Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

rsholland · February 2003

B&O Museum is (was?) a great place to visit. One news report said the roof was made of slate. So add all that snow, and you have one heavy roof!

Bob

ateixeira · February 2003

Eek. I had to sweep some of the snow off the portion above that leak. I'm wondering if I should do more of that?

Slate? Oh boy, all those tiles broke, and they cost a fortune to replace. Wanna bet the new roof gets asphalt shingles?

-juice

hypov · February 2003

Took a closer look; those knobs are barely visible. You need a flashlight to reveal their presence [visually]. At first I felt around and found a rough spot. Just a rough spot. Can't tell by feeling. Only after putting a flashlight to the area are they noticed.

I'll play around with it later to hear things out.

-Dave

rsholland · February 2003

I went up on our den roof today, as we were having a leak by one of our windows. I shoveled the snow away from the gutters, and so far the leak has disappeared. Keeping my fingers crossed...

Bob

ateixeira · February 2003

You're lucky. I have a hole about 4'x12' above my front porch. I'll probably plug it today with some plywood, if only as a temporary fix.

-juice

kens · February 2003

Speaking of home upgrades, we've sunk about $5K worth of stuff so far in to our (old) new home. Had the interior repainted, hardwood floors refinished, had some ducting work done, changed out the locks and upgraded the electrical system. Hopefully, we'll be ready for move-in this weekend if all goes well!

Have any of you used one of those Gorilla Ladders -- the convertible ones that become both a step and extension ladder? I need something to reach our roof and was considering a plain old extension ladder until I came across this thing.

Ken

ateixeira · February 2003

Didn't even realize you'd settled. Congratulations.

BTW, smart to do improvements before you move in.

Get a ladder tall enough to reach your highest roof easily. I didn't, so I have a 16' and a 24'.

-juice

fibber2 · February 2003

People just don't realize how much snow can weigh, especially wet snow on a flat roof or deck. I use a roof rake (Melnor, about $35) on our porch roof whenever the snow exceeds 12" or so, plus I shovel our back deck.

Steve

hammersley · February 2003

Ken: make sure the Gorilla ladder extends to a long enough full-length, no matter how many other ways it bends. They're good from a utilitarian standpoint, but they are a bit heavy. I made the mistake of not getting one long enough to reach from driveway (lowest part of the yard) to the roof. Don't repeat my mistake!

Cheers!
Paul

lilbluewgn02 · February 2003

There was an article this past weekend on the B&O museum and how they were planning a big shindig this summer for the 175th anniversary of American steam rrs, and we were all excited as we love trains, especially Michael, and thought it would be a good time to re-visit the DC Metro area, Bal'more, etc...one day later, we see the picture of the collapsed roof; what a bummer. Hopefully, they will be able to repair it in time. If you Bal'more folks can keep us informed, it would be great...we would finally be able to meet a bunch of you.
Steve (fibber), our best wishes to Emily for a sppedy recovery. When we lived in CT (Norwalk), Lyme disease was one of our biggest fears, especially with Michael being outside most of the time. We would always check his shoes and socks when he came in, and I always checked our logs before bringing them in for the fireplace.
Snow: awwww, man! no snow here!

subearu · February 2003

from the Chicago show. $28k according to the lady rep there.

-Brian

fibber2 · February 2003

ateixeira · February 2003

I needed one of those roof rakes. Looked a little closer last night, and at least two 4'x12' sections of my soffit need to be replaced. Plus I need to fix the leak in the roof that caused it. I think I'll make an insurance claim, it's turning out to be more damage that I thought at first.

$28k MSRP but for which model? If that's the price of the base 5 speed, it's more than we thought. If it's for an auto Premium with leather, it's right on target.

-juice

lark6 · February 2003

Ouch, juice.

$28K is a little pricey but not a lot. Hopefully deleting leather and moonroof will knock $1500-2K off of that which makes it very tasty.

Ed

ateixeira · February 2003

I have an insurance claim pending, and a contractor is coming out this PM to see it. Gotta seal it up before squirrels make a home in there, can you imagine?

The wife wants a new roof and siding, so we may go whole-hog and replace everything. That means my next new Subie is at least 2 years away, though. :-(

2005 SUW, anyone?

Although, after driving Sandy in the snow, plowing over snow drifts at the end of my driveway, I dunno, it's kind of nice to have an older, battle-scarred Subie that you can use that way. If I had a new XT, I'd be tip-toeing around all those obstacles, especially with the painted cladding.

Just passed 50k miles today!

-juice

lark6 · February 2003

Three words: home equity loan. That's a big chunk to bite off at once; I think I'd start with the roof and invest in some gutter guards. I have them on most of the house but not on the gutters over the garage - that's for this year.

