Capri

mtsmiths, Port Townsend is a quaint little town. I've taken my motorcycle there a few times just for a day trip from Seattle. There's a park, I forget the name since I'm not a native of the state that is worth a look as you pass through. You go down the main street until you reach the end or one block before, make a left and it's down on your right. I has beautiful water views and you can see Mt. Baker on a good day. Is it Fort Warden? Geez, your mother-in-law got Parkinson's from the papermill? Yikes!!!! They have one in Tacoma which is affectionately called the Aroma of Tacoma if that's the one you mean. The smell from the mill is pretty offensive if you live anywhere near it. Shaw Island? I thought only the nuns lived there. My husband and I have been talking about relocating abroad. I read an article on Mexico about how 350 people lost their property. The gov't claimed they did not buy it from the rightful owner. Then I think they only let you lease property that you buy if I understand it right, so when your lease is up, you can lose your property. You really have to know what you're doing when you buy land or a home in another country. Panama is boasting a great economy and says a lot of people are relocating there. There is nothing like the good old U.S.A., but we all want that bang for our buck when we retire and not everyone wants to go to Florida since they don't take taxes from your retirement check, or atleast that's what I believe to be true. I would love to relocate to Hawaii, but it would be too expensive for us. I do like the British Virgin Islands which would also be expensive but you can do all that island hopping with their ferry services. I love Virgin Gorda in the BVI and I love Cozumel which you probably know is the island off of Cancun, Mexico. If you move to Mexico, let me know. I'd be willing to do a house swap with you if you wanted to come visit WA:) Bye, Capri

I don't believe polls. Plus, people who make poor choices in a vehicle are very unlikely to want to admit it. It's like saying, "I bought a ......and now I feel stupid because the .........sucks!" Who wants to admit they bought an expensive vehicle and it doesn't live up to their expectations? I love my 2006 Forester. It handles great on our slippery WA roads where we get a drizzle instead of hard rain and the awd never lets the wheels spin, even going uphill and WA has a lot of hills. Bye, Capri

mts, some people are not too happy with CA people selling their expensive CA homes to come here and buy nicer ones or the same kind and then pocket leftover money. As for me, I don't care. That's what it's all about for most people. Make your money and then go where it's less expensive to spend it, but that only applies to houses here. The food and other things are as expensive as New York. You should look into what tribal member rights are. I'm not positive, but they have more rights to fish year round, they have private beaches just for Indian people and there are areas only Indian people can go to unless they are accompanied by a Indian person or get the okay from the tribe. The Indian people own most of the casinos out here. They are great seafood buffets, but some casino restaurants are better than others. The Indian people also have ceremonies for various reasons. Recently, they, meaning different tribes all got together to go on a canoeing venture together. It's all very interesting. The Makah Indians try to hunt whales every year lately and it causes quite a stir with Green Peace and other animal organizations that don't want them killing whales. One year the gov't let them, but with restrictions, mostly like they did in the old days. They had to use canoes, and I don't know what else was involved. You're going to love it here! Bye, Capri

Hi, I have nothing to go by as to what subaru problems are except this site which is the best indicator. BMM001, Now a clutch problem can be from the way a person drives, then again you always hear about those cars that were made on a Friday (done quickly as everyone wanted to go home)!!! Or maybe it's just to indicate an odd lemon out of a bunch of what are considered to be otherwise good cars. I drove my Honda for 3 years w/o payments or having to repair anything, so I'm happy with that. I listed my reasons for wanting a new vehicle besides that I feel mine has a lot of miles on it. Other people may have second cars they can depend on or they don't do the kind of traveling my husband and I do where we can't afford to get stuck in the middle of no where with no cell phone reception, so that plays into getting a new vehicle also. The last hike I did started at about 4,500 ft. There are no such things as guardrails and the road are very narrow. I can't imagine a tow truck going up there to get my car on the winding steep roads. I'm really not sure if it could tow it back to level ground, but I'm have no intention of putting it to the test with an older vehicle. Bye, Capri

