Subaru Crew Cafe

tsy

I have heard good things about Panasonics also. I have had a Makita, a Bosch, and now a Hitachi. All good drills- I will say my Bosch seemed to have more torque for the equivalent voltage rating. But I do like my Hitachi also.

It all depends on how much you're really going to do with it. If you going to be using it a lot, then go with a higher end drill (they have models with Lithium batteries now).

If it's just occasional household things, then I agree, a Ryobi or Black and Decker or Skill would be fine. They're just not heavy duty, but are reasonably well made and will do the job just fine.

It all depends on your budget.

tom

jeffmc

We just traded our '04 Outback for a lightly used '06 Outback 3.0R. We have an '06 Legacy sedan also, and we like it so much we thought it'd be great if we could get a newer Outback. None of the current color combos does it for us, though. If Subaru offered this model now, we would've bought it as an '07. At this time, there's no red color option, and you've gotta get an LL Bean if you want the H6.

The '06 Outback looks hot in solid red garnet pearl, and the H6 feels like the perfect match for it - strong and consistent power delivery, low RPMs required even when passing on the freeway... the DW & I absolutely love it. Also very pleased with the 5-spd AT and feel good about having a Subie w/VTD. The dual zone climate control is also perfect for us - it has been working well (I've read complaints here, so wasn't sure) at keeping my side of the car a few degrees cooler than my wife's side. No more battles over the temperature! This will definitely be our trip car. So much better to drive than our 4-cyl '04, which we liked a lot but always felt to be a little sloppy and sluggish. I'm amazed how quiet and smooth the H6 is.

It has just 7100 miles, only options are autodim mirror, front bumper underguard, alarm upgrade, and aluminum sill plate covers. Probably invoiced at about $27.7k. Paid $22,800. Was shooting for another $300-$500 lower, but am happy with the sales price. Probably could've done a little better on the trade-in, but it was enough for us to pull the trigger. The 3.0R is not common to see on the road, kinda been on the lookout for one, so I wanted to act quickly when I saw this one on my dealership's website... not the best way to get the best deal.

Very pleased with the car. I'll post a pic after we get the windows tinted.

Still kinda giddy,
Jeff :shades:

rsholland

Congrats! Why was the '06 model traded in by the original owner?

Bob

jeffmc

The dealership purchased it from Texas (at auction, I assume), so I don't really know. They buy much of their used inventory elsewhere to keep up w/demand.

rob_m

I finally got my car fixed two weeks ago. It's only been since July! (... for those who don't know, my 05 Legacy GT was pummeled in a freak golf-ball sized hail storm in NH last summer ...) The were able to PDR every body panel. The only thing that was painted was the roof where the paint did crack in a few places, and there were a couple dents inaccessible due to the sunroof. The paint matches perfectly. The car was in the shop for 9 days.

My only complaint is that those 'wizards' at dent removal hit something with the front of the car and cracked the bottom of the bumper cover. Unfortunately, I missed it when I picked up the car, and there is no way to prove how it happened. So I'm happy, but I'm not. Rob M

ateixeira

Congrats and let me know how that goes.

Was it CPO?

I ask because if I get a Tribeca it'll probably be CPO to get the price down some.

-juice

jeffmc

No, juice... my dealer doesn't participate in the CPO program yet. The extra warranty would've been nice. It's got 2 years factory warranty remaining, so I'm not worried. I'll know by then if the car's as good as it seems to be. Not sure how many years I'll get to enjoy it before the need for something larger necessitates a move to something else anyway.

This will sound silly, but I get a very good feeling from it. Some cars you instantly feel unsure about (reliability-wise) when you drive them. Not this one.

ateixeira

Doesn't sound strange at all. If it feels substantial and well put together it probably is.

Unlike the Taurus rental I had, don't get me started. In 7k miles that thing was already trashed. Seriously, if I owned it I'd already be thinking about trading.

-juice

locke2c

golf-ball sized hail is not atypical here in Kansas.. but your full-body paintless dent repair is!

the technology has come a long way since it was first used 15+ years ago but I still am very suspicious about doing major repairs with it. I wish you the best, but I would've had a traditional job done. it would have been expensive but probably wouldn't have totalled a '05 LGT. and it's on the insurance's tab, so..

