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Just rotate F<>R without swapping sides, of course.
-juice
I got lost and hit what was essentially a ski slope, went airborne, and came down in a rut on the side of the road, on a large rock. I wasn't even speeding.
I've never been in an accident before. I guess my question is how do I know what is a fair price to be offered if the car is deemed totalled? Is this a bargaining process?
I posted in this section because I've gotten to know some of posters here, but can move the post to another area if this is not there is a better place.
Thanks for any advice.
tidester, host
I've never been in an accident before. I guess my question is how do I know what is a fair price to be offered if the car is deemed totalled? Is this a bargaining process?
It's a 2003 Subaru Forester XS with 28,000 miles, no accidents, one owner, clean, etc. Thanks for any help.
If anyone cares to read on, the following might help someone. After I got out of the car to see if I was OK, it really didn't look too bad. I called AAA and they pulled it out of the ditch, saw the damage was extensive and went back to get a flat bed. While they were gone, the state police (NH) came and removed the vehicle to whatever lot they use. So the original guy came back and found no car.
Lessons learned: 1) AAA does not cover these towing fees (at least with standard AAA), so make sure you know what you're covered for or what your insurance covers for towing. I now have to pay the initial pull out of the ditch, the return trip with the flatbed to find the car gone, the guy who the cops had do the actual towing, storage in his lot while I figured out where my care was, and finally towage to the final repair facility.
2) I didn't realize I had to call the police. I figured I had run off the road, nobody was hurt, no property damage, etc. Well, the state police were pretty angry and told me that I had created property damage to the earth and that I could face a year in jail for a misdemeanor but that they would only give me a speeding ticket instead on the assumption that I must have been going too fast for conditions.
So anyway, I apologizde for a long saga. Hopefully someone can offer advice on the financial aspects.
I revisited the scene today and it is unsafe at the speed limit in broad daylight. The neighbors report frequent runoffs. Pretty frustrating since I have a clean record and have been driving for 30 years.
Other conditions, including driving at night, in snow, rain or ice, means you must not go faster than those conditons would allow. Not knowing the road you are on, is another of those conditions that dictate a slower speed.
People can be, and often are, cited for going 35 in a 50 zone, if the driving conditions are such exceeding even 20 would be unsafe.
I see your point. On the other hand, is there no responsibility for the condition of a road to be consistent? Isn't it reasonable for me to expect a warning if there is a sudden hazard approaching in a road, such as "warning, uneven pavement, bump ahead, exercise caution"??
How about a stop sign???
I think you're saying that people should use reasonable caution when driving (and I agree), but if you take that to an extreme, I might as well get out and walk. Sometimes bad things happen and one doesn't necessarily need to receive a ticket. Maybe a stop sign would do more good.
I believe they also issue fog warnings in weather reports.
-juice
I agree that signage, such as "Curve Ahead", "Uneven Pavement" or "Icy" are of great help, and under budget constraints, woefully lacking in many localities. Sometimes all it takes is a phone call or email to the local road department to spark the placement of such signs. After all, it is unreasonable to expect a road department to know of, or anticipate all hazardous areas, so they need our help as well.
Over-use of "Stop" signs is a big problem, and generates more driver anger than any other sign. Not to mention impeding the flow of traffic in good weather. The problem you posted about, it doesn't seem as if a "Stop" without an intersection being right there, would help, and possibly create more of a hazzard than it would fix, especially in the Summer months.
If it were my call, possibly I would use the placement of temp caution signs, the ground-type, with the battery yellow blinkers on them, in the area you mention.
Anyway, I sure wish I hadn't gone off, I'm glad I'm not hurt badly, and if I were king of the world, I'd make it a four way stop sign.
I've had the Bridgestone Potenza 009s in stock size on my FXT for two weeks, and can already attest to them being a massive improvement over the Geos. I felt much more secure on wet roads during recent downpours, and haven't heard a peep out of them, much less managed to break them loose just yet (at least not on pavement ), whereas the Geosquealers certainly lived up to their name and reputation.
Doug
It's been a long time since I've posted, and it seems the Subaru forums are much less active now that Edmunds has split everything up for the Forester group. But since I've gotten so much out of these forums, I'm still going to let everyone know my $.02.
About 2 years ago, going on the high ratings of Consumer Reports and generally positive feedback elsewhere, I replaced my OEM Geos with the Falken Ziex ZE512 on my '03 Forester XS Premium.
My initial impressions (click here for full details eps105, "Subaru Forester (up to 2005)" #15940, 20 Jan 2005 6:35 pm) were very positive, with only one exception. They were quieter than the OEMs, stuck like glue in all wet and dry conditions, and improved my cornering tremendously, but if they were inflated more than about 10% over Subaru recommendations, I could feel each and every bump and rut on the road. So to compromise, I kept them inflated around 30-32 psi-- a good tradeoff between performance, quiet ride, and mileage.
