Ranger83

I started using radar detectors in the late 70's and stopped using them in the late 80's. When I first got one, cops would crank the power output up and you'd pick them up a couple of miles away. I also had the advantage of working with an engineer who had been a designer for a speed radar company who filled me in on a lot of "tricks of the trade." I got rid of them when it was clear that most police had adopted effective countermeasures. Instant-on is universal in this part of the country; there's a lot of falsing; and you absolutely, positively get a ticket if you get stopped. There's now a lot of laser use as well.

Sylvania has a road-view test of their bulbs on their website. The SilverStars aren't really any brighter than the XtraVisions, they just produce a whiter light (for that annoying HID look), cost more, and last a shorter time....

The urethane paints used on cars, especially plastic panels, has a high degree of elasticity. They can be bent around a 1" mandrel and not crack - very durable. Try a chain like Dent Wizard that will massage it out. Many grocery chains will pay for the repair, although you sometimes have to wrangle with them. Shaws paid for the large dent to mine, $275 at Dent Wizard.

I have relatives in St. Augustine and there is one beach entrance that's 4WD only. And the only Subaru I've seen there with FL plates - a late 90's Legacy - negotiates it with no problem at all.

Yes, it got out of hand. Some of these folks need to sell their Subarus, declare victory, and move on. I may have done my pre-emptive head gasket change for nothing, but I want to keep the car for 200K miles. My sister-in-law already has 202K on her '97. So, with tongue in cheek, I changed my signature....

I'd check around. I had my headgaskets replaced as a precaution at 140K and with some other work it was $1,250. O2 sensors, which are sourced by a few different companies, and if you've only replaced one at 140K you're doing remarkably well. I've had them replaced after as little as 60K, and gas mileage usually improves. Funny thing, I learned about the head gasket problem and had it fixed before it damaged the rest of the engine, which turned out to be in remarkably good shape. Other people come to this site, read about the potential for head gasket problems at 90K plus miles, do nothing about it, don't sell the car, and then whine when it happens!

Driving lights come in several styles. As mentioned, while a fog light is designed to be a low, flat beam, driving lights are designed to illuminate farther ahead in dark but clear conditions. Fog lights go on and off with your low beams, while driving lights go on and off with the high beams. You can add auxiliary lights, or start with performance upgrades to your existing system. A caveat - I don't know if the lighting used in Canada is the same as U.S. Subarus. The simplest, cheapest approach is to replace your OEM bulbs with something like the Sylvania Xtravision. The Sylvania SilverStar is also available, but costs substantially more because it is designed to mimic the whiter, HID headlamps on some newer cars. The Xtravision is about $10 each, and they are substantially brighter although they don't last as long. I out them in last Fall and the low beams lasted through the Summer - I drive a lot at night, though. See http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/Products/ProductComparison/default.htm The next step up is to go to a higher wattage replacement bulb. Companies like Hella make replacement bulbs with high beams of 55 up to 100 watts or so. depending on the vehicle and bulb, most cars require an upgraded harness at a minimum. This is still easier than adding auxiliary lamps. I upgraded my old Scirocco, used for Rallying, and we could pick up reflective highway signs 1.6 miles away. We angled the lights to cross in front of the car so we could get a little better illumination for cornering - driving down a twisty, ice covered dirt road at 30-40 mph gets a lot more interesting than you'd think. However, the current draw was such that the battery would discharge at idle in such a small car. Auxiliary driving lamps make an immense difference, if you really need them. For most cars you'll need to carefully consider mounting and wiring and the demands on your electrical system. There are likely a number of suppliers for Subaru Rally cars that can tell you exactly what is required. Mounting lamps so they are stable and reliable isn't that easy on most cars. I always used Hella - www.hella.com I found the Xtravisions to be a decent upgrade, and even better it took longer to buy them than install them.

I got the Osram Sylvania Xtravisions. They aren't whiter, just brighter. They're about $10 each at most parts stores. They are noticably brighter, but don't last as long - they burned out after a Fall/Winter of driving. I replaced them with the stock bulbs I removed but will put them in again when I'm driving to and from work in the dark in a month or so.

I replaced the Michelin X Ones on my 97 OBW with Hydro-Edge at 120,000 miles last Fall so I'd have them for the rainy season and winter. My car now has 145,000 miles. I commute from Boston to Manchester NH (50 miles one way) several days a week and travel throughout northern New England over the winter. I usually buy premium tires for all our cars and have had Goodyear Eagles, Continental, and Dunlops on several other cars we owned. I used to autocross as well so I got some extreme handling testing for some of them. The Hydros are simply the best passenger car tires I've ever owned. They are superb in the rain and were also very good in snow. I will measure tread depth when I rotate them soon but they seem to be holding up well. I kept a good X-One and just bought a 5th alloy wheel so I'll have a full size spare now, given the gyrations required for the donut spare. This tire was developed as a premium passenger car tire, not a high-performance vehicle tire, and Michelin was very aware that there is some consumer resistance to directional treads. They apparently bit the bullet for the performance advantages. I haven't found it to be a problem thus far. The consumer resistance factor is pretty formidable. When I was trying to buy them one tire dealer told me, "the tread doesn't look like it will be good in snow." Last week another dealer told me, "Oh, try and drive them in snow." Been There, Done That. We staged an impromptu time trial against an AWD Ford Explorer (with snows) on a flat stretch of snow and ice covered road and the Subaru was faster. I considered getting dedicated snows for the winter but they don't seem to be very good in rain, dry handling, or wear. Most of the Subarus I see in VT have year-round tires as well.