~Colin

tsy

Congrats Jeff. Sounds like you got a good deal. Hey, 2 new Subes in a year!

tom

tsy

I kinda agree with Colin. I'm just not impressed with Subaru paint. I hope it looks as good as new (not that any car in the Northeast outside of museums look new after a few seasons!)

As for the bumper cover- just get a lip spoiler!

Have a merry Christmas all! I'm down in LA so my chances of a white Christmas are nil.

tom

rob_m

It was a tough call. Repair estimates ranged from refinishing the panels with bondo, and blending the paint, to replacing the panels. Most of the car would have been repainted.

I stopped when the shop of my preference recommended cutting out the roof panel, and replacing every body panel.

I only had about 6 huge dents, mostly contained to the roof, and a beauty on the sail panel. The rest of the 200+ dings were bb, pea and marble sized.

The PDR results were actually amazing. The procedure is minimally invasive to the vehicle. And the best part, I have not been able to find a single ding! Rob M.

jeffmc

"Hey, 2 new Subes in a year!"
Tom - I had my '91 Legacy for 14 years, and went 12 years w/out buying a new one, so I'm just makin' up for lost time. My wife & I were joking about that too - I have the salesman's cell # in my cell phone & I have his work schedule memorized. They make it easy, so it's actually an enjoyable process.

I know it's not the gray skies of home, but enjoy the sunshine & Merry Christmas to you, too, Tom.

-Jeff

jfl

Jeff,

so I'm just makin' up for lost time.

I just went thru a similar experience with watches. One watch for over 20 years. Now in roughly one month I've purchased two new watches!

Jim

jeffmc

Funny how that happens. Hey, you reminded me I need a new battery for my watch! Thanks!

p0926

I need a new battery for my watch

While we're on the subject of watches... the DW and I got each other Citizen Eco-Drive watches for Xmas last year and we couldn't be happier with our decision. For anyone not familiar with the model line, the Eco-drives are solar powered so they never need winding or a new battery (both watches keep perfect time).

-Frank

ladywclass

husband got on a 'kick' for awhile of bidding on ebay for watches .. we now have quite a few to choose from ...

probably his best "deal" was on a citizen ecodrive .. he bid $25 for one that "wasn't working" .. obviously the guy didn't know it was LIGHT POWERED .. it's perfect ... lol .. JUST NEEDED CHARGING !

subearu

I got my DW an Ecodrive Citizen a couple of Christmas' ago. I still have a Seiko Kinetic that is about 10 years old, or about 5 new wristbands old!

Guess this could be another commonality of a Subie owner.

-Brian

leo2633

I've been wearing the same old Casio for about 15 years. I've replaced the battery once and the band twice. I'm too cheap to buy anything better, and I'd hate to bang up a really good watch.

Len

paisan

Love my big casio diver watch, paid $150 about 6 years ago and replaced the battery 2x. Tough and works well. One of those ecowatches wouldn't work for me as I work nights and rarely see sun

-mike

subearu

The Seiko Kinetic gets its power from movement rather than light. So, just walking gives it power.

-Brian

jfl

The Eco-Drive was on my short list for quite a while. Most quartz watches keep near perfect time. One of my watches is a battery driven quartz chronograph.

However, the second watch I purchased is an automatic chronograph. Less accurate but beautiful workmanship. A bit like having a manual transmission.

Quite surprising how much I've learned about Swiss watches (and watches in general) in the past five months!

Jim

ladywclass

I also have a Seiko kinetic that I've probably had since the 70's .. you know .. just about the time everyone went to QUARTZ ...

I wore a watch to school one day that I grabbed out of the box in a hurry ... after I got there, I realized I hadn't set it or WOUND it ...

told my tutoring student that I forgot to wind my watch ... had to demonstrate .. he had no idea they ever "wound up" ...
(I am soooo old ... )

jfl

The Seiko Kinetic "charges" a battery (or capacitor) with movement similar to an automatic watch winding the mainspring with movement. The rest of the workings are quartz, so again, it's very accurate.