I've now had them for 26,000 miles, and my opinion has changed drastically. They have gotten increasingly noisy as they've worn, and now exhibit a warbling noise at low to moderate speeds despite frequent rotations and alignment checks. The outsides have now worn almost completely bald, with about 5/32 remaining in the middle 50%. When it rains, I slide around as if there is ice on the road even at low to moderate speeds going around corners and accelerating. It's the first time in my 10 years of owning AWD Subarus that I've been able to spin my wheels from a stop!
These tires are shot and I'm generally disappointed. I know they're performance tires and only warrantied to last 45k, but 26k is too soon and I feel these tires have become dangerous in wet weather.
My brother bought the same tires at the same time on his '01 Forester. His fronts wore bald on the sides before the first rotation and were replaced under the prorated warranty. Yet the rears and the replacement fronts continued to wear quickly in the same fashion as mine, and he has since replaced them with Bridgestone Potenza G009s.
Bottom line -- the Ziex's are a good tire if you want to get a "bargain" price and only want to keep them for 20k miles. Otherwise, you'll get a lot more for your money buying a more expensive tire in the long run.
I know Juice has had good luck with the Falkens on his Miata, but I don't think they're a good match for the Forester.
Now, since then, I've been obsessively researching replacement tires. The Consumer Reports update on Performance tires 2 months ago helped point me in the right direction. After extensively researching tires that had a good blend of performance, wet handling, and quiet ride characteristics, I narrowed down my selection to Bridgestone Potenza G009's and Turanza LS-H, Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S, and Goodyear Assurance Tripletread.
My brother has G009s on both his Forester and Outback and is reasonably pleased, but my dad put them on his '01 Camry and said they're extremely noisy on the highlway and he was disappointed overall.
So in the end, I've found the most favorable tire pretty consistently to be the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S. They're #2 in CR, they have very good feedback and testing on TireRack, and the sales people at several stores (including a very experienced sales manager at Sears) all consistently pointed my toward this tire.
The best part is, they sell them at Costco-- FREE rotations, balancing, flat repairs, and roadside assistance for the life of the tire. And next month, they go for $60 off when you buy 4, making the out the door price about $113 per tire installed inlcuding 6% PA tax!
I'll report back in a few months after I've had them for a while and can test them on the PA winter roads.
Sorry this post is so long :sick: , but hopefully I've helped at least one person in cyberspace with their search.
Thanks, and happy holidays.
Elliot
Thanks! I put the Falken's on our Mazda MPV last year, and after 8,000 miles they are showing some wear on the insides of the fronts. I have been chalking it up to needing an alignment, and that is probably true. Otherwise they are a quiet and grippy tire, so far.
My OEM Geo's have 60.5k on them now, they still grip well and have another 10k on them if necessary. But, I was planning on putting on the Falkens shortly... now I think I will reconsider. Possibly back to the Geos, since I can get them free from my dealer using Subaru Bucks and I really only need to buy 3 anyway since the spare is a full size.
Another poster really likes the Yoko Avid H4 tire. I will take a look at that one, too.
Merry Christmas,
John
I can't give you a long-term review, just the 5K worth I put on the tires before trading in my Forester, but I would strongly suggest that you take a look at the Yoko Avid H4s.
They're rated 500/AA traction/A temperature, quiet as a churchmouse, great cornering, great in water (didn't get to use them in snow), excellent overall ride, and TireRack's got 'em for about $75 a pop.
The Exalto sounds great, and probably the Costco sale makes it a no-brainer for you, but I had to put in my $.02 about the Avids. I simply could not have been happier with them (and whoever bought our trade-in has to be ecstatic, too).
* I don't like the idea of 7 year old tires, no matter the mileage
* I drive 2 cars, so neither does a lot of miles per year
* I'm more than happy to replace the tires every 4 years or so
Longevity just wasn't a big priority for me. I'm still happy with mine, in fact we have them on all 3 cars now, 12 tires total, with no such problems.
-juice
John
So in the end, I think I'm going to stick with spending the extra money and get the Exaltos. Incidentally, the Exaltos got identical ratings to the Avids in all other categories (noise, ride, handling, etc.), so hopefully the Exaltos will prove to be everything you love about the Avids with the added benefit of decent snow traction.
Elliot
-Brian
I got alloys and clean them regularly, wax them at every rotation. Have not had the problem since.
-juice
I apologize if this has been discussed previously. I looked and did not see it specifically in this thread but very well could have missed it :-)
Long story short,
Last week one of my tires went flat and is unrepairable. The remaining three tires are at approximately half tread. My "spare" is a brand new tire of the same brand and make of the remaining three half tread tires.
