New Member - NJ - First Subaru - Loaded Outback

[willphelps52]

I have bought my first Subaru.  It will be delivered mid to late October. I would not accept anything other than what I wanted with regards to color and options, so they had to order it.

 

2014 Subaru Outback Limited

Venetian Red

Off black leather interior

Moon roof / Eyesight package*

Tow hitch

Rear seat protective covers

 

I will also be buying and installing myself:

Hood protector (do they work?)

Mud Flaps

 

So that's the brief. Here's the long.

 

I've never had a Subaru before.  I knew a guy who had one and he loved it.  He was a ski instructor in winter, did pools in summer.

 

I've had a lot of Honda cars... a CRV a few years ago that I liked.  It was paid off, treated me well.  It was banged up and spilled gasoline in the back.  I figured I couldn't sell it so I was going to keep it for a long time... save my money.  That was the plan until some $#$%# made a left turn right in front of me on a snow covered street.  I got out the word "Dude!" before the hit.  Totaled both cars.

 

I didn't like the 2011 CRV and didn't have much time to shop around.  I was without a car.  My wife and kid swore by the Nissan.  I got the Rouge, but quickly regretted it.  It's okay, but not what I wanted.  So I was waking around the parking lot at work and noticed a Subaru Outback.  I've always seen the commercials... All wheel drive... looked more like a station wagon than an SUV.  I thought the ride would be better.  Turns out, my next door neighbor had one.  I just never noticed it.  It was just another Silver SUV and there's one everywhere you look.  

 

So I talked to him about it.  It's his seventh Subaru.  

 

Well, you can see I ordered one.  I got a good deal on my Rouge, so made the deal.  Now I'm just waiting for delivery.

 

Cheers!

[willphelps52]

Oh.... about the asterisk on the Eyesight.

 

That kind of rubbed me the wrong way.  In order to get the Eyesight option, I HAD to get the Moon roof, GPS and Backup camera.  I didn't WANT the GPS.  I could get a new Garmin every two years for less than the cost to upgrade the maps on these expensive "in dash" units.  Oh well.. Just a pet peeve of mine.

[Olnick]

Welcome aboard, Will.  You sound like a true-believer and you haven't even got the car yet!  I can't comment on the new Subaru--I haven't even sat in one yet.  But if your brand new Outback is even half the car my beloved '95 Legacy is you'll be a very happy man!

 

Good luck and happy roads.

[belacane]

Welcome welcome!

 

 

I used to work as a tech for Nissan. Drove a lot of Rogues....but Subaru will always have my heart. Love how they drive and wouldn't get anything else. I work for Subaru now

Edited September 18, 2013 by belacane

[willphelps52]

I was rushed into getting the Rouge. There's a bad right merge I have to deal with every day.  The blind spot over the right shoulder is terrible.  And at 35 to 40 MPH, there is a hum that comes from the trans or something that annoys the heck out of me.  Plus I could not get the color I wanted.  

 

So I've been biting the bullet for two years.  I finally couldn't take it anymore and tried to sell it.  The dealer gave me about as much as any offer I got from Craig's list.  So I took it... plus I get to still drive the car while I wait for the Subaru to be delivered.

 

I'll post pictures when I get it.

 

I'm kind of anal about this, but when I get a new car I always go under it and spay all the nuts/bolts with clear engine paint.  For what it's worth, it slows down the rust process, making it easier to work on down the road.   I was also going to do the "break in" multi oil changes, etc.

 

Any other recommendations for a new Subaru?  

[idosubaru]

follow the owners manual and you're golden.  no extra or special maintenance will buy any more miles or reliability over the long term.

 

unless you're planning on racing, rock crawling, towing huge loads...

[willphelps52]

I picked up my Outback from the dealer on Friday afternoon.  I'm glad I didn't have to wait the whole 8 weeks (it was only 6).

 

 

As I do with every new car I've ever bought in the past 20 years, the first thing I do is go under the car with a can of clear engine spray paint.  I put a thick (dripping) coat of paint on all the bare metal nuts and bolts.  From personal experience I've seen that it does make a difference.  The trailer hitch on the Rouge was added months later and I forgot to do those bolts.  When I looked under the car this past summer, you could see a noticeable difference between the bolts I sprayed and hitch bolts.

 

 

I also sprayed the insides of my wheels.  I know they sprayed them gray, but the machining grooves are pretty deep, so I added a thick coat of the clear.  Maybe this will make the inside easier to clean.  This is my first try at this, so I don't know how it work.

 

 

I washed and waxed the car too.  Maybe it didn't need it and this was overkill, but Iv'e been seeing a lot of bird droppings on my Rouge the past month, so I thought I'd do it.  I think its those #%#! Starlings migrating south.  Clouds of the little invasive birds.

 

 

I've taken my new pride and joy for dinner and to work the past two days so now it has 100 miles on it.  I'm going to change the oil tonight.  I've read pages and pages of arguments for and against this initial oil change.  I decided to do it.

 

 

My weathetTEK mats should be delivered in the next couple of days... and I still need to order my mud flaps.   I wanted to get that hood deflector, but I'd like to hear from someone who's used one.  Do they do anything?

 

 

So hopefully this is the start of a long relationship.   

 

 

[willphelps52]

I did change my oil tonight.  I was surprised to see how dark it got in just 100 miles. (98 to be exact). The oil filter was REALLY hard to get off.  I didn't have an oil filter wrench that small, so had to take it off by hand.  Once off and got it all cleaned up, I noticed the metal where the oil filter sits was mostly smooth, except for a ring that looked rough.  I don't know if they just screwed the oil filter on so hard that the metal scored the aluminum, or if it's supposed to be there.  I'm hoping someone else with a 2013 or 2014 with the oil filter on top of the engine can let me know if theirs is like that or is it totally smooth.

 

Thanks