Supposedly, interior lighting is enough to charge an Eco-Drive.

Jim

ladywclass

husband also works nights .. he just puts it in the window occasionally ...

subearu

Yep, you can slightly hear the winding internally (via a rotating weighted disc) on the Kinetic while walking. http://www.seikousa.com/Technology/TechDetails.aspx?technologyId=2 Mine will only store about 3 or 4 days of power, the newer ones store power for months.

DW's Ecodrive seems to better with a dose of light from the window sill every several days, especially in the colder months when long sleeve clothing is worn.

-Brian

paisan

Are pretty sucky, but I do get the whole bed to myself which is nice!

-mike

ladywclass

then you don't have a big enough bed !

leo2633

Speaking of precision timepieces, how accurate is everyone's watch? If I ask 5 people for the exact time, I get five different answers. I'm not talking by a few seconds, but by several minutes either way. (Kind of reminds me of that scene in "Animal House" where they are synchronizing their watches before setting out in the "Deathmobile". Everyone is the same, except for Belushi, who is about 6 1/2 hours off! But I digress...) My Casio runs one second fast per day. I reset it by the Atomic Clock website each morning. Their accuracy is supposedly to within .1 second. I guess that's as close as I can get. Maybe I have too much free time!

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Len

p0926

I think that most new watches are probably fairly accurate. I'd say the biggest factor effecting accuracy is the human element (I.e. the wearer only glancing at a wall clock when setting their watch).

-Frank

p0926

Citizen claims that their Eco-Drive watches will run for 90 days without ANY exposure to light so even Mike could wear one :P

Regarding kenetic watches, I've noticed this holiday season that electric-powered watch-winding storage cases seem to have become popular. I just can't see paying $300 for a device that does nothing but wind my watch :confuse:

-Frank

locke2c

I'm not much for jewelry in general, but I will admit that I have a lot of watches. The one I wear most often is a Tag Heuer. It's quiet accurate but I have no idea about 1 second per day... isn't that just a tad OCD resetting 1 a second slew *every day*? :P

Anyway, I set it twice a year when daylight savings begins and ends. It stays accurate to the minute (which is plenty for me, sheesh!) until the next time I need to set it. It uses a battery. The early Seiko kinetics were plagued by reliability problems but they seem to have it sorted these days.

Of all my watches, only one is digital. And it's a Polar heartrate monitor that happens to look like a watch plus has distance and chronograph functions. But it could easily pass for a digital sports watch.

~Colin

kens

One of my faves is my old 2000 Series Tag that I bought years ago. And it seems to be fairly accurate -- in other words, I don't seem to notice it not being accurate. :-)

Ken

hondafriek

Loosh I just noticed your request if you are getting a drill go for the latest Lithium Ion The Makita gets a great write up, Actually it is hard to go wrong with any of the top makes, Hitachi I was very disappointed with, after 2 years use both batteries will no longer hold a charge, in contrast on my last makita 9.6 volt i got almost 7 yaers before the batteries gave up.

I must add that my tools see a lot of use, I currently own 4 cordless including one impact, I also have a 3/8 corded and a 1/2' corded hammer drill both Makita.

Cheers Pat.

jfl

Watch winders are for people who have more than one automatic watch. Mine only runs for ~42 hours between wearings. If you switched between several watches, you'd have to reset a different watch each time you wore it. If it had a perpetual calendar, it would be a pain to reset...hence the winder.

No, I have no intention of getting a watch winder.

Regarding accuracy: my old quartz Seiko only lost a second or two a month when checked against NIST. I believe mechanical and automatic watches are allowed 5 to 7 seconds per day.

Jim

jfl

A watch is only as accurate as the person who set the time. (Len, yours would be very accurate!) However, quartz watches are very precise, mechanical watches typically less precise.

Jim
Picking nits...

lucien2

I almost got that Li-Ion Makita. But I was a little (ok a lot) skeptical about a lithium ion 18v drill for $200, when most other conventional cordless 18v drills were $250. I was worried that corners might have been cut in the motor robustness. And I also noticed they skipped the usual Makita livery in favor of a flashy black and grey color scheme. Almost as if to say, "this isn't part of our usual professional line of tools", ya know?

