Dennis, If your bumper has only been scraped and scratched an auto body shop should be able to repair it. They can sand it, fill in the scracpes with an epoxy type material and then paint it to match. Depending on the damage it could also be repaired with a buffer.
I've never had my OB bumper repaired but I did have a 12" gouge on the bumper of my daughter's Mazda repaired and it looks as good as new. Vince
Okay, here's the deal. I accidentally left the trunk of my dad's '00 OB Ltd. sedan slightly open, but it was enough to leave the light on and kill the battery. We jumped the car and now the battery's fine, but the the alarm status light (just below the gear indicator in the cluster) blinks when the car is off. Anyone know how to stop this. FWIW - it's not in check status mode (which is activated by turning the key from "lock" to "on" twice). Any help would be appreciated.
Seth, Look under the dash where the hood release lever is. Behind the lever you'll see a teenie weenie button, that is if they haven't changed the position for MY '00 on. Depress it.
Hope it works
-Dave
p/s I remember an image of it's position was posted here.
I recently replaced my front bumper owing to scraping up pretty bad against a garage pillar. It cost @ $625. It could have been repaired but it was almost as expensive and it wouldn't have been perfect. For the few extra dollars it's worth replacing.
I finally got the courage to plunge down my money to buy 2002 regetta red LL Bean. Thought about buying the 2003 model. I didn't care for the ON STAR symtem, and I don't see much different between 2002 and 2003 model. Besdies, the price was too good to be passed on for the 2002 model. Paid $26,400.00 plus tax and license. The deciding factors for buying SUBARU OUTBACK LL BEAN:
1. IIHS Crash Test ( Best Pick) 2. SUBARU offers station wagon with 6 cylinders 3. Above average reliability 4. AWD
I just purchased a Regatta Red 02 LL Bean. I paid $25700 in central NJ and my wife loves the car. The six is a pleasure to drive and seems to be built quite well. I was looking at a Passat but they could not even come close in price with just their base model and a few options. If the Subie holds up as well as my 93 G20 Infiniti I will be very happy.
Although I paid $300 more than self_mechanic for my 2002 Bean about five weeks ago, I'm still more than happy with the purchase. All of the reasons self listed for choosing the Bean over competitive offerings apply, and I can add a couple of others:
5. More usable cargo space 6. Quieter, smoother ride
So far it's been great, although I can list one complaint - my wife gets to drive it more than I do!
That is a great price you got in NJ area Awdsubie. When I checked the price at carsdirect.com web site last Friday for Bay Area ZIP CODE, the 02 LL Bean was listed for $26,417.00. I asked the Downtown Subaru dealer in Oakland CA to beat the price. After 5 minutes of haggling, the dealer agreed to sell me for $26,400.00. I don't know whether I could have done better. The price is still $800.00 below invoice, and I am very happy with the price that I paid. Besides, the dealer needs to make some profit. With that price, I don't know how the dealers are making money. Probably from the sevices. This morning, when I checked the carsdirect.com web site, 02 LL Bean is selling for $26,217.00, $200.00 less than last Friday. So far I am very pleased with the car; quiet, great amenities and vey silky H6 engine.
Congrats to AWDNewbie and Alland! I thought I was seeing double, you even got the same color! :-)
dassub: lemme guess, Regatta Red?
There was a $750 incentive last time I checked, but that's still $50 under invoice, which is great. Dealers get a small holdback but that barely covers their costs.
You may have seen from my previous post about bumpers that my rear driver's side corner was a victim of a hit and run about a month ago. The estimate for the repair is $1150, which includes a new bumper cover and paint, new tail light lens, and the repair and repainting of the small piece of sheet metal that wraps around the corner. The sheet metal damage is a tiny dimple. I'm trying to decide if I should have them fix it or leave it alone. I'd like to have the car back to "like new" condition, because it only has 6,000 miles on it, but my fear is that it will be noticeable that it was repaired. On the other hand, I will always notice the dimple and it will drive me crazy. Any thoughts?
