Atomic Robot

Takami- Thanks for the info. I just traded my '93 Legacy for an '01 Outback and wat to get it checked out at a dealer- I'm going to try Ganley up in Wickliffe (closer than Lakewood for me) so I'll let you know what kind of vibe I get from them. I won't be spending any more of my hard-earned cash in Warrensville... I believe there are a number of Procare shops out here on the East side, so I may check them out. I've had mixed experiences at Conrads depending on which way the wind was blowing that day, but positive for the most part. Hopefully all will check out OK with the dealer and I won't need to worry about any repairs for a while. I try to do most of the maintenance-level stuff myself as time and weather allow.

Takami- I'm new here. Did a search for "Cleveland" and found your post. I'm looking for similar info on repair shops- need to find a non-dealer if possible... Don't know the board policy on dealer-bashing so I won't post any names, but I've had some bad experiences in Warrensville...

Thanks, everyone. Having owned a Legacy for the past 7 years, I have firsthand experience with dealer "service". Vague quotes, repairs that are at best overpriced and at worst unnecessary. I always get a bad feeling from my local dealership. Anyway I'm going to try a different (further away) dealer to give my Outback the once-over and I'll see what kind of vibe I get from them. I've been trying to find a good indy repair shop, but no luck so far. Any good resources to search for Subaru mechanics? Better yet, anybody got a blacklist of shops to avoid?

As the recent purchaser of an '01 Outback I'm curious about brake issues as well... Any ceramic brake pads available for this vehicle? I put them on my '00 Honda Odyssey a few months back and so far so good- very little brake dust on the rims. Slightly more expensive, but worth it IMHO.

This may be totally off the mark, but my '93 Legacy was acting up in a similar way- stalling/clicking sound. It also became difficult to start- the problem ended up being a defective water temp sensor.

I just traded my 93 Legacy L for a very sweet '01 Outback with 66K miles and want to get it inspected by a dealer- what should they be looking for? I know that there were a couple of recalls on this vehicle as well- how can I tell if the work was done? Thanks!

I have a '93 Legacy L with 138K mi. I just had the coolant temp sensor replaced ($170 parts & labor) and was told that the O2 sensor is dead as well. None in stock at the dealership so the part is on order, but in the mean time I'm wondering if this is a possible do-it-myself job. I wouldn't mind saving myself the labor charge... I do most of the oil/filter/coolant maintenance myself already so I'm hoping this wouldn't be much of a stretch.