Lesbaru

I have a friend who bought the Thule 3 bike $130 fancy rack, and just discovered it doesn't fit her car. She said she'd sell it to me if it fits my Imp, and according to the link you posted, if it is the same one it should fit fine. Thanks for the link!

Good luck finding a replacement. Check the sales lists on this board. Smart Service also has a sales board, and if you call Smart Service directly Thomas might have some ideas about cars for sale. I don't know if SubieSport has a sales board, but it might be worth checking. If you're seriously considering riding a bike for a while, check out Recycled Cyles down near the U. Andrew is awesome at finding you the bike you need without going beyond your budget. They also sell used panniers/racks/bags/fenders/bottle cages, etc. Huge savings by buying used. If you want a new bike, be sure to check out the ones made by Kona. The company is based in Ferndale, and they are doing the AfricaBike project. (konaworld.com) I just got a Kona Dew, and am pretty happy with it. Used it for transportation while my Imp was being repaired this week. I'll keep an eye out for your car, too.

I need to get a 3-bike rack for my 05 Imp. I know Yakima's 3-bike trunk rack has been recalled, so it's no longer on my short list. I'm also considering Saris and Thule. Anybody have experience with either of them? How about fit with the Impreza's "bum bump"? Anyone have a favorite that isn't Saris or Thule? I can't afford roof racks or hitch racks at this point, so the strap-to-the-trunk kind is what I'm looking for.

Got my car back yesterday from Aldercrest Auto Rebuild. (Lynnwood WA) They were recommended to me by Smart Service. The car was so darn clean (inside and out) that I didn't recognize it! The new rear bumper is all pretty, and the repair came up four bucks less than the insurance company's estimate. They drove me to work when I dropped off the car, and delivered the car to me at work the next day. Very hassle-free! My insurance doesn't include a rental car so I really appreciated that. Now if only my neck and shoulder were as easy to fix as my bumper was... Watch out for those girls in black Jeep Wranglers who hit-and-run at stoplights!

I'm sore this morning. I was hollering the chickie's plate # to the 911 operator yesterday, and the operator said it matched the car I described. I must've got it right. I'm waiting for the police report and/or the officer to call me and tell me her number again (I forgot it in the ensuing excitement) so I can give it to my insurance company. I was also hollering about my neck hurting and my arm being numb. Guess I braced myself with my arm, cuz it's sore all the way down to my ribs and up to my skull and out to my fingertips on that side. I didn't even think that my plate lights might be out. She hit me square on the bumper (loooooove my bumpers) so I'd better check it. Thanks! My friend who picked me up at the hospital had to pay $175 to get my car out of the towing yard (I didn't have my credit card). Do I ask my insurance to reimburse that, or take hit-and-run Jeep Wrangler chickie to small claims court to get that back?

Got to ride on a backboard with a collar in the back of an ambulance this morning. Whew. Got rear-ended at a stoplight. Genius young chickie got out of her car, looked at her front bumper, then took off. I think that's called "hit and run". I got shook up, and scared, but no injuries. (Though I did try to faint on a nurse as I was trying to leave the hospital. They don't let you go if you do that.) So, the bumper cover got some damage, and the foam under it got crushed, but that's it as far as the insurance estimator and the body shop could see. What I wanna know is: how safe is the car to drive until Monday? Granted, there's no crushable foam left, but we're still protected by the metal bumper parts, right? And if it was dangerous, the body shop would've told me, right? (PS. Smart Service recommended the body shop. So I have faith in the shop.)

I had several good experiences with Williams Subaru in Lansing MI. A bit of a drive for you, but I trust them. They are also a dealer. I had bad experiences with the independent subaru repair place near MSU. Don't go there. I'm sure there are some good Subie places near A2. You could try PMing TomRHere and asking him for shop recommendations, too.

Squealing brakes: i had non-OEM pads put on my Legacy, which squealed ALL the time, and truth be told they squealed less when the brake pedal was down. The cure is OEM and the shim they come with. Can't get the shim without getting pads, too. I tried. Wheelbearings: I test drove a Forester with horrible bearings. My Legacy bearings went bad. Bad bearings are bad bearings and just have to be dealt with. Get the cone-shaped bearings used in Legacies. Someone said the new Forester bearings are also cone-shaped. Go cone! Woo-hoo! Oxy sensor: do a little investigating and try to figure out what made the cat fail. That seems awfully early. Foresters have O2 sensor problems which the folks on the board can explain better than i can. Seems the front sensor is too exposed to the elements. You might want to see if a failing sensor (but not yet failed so no CEL) could have contributed to the cat.

If I could've afforded the Forester, I'd probably have bought one instead of the Imp ($16k). My gf has the 02 Forester, so at least we have one in the family. Not that I'm bad-mouthing my Imp. Loooooove my Imp...

I got stuff from 1stsubaruparts.com before Jamie was involved with Chaplins. I was happy with 1st then. Compare them with Jamie and see how things go these days. BTW: 1stsubaruparts is Auburn Subaru. But you only get the good prices if you go through their online entity.

Front O2 sensor on my gf's '02 Forester.

It would be interesting to see how well a Brighton or D/R version of a Forester would do in the market these days. Especially a D/R... mmm... FWD/4WDLo/4WDHi...... two stick shifts... as long as it wasn't baby-poo brown like my '86 D/R... aw, heck, even if it WAS baby-poo brown!

First, lets talk about Bellingham. I do not under any circumstances recommend Dewey Griffith. Nope. nuh-uh. I HEARTILY adore and worship Harmony Motors (behind Bellingham High). They performed miracles with my 86 GL wagon. I talked a lot with their head Subaru dude, and he was great. They understand Subie-love. Glenn at Skagit Subaru (down near Mt. Vernon) is a good guy, but very busy. If push came to shove I'd say ask Harmony Motors to do the pre-purchase inspection. If you're looking at a car closer to Seattle I'd ask Smart Service in Shoreline WA to do the inspection. Yes, the skin of the later Subies is thinner, but also very easy to fix. Skagit can pop the dings out with a minimum of fuss. My mom has had her Imp's dings fixed, but I haven't bothered because I live in an area where I will always be getting them. As far as the Forester: my gf has an 02. I just bought an 05 Imp. It would've been a Forester if we didn't already have one in the family. I love her Forester. It holds an amazing amount of stuff, doesn't lean at all on tight turns, runs beautifully (other than the Forester O2 sensor issue which is easily solved) and hasn't had any bearing problems so far. But we will know them if they appear and will get Legacy or improved Forester bearings. I'm not sure that I'd pay that much for an 80k '00, but listen to what the other USMB folks have to say about that.

Oooh, yeah! Gold star for me! (actually, for my gf) The dealer told her the same thing about first checking for cruddy fuel and changing the fuel filter, then when that didn't solve it, immediately told her that one of the O2 sensors on the Forester is too exposed to the elements and tends to get messed up. They replaced it and all was well. If her Forester does it again, we will go straight to having the O2 sensor replaced.

I think I'll do some experimenting: warm it up extra long, rev it myself BEFORE the tires start rolling, etc. It is related to the first start in the morning and in the evening when i leave work. I want to understand my car.... my first brand new car, and I intend to keep it a looooooong time. Does anyone know how I could find out the specifications for the cat warm-up? A website link? I wouldn't even know where to start looking.