I had to make the exact same decision a while back. A dime-sized dimple was on my left rear 1/4 panel, and so they had to repaint the entire thing.
I had the clearcoat peel on my last car, which was partially repainted. I'm sure some shops are good enough to prevent that, but I tried a different strategy this time.
I got some navel jelly and cleaned the ding thoroughly, then used a bit of touch-up paint, applied very carefully. It's so small noone notices it but me, and I know the paint won't peel or mismatch the OE paint.
We carry kids and dogs in it, plus I use it for the Home Depot runs, so it's not going to be perfect no matter what. I'm OK with that, question is, are you?
juice - No, you won't be seeing triple. The Regatta Red is nice, but the Jimmy we just replaced and the Audi she drove before were both red, so my wife wanted a different color vehicle this time. We went with the Wintergreen, which our salesman told us was in line with about 50% of his Outback customers this year. Fortunately, there don't seem to be as many Outbacks around NJ as in New England, so we don't see ourselves coming down the street every block! Our alternative selection would have been the White Frost. Since it's an off-white, we thought it wouldn't be as difficult to keep clean-looking as a pure white would be.
It has been a while since I last posted. I am upset at the Subaru Service and am hoping you guys can give me that 800 number so that I can speak with a Subaru reperesentative. My wife took the car in because it pulls to the left. They said it was air problem. Then we took it in second time and they said they did an alignment. I have been complaining that it makes a noise in left suspension. (they can't duplicate it)
All in all, I checked air pressure yesterday and I found out how Subaru fixed the problem. Left tire had 33.5 pounds and right had 30 psi. I was enraged and if dealer was open I could really swing the lug nut wrench across the Service guys Head.
I really have a tough time with dishonesty, especially with a Dealer that would not take anything less than $1,000 profit on my car.
I also had a broken A/C button fixed with the replacement of the whole unit, only the unit is not exactly the same as the original and is not operating perfectly. But they already adjusted it they said. And finally, the check engine light never came on. That is, until we took it in for the recall. Yesterday the light went on.
Please give me that 800 number. And I certainly hope that Subaru has better service than this. I cannot believe they told my wife the pulling was fixed and just added 3.5 psi pressure to the tire, and let her drive home with my 10 month old baby assured the problem was fixed right. I am enraged!!!!! I realize it may not be a safety issue, but would they do the same if it was????
I have no problem swinging the lug nut wrench across the guys head, so that way he understands that perhaps he needs to take on some responsibility.
We're happy with our Wintergreen Legacy L, and I can confirm it's easy to keep it clean. Good choice.
Anibal: hi amigo, long time. How are you?
Sorry to hear that. I hope the unmatched tire pressures was not intentional, that's just plain dumb.
Ask them to inspect the wheel bearings and to lubricate the sway bar bushings. They could also clean the spring base and lube that to quiet that suspension noise.
Hola teixaira. Estou chatiado. I think the air pressure was deliberate because I had balanced the tires prior to wife taking it in! The left front suspension makes a scrunching noise as the weight of the car shifts when stopping. It is a light noise but noticeable. Aso the motor on the seat is dying. They said, oh yea it does sound a little slow, but they won't fix it!
The dealer was Flemington Subaru in Flemington, NJ. He matched an advertised price from Morristown Subaru, without any hassle, as long as it was not financed (cash). They even gave me a decent trade on my 12 year old car!
After reading this site for over a year a 2002 H4 manual regatta red base told me it was a great deal and I had better buy it. I live in central Arizona which is a mile high (we do have snow) but is close to the desert which is demanding on a vehicle. I traded in a 93 Infinity G20 which was great but will not meet the camping needs of an 11 year old son. We are headed to the Lizard Head Wilderness Area in Colorado later this week for his first backpacking trip. Thanks to all, this is a great car! I am reading the back posts, but have only made it to about 1000. By the way, I asked the sales person about the break in period and he said there was not one since the engine was "pre-stressed". The manual on page 8-2 is very clear that there is for the first 1000 miles and how to drive it. -Randy
Shocks, maybe? Though I agree about having a different dealer (or indy mechanic) look at it this time.
