Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Cheers!
Paul
On the Subi, I did it at 1100 miles, and again at 3.2k miles. Did I need to? Unknown, but it made me feel better. The key to engine wear is basic common sense. Like you, I have driven several of my new cars to well over 100k, and the engines were all in great shape.
Steve
500 mile intervals for the first 4 changes sounds excessive. I did my Forester at 1k, then 7500 miles, and both times the oil was clear, especially the first time.
I believe the drain plug is magnetic, so it would hold any metal shavings in the oil pan, where they can't harm anything.
-juice
Heather
-mike
Heather
-mike
Given your needs I think you made the right decision, and if you put your mind to it you'll enjoy having the power of the H6 plus all the amenities. It would be downright silly to trade it back at this point.
If you're still totally bummed I'll trade you even-up for my base Outback w/ 5sp :>)
Look at is this way - this is a phase in your life where you just need to be a little practical. There's nothing wrong with that, it's plain smart, actually.
I'm sure you will own a dozen more cars in your lifetime, so when you look at the big picture, my crystal ball shows a WRX 5 speed in your future. :-)
Your Bean has every features imaginable. It's almost ridiculous. People spend $10 grand, even $20 grand more than you did to get the same equipment in less reliable, less enjoyable cars.
I say enjoy the luxury, the pampering, the practicality. And know that the slushbox saves wear and tear on your knees, so when you're in your 40s you can take your kids to autocross, and race with them instead of just watching.
The crystal ball says your future looks so bright, you need to wear shades!
-juice
Heather
Come over to the Tri-state forum and you'll see a group of i-clubbers who doesn't ditch on ATs...
-mike
PS: Which forum on I-club are they ditching on ATs? I'll jump in there and put em in their place.
Gary: call 800-SUBARU3, or visit the web site and e-mail them for assistance. Or maybe a dealer would show you?
Heather: kids are fun too, have two and you'll have your own pit crew! :-)
Some people say i Club stand for "immature club" at times. Stick with us, we'll treat you better than that.
-juice
Don't know how the '00+ MYs works. On the '98, you'll have to work with both top and bottom (pain in the b'hind) knobs. The top controls more of the up/down aim and the bottom more of the left/right aim.
-Dave
I understand how you can feel on the I-Club, however it does depend on where you are. I have an OB and participate on the Tri-State Forum occasionally. While most of them are Impreza "fanatics" I have found that our group have treated me right. It could be because Paisan keeps them in shape, but I have found them to be a fun group of people who encourage everyone to join in and have fun! Enjoy your Bean wagon, its a nice ride!
Mark
Call me lazy, but I don't feel like scrolling thru 5,500 posts in order to find it.
Can anyone make a current recommendation for such a product?
It went into more detail than most people will ever want to know. The guy pulled them apart to discover how they compared internally, and this also revealed that some were identical even though different brands. If I remember correctly he used them in both standard and tweaked engines but didn't have the ability to analyse the oil afterwards, so it is a theoretical comparison based on construction.
Heather
-juice
Cheers!
Paul
-juice
Anyway, I think if I were you, for the time being, I'd stay away from the boards that are bashing your new car. I'm getting a lot of head turns with my Outback, and I just have the base model! It handles differently from my old Camry, and I miss the feel of the old car a bit, but I love the ride in the Outback. Speed bumps, railroad tracks, ruts and holes in the road are nothing to this car! Mostly, right now I miss the Camry's seats... the Subaru seat and I are still getting used to each other. Or maybe my back is sore for another reason.
Anyway, I think I'd concentrate on getting a feel for the new car. When you miss your old car, think of how much safer you and your family are in the new one. I think of my car as my little tankette... TOUGH! STURDY! VERSATILE!
Cynthia
Rob
-mike
John
Heather
YetAnotherDave
P.S. I'll throw in the cargo net, too.
-juice
PS How did the talk with the hubby go, Heather?
Rich - you play hockey? Me too! Got our butt kicked Saturday night (lost some players to golf for the spring). Anyway, I find my hockey bag fits perfectly in the back and with a low entry level it helps with a tired back after the game, late at night.
Greg
Greg
Anyway, once he calmed down- 2 days later- We drove my 2002 OBS on Mother's Day. I loved it and so did he! I did not expect him to love it. He said, "It is butt ugly, but it has a lot more road feel and a fun factor that the Outbacks could never have." He will let me trade-in his 2001 Outback for it. It will be the same payments except 6 months longer. We'd loose the extra trunk space, the better brakes, the limited slip differential. But I'd feel happier and gain the fun factor back. I am an Impreza person through and through. We'd still have the Bean for long road trips in luxury and style. I was regretting the $$$ more then anything. The Bean added $20,000 and 4 years to my OBS loan! But I do LOVE it! Only hope she does not bankrupt us in the process. I don't work and hubby is in construction- a very volitile profession to say the least! Also, the tire place www.tires.com said I could take back my old tires and exchange the new ones for new OBS tires for FREE! That is so nice of them- please shop there! So it's up to me, but it would cost more then the 2001 Outback and it does not depreciate as well either. This would be my 4th Impreza! The Bean is our 4th Legacy. Needless to say we've been through a lot of cars over the last several years! We had reasons for them all, but this one is purely emotional on my part. The 2001 Outback is perfect (except for sqeaky brakes and a speaker is out)and has only 5,900 miles on it!
My birthday is next week. We will see how it turns out. Either hubby will mellow out and let me do it, or say NO MORE CARS for good! He'd have to give up his Outback that is manual and drive the Bean. He prefers manuals more then I do too, so it would be a big sacrafice on his part. I will let him drive my OBS though once in a while! She's a keeper if I get this one and so is Green bean!