Just today, huh? I passed it at the start of the month, now at 50,514 this morning. Two years sooner than you - wish I could pull that off but this job puts the miles on a car, even to the airport and back.

I plowed through snow drifts too, and the painted cladding hasn't suffered for it. Now if there's something hidden beneath it, that's another story!

Ed

ateixeira · February 2003

Man, I just re-financed. I hate carrying lots of debt.

You'll outpace me easily, just in the last 2.5 years I've spread some of the mileage to the Miata, actually about 14k miles.

So I'd be at 64k or so, warranty expired, if I didn't have the 2nd car.

-juice

subearu · February 2003

The Subaru rep lady mentioned 'around $28k', but wouldn't elaborate on the MT/AT pricing. If you think about it, a loaded XS can be $27k MSRP, so $28k for an XT (which is supposed to be basically the XS plus the 'T') is reasonable to expect. An XT sport or something with cloth and a few less options wouldn't be a bad idea though.

My only worry is this scenario: a Outback VDC will likely sell for $28k (invoice or less), an XT will likely sell for $28k MSRP initially and perhaps ease back a bit after initial demand spikes. We already have a mini-van, so the 'extra' roominess of the Outback isn't really required in my case. The XT will definitely get a look from me when I start shopping for a replacement Subaru.

Regardless, I was quite giddy sitting in one. Everyone was surrounding the STi, so I had ample time in the XT.

I'm still anxious to see what develops regarding the Legacy.

-Brian

ateixeira · February 2003

Gimme an XT Sport, along the lines of the Baja Sport, with:

* unpainted cladding
* 16" steelies (I'd consider aftermarket 17s anyway)
* cloth, 5 speed, etc.

-juice

subearu · February 2003

There is mention of a 'premium package model' on the back:

* 4-speed electronic direct control automatic transmission
* Power moonroof with auto-open/close feature
* Black leather-trimmed upholstery

Above that section it lists the normal mechanicals, which includes the 5-speed MT and optional 4-speed AT (same as premium pkg). It appears that to get the mongo moonroof, you need to opt for the XT 'premium'. Or you could just get a 'plain' XT with no moonroof, no leather. The one at the show was definitely a 'premium' with black leather.

Other notes:
* 4-channel/4-sensor ABS
* Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD)
* monotone body color with color-keyed door handles

It doesn't look like a full Forester brouchure. It's a tri-fold type with similar pictures to the press releases we've seen. No mention of VTD or an explanation of 'direct-control' for the AT.

-Brian

ateixeira · February 2003

No moonroof with the 5 speed, then, bummer.

The XS has EBD and all Subies have 4 channel and 4 sensor ABS.

I hope rings don't scratch those door handles.

Thanks for checking on all that stuff for us Papa Bear. See you at the chat tonight?

-juice

subearu · February 2003

Juice: At least that was my impression (regarding no moonroof with 5sp).

And I am currently planning on 'bloop'ing in on the chat. ;-)

-Brian

ateixeira · February 2003

If anyone doesn't know what it means to be "blooped", it means you haven't been to a chat in a long time, so come on by tonight!

-juice

grahampeters · February 2003

G'day

Just when Mike(Paisan) had got over the lust thing on trading up to the SVX, he will have to stat all over again.

http://www.autoweb.com.au/id_SUB/doc_sub0302201/cms/news/newsarti- - cle.html

Can you wait for Geneva? The sketch looks pretty good here

http://www.subaru.com.au/news/?newsid=11721

Cheers

Graham

paisan · February 2003

Can't wait. By the time it's here with it's H6turbo and 350hp, I will be finished paying off my Trooper. So I'll keep my SVX, Trooper and buy the "new" SVX

-mike

ateixeira · February 2003

Looks very promising. Pretty please make a roadster too!

-juice

p0926 · February 2003

That was quite the impressive turnout for the chat last night. I didn't count but I know there were more than a dozen participants (plus the two observers that Pat missed). Now I know what you guys mean about trying to keep up with Brenda's rapid-fire posts. :-)

-Frank P.

ateixeira · February 2003

Yeah, and anyone who wants to know what we meant by "nice rack" should check out the General Maintenance & Repair section. ;-)

-juice

PS Hint: steering rack...

hypov · February 2003

Just got a call from Chase.
Apparently, someone has gotten numbers of my card and am/are making purchases.
I don't know if this is isolated to myself, which I am doubting as I'm OCD with its security.
Purchases were made as far as Atlanta [Department Store].

-Dave

p0926 · February 2003

Dave- My wife is really enjoying that new mink coat! (j/k)

-Frank (in Atlanta)

P.S. It doesn't matter how OCD about security you are, there are just way too many people that have access to your number every time you make a purchase and it only takes one bad apple...

ateixeira · February 2003

Didn't a huge group of credit card numbers get stolen recently? It was in the news. Bummer.

