And here I was bemoaning that they were not going to include a Spec-B Wagon in the line-up.....
Difficult for me to say as I'm on my 5th Suby wagon, but if I totalled my OBXT manual today, I would not replace it with a Subaru. My replacement would most likely be a V70R, which are a screaming deal at present. What to do with all my Subaru bucks? Listening SOA?
On a lighter note, it seems Bruce Willis is endorsing the Legacy in Japan. After following the link below, it seems Bruce is the middle portion of the "Think. Feel. Drive." campaign. (I'm joking, since I assume that's only an American marketing campaign.) I wonder who will represent Think and Drive?
As far as the armrest, yes that was an oversight and I'm not sure how they could have not caught that one before production! My Subaru dealer still shows the armrest extension for 2006 and that's amazing.
Anyway, I'd suggest trying the various online sites, ebay or your dealer to get the price of the armrest extension as low as possible and pay for it if you must. It should never have been designed this way from scratch, though. Maybe they were thinking about the few complaints about the Forester's armrest seeming too flimsy, but that's about the only thing I could think of - and that's a lousy excuse, anyway, considering the Outback is an all-new model.
$109 for the unit. They have both colors in stock. They will accept Subaru Bucks. I will probably take a ride down there next week (around 100 miles) & p/u one. They say it is easy to install. It does not give any more storage room, however (some customers think it does) Also, if you mail order it they would want to Subaru bucks in first, than would send the unit. And, of course like others that accept the bucks, no change. But, not a big deal with a item for $109. The best price I had from a dealer was $150 or 155 installed. I don't think it will difficult to install.
hi everyone I am new to this thread. I am thinking about purchasing a new legacy gt limited sedan automatic.(rear spoiler and equipment package i)
My local cincinnati dealer gave me this quote:, Selling price ; 28,563 doc fee; 100 sub-total; 28,663 sales tax 1863 Title; 25 total: 30, 551 rebate ; 1000
Final price out of the door; 29,551
Should i try to bring down the price by another 1000 dollars.
also has anybody had experience purchasing online through fitzmall.com. they seem to have much lower prices. are they reliable. has anybody got better prices from closeby dealers? ex dayton, lexington , etc
I bought from Fitzmall, they are about 160 miles from me. Great experience. They usually have the best prices around. Back in July 05, I paid invoice price for my OB XT Ltd.
It's hard to comment on your specific case, but do this -- get the invoice price for your car from Edmunds. Then knock off for any incentives in your area (check the Subaru website for incentives if Edmunds doesn't list them). Then shoot for a range of that price to $500-$1000 under that price.
I have never paid more than invoice for any Subaru, and have gone as low as $1300 under invoice. At the end of the model year, you should be getting a very good deal. Personally, I would be using Fitzmall as the deal to meet/beat or come close to. They usually have the best prices and have factored in all the incentives, year-end deals, etc....
In my case, it was a no-brainer to drive 160 miles in 2.5 hours to get my car rather than waste time with the local dealers. I saved a lot of money.
If I can give you more specific info on my experience at Fitzmall, contact me at "craig dot hunter at cox dot net". It's against the rules at Edmunds to give specifics online, but I can tell you more privately.
Thanks for the posts, guys! The invoice for the vehicle i quoted is 28,509. There is a 1000 dollar rebate for this car.so invoice is 27,509 . Then i should bargain for 500-1000 dollars below this price then add taxes, title etc. also dealer has got a demo with 5000 miles on it which he will sell for 25,500 ie 2000 dollars below invoice , after rebates. Do you think this a better deal?
1) you are Ok with a used car that has probably been put through its paces, and
2) they price it like a used car. If you were trying to trade that exact car in, it would be going for a LOT less than $25500. See if you can find the blue book for an 05 with 5000 miles, treated as a used car.
I paid $27.5 for my GT LTD back in May. Invoice was 28.5, and sticker was $30.5. I also got the $500 cash back and 2.9 financing on top of this.
Another $500 - $1000 off the price would not be unreasonable. Depends how desperate the dealer is to move the car. Shoot for 26.5 - 27.0.