Thanks for your concern and replies during this confusing time!!
Heather
He likes manuals too, so my unsolicited opinion is that he shouldn't have pushed you into an automatic. Letting him drive that car just seems appropriate.
As far as the looks go, who cares, it'll be yours anyway. I find them endearing, spunky. They stand out from the crowd.
Good luck.
-juice
Personally I like the way the OBS looks and after studying the RS vs. WRX vs. OBS and what you get in each, I can easily see why someone would choose the OBS (although I can see why anyone would choose any Subaru).
Really nice of Tires.com to do that for you. I will have to keep that in mind. We are ripping through tires this year and maybe my OB will get a new set for next winter. Then it is guaranteed not to snow.
Greg
-juice
Feeling better already? ))
It's fun, but also cramped, loud, harsh, windy, etc. Get back in the Bean and it will seem like a limo.
-juice
My husband, has the 2001 manual Outback. It has the clutch studder and the brakes squeal and the dealer says nothing is wrong. Anyway, for a month now he was talking about an automatic but did not explain why. He wanted a truck. I knew we could not afford 3 car payments. We tried to fit a baby seat in the back of a Nissan CrewCab truck, but it would not fit at all with anyone in the front seats. No way! Then he mentioned the L.L. Bean. It was our 11th wedding anniversary and Chico did not have one, so we took a drive to Redding in the OBS. He was so crammed in the back seat and the wind noise was so loud we could not even speak to one another. They had the Timberline Greeb Bean there and we both fell head over heals. We bought it 2 days later by trading in my car. I was being rational- bigger, smoother, nicer, safer, etc.
I did not think I was so attached to my Little Sister OBS.
One week later- Heartache over OBS. Still there 6 weeks later. Rational does not follow the heart! I am not a drone nor am I a vulcan. Although I LOVE Star trek! We drove new OBS and love it even better! And it's much safer and quieter then the old one. It has more rear leg room but less cargo room it seems like. The stroller fits fine and that's all I need for now. My Specialized 2000 Enduro Sport in silver will look great on it and I can actually reach my bike now! I am 5'11" and still can not reach my bike on top of the Outback's with the Yakima cross bars. Too tall!
We do not like the look of 2 Outbacks in the garage. Looks like 2 of the same cars. I miss the fun factor of the OBS and how easy it is to see out of and manuever. It will cost the same per month but he'd have to give up his Outback.
I don't want him upset and I don't want to be unhappy either. By this wekend we should know for sure what to do. OBS OBS OBS OBS! If you all chant that maybe it will happen for me!
Heather
In another thread you mentioned WRX wagon, too. Those are fun rides.
One key thing: make sure whatever you choose becomes YOUR car, and he gets the LL Bean. As a matter of fact, if he falls too heavily for the WRX, you may still end up with the Bean, and not be happy.
If that's the case, pick the OBS so he knows it's yours.
-juice
I'm a big believer in that, myself, a car is a BIG THING. And we spend a lot of time in them. Why spend that kind of money only to be unhappy? That's why I'm picky about stuff like exterior and interior colors, and how a car feels to me, because I know that I will want to like it for a long time and feel good about it.
Of course, I am somewhat different in my tastes, and often must look at the trunk of a car before anything else. My fun-factor having to do with how much stuff I can haul. ;^)
So go for that OBS!
Cynthia
The good news is: after two weeks, I now have my car back all fixed. It took so long because of insurance needing to look at it again and waiting on parts. It also took a while because some service work was also performed. The service work consisted of turning all four rotors on the car and re-aligning the car. Last week, I met with the local district rep to let him feel how my brakes would progressively vibrate worse as they heated up, and how the car would pull ever so slightly to one side.
The brakes have been a sore spot for me...supposedly, another Subaru dealer here in town put new rotors and pads on at 16k miles because of warped rotors, but here I am at 27K and they were doing it again, but worse. The local rep felt that it would be best to turn the rotors on the vehicle and make up for any anomolies in ths hub...I just hope 10K mi from now I am not back at square 1.
The alignment was kinda weird...although the car was within spec, each setting was somewhere near one extreme or another of the limits. The rep felt it would be best if the alignment was re-done, but this time trying to make all measurements as close to spec as possible.
Bottom line is, for now the car looks and drives like new (or better since its broken in!)
BTW...my rental car for the last couple of weeks was a Focus...not a bad car but it sure makes me appreciate my Bean!
Also, I recommend Classic Cadillac/Subaru in Sandy Springs to anyone looking for a trustworthy and reliable dealer here in Atlanta. Far supperior to those jokers in Alpharetta!
-r
"The alignment was kinda weird...although the car was within spec, each setting was somewhere near one extreme or another of the limits. The rep felt it would be best if the alignment was re-done, but this time trying to make all measurements as close to spec as possible."
We need more like this rep. If a spec. is 2 degrees, plus/minus 0.5 degrees, it's absurd to think that 2.5 degrees is OK, but 2.51 degrees is bad.
Often, spec. tolerances are based more on manufacturing/assembly capability, and less on vehicle performance. We should not accept a dealer's statement that "it's in spec." We need to ask where the measurement falls in the spec. range. If it's near one of the limits, push for an adjustment.
-mike
My 2001 Bean also has a brake problem. I had the front rotors resurfaced at 10K, now at 22.5K I have the same grind/pulse feel when braking. I'm bringing it in next week. I'll post the results...
Ralph