mtsmiths, don't get into bidding wars, walk away! Some realestate people will have you bid on a house with so many other bids and get you all excited about the house so you bid higher against other bidders, then end up with an overpriced house. Yes, Sequim is nice and sunny. It has great snow-capped mountain views and water all around. It really doesn't rain that much. NY gets about the same amount of rain, but theirs is fast and heavy where we tend to get more of a drizzle. For a wet state, no one uses umbrellas, get yourself a baseball cap or jacket with a hood. If you had an apt. with a view, you never tire of mountain and water views and the cloud formations are different that anything you've seen before and quite interesting. You'll love it here, trust me:) I moved from NY 8 years ago. Know that the weather forcasters are mostly wrong. When they say rain, it doesn't, and when they say no, it is, and days where it's scattered rain which means it can rain someplace in the state but not necessarily where you are or where you are going, but it still counts as a rainy day even if you didn't get rained upon. We do have an east side of the mountains area where they get more drastic temps. It tends to be dry there on wet Seattle days and very, very hot and then turns to cold at night, but it is a place to retreat to on rainy days. We have so many micro climates that one area is so different from another and it they don't have to be far from each other. Renting is good. It will give you a chance to see where you would like to settle permanetly. Travel....travel... and do some more traveling to different areas and speak to people. They will give you good info and the people are friendly here. Welcome to WA state!!!! Bye, Capri

subie, I would not harrass you or anyone about their theories on when to sell their vehicle. Other things do come into play, like can you afford to take off of work to bring the vehicle into be fixed? Do you have another way to get to work? My husband doesn't. We don't live near anyone at his job and forget about transportation there. He'd have to get up two hours early. We drive up desolate roads for hiking where we don't want to be stuck or up to Canada or down to Oregon and I'm telling you we do trips that are hours long one way. One area is to an Indian reservation where you can't even get cell phone service on the WA coast. We drive on roads where no one will ever find you for days if you break down. We really need the car to be always functioning with no surprises, so maybe that's what pushed me to get another vehicle though 171,000 mile isn't like I'm getting rid of it that soon. I have no doubt we could do 200,000 miles, but those other factors come into play that I mentioned, but we would hit that mileage in 1-1/2 years. I didn't mean to be so harsh or imply that Subies are crap or anything like that. I'm just spoiled from owning the Honda Accord Sedan. I love my new 2006 Forester. It has some nice features. You know the Camrys and Accords are BASIC. You're lucky they give you a glove compartment. I like the way this vehicle handles, the pick up and everything else that goes with it. One thing is that the booklet that comes with the car is half full with "warnings". Don't put a pillow between you and your seat. Don't put anything in front of you. They give you more warnings. I don't think I saw one that said to not put anything on the dash where the bag may push whatever it is into your face like sunglasses etc. Who knows, maybe in the end, with no payments and not so bad repairs, it does work out better to keep the vehicle. I don't know what my husband's friend has, but it cost $3,000 for a new transmission. Now there's no way you are going to come out on top with things like that happening. If you have a good car, and you kept it a long time, it would be interesting to crunch some numbers and see what you paid in as opposed to what you would have paid in monthly payments with a possibly newer and more safely built vehicle. I wish you all the best of luck with your subies and that they all go way over 100,000 miles effortlessly. Bye, Capri

Hi, My Honda Accord has 171,000 miles on it. It will need a timing belt job done for $500+ dollars soon, so I would rather put that into a downpayment on a new vehicle. We put miles on very quickly. This car is only a 1997. It will need new tires soon also and I would rather use the funds from selling the Honda and not buying new tires and no belt replacement on a new car to have a smaller payment rather than selling it when it's not worth as much. Let's see, what have I had done on my Honda Accord....regular oil & filter changes, brakes and pads and rotors. I see other people do radiator replacements, and are told to be safe when changing it's belt or chain to change oil seals and other things, one guy, don't know how many miles his car has, but it needs a new strut assembly. A 1999 Forester is misfiring and the dealer is talking about a new valve, another with a transmission out for a leak, valve filler neck problems and 02 sensors, can't totally full up car with gas!!!! We also wanted a 4wd or awd and a high clearance vehicle, so it all worked out for the best that we sell the Honda now. The Honda is running fine, but soon it won't and if we keep it, we will be throwing good money after bad. You have to know when to fish or cut bait and buy a new vehicle.