I would stay away from the demo. If you can afford a little more, go for the new car. If not, knock off another $1000, and have them throw in a 100k warrantee. Good Luck! Rob M.
I broke down and lost control! Can't hold it any longer! Can't wait for the 2006 to come out ! I brought a 2005 XTOB. Beautiful car - no complain so far except I have to bring the car in for wheel alignment after 400 miles! Thank everybody for giving me great advice in regard about the turbo motor. I decided to get it. From talking to some ex-turbo owner, they advice warming up the motor for at least one minute and cooling down(idling) for two minute before shutting down the motor. They also recommend installing a turbo timer. Any opinion in that regard? :confuse:
The Subaru OBXT does not need a cooldown period because of the way the cooling system is designed. After the engine is shut off, the coolant drips onto the turbocharger from the tank directly above it and cools it down. No need for a turbo timer either.
You don't need to baby the turbo like that (wouldn't it be a pain??). Subaru uses a water cooled bearing turbo that continues to receive coolant circulation even after the engine is shut off.
You should definitely refrain from whaling on the engine prior to shutting it off, but I would say that about any engine!!
Turbo timers are basically gadgets for recent model Subarus. The only people that install them are doing it for show/coolness.
Craig and Samiam - Thank for the info on the turbo engine I can sleep better at night now :shades:
What do you think of the all weather floor mats make by Weathertech and Husky compare to the factory allweather floor mats? I read a thread earlier complaining about the water getting into the hole that kept the factory floor mats in place
About seat cover - I'm thinking about putting on a Wet Okole neoprene seat cover. My fiend have a set and he speak very highly of it!
As I read through the owner manual, it recommend not using any cover over the seats dual to side airbag. Any ideal or way to use it without having it interfere with the side airbag :confuse:
I go snowboarding a lot and get the floors and car seats wet quite often :surprise:
Can you put two factory sub - one under each seat? Splice the second sub wiring to the first sub?
I've had the WeatherTech rubber mats in both of my Subies and dw's MPV and her previous Saturn. I know there's more inexpensive versions out there, but the WT's do their job.
delaers are using the so called " black book" pricing, which updates every month. Price is '20%-30% less then in the blue book. No dealer will offer for a trade-in, based on blue book pricing. They will only smile at you.... Dan
i got the nice rubbermaid mats from Target, it is really nice not heavy but weather proof. designed such that water won;t come out of mats on to the floor.
The factory winter mats are OK, and they fit well. In some model Subarus, the winter mats are kind of small -- exposing more carpet. Almost all of our Subarus came with the winter mats (dealer ordered them that way). They spend most of the year in my garage, but I do bust them out when we go on ski trips. The area around the "peg" hole is raised (at least on the mats I have seen), so water would have to be almost overflowing from the mat to get in the peg hole. Actually, the "peg" fell out on my 05 XT, and I haven't bothered to replace it yet!
Technically, you could hook up two subs -- the harnesses would probably be able to daisy chain quite easily. The only thing that would worry me is power -- they draw power from the radio circuit. I would probably run a separate power lead for two subs.
Honestly, though, one sub is plenty for most of the music I listen to. Two would be ridiculous and probably not sound good. If you are serious about bass, better to invest the money in one "good" aftermarket sub instead of two factory subs.
I am thinking about purchasing a 2005 Legacy wagon, but am concerned about the fact that they scored a Marginal rating on the side impact crash tests conducted by the IIHS. What do you guys think about these results? Think it's a real problem? This is the only thing that's holding me back from buying right now. Should I wait for the 2006 model? Thanks for any advice you can provide!
2005 outback sedan 3.0r the sound from the radio is pretty good but not great. Does the subwoofer make enough of a difference to justify the cost? Where is a good place to get one?
The factory subwoofer while not spectacular, does make a huge difference. I had mine installed by the dealer when I bought my GT sedan. It took about an hour, so the installation charge was reasonable. Rob M.
i believe the variance in the legacy versus the OB wagons are due to the IIHS using a SUV height side impact in their tests. the reason for the difference is that the legacy wagon is lower than the OB wagon, thus the height of the side impact device should have hit above some of the side protection in the legacy wagon.