No stripe, decal, grille badge, crossbars on roof rack.

~

I don't want to go to extended drain intervals and so synthetics don't make economic sense for me. I'm using Castrol high Mileage and change every 5K miles. The engine is noticably quieter on cold starts, but other than that I can't prove any difference. I have oil analysis done on my cars and trucks, but won't do this one until it hits 150K miles in a couple of months - it has 144K right now.

The logo in the front grille is hold on by a spring clip. I also peeled off the extra pinstripe on the sides, and the AWD decals in the rear side windows. I haven't gotten around to cutting away the cladding that goes over the wheel wells, apparently designed by some stylist to make someone, somewhere think that the OB was an off-road vehicle.

How old are you?

Drive it hard for 5-10 miles and then observe the coolant overflow tank for bubbles or combustion byproducts seems to be the easiest way. $8K is pretty lofty. Automatics sell for much more than manuals, because the market for manual transmission station wagons is pretty limited. I sold a 97 last year for $6,250 with 87K miles, with automatic and cold weather package. I'd guess that around here such a car would sell private sale for less than $6,000, and less than $7,000 at a dealer.

True enough, but how many people were reporting head gasket problems roughly four years ago? I've yet to meet an H6 onwer with more than 75,000 miles on the car.

It would be helpful to know how much you drive, whether it's mostly highway or not, if you carry a lot of gear or family, and if you're more performance or economy oriented in your driving habits. Or if you plan to tow anything or carry a roofbox or a couple of Kayaks or MB's on the roof. Neither car will be winning any streetlight Oplympics. FWIW I talked to the owner of an H6 OBW (with 6 bikes on it, two on the roof and four on a hitch carrier) and he did not feel it was worth the extra money.

The German auto club, ADAC, used to publish the distribution of problems resulting in breakdowns on the Autobahn. As I recall, the #1 problem was belts. If your alternator goes you can usually limp along for quite some time, so that wouldn't be tops on my list. I carry a pretty complete set of tools including a 3 lb hand sledge hammer and a hacksaw; about 50' of rope; spare fuses; spare headlight bulb; several kinds of tape; and a rain suit. I also added one of the cross-type lug wrenches as many tire shops put the wheels on with an air wrench and you can't budge them with the standard wrench, and they're a lot faster. Getting a full-size spare would seem to be the most logical choice for a Subaru. I've had four flats in the last 100K miles, three on the front wheels, and it would have been quite an inconvenience if we hadn't happened to have two 97 OBW's at the time. Now we only have one and I'm buying a used alloy wheel, they run around $40 at most wrecking yards. Of course, then I run out of space for many of the tools....

So does toothpaste if they're foggy, not full of moisture.

I think Mr. Eddy has given you good advice. My sister-in-law from VT has 202K miles on her '97. I have 143K on mine but just did the head gaskets preemptively - about $1,200. $3,700 would be a good price because even if you had to do the head gasket job you'd be around $5K. But unless you drive it into the ground it will be difficult to sell. There are tons of '97 OBW out there so I'd look around. We sold a '97 with Cold Weather package and 87K miles for $6,250 last Fall, so I'd think you could get one with under 100K miles for closer to $5K.

Try the mechanix section at cartalk.com, best place I've found. You probably won't find a Subaru specialist there, but plenty of general foreign auto shops have undoubtedly worked on them.

No. Those suction cup deals are a joke. Yes, they have package deals to remove multiple dents. Just park near the door of a shopping mall or grocery store a few times - you'll have all the dents you need to get a GREAT deal! I had to threaten to take Shaw's Supermarkets to small claims court to get them to pay - Stop & Shop doesn't jerk you around like that. They massage the metal to remove the dent and all the ripples around it without disturbing the exterior paint. This is a huge advantage over conventional metalworking techniques, such as drilling holes and pulling it out. They have special tools to do it. Very slick.

I've used the Dent Wizard franchisee in Peabody, MA several times. They've been excellent. A single dent is usually repaired for $50 or $75 and you can't see where it was damaged at all. I had three dents from a shopping cart fixed for $275, it would have been nearly $500 from a typical body shop and they did it in an afternoon. New car dealers use them all the time..... http://www.dentwizard.com/site/US/EN/index.htm

I'd get a second opinion, as that sounds like an axle. Just had one replaced, total was about $210.

Yes, and all the girls in my high school were good looking.