that). 2 years later the pipe has issues. there's only a year warranty on that pipe (hmmm). another year and a half goes by and the muffler goes again, but it's warranty, so they do it for free (and again, the pipe needed to be replaced, so i had to have that done as well). i'm not sure if they're just not that great, if they use cheap parts, or what... but whatever. it cost me something like $270 for the muffler and pipe (including labor costs). i think just the pipe alone was like $170. it was just a pain in the rump roast. i still went to midas for all my oil changes and stuff (lack of space and stuff to do it myself). $15 for an oil change isn't bad compared to places like jiffy lube that charge nearly $30. i guess i'd say go back and have them replace it or find out what they can do to fulfill their warranty and make sure you don't have to go through with it again (better quality muffler, take their charges that you'd get for free and use it towards going elsewhere, etc).

i notice in the pic that you have a pocket where the ashtray would be... is there something i can get for my impreza that will replace the ashtray as i have no use for an ashtray? also, what are the 2 units for? they both just look like stereos...

i bought my 03 OBS 2.5 at a subaru dealer in CT and they said to use 87. i don't know if it's the same pinging you're talking about, but when i accelerate or if the car was just started, the engine makes more noise than i would expect of a newer car. i'm guessing it's the pinging you're talking about. unfortunately, i can't really afford higher octane, although i'd like to switch, but i've heard that once you go to a higher octane, you can't really go back. i use nothing but 87. i'm wondering if the original owner used higher...

the one thing that would make that jetta diesel wagon even better is if they offered 4motion on it. but VW only offers 4motion on their more luxury cars. it seems that subaru is the only "working man's" car that offers awd on the whole line. i probably would've gone for a jetta tdi wagon if it came with 4motion, but for the model years i was looking at, you could only get it on the passat, which i don't believe they offer tdi. however... at least here in the northeast, diesel prices aren't cheaper than gasoline prices, which makes me curious if you would really save all that much on gas money by having a diesel engine (is 15 more mpg worth the extra cost of gas?).

the dealer should know how many accidents it's been in. the fact that he lied to you isn't cool. i wouldn't buy from him, who knows what else is wrong with it... but like the other guy said, an accident isn't a huge deal unless it wasn't fixed properly. of course, if you havent' taken it for a test drive, you'll have no idea how it drives. if you know more about cars than your girlfriend, you should both take it for a ride (her to see if she likes the way it drives and you to see if there's anything noticably wrong). and don't let the dealer scare you into a quick trip around the block. take it out for a while see what it can do (like on a highway or a faster road or something). but i definitely wouldn't trust that dealer... unless he just got the car in when you first went to look at it and did more research on it afterwards... i wouldn't buy from him no matter how nice the car was.

What's a GDB Impreza? I've got the post and it looks like the carpeted mats have a little extension to reach the post, but the rubber mat doesn't have that extension to reach the post.

yeah, i got the nipples on mine... the problem with the rubber mat is that it just slides up. it has a hole in it, but it doesn't reach the little floor post, which leads me to believe that these are for a different model. i might have to do more research.

after searching the forums, i couldn't find an answer to these questions... first, my car came with front rubber floor mats (nothing in the back, got it used, the dealer threw them in for free). i don't know if they're the ones for the impreza or not, but i have a hard time with them. the driver's one always slides up and catches the clutch (i got scared and thought there was something wrong with teh clutch sticking, but pulled the mat back into position and it was fine). anyone else have such a problem? it's got a hole in it for one of those floor mat post things that holds them in place, but it's not in the right place on the mat for the clip in my car (03 OBS). is it possible i have mats designed for a different car that they just had laying around? if this is a normal problem, what have people done to alleviate this? i'm at the point where i might just tie the mat to the post. and does anyone know where i might be able to buy just the rear mats since i already have hte front ones? next question is about the armrest extension. i'd like the added convenience and comfort, but i've heard it can cause issues with shifting and hitting your elbow on it. i've mainly heard this with the short throw shifter, but will this also affect the standard shifter (i have no intentions of putting the short throw thing in my car)? also, does anyone know of any good sites to find these things for like $50. $100 just seems like way too much for it.

i've always used armor all. every now and then i like to "pimp" my car up and make it look nice and shiny. so i used it on the tires and the black plastic parts of my old car (89 camry wagon, far from "pimp", but it was still a good looking car when someone hit it and totalled it). i just moved to providence about a year and a half ago. i love it here.

do you recommend the subaru tweeters in addition to the standard factory setup? i've been debating upgrading my stereo as well, but nothing what this other guy wants to do. i listen to a lot of music that's pretty involved and has a lot of higher end sounds (long guitar and piano solos). and the factory speakers aren't good enough, but i don't even have $200 to spend on it. i found the subaru tweeter kit for $35 on http://www.subarugenuineparts.com and thought i'd purchase them if they bring out more sound. is it worth it?

when did clearcoat become standard? i had an 88 VW cabriolet that had a dull red color when i got it. i polished it up before i waxed it and the color came right back to bright and beautiful. i'm guessing that was a BC car...

i generally don't use the all-in-one stuff, but once i polish it once, i won't need to again? do all those brands make a polish that will help hide some of the scratches? my old car was silver, looked great after a rain. didn't have such luck trying to find what i wanted in silver this time around. it's the midnight black, a really slick color, but gets dirty easily. i never wax without washing and i always wax right after washing. i knew that much. i'll have to find a foam pad, i imagine they sell something in stores to use for waxing? i never heard of the back to black things. i'll have to look around. what's your opinion on armor all? i usually use that on the black plastic parts and tires to make them look good. does that do more damage than good?

so, let's say we want a nice shiny car and want to wax it... what wax do you recommend (that's not $15 for a small bottle) and what do you recommend one uses to apply it (i usually use an old sock to apply and an old tshirt to buff it off). i have to say, i do like the idea of the black turtle wax... i've had that same problem with black plastic parts and crevasses getting wax stuck in them that's visible and doesn't look good, but i am open to other recommendations. also... i got my car used and it had a couple scratches i want to try to cover or make look better. do you have any recommendations for polishing compound to try to buff them out a bit? EDIT: i do know the swirl and it doesn't bother me as much as seeing a dull color. i'm sure my car has it (i'd be able to tell more if it'd stop raining and the sun will shine for even 10 minutes). anyone know anything about zymol? it's also pretty pricey, but i've heard good things about it years ago, not sure if there's something cheaper that's just as good...

i like the reflection of you taking the picture in the driver's door.

check the subaru website... the 05 impreza wagon (non-WRX, non-OBS) is called RS sport wagon.

i'd go with another outback sport... or maybe even the RS wagon. it's a bit sportier looking than the outback sport (it doesn't have the bulky looking bumpers and 2-tone paint). a 22 year old certainly doesn't need the turbo, and when he finishes school, i'm sure he'll have other payments to worry about than a higher insurance premium and the cost of premium gas. i'm 25, and if i had the turbo, i'd be screwed. as is, i can barely afford the car payments and the insurance on my 03 OBS. i've got rent, utilities, and student loans to pay. plus i still wanna have fun. but it was the price i paid to get a decent car that's gonna last me longer than my last car (89 camry wagon). and for just a daily driver, i wouldn't need the car to have quick acceleration. sure, it's got the "wow factor" with friends, but other than that, it's pointless... and i think all the 05 imprezas have the same safety features.

when you turn your headlights on (you have to do this to drive at night so the dashboard lights come on), are the tail lights working? the tail lights aren't part of the normal daytime running lights (when the headlights and parking lights are turned off). the daytime running lights are just the front headlights dimmed. so under normal circumstances (car on, headlights turned off with the switch), the tail lights and license plate lights should not be on. they only go on when you turn the switch. one other thing to note (and i assume you already k now this) is that when you put the car in park (i could be wrong about this since mine is a stick), the daytime lights go off (mine go off when i pull the hand brake).

stupid question... are you talking about your daytime running lights? i am pretty sure only the headlights are on normally unless you turn on the headlight switch and then all the lights come on.

anyone know anything about the subaru OEM upgraded speakers? i'm considering buying them plus the tweeter kit for my outback sport (i assume the tweeters go near the armrest since it looks like there's supposed to be speakers there). any recommendations for decent inexpensive after-market upgraded speakers or stereo (the factory cd player doesn't seem to play CD-R's in mine).

i saw one on ebay... it was stupid though. it's more like the mercedes one than the VW/audi one, but it's got buttons for keyless entry, however, they're just there for looks. someone should make one with a working keyless entry/alarm system. that'd be pretty cool, though i do think it's just a gimmicky thing. the only thing i'd like about it is it'd be my new key fob so i wouldn't have a key and a fob...

not sure if you've looked at it, but i had this happen to me once in an 89 buick century. the speedometer would go haywire. it was weird. it would bounce from 0-85 (pinned for that car). and then it just stopped working. it turned out it was the computer. then it happened again and the car didn't start (they replaced the busted computer with another faulty one).

will a changer from a 2004 sti fit a 2003 impreza?

this seems to be a common topic here... consensus seems to be "don't do it". http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=35431&highlight=2wd+fuse there's more links to other threads in that one... that should be all the answers you need....

i had this problem as well... got mine a couple weeks ago. hadn't driven stick regularly in about 5 years (on and off during that time, but it was a truck, so it drove a bit differently)... i also had a hard time finding reverse in the new car... it's still hard to get into, sometimes requires a couple tries (never grindnig though, just release clutch and try again). the first time this happened, i rev'd really hard (as it rolled forward because it wasn't actually in reverse) and it smelled to high heavens. i got worried that i broke my new car... luckily it was jsut the over-rev. happens every now and again, but only on an incline when some ghetto fabulous guy is riding my rump roast at a stoplight (gotta love providence).