The better side impact result for the Outback over the Legacy is a good argument for buying the Outback: If you are hit by a large high bumper SUV like a Tahoe or Excursion, you'll need all the protection you can get.
So I bought my 2005 LL Bean last August. Sometime in the winter I noticed a crescent shaped chip in the rear hatch window. It was in the inside of the window, in a spot totally unaccessible (Lower right corner), where the glass sits up against the car rubber or metal. I pointed it out to the dealer when I was there for an oil change. I told the woman I didnt need to have it replaced (I mentioned it here and someone told me its better to stick with the factory glass because they will always manage to screw it up if they replace it later), but the woman said I should have it fixed now because its under warranty. She said they hada professional glass company come in and do it and they would factory order the Subaru glass for me...So I caved!
The first time I brought it in to be fixed, they did it and it looked great etc...Then we drove away and later opened up the hatch and could hear glass rattling around inside the door. Plus they didnt snap the inside door moldings back on correctly. So I brought it back and the guy at Subaru was going to have the glass co. come to my work to take care of it. So the guy gets there a few days later and looks at it and tells me he cant get that glass out. There is no way to access it. He did fix the moldings though. Also, the rear spoiler on the top of the window was loose so he tightened that. But the white clip that is there to guide the spoiler into place was really mangled.
My husband called the Subaru dealership and told them it was unacceptable. They agreed and told me to bring the car back to them and they would get the glass out. So they said they had the manager of the glass co. come out and fix it all for me. The rattling noise was gone and they replaced that white clip. Like new!
Fast forward 6-7 weeks. This weekend I realize that my back hatch is not locking. You can lock all the other doors but the back lock doesnt work. So I have been driving around for over a month thinking my car has been locked up when in fact anyone could have opened up the back door easily. I call Subaru and they tell me to call the glass place. Argh! My husband of course was livid and called Subaru back and nicely explained to the lady that we brought the car to them to have fixed, why should we have to call around to the glass company that THEY hired to have the problem fixed??? In the end we end up calling the glass place and I brought my car in on Wednesday and they took apart the back door (AGAIN!) and there was glass sticking to the lock (from all the grease) and that was preventing the lock from working....which brings me to my final vent - they probably never got the original glass out, they probably just sprayed so much grease into the door that all the glass is sticking to the grease. So I will probably be dealing with the glass rattling again sometime down the road.
I am not impressed with the service at Subaru. I feel like they should have inspected the job that the glass people did the first time to make sure it was 100% correct before telling me it was fixed. BTW, the glass looks great, its just all the problems dealing with the broken glass that sucks.
As others have posted, the OB and Legacy have identical body structures with respect to crash protection. The only difference, which probably improved the OB scores, is the fact that the OB has about 2-3" more ground clearance.
Note, however, that the OB has not yet been tested by the IIHS yet. It was tested only by the NHTSA. The IIHS uses a more conservative crash test dummy (small female model vs. average male model) so the results would be more severe.
I personally would not let the side impact results deter you from getting a good buy on the 2005s if you can find one. Crash tests simulate one specific set up. If I knew the only crash setup that I would ever encounter was that modeled by the IIHS, sure I would get the OB over the Legacy. But driving is a dynamic environment with many variables that could skew results one way or another. The same ground clearance that improves side impacts with SUVs also makes the vehicle less stable in turns. Both the OB and Legacy have tested well around the world so let the law of averages decide for you.
Kristen, it always annoys me, but dealerships and their subcontractors are just not very good at this kind of work. They always tend to massacre the repair and make it worse than before, or provide generally crappy service and leave you responsible for dealing with the problems. I don't know what else to say other than I understand your frustration but am not surprised. This is not unique to Subaru; it happens on every other make as well (my friend even had issues like this on his Mercedes). Somewhere along the line, the notion of quality work went out the door!!
Thanks for the sympathy. I guess I am not that surprised either. I just never had to have routine work done to my old used Corolla so I never had to deal with the dealership except for having body work done twice which was always done right.
At least the glass looks good. Although I am just waiting for fall to come when I have to use the rear defogger. It better work!
Comments
-juice
Bob
http://www.cars101.com/subaru/legacy/legacy2006.html
Scroll down about 1/8 of the page under Model Overview 06 Legacy.