If there isn't one close by, open a case by calling 800-SUBARU3 and then have them follow up with the dealer. For example, if the power operation seems slow, that's not normal, it should be fixed now while (especially if) it's under warranty.
I can vouch for paisan's Pine Barrens runs, they are a hoot. You can do as little or as much off roading as you wish, basically.
Congrats, Randy, and definitely take it easy for the first 1000 miles or so. And not just on the engine, the brake pads have to get properly seated, the tires need to be heat cycled, everything.
Hey Paisan, I would love to know more about any off roading in the area (I am in north-central NJ). My 2001 LLBean won't be going off road as it is my baby (and for that matter carries my baby) and I have no need to rough it up! However, my hubster just bought a Land Rover Freelander (I voted for a Forester of course but it was "too much like your Outback") and is dying to try some off-roading in it. Are there any threads/websites that have specifics on the places/events you mentioned? Thanks, Wendy
We'll be running an event @ the Pine Barrens in South/Central NJ on Sept 21 that will be our first "monthly" run of the year and you guys are more than welcome to join us. Hopefully we can get Juice out there in the spring maybe even the fall or winter if we really torture him!
I'll vouch for Mike about the Pine Barrens. He always sets up a nice ride, with different dificulty levels. I've taken my 2000 OB a couple of times, and have had a blast! The OB definitely handles nicely out there. Join us on 9/21 for a lot of fun!
Hi everybody. Looking at the Legacy GT wagon, it looks like the '03 is about $2,000 more than the '02 version at an MSRP of $26,695 (AT), apparently because leather seats, 9-speaker 6-CD stereo and side air bags now come standard.
I'm not a big fan of leather anyway, so I'm taking a closer look at the L Limited Edition wagon. Much less expensive at $21,895. The Subaru Web site isn't updated for 03 yet, but from scouring the Edmunds site it looks like with the L Limited what you don't get are the leather seats, higher-end stereo (4-speaker single CD instead), side air bags, power driver's seat (in fact the driver's seat doesn't seem to be height-adjustable at all); and I assume you don't get the sportier GT suspension.
Am I missing anything? Looks to me like the L Limited Edition is a much better deal, although we'd miss the height-adjustable seat.
If you're considering an AT, the GT gets Subaru's VDC AWD system while the L would get the standard Active AWD system.
The VDC system is a more performance-oriented system that starts with a slight rear-wheel drive bias. The Active system starts with a front-wheel drive bias.
There might have been a difference in the final gear ratios, but I'm sure someone else can clarify.
Actually it's VTD. VDC refers to the added stability control on the VDC model, but I'm sure it was just a typo. ;-)
I think you also give up the heated seats and mirrors, plus the shiftronic control for the tranny.
The L/SE is still the bargain in the lineup, if that's what you're after.
2002 L models had a final drive of 3.9:1, while the GT has 4.11:1, so it's geared shorter for quicker take-offs, also. I'm not sure if they kept it that way for 2003.
I've heard 3rd-hand rumor that the Legacy GT might be available with the 2.0 Turbo (WRX) engine in the next year or two. Can anyone confirm and/or offer a link to a reputable source.
I did just that, I opened a case with Subaru and printed a list for the Service crew to look at and not forget. They called me yesterday and asked to keep car overnight.
The check engine light is for a "knock sensor". Anyone else here ever have this? In any case they are being very curteous and I will just wait to see the final report and the repairs they do.
I certainly hope to get the car today and expect that everything is corrected. Otherwise I am seriously going to lose my patience.
That Baja is looking like fun!! Thanks for the info.
