New Baja Owners - Give Us Your Report!

PF_Flyer

Congratulations on your Baja purchase! Let su know what you love about the Baja here and get to know your fellow Baja owners.

pagris

Well after keeping tabs on the Baja since its release in late 2002, its discontinuance by Subaru was the final piece of incentive that I needed to make the leap and I purchased an Atlantic Blue Sport in late August. Local dealers in my area (western Maryland) still had a few in stock - mostly automatic Sports (from what I have seen in visiting dealer's lots, manual Sports haven't been common in this area for some time). I was able to purchase one for $100 over invoice. Trying to get prices over the internet through Subaru's build your own page was a waste of time, as dealerships either didn't respond or responded with a 'call us.' My Baja was built in February and had been on the dealer's lot for 57 days when I purchased it.

Overall I am pleased with the Baja so far, though I know there will be times when it won't be able to haul what I want to carry. But I am figuring that 90% of the time it will be just fine. Overall I think it will be an excellent compromise between comfort, security, safety and utility for me. Too bad that more car buyers didn't see it as such.

ateixeira

It does 90% of the jobs with 50% of the fuel.

-juice

rsholland

Congrats! Where did you get it, Cumberland, Hagerstown, or Frederick?

Bob

pagris

I bought it at Thomas' in Cumberland. I first priced one at John Howard's in Morgantown (was their on business) and I could have gotten one from them at invoice - I believe they thought that if I left, I wouldn't be back - which wasn't necessarily true. But it had an options mix and dealer-applied pinstripes that didn't appeal to me. Sharrett in Hagerstown had the perfect one - no factory options at all - but the internet price request resulted in a "call us' - which I did, but never got in touch with the salesman 'assigned' to my inquiry - and he never got back to me.

Thomas had one with good options - bed extender and mud flaps - and they were advertising it at ~$500 over invoice with their non-negotiable pricing. After telling them about John Howard's at invoice price, their non-negotiable offer went down to $100 over invoice and I took it. They were fine to work with although I thought it was strange that they wanted to videotape the business office proceedings (!?) - never heard of that one before.

I am expecting that I will be pleased with it - I bought three other new Subarus during the '80s and '90s - my first new car was a 1982 1800 GL Hatchback - and they were all highly-satisfying purchases.

If I might, please allow me to ask a quick question - does Subaru still use that crushable oil drain plug washer that needs to be replaced with every change? If so, I need to get me a handful. Good Subaruing to you.

rsholland

I was at Thomas Subaru in Cumberland about a month ago, on a drive to western Maryland. They seem pretty friendly.

One thing I noticed with that dealer, and this may be true of many rural Subie dealers, is that they had far more "practical" Subies on the lot. I didn't seeing any models with turbos in stock. I thought that to be rather strange, but considering the customer base, the tough winters and terrain out there, perhaps not. I think their big seller is the base Forester X. They also sell a lot of H4 Outbacks.

Bob

pagris

Yes, I would have to agree that the base Foresters and Outbacks are quite common in the Cumberland area. In general, Subarus are popular in the western MD mountains (and neighboring WV and PA) - their well-deserved reputation for reliable all wheel drive transportation was well established when I moved to the area in the early '80s and seems to continue to this day.

Even Bajas are not uncommon here - I saw two on my 7 mile drive to work yesterday. But rarely have I ever seen a turbo Baja locally.

rsholland

That being the case, I'm surprised there aren't more Subie dealers out there. I would think Deep Creek Lake would be a good spot for one.

Bob

ateixeira

Yep, they still use a crush washer for the oil drain plug. Best way to get a good seal there.

-juice

pagris

Thanks, juice - I'll pick up a bunch - my wife swears that I change oil every other day.

crazedcommuter

How has the reliability on your Baja been. I live in Martinsburg and have been researching for a Baja for the last few weeks. Any major issues with the vehicle? How is the mpg? My son goes to college near Cumberland and I located a few used Bajas there and in the Morgantown area that I may look at on my next trip to visit him.

What issues should I look out for? I've read the posts from the folks with the engine noises and failures and was wondering if that is an inherent problem with the Baja, or all Subarus. Thanks

gifters

It does what I need it to do and it doesn't take no for an answer :mad: