bjwirth

Some cars will unlock all the doors if you turn your key twice- I have no idea if your car does that. TO get keyless entry installed is no big deal, I think it's between $100-150 at your local shop.

I have a 00 forester, and I've had a similar occurance, but it only happens when the car has been sittin out in the cold. when I press the release button on the shifter, I can hear (what I presume is) the solenoid clicking, but I cant get the lever out of park. I have to sit there for 10 minutes or so just wiggling it until releases, then everything works just fine. I tried to think if these problems could be related, but cant think of anything.

I test drove a legacy xt and I really liked it. that said, coming from a bmw 323, I prefer the bmw for "fun to drive" and feel. yes the legacy is faster and bigger than the 323, but beside the "oomf" from the turbo, I don't think it's as much fun (well in dry pavement at least). I also think you'll miss some of the "luxury touches" that the audi gives you. I really like the interiors of the audis (it's the outside I can live without) but on the other hand, for normal day-to-day driving, I almost never push the bmw to its limit. and the legacy provides more than enough handling to suit my commuting needs. and since you have a corvette, you can scratch that performance itch quite easily. I'm not saying the legacy is "boring." I think it's quite lively and responsive- it's just not the same as a bmw or audi. I came REAL close to trading in my car last year, but didn't (contemplating the e90 right now), partially because I don't really have to haul the kids around do I didn't need a real family friendly car like I once thought I did. if you don't like the new audi's, the legacy or outback may be worth considering.

100+ mph on a forester?? I didn't know my car had it in her.... anyway, I guestimate my fuel light goes on with about 2 gals to spare- it's not often I "test" how low my tank will go anymnore. my other car has a "miles to go" display that really shouldn't be there. a while ago, I was using it once and figured "oh the display tells me I can go 25 more miles" next thing I know, the display starts dropping like a rock and the car stalls. aside from the possible damage, it's a real pain in the you know what to get gas if your stuck in the middle of nowhere.

I don't think black leather is too hot. Black vinyl on the other hand sucks. I once bought a used car that had black leather and was worried about the same thing (nissan). I'm not crazy about leather (I don't get what's so great about it) but it wasn't bad. then I sold that car and bought a new car. my choices were leather or 'leatherette' which is another word for vinyl. I chose the '-ette' and wow what a difference- my @$$ and back feel like it's on fire. on my next car, if cloth is not available, I'll spring for the leather. that said, just get seat covers if you find you don't like the leather. or I'm sure someone will swap seats with you.

well there you go... the car has been on the lot only a short amount of time and the sales manager isn't that motivated to sell it. But what's odd is that new car dealer RARELY have cars that have that kind of mileage on it unless it's unique or hot. So maybe the sales manager thinks b/c it has an h6 engine, he thinks it falls in that catagory (i doubt it), thus further explaining his stinginess. Whatever- maybe he's right. like I said before, the market will dictate the price- either you don't appreciate the value of this car, or the sales guy is dreaming.

maybe the dealer just got the car in and thinks he can get more for it from the next guy who walks in. Since I don't know the specifics of this car you're looking at, I don't know what's a "fair" deal. But just reading your post, I have a hard time beleiving a dealer would drop 4k off his 16k starting price. (of course dropping only $200 sounds a little stingy too). But look at it this way. if I was selling a car i thought was worth 15k, and had an asking price of 16k and someone comes along and offers 12k, I'd tell him to get lost. but if the car is ACTUALLY worth 12k, then I would realize at some point, my asking price was unreasonable and cut my price. IF you really like this car (which it sounds like you don't), then wait a couple of months and go back and offer him 12k. If it sells before then, then that means you were wrong and the car was worth more than you thought. if it sits there, that means you're right and the dealer will come to his senses and "let the car go" at your price.