Back in 2000, the GT and L had different headlights (GT had separate highbeams) and the automatic GT was geared for quicker acceleration. Final drives were GT: 4.44, L:4.11
I don't know what gearing changes have been made in the past three years. Jim
Speaking of headlights, I noticed that the light pattern on my wife's '02 Outback is completely different from the pattern on my '01 Forester. The Forester has a distinct, angular "cutoff" (for lack of a better term) on the top of the low beam pattern, and the high beams illuminate much higher above the roadway (though they're not mis-aimed). The Outback doesn't have the cutoff along the tops of the beam pattern, and the high beams don't illuminate things quite as high above the roadway. The Forester has a single bulb for low and high beams, while the OB has separate bulbs for each. (I believe the Legacy L has the single hi-lo beam bulb as well.)
The fog light pattern on the Forester extends further out and seems wider than the Outback, whose fog light pattern seems narrower, and more concentrated on the ground directly in front of the car.
Speaking of fog lights, has anyone compared the usable light output on theirs both with and without the plastic shields in place? If so, what were your observations?
No, but I think Ed and Ken have removed those covers.
The lighting on my '98 Forester is better than that on Bob's 2001 Forester. We drove at night through the woods in his area, and he said the lights were much better, and this was with stock bulbs (my Hellas burned out after less than a year so I gave up on them).
Odd, but true.
And it's also better than the lighting on our 2002 Legacy L. Hey Subaru - go back to the headlight style from the '98 models!
I removed my covers briefly (mostly to see what it would look like) and could not detect one iota of difference in lighting. The fogs stay off all the time because I have never found an instance where I felt they actually helped me see any better.
Maybe if the fogs would come on without the low beams, they might have a chance of penetrating actual fog, but as it stands, the low beams reflect back so badly in dense fog/snow that they negate any benefit I can see with the foglights.
I wonder if Hella (or anyone) makes a foglight or driving light that would be a direct replacement for the 6" (?) round fogs on the outback...
Yep, I removed my foglight covers, but more for cosmetic reasons. I don't think they make a noticeable difference in brightness since the "grid" is so large.
I've been very happy with my 98 Forester lighting too. Perhaps the different reflector housing in the 2001 facelift made the beam pattern less effective.
bkaiser1: There should be an adjustment screw to angle up your fog lights a bit. The range is limited (they are fog lights after all) but the adjustment does spread the beam a little further in front of the vehicle.
Len: Both the bulb type as well as the reflector housing will affect light output. I'm not sure about the OB/Legacy, but the previous generation Forester used H4 bulbs which are known to be quite good.
If you are interested in learning about automotive lighting check out http://lighting.mbz.org/. I found it interesting (no financial or other interest, etc).
Comments
If your bumper has only been scraped and scratched an auto body shop should be able to repair it. They can sand it, fill in the scracpes with an epoxy type material and then paint it to match. Depending on the damage it could also be repaired with a buffer.
I've never had my OB bumper repaired but I did have a 12" gouge on the bumper of my daughter's Mazda repaired and it looks as good as new.
Vince
See if you can buff it. A repaint will peel in 6 years.
-juice
Look under the dash where the hood release lever is. Behind the lever you'll see a teenie weenie button, that is if they haven't changed the position for MY '00 on. Depress it.
Hope it works
-Dave
p/s I remember an image of it's position was posted here.
Paul
1. IIHS Crash Test ( Best Pick)
2. SUBARU offers station wagon with 6 cylinders
3. Above average reliability
4. AWD
Welcome to the SUbie world, and hope you stick around this forum to tell us more.
Steve
I paid $25700 in central NJ and my wife loves the car. The six is a pleasure to drive and seems to be built quite well. I was looking at a Passat but they could not even come close in price with just their base model and a few options.
If the Subie holds up as well as my 93 G20 Infiniti I will be very happy.