Well, anyways, I went off the deep end. Way off. Got her the new Festool 12v with eccentric and right angle attachments. It's pretty damned sexy. For a cordless drill, that is. But I figure it's likely the last drill she'll ever need...the reviews were off the charts.

http://www.festoolusa.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=2&prodid=PC1213S

I'm almost ashamed I spent that much, given how little money we have right now. But I figure she'd probably smoke a "hobby" drill after a couple of years, and we'd need to buy another and end up spending the same. Buy the best once, I say.

That's why I drive a Subie, after all....

(still....that's a cat-back for the little OBS.. or a brake upgrade PLUS endlinks PLUS some used 2.5RS seats. The things we do for love! :P )

hondafriek

Well Loosh she should be Happy with that drill, festool are supposed to be the Cadillac of tools. Mind you they should since they have Rolls Royce prices. Actually contrary to the usual practice of Raising prices Makita have actually managed to reduce prices.

A good percentage of my tools are Makita. IE 3 Routers, 2 cordless drills, 2 corded drills,10" slide compound Mitre saw. And so far I have had no reason to be disappointed in any of them.

Cheers Pat.

lucien2

Wowie.....this thing has to be seen to be believed. It's....well, I'm blown away by it. It feels fantastic, easy to use, compact, just amazing tactile/build quality. Lots of interesting, well thought out features. It's going to get a work out tomorrow and Sunday, so we'll see how it really performs.

rsholland

http://blogs.edmunds.com/Straightline/2031

slazenger

Had a chance to drive Mazda6 and Chevy Cobalt rental cars. I was surprised by both the cars.
Mazda6 engine is rev happy and some of the interior touches are very well thought out. It is OCB friendly (For e.g. plastic door sills extends to the floor of the car. This will make it easier to clean the mess that happens during ingress/egress.)
Cobalt is surprisingly quieter than latest Civic on highways. If you can look past a few plasticy interior parts, it is a decent car. Seat comfort is just OK.

rsholland

...will be offering out-of-the-box racers based on the WRX STI spec.C.

http://www.subaru.com.au/about-subaru/news/breaking-news/2007/01/02/subaru_tailo- r_makes_motorsport/

There are 7 different configurations aimed at the amateur right up to professional-level racers.

Mike, time to move to Oz?

Bob

rsholland

...will compete in select WRC events this coming year!

http://www.subaru.com.au/about-subaru/news/breaking-news/2006/12/19/pastrana_hea- ded_for_wrc/

This should be fun to watch.

Bob

paisan

Hmm, perhaps I can get SOA to do that here, I'd be willing to take a job with them in the sales end of that product. Hint, Hint, suttle suttle.

-mike

rsholland

http://www.drive.subaru.com/CurrentIssue.htm

lilbluewgn02

Michael is taking AP Chemistry this year and they had to do a project on the mole; a quantity of particles of any type equal to Avogadro's number, or 6.02×10 to the 23rd power particles. One gram-molecular weight of any molecular substance contains exactly one mole of molecules. The term mole is often used in place of gram-molecular weight; e.g., one speaks of 18 grams of water as one mole of water rather than as one gram-molecular weight of water. The mole is a unit in the International System of Units (SI). Of course the star mole(the rodent type) is the symbol for many chem teachers and there is an international Mole Day. His teacher provided patterns for them to cut out a mole(rodent) and Avogadro's number has to be on it. They also had to make a poster. Michael picked Hendrix, one of his favorite guitarists...here are the results:

rsholland

That's wild! Very creative.

Bob

fibber2

To try my best to get back on these boards as a regular participant. To not let the burdens of work, home, etc., keep me from taking a little time out for myself to spend with my web friends.

I have a gizillion entries to read in order to catch up. And now back to work.....

Steve

rsholland

I just posted a blog on the '08 QX56, a model I know you like.

http://blogs.edmunds.com/Straightline/2150

Bob

lilbluewgn02

Bob, this is the poster he did, using some images of Hendrix and a mole in photoshop.