Bob
-B
They add a few options and take some others away, so it hasn't really improved the variety of the offerings.
-juice
Difficult for me to say as I'm on my 5th Suby wagon, but if I totalled my OBXT manual today, I would not replace it with a Subaru. My replacement would most likely be a V70R, which are a screaming deal at present. What to do with all my Subaru bucks? Listening SOA?
Martin
-juice
http://www.subaru.co.jp/topics/t-2005/legacy_day3/
I'm not sure what all the "Legacy Day" stuff is about, though.
Anyway, I'd suggest trying the various online sites, ebay or your dealer to get the price of the armrest extension as low as possible and pay for it if you must. It should never have been designed this way from scratch, though. Maybe they were thinking about the few complaints about the Forester's armrest seeming too flimsy, but that's about the only thing I could think of - and that's a lousy excuse, anyway, considering the Outback is an all-new model.
I am new to this thread. I am thinking about purchasing a new legacy gt limited sedan automatic.(rear spoiler and equipment package i)
My local cincinnati dealer gave me this quote:,
Selling price ; 28,563
doc fee; 100
sub-total; 28,663
sales tax 1863
Title; 25
total: 30, 551
rebate ; 1000
Final price out of the door; 29,551
Should i try to bring down the price by another 1000 dollars.
also has anybody had experience purchasing online through fitzmall.com. they seem to have much lower prices. are they reliable. has anybody got better prices from closeby dealers? ex dayton, lexington , etc
thanks for the suggestions
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Edmunds Moderator
It's hard to comment on your specific case, but do this -- get the invoice price for your car from Edmunds. Then knock off for any incentives in your area (check the Subaru website for incentives if Edmunds doesn't list them). Then shoot for a range of that price to $500-$1000 under that price.
I have never paid more than invoice for any Subaru, and have gone as low as $1300 under invoice. At the end of the model year, you should be getting a very good deal. Personally, I would be using Fitzmall as the deal to meet/beat or come close to. They usually have the best prices and have factored in all the incentives, year-end deals, etc....
In my case, it was a no-brainer to drive 160 miles in 2.5 hours to get my car rather than waste time with the local dealers. I saved a lot of money.
If I can give you more specific info on my experience at Fitzmall, contact me at "craig dot hunter at cox dot net". It's against the rules at Edmunds to give specifics online, but I can tell you more privately.
CRaig
i got 4.5k off 32k msrp in my OB XT Ltd.
The invoice for the vehicle i quoted is 28,509. There is a 1000 dollar rebate for this car.so invoice is 27,509 . Then i should bargain for 500-1000 dollars below this price then add taxes, title etc.
also dealer has got a demo with 5000 miles on it which he will sell for 25,500 ie 2000 dollars below invoice , after rebates. Do you think this a better deal?
iknev
don't get the demo. demo warranty starts from day you bought it & it would have been tested to the limits.
be safe with a new one esp. with such discount.
I am located in cincinnati, ohio
1) you are Ok with a used car that has probably been put through its paces, and
2) they price it like a used car. If you were trying to trade that exact car in, it would be going for a LOT less than $25500. See if you can find the blue book for an 05 with 5000 miles, treated as a used car.
Craig
Another $500 - $1000 off the price would not be unreasonable. Depends how desperate the dealer is to move the car. Shoot for 26.5 - 27.0.
I would stay away from the demo. If you can afford a little more, go for the new car. If not, knock off another $1000, and have them throw in a 100k warrantee. Good Luck! Rob M.
Thank everybody for giving me great advice in regard about the turbo motor. I decided to get it.
From talking to some ex-turbo owner, they advice warming up the motor for at least one minute and cooling down(idling) for two minute before shutting down the motor. They also recommend installing a turbo timer.
Any opinion in that regard? :confuse:
You should definitely refrain from whaling on the engine prior to shutting it off, but I would say that about any engine!!
Turbo timers are basically gadgets for recent model Subarus. The only people that install them are doing it for show/coolness.
Craig
What do you think of the all weather floor mats make by Weathertech and Husky compare to the factory allweather floor mats?