5. More usable cargo space
6. Quieter, smoother ride
So far it's been great, although I can list one complaint - my wife gets to drive it more than I do!
Alland
dassub: lemme guess, Regatta Red?
There was a $750 incentive last time I checked, but that's still $50 under invoice, which is great. Dealers get a small holdback but that barely covers their costs.
-juice
I had the clearcoat peel on my last car, which was partially repainted. I'm sure some shops are good enough to prevent that, but I tried a different strategy this time.
I got some navel jelly and cleaned the ding thoroughly, then used a bit of touch-up paint, applied very carefully. It's so small noone notices it but me, and I know the paint won't peel or mismatch the OE paint.
We carry kids and dogs in it, plus I use it for the Home Depot runs, so it's not going to be perfect no matter what. I'm OK with that, question is, are you?
-juice
bit
-juice
It has been a while since I last posted. I am upset at the Subaru Service and am hoping you guys can give me that 800 number so that I can speak with a Subaru reperesentative. My wife took the car in because it pulls to the left. They said it was air problem. Then we took it in second time and they said they did an alignment. I have been complaining that it makes a noise in left suspension. (they can't duplicate it)
All in all, I checked air pressure yesterday and I found out how Subaru fixed the problem. Left tire had 33.5 pounds and right had 30 psi. I was enraged and if dealer was open I could really swing the lug nut wrench across the Service guys Head.
I really have a tough time with dishonesty, especially with a Dealer that would not take anything less than $1,000 profit on my car.
I also had a broken A/C button fixed with the replacement of the whole unit, only the unit is not exactly the same as the original and is not operating perfectly. But they already adjusted it they said. And finally, the check engine light never came on. That is, until we took it in for the recall. Yesterday the light went on.
Please give me that 800 number. And I certainly hope that Subaru has better service than this. I cannot believe they told my wife the pulling was fixed and just added 3.5 psi pressure to the tire, and let her drive home with my 10 month old baby assured the problem was fixed right. I am enraged!!!!! I realize it may not be a safety issue, but would they do the same if it was????
I have no problem swinging the lug nut wrench across the guys head, so that way he understands that perhaps he needs to take on some responsibility.
-Dave
Anibal: hi amigo, long time. How are you?
Sorry to hear that. I hope the unmatched tire pressures was not intentional, that's just plain dumb.
Ask them to inspect the wheel bearings and to lubricate the sway bar bushings. They could also clean the spring base and lube that to quiet that suspension noise.
-juice
Hola teixaira. Estou chatiado. I think the air pressure was deliberate because I had balanced the tires prior to wife taking it in! The left front suspension makes a scrunching noise as the weight of the car shifts when stopping. It is a light noise but noticeable. Aso the motor on the seat is dying. They said, oh yea it does sound a little slow, but they won't fix it!
It is really annoying. I will call Subaru!
Again, thanks
Hope the problems get resolved.
Jim
Roger
Pine Barrens off-road/rally rides
Back Roads Drives in NNJ and/or PA
Auto-x @ Giants Stadium/Englishtown
I-club meets all over the place!
-mike
By the way, I asked the sales person about the break in period and he said there was not one since the engine was "pre-stressed". The manual on page 8-2 is very clear that there is for the first 1000 miles and how to drive it.
-Randy
If there isn't one close by, open a case by calling 800-SUBARU3 and then have them follow up with the dealer. For example, if the power operation seems slow, that's not normal, it should be fixed now while (especially if) it's under warranty.
I can vouch for paisan's Pine Barrens runs, they are a hoot. You can do as little or as much off roading as you wish, basically.
Congrats, Randy, and definitely take it easy for the first 1000 miles or so. And not just on the engine, the brake pads have to get properly seated, the tires need to be heat cycled, everything.