Hi, I just bought the Forester 2006. I am reading about all the problems I never experienced at the mileage people are having with their subs with my old Honda Accord. I don't understand why it's called a marvel in engineering unless the engine is great and everything else falls apart. I'm keeping this SUV until the first timing belt or chain needs to be done and after that, I will keep it before another belt or chain is needed or any big repairs are needed. 2006 gave it good reviews, but they didn't have enough info. I will look at Consumer's Report next year and see what they really have to say about the 2006 and base my selling it on how long it will last before it needs repairs. I think to get your money's worth out of a vehicle, you have to have a loan for 5 years, the ride it for free for a year or two without payments, then buy a new car before the big repairs hit. Buying too early just makes you pay that big sales tax on the vehicle too soon. Bye, Capri

Hi, You don't actually mean trade in through the dealership? They will give you nothing for the car unless they jack up the price you pay for the new one. I'm not even sure who would pay anything for a car with so many miles privately. Good luck!!! P.S. - Regarding new Foresters, your like or dislike is a personal preference. Look at those people who buy the Honda Element with that square back. I wonder what the coefficient drag is on that SUV, lol!!! Okay, getting back to the Forester, I don't know about previous years since I was a Honda Accord Sedan driver, but I love my 2006 Forester. It has very good gas mileage and the pick up is great. For this year, the Forester has 5 more horsepower than the Outback and starts at about $21,800. where the Outback starts at $24,000 and I'm not sure why there is such a big difference in price that makes it's more worthwhile. Bye, Capri

Ooops, I thought it said new mini SUV when they already have the Forester. Bye, Capri.

Hi, I don't get it. I thought the Forester was their mini SUV. Why do they need another one? The 2006 was even revamped with a new front end and more horsepower. Bye, Capri

Richard, I was laughing my butt off at your description of how rental cars are driven and you are correct. We are not talking about people who just drive fast. I drove over I don't even know what with my car given to me to use by my stealership. Next week, the other salesman is selling it as used. I'm sure he pointed over to me and said how nice I drove my car. I was younger and more innocent looking and dressed professionally. No one would ever think I was evil kanevil with my car. Who knows what happened under there and never mind the odometer reading not being right. All I heard was a crunch and a sound like I was dragging something. I had a stick shift, so there was always the potential for misusing the hell out of that. Speaking about driving fast anyway, I drove so fast going out to the Hamptons after work in NY that my car became airborne going over a slight bump. I had no working speedometer since the odometer was disconnected, so I always wondered how slow I would have to go to keep from being airborne again, lol:) Driving fast would be a pleasure if that was all that happend to a used car before you bought it. Personally, I never sold my car or another salesperson's cars, because I could not sell a car to a person where the odometer was wrong. Getting as much money as you can is one thing, but lying or selling something that may be defective is where I draw the line. I did sell one car where my client called me to say he found the hood was repainted. I didn't know. I later found out that at one time, someone got into the lot and was perhaps jumping on all the cars, so they had to fix it them. I felt bad about selling that vehicle. I don't remember if he got a new car or if he was compensated him in anyway. It was a long time ago. Also, my husband's family came to visit and rented out a Camry for my husband to drive them around in and he said the car was terrible. I told him before we discounted buying that car, to drive one from a dealership and he did and said there was a big difference, so rentals are.....just not right for whatever reason and it only had a few miles on it. Bye, Capri