I read a thread earlier complaining about the water getting into the hole that kept the factory floor mats in place
About seat cover - I'm thinking about putting on a Wet Okole neoprene seat cover. My fiend have a set and he speak very highly of it!
As I read through the owner manual, it recommend not using any cover over the seats dual to side airbag. Any ideal or way to use it without having it interfere with the side airbag :confuse:
I go snowboarding a lot and get the floors and car seats wet quite often :surprise:
Can you put two factory sub - one under each seat?
Splice the second sub wiring to the first sub?
-Brian
Price is '20%-30% less then in the blue book.
No dealer will offer for a trade-in, based on blue book pricing. They will only smile at you....
Dan
-juice
Yowsah. Quicker than the S4, also quicker than just about everything else. And Autoweek's times are not usually the best.
It's a glowing review if you read through it. And the '06 gets Nav to address one of their complaints.
-juice
Technically, you could hook up two subs -- the harnesses would probably be able to daisy chain quite easily. The only thing that would worry me is power -- they draw power from the radio circuit. I would probably run a separate power lead for two subs.
Honestly, though, one sub is plenty for most of the music I listen to. Two would be ridiculous and probably not sound good. If you are serious about bass, better to invest the money in one "good" aftermarket sub instead of two factory subs.
Craig
Does the S4 come with summer tires? It would be interesting if car magazines would put on similar tires for their comparisons.
Ken
Thanks for any advice you can provide!
the sound from the radio is pretty good but not great. Does the subwoofer make enough of a difference to justify the cost?
Where is a good place to get one?
I dont know much about installation.
could someone recommend what has worked for them.
The first time I brought it in to be fixed, they did it and it looked great etc...Then we drove away and later opened up the hatch and could hear glass rattling around inside the door. Plus they didnt snap the inside door moldings back on correctly. So I brought it back and the guy at Subaru was going to have the glass co. come to my work to take care of it. So the guy gets there a few days later and looks at it and tells me he cant get that glass out. There is no way to access it. He did fix the moldings though. Also, the rear spoiler on the top of the window was loose so he tightened that. But the white clip that is there to guide the spoiler into place was really mangled.
My husband called the Subaru dealership and told them it was unacceptable. They agreed and told me to bring the car back to them and they would get the glass out. So they said they had the manager of the glass co. come out and fix it all for me. The rattling noise was gone and they replaced that white clip. Like new!
Fast forward 6-7 weeks. This weekend I realize that my back hatch is not locking. You can lock all the other doors but the back lock doesnt work. So I have been driving around for over a month thinking my car has been locked up when in fact anyone could have opened up the back door easily. I call Subaru and they tell me to call the glass place. Argh! My husband of course was livid and called Subaru back and nicely explained to the lady that we brought the car to them to have fixed, why should we have to call around to the glass company that THEY hired to have the problem fixed??? In the end we end up calling the glass place and I brought my car in on Wednesday and they took apart the back door (AGAIN!) and there was glass sticking to the lock (from all the grease) and that was preventing the lock from working....which brings me to my final vent - they probably never got the original glass out, they probably just sprayed so much grease into the door that all the glass is sticking to the grease. So I will probably be dealing with the glass rattling again sometime down the road.
I am not impressed with the service at Subaru. I feel like they should have inspected the job that the glass people did the first time to make sure it was 100% correct before telling me it was fixed. BTW, the glass looks great, its just all the problems dealing with the broken glass that sucks.
-juice
Note, however, that the OB has not yet been tested by the IIHS yet. It was tested only by the NHTSA. The IIHS uses a more conservative crash test dummy (small female model vs. average male model) so the results would be more severe.
I personally would not let the side impact results deter you from getting a good buy on the 2005s if you can find one. Crash tests simulate one specific set up. If I knew the only crash setup that I would ever encounter was that modeled by the IIHS, sure I would get the OB over the Legacy. But driving is a dynamic environment with many variables that could skew results one way or another. The same ground clearance that improves side impacts with SUVs also makes the vehicle less stable in turns. Both the OB and Legacy have tested well around the world so let the law of averages decide for you.
Ken
Craig
At least the glass looks good. Although I am just waiting for fall to come when I have to use the rear defogger. It better work!