-juice
I would love to know more about any off roading in the area (I am in north-central NJ). My 2001 LLBean won't be going off road as it is my baby (and for that matter carries my baby) and I have no need to rough it up! However, my hubster just bought a Land Rover Freelander (I voted for a Forester of course but it was "too much like your Outback") and is dying to try some off-roading in it. Are there any threads/websites that have specifics on the places/events you mentioned?
Thanks,
Wendy
-juice
We'll be running an event @ the Pine Barrens in South/Central NJ on Sept 21 that will be our first "monthly" run of the year and you guys are more than welcome to join us. Hopefully we can get Juice out there in the spring maybe even the fall or winter if we really torture him!
-mike
Mark
-mike
I'm not a big fan of leather anyway, so I'm taking a closer look at the L Limited Edition wagon. Much less expensive at $21,895. The Subaru Web site isn't updated for 03 yet, but from scouring the Edmunds site it looks like with the L Limited what you don't get are the leather seats, higher-end stereo (4-speaker single CD instead), side air bags, power driver's seat (in fact the driver's seat doesn't seem to be height-adjustable at all); and I assume you don't get the sportier GT suspension.
Am I missing anything? Looks to me like the L Limited Edition is a much better deal, although we'd miss the height-adjustable seat.
If you're considering an AT, the GT gets Subaru's VDC AWD system while the L would get the standard Active AWD system.
The VDC system is a more performance-oriented system that starts with a slight rear-wheel drive bias. The Active system starts with a front-wheel drive bias.
There might have been a difference in the final gear ratios, but I'm sure someone else can clarify.
Ken
I think you also give up the heated seats and mirrors, plus the shiftronic control for the tranny.
The L/SE is still the bargain in the lineup, if that's what you're after.
2002 L models had a final drive of 3.9:1, while the GT has 4.11:1, so it's geared shorter for quicker take-offs, also. I'm not sure if they kept it that way for 2003.
-juice
The check engine light is for a "knock sensor". Anyone else here ever have this? In any case they are being very curteous and I will just wait to see the final report and the repairs they do.
I certainly hope to get the car today and expect that everything is corrected. Otherwise I am seriously going to lose my patience.
That Baja is looking like fun!! Thanks for the info.
-mike
Whoops. Yeah, that's a typo alright -- I meant VTD but typed VDC.
Ken
I don't know what gearing changes have been made in the past three years.
Jim
-mike
Ken: yeah, I said "typo" because you know that I know that you know what VTD is. ;-)
Our L's headlight cluster definitely looks different than the ones on the Outback, which look split and have a black line in the middle.
-juice
The fog light pattern on the Forester extends further out and seems wider than the Outback, whose fog light pattern seems narrower, and more concentrated on the ground directly in front of the car.
Speaking of fog lights, has anyone compared the usable light output on theirs both with and without the plastic shields in place? If so, what were your observations?
Thanks in advance,
Len
The lighting on my '98 Forester is better than that on Bob's 2001 Forester. We drove at night through the woods in his area, and he said the lights were much better, and this was with stock bulbs (my Hellas burned out after less than a year so I gave up on them).
Odd, but true.
And it's also better than the lighting on our 2002 Legacy L. Hey Subaru - go back to the headlight style from the '98 models!
-juice
Maybe if the fogs would come on without the low beams, they might have a chance of penetrating actual fog, but as it stands, the low beams reflect back so badly in dense fog/snow that they negate any benefit I can see with the foglights.
I wonder if Hella (or anyone) makes a foglight or driving light that would be a direct replacement for the 6" (?) round fogs on the outback...
I've been very happy with my 98 Forester lighting too. Perhaps the different reflector housing in the 2001 facelift made the beam pattern less effective.
bkaiser1: There should be an adjustment screw to angle up your fog lights a bit. The range is limited (they are fog lights after all) but the adjustment does spread the beam a little further in front of the vehicle.
Len: Both the bulb type as well as the reflector housing will affect light output. I'm not sure about the OB/Legacy, but the previous generation Forester used H4 bulbs which are known to be quite good.
Ken
-mike