Funny - I just had a new turbo kit delivered to my door!

-juice

PS Frank beat me to the punch!

hypov · February 2003

LOL

But heads up y'all.

-Dave

p0926 · February 2003

Juice- Yup, something like 8 million numbers! And most of the banks affected decided not to notify the card owners on the hope that the numbers wouldn't be used. It costs $25 to cancel and reissue a card and apparently, the banks felt that they would rather take the risk of purchases being made on the stolen numbers than deal with the known charge of canceling all 8 million. Of course Joe consumer (or Dave in this case) is left to clean up the mess :-(

-Frank P.

ateixeira · February 2003

You are only liable for at most $50, but most card companies won't even make you pay that.

-juice

p0926 · February 2003

Liability isn't the issue. It's the hassle of having to deal with all the companies that provided goods and/or services and now expect their money. It's the hassle of having to cancel your card, placing fraud alerts with all three credit reporting agencies, filing a police report, etc. etc. etc.

-Frank P.

c_hunter · February 2003

Hey, maybe you can earn Subaru Bucks on the purchases, eh? :-)

Craig

ateixeira · February 2003

I know, it's happened to my wife. She didn't file a police report, though.

-juice

p0926 · February 2003

hypov · February 2003

I hope I earn Subaru bucks too.
They recked up ~$3000 to date. ;-)

-Dave

c_hunter · February 2003

Let's see, you're only $333 away from earning a $100 coupon! Not bad!

Craig

ateixeira · February 2003

That would be great if you could keep the Subaru bucks but not pay the bill! Doubt it though.

-juice

hypov · February 2003

I doubt I'll get to keep the bucks too. But it was fun to wish.

The downside, I don't have a Subaru Card to use for the next five plus days.

Dang, that reminds me. I've got to redirect those preset bill debits.
Hey, this is becoming to be a hassle. >:|

-Dave

lark6 · February 2003

First one for me in a few weeks. Big crowd, lively topics, friendly, non-confrontational discussions. Interesting to see that Subie owners share a lot of common ground beyond their choice of vehicles, even as diverse as we are geographically and professionally.

I have one of those Chase Subaru cards too, Dave - should I call and find out if there's been unusual activity?

Ed

hypov · February 2003

Ed-
How's your comfort zone?
In my case, Chase was made aware because Dell Computer was being proactive. They called Chase to verify the purchase, as it was to be shipped to another address. If it wasn't for Dell, I would be in for an unpleasant surprise.

-Dave

kate5000 · February 2003

for a limited time... I just checked my Forester.

http://www.nbc4.com/money/1991367/detail.html

then click on the Carfax banner

enjoy

kate5000 · February 2003

I had my credit card number stolen not a physical card (MBNA one)... very unpleasant experience, although at the end I did not pay a penny. Still, one need to re-set direct bills, wait for reimbursement, etc.

I'm hearing so much about credit card fraud lately, I think it's time to establish PIN system for credit cards, just like for ATM cards. It's a small extra inconvenience that should go a long way (although not 100%) to protect the customer.

As an IT professional, I'm appaled that CC numbers are stored in non-encrypted way and thus a hacker can get them out of bank database. I understand, encrypting would put a toll on database performance, but again, the protection of a customer should be priority No. 1.

fibber2 · February 2003

Man, that takes a big set.... ordering something for delivery! They should go ahead and see who takes receipt of it when it arrives - with handcuffs waiting (and maybe a baseball bat to beat the tar out of them for good measure...). ;-)

Steve

hypov · February 2003

Steve-
Oh there will be a nail sticking out of that bat I would carry. If they let me have the address. ;-)

They may well be doing a delivery, a bogus delivery. Dell is not revealing the delivery address, at least not to me. But I do know it is very local. Somewhere in Fresh Pond, NY.

-Dave

hondafriek · February 2003

A couple weeks ago our insurance Co.announced that somebody had stolen a hard drive with the personal information of half a million clients.

We were in that half million, so we had to open new bank accounts because our pensions are direct deposit, most of our bills are directly paid, so all the people we deal with had to be notified and new direct debit set up.

Forms had to be obtained from our pension providers and the companys that debit our accounts such as Hydro,gas,telephone, and so on, and then voided cheques had to be sent, I can tell you it was one royal PITA.

Cheers Pat.

hammersley · February 2003

Same thing happened to us years ago, on a telephone transaction. Turned out the merchant had an employee skimming CC numbers as orders were processed. Used our number to order $1100 worth of stereo & kitchen knives from Sharper Image, to be delivered to an address in Seattle, which turned out to be a Mailboxes, Etc. drop. Pro-active Sharper Image folks caught it, called us before anything shipped. Happy ending (phew!)

Cheers!
Paul

Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

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