Hey, welcome to WA state. Our winters are very mild here, at least they are 15 min south of Seattle where I live. I was just up that way by Sumas on the Canadian Border. I was staying in a cabin in a park called Silver Lake. I finally got to hike Winchester Mountain after 8 years of living here. I needed a high clearance preferably 4wd vehicle. I just got the 2006 Forester and it made it to the trailhead with no problems. Other vehicles have to park 2 miles down the road where it's not as bad, so it adds 4 miles onto the trip. It was a 1,500 ft hike up to 6,450 ft on top of a mountain w/a fire look out and 360 degree views. You have to get into hiking in your spare time. Coming here and not hiking is like going to Hawaii and not going in the water. The rain isn't as bad as they say it is. It can say rain and it won't a lot of times or it's only in certain areas. You will learn how to avoid it to by driving for the day to the east side of WA where it's drier at times, but the rainy season is starting now. What's nice is we have tons of evergreen trees so it's always green and even lawns are green in the winter, so it's not desolate looking like areas with trees that lose their leaves in the winter. You're gonna love it here. The people are nice too. I'm sorry I can't help as far as a rental place. You can try accessing a library for computer time and look up the Seattle Post Intelligencer and the Seattle Times online for apt ads. I know toting your furry friend with you does make it more difficult. I think you may not have a hard time, but the renter will ask for a big cleaning deposit, maybe like an extra one for you having a pet that may be refundable when you leave. See if you can google up a local Bellingham newspaper for classified ads for rentals too. I think the ads in the big newspapers are broken down by calling them east side, west side, north, etc., so you have to know the areas name, not that it's just Bellingham sometimes. Good luck and I commend you for taking the pooch instead of leaving your doggie behind or in some shelter. Some people make up crazy excuses to dump their pet! I have a Chihuahua myself. She just flew with me to NY and was in a carrier under the seat in front of me for the trip. She's only 3-1/2 pounds. She's been there 4 times and is not even 3 years old yet! She also did that mountain hike by sitting in a front loading pouch. Side note: Dogs are allowed in National Parks like Rainier, Mt. Baker etc., but not the visitor's center on them and they are not allowed on their trails, but you can take a dog in the park and up to the visitor's center. When you get here, make a quick trip to Artist's Point on Mount Baker. Soon the snow will be back on the trails there. Bye, Capri

Hi, You can walk into a dealership and they will turn you around and you walk out with something you never intended on buying. Those "deals" are sure appealing, but the saying, "nothing in life is free" also applies to bargains, like "if it's too good to be true, it is". I'd personally stay away from used vehicle unless I bought one from a private owner. The dealerships have mechanics and repair shops at their disposal to make something bad look good very easily. The big thing now is "certified" cars. They are used cars that come with warranties. What they are is used cars with no rules as to where they have to come from, private owners, salespeople's cars they are given to drive etc. Yeah, they can be driven hard, they can have had done to them whatever it is they do to actually keep the car from registering the real miles, so they don't only turn back odometers, they disconnect them. I sold cars so I know they do these things. Buying this car from them is like rolling dice. To New Car Buyers: Go to Consumer's Report online and pay $5. to get the real invoice price from the vehicle you want to buy. The dealership will be glad to show you their invoice, but it will be higher than the one at Consumer's. Note if the dealer gets an "incentive" which means Subaru pays them money to sell the vehicle, so they are already making a profit. My stealership had the nerve to have a second the invoice price on my 2006 Forester making it go up an extra $2,000.00 above MSRP which is already the vehicle with the profit in it. The extra $2,000. is used to tell people the car is in great demand and there aren't too many. Yeah, right!!!! I started at the invoice price and my husband let the saleman talk him into paying $100 over invoice. They were also getting a $500 check back from Subaru, so I didn't want to pay a penny over sticker and who's knocking down their doors for SUVs even though I think the Forester is listed as wagon. It gets pretty good gas mileage for it's size, but I still refused to pay what they wanted. A guy from Subaru said there is extra money hidden in the invoice prices that you will never know about that the dealer gets, so they will always make a profit, even if they sell at invoice. Use Edmonds.com to check out extras. You can pay just the cost for them. I wanted a basic car and if they could not provide me with one which they couldn't, I would only pay the cost for extras and not the profit that goes with it. They are already getting a profit from the sale of the car. They don't need the profit from the extras too. Go in strong, know what price you want to pay and be flexible if there are extras, and stick to your guns. They will give you any excuse to have you pay more. The last trick they use is, "let's split the difference", don't do it. Bye, Capri

Just checking in. I'm supposed to get 22 city/28 hwy. I've done city driving on 3/4 of a tank and did some calculations to figure I got 21 city. We did have a heavy foot on the gas since we are used to our sluggish Honda Accord. Also, I got to drive it for a 25 min. since it went right off to work with my husband the next day and I love it. Now it makes it seem like there is something wrong with my Accord. It is a peppy car. You really need a lighter foot on the gas than my other car. It handles great and has a nice ride, quieter than my Accord. I think the stereo is better. I'm happy. Bye, Capri