I have been getting conflicting advice. Some tire people are telling me to replace the remaining three tires due to the AWD and others are telling me that if I put the new tire on a rear tire I should be fine. What is the concensus here? I am not real flush right now to purchase three new tires of the quality that I currently have so would likely have to compromise on quality if I went that route. I am also considering the option of "shaving" the new tire to half tread which seems a waste. I am interested in hearing others experiences and advice here.
Thanks so much :-)
In any case, the long and the short of it, per Subaru of America, dealers, and the owners manual, is that you cannot have a difference in tire circumference that exceeds 1/4 inch (which ain't a lot). If you have a drivetrain component failure because of tire circumferences that exceed this difference, even due to inflation pressures, your warranty may not be honored.
You can measure the spare to see if it's within this tolerance (it's probably not). Your cheapest option is probably to shave a single new tire. I don't know what kind of car/tire we're discussing here -- there are some really excellent replacement tires for the Forester, e.g., that you can get for 60-70 apiece.
I hope this helps -- good luck!
CR rated the Falken Ziex 512s a Best Buy, and discount tire direct carries them, as does VulcanTire.com. The latter was cheaper. I've used Vulcan on two seperate occasions, no problem. You can have the tires mounted at Wal Mart, even, or find a place they recommend.
You save enough ordering on-line that it's cheaper to order 4 tires this way, vs. 3 tires in person, even at a place like Costco. And that is IF you can find the exact OE tire so that you could use the spare.
Buy 4 new and consider the upgrade very worthwhile.
-juice
-mike
If you only want great wet traction for 20,000 miles or less, the Falkens are fantastic, but for value per mile, they are the most expensive tires I've ever owned.
I just put on a set of Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S on my Forester last week (which CR now rates higher than the Falkens) and so far they are great. If you live near a Costco, they have $60 off a set, making the total installed out the door price $107 per tire. I paid $453 with tax, and they include Nitrogen inflation for free, as well as free flat repairs and rotations for life!
Elliot
For me, I'd rather change tires more frequently anyway, as they age the rubber starts to crack and get hard. 3-4 years out of them and I'd be happy.
Your call, Michelins are good tires and may last a bit longer, but you definitely pay a lot more.
-juice
All-season Tires:
Dunlop SP5000s -Great 3 Season tire, not that great in snow about $100
Sumitomo HTR+ -Excellent 4 Season tire, better than SP5000 in snow $65
Summer Tires:
Faulken Azenis Sports -Great dry traction, not too bad in rain, around $125
Yokohama ES100s -Great dry traction, and wet traction better than Azenis in rain, not as good in dry, around $100
Race Tires:
Toyo RA1s -Great cold, wet grip, great tire longevity, not as good in dry as other race tires around $160
Kumho V710 -Great dry tire, good tire life, price is around $130ish
Yokohama Advan A048r -Great intermediate tire, good life, better grip than RA1s, less tread life, come in better sizes than the other 2, priced around $160
-mike
Heathcliff2
My '03 went to the dealer today for new tires, and since I wanted to use Subaru Bucks for the purchase, I figured that I would let them throw the OEM Geo's on, rotating the spare into the lineup.
I get a call towards noon, we can't get those tires for 4 days and what do you want us to do? They gave me a tire shop down the street, and the salesman was insistent that the Kumho Solus KR21 was a better tire all around, at a better price. I wasn't able to do much research but 10 mins on-line reading reviews, and it sounded like a quiet tire with other good characteristics.
Any of you have good/bad experience with this tire on your Forester?
John
Well this tire discussion may be lost in splitter limbo. Now if I post in the Forester board, I may get hollered at...hmm what to do.
John
I am glad that you are satisfied with the substitutes, though. Were you able to use your Subaru Bucks for them?
I like these tires very much, no barking at all when I do a slow speed turn in a parking lot. The worn out Geos would make the pedestrians run for cover even though I was only going 5 mph.
John
John
I got 4 tires mounted and balanced, power steering flush, AWD alignment and a "free" car wash. The out of pocket charge was $30. I think the total bill was $530.
In the past, I have called the dealer asking if I could buy tires. They do not like to sell tires over the counter, but many have a relationship with someone local where they can source tires when needed for a job.
These Kumhos have far exceeded my expectations. They handle great and are much quieter. They should get 60k tire life as well.
John
-mike
Best bang for the buck?
While once could be my luck, I don't believe every time is. Now I really concern about this car's tire quality and safety issue. I wonder if anyone else has similiar problem with the tires?
I called Subaru this morning, and was told tire is warrantied by bridgestone. Called bridgestone and will go for one of their shops for tire inspection. Is there anything else I shall consider to be 'preventive'? This is our primary family car and many times kids on it as well. I can't imagine what if same thing happens in highway, or in bad weather condition?
Bridgestone is reponsible for the warranty so definitely a good idea to go to one of their authorized stores to have all the tires inspected.