If you (Langdon) are considering the subaru sub, or the basslink sub, then a small enclosure that fits in the spare tire should be fine. "back in the day," I had a hatch and wanted to add a sub. I had a custom enclosure/amp deck that was the size of the foot print of the hatch and only about 4" tall. This way I could still put 2 golf bags in the hatch with no problems and have more than enough bass. you could do the same thing I describe above, and since you don't appear to want a lot of bass, you really wouldn't lose any space. on the back of my forester, there's a "nook" on each side behind the wheel. while it's too small on the forester, you could probably fabricate something to fit there in an outback. I don't know what the back of the outback looks like. Forget the spare tire- just buy a can of fix-a-flat.

i was wondering the samw thing. any way, i would AVOID using glue. if you get some glue on your tumblers, your lock will get fudged up. just pay the $$ and get a lock smith. would you rather get a new ignition and carry 2 keys around??

well, if you find you "can't get over" the fit of you car and want to dump it (for cheap) let me know

I think I have to add that going to an "indy" shop is not always the smart move. I've known a few cases where my friends got ripped off. And in one case, a friend of mine was having some work done and the mechanic left the old belts laying ontop of the engine. can you imagine what would happen if that belt dropped and got tangled up?? I think it's kinda like getting a hair cut. it's not the name on the sign above the store, but the person cutting your hair. I once followed the person who used to cut my hair when she switched salons. my friend had a toyota and got to know one of the mechanics at the dealer. when he left the dealership to work at another garage, guess where my friend went to get his car worked on.

ugh... sorry I don't have a solution for you, but I can sympathize. I had a 96 coupe and one day in the summer, the car just stunk. Imagine my surprise when I opened up the trunk and looked in the spare tire well. to make things worse, at one point we had a bag of sunflower seeds that was in the trunk and a bunch spilled into the tire well. you can imagine the nasty water and smell. I nearly threw up cleaning out that mess.

I'd have to agree. I think it looks better because it's not so pronounced. It's a little flatter than the nose on the tribeca. now all they have to do is flatten it a little more, bisect it down the middle, and add a blue and white propeller on top..heh heh heh

I think you just have to weigh how much you want a 5-spd, higher ground clearance, more space, and how much you want to scratch that new car itch. In terms of money, it's cheaper to fix your current car, but you won't be able to get 2 out of the 4 things you want (5-spd and space). we had a 96 impreza coupe that we sold for our forester. with the birth of our first son, we jsut needed the space. it killed me to sell that car because it was running so well. we lost a car that wasn't going to depreciate much for a car that had lots of depreciation left in it (even though the forester was used). Now it kills me again because we are considering trading for another car with the birth of our 2nd son. while the forester is "adaquate" for around town, our last road trip was cramped. we are now "weighing" how much more space, is worth to us. minivan or suv, here we come :-\

I disagree 90%. I would rather see Subaru expand its line than disappear into oblivion. If subaru relies soley on its niche market, then it will probably go broke because it won't keep up with customer demand. I understand that people are worried that by moving into SUV's, subaru might be abandoning its "core" market. but it's actually customers that will dictate this. Sure the WRX STi is a great niche car, but if 5 years down the road, they only sell 100 cars (w/o charging ferrari prices), how can you justify producing a car at such a loss? how can a company stay in business if it's constantly losing money on meeting the demands of only 0.001% (I just made up that #) of the car business. But wait!!!! what if the tribeca is a hit, they make lots o' money and they are still able to produce their specialty cars that the mass market doesn't want?? Subaru has had its success because it met the needs of certain customers. that's great. but can you guarantee that EVERY current subaru customer will continue to want only the current offerings?? Things change, attitudes change, demand changes. if a business can't adapt, then it will fail. MG made great little sports car back in the 60's and 70's that filled a NICHE. where are they now? did they "stay true" to their core market? While everyone was going to big muscle cars, there weren't enough folks buying the compact sporty car to sustain it's bottom line. what can I say, welcome to the free market.

I love black cars, I just hate the cleaning. I have no opinion on armour all- I've never used it- I just don't care for the gloss. armour all is a love it/hate it kind of product it seems. BTW, I grew up in Pawtucket, so Hi (former) neighbor.

that's a personal call. try going to a dealer and listening to 2 cars w/ and w/o the upgraded stereo (turn down the bass if you're only interested in adding tweeters). you may find it's not even worth the $35- or you may find it's money well spent.

I haven't waxed/polished a car in years (I just buy silver cars now, they look clean all the time!!! ) I've heard good things about mothers, meguires, zaino, zymol- I'm sure turtle wax is fine too. I think most of these brands have a fine grit polish (not the course grit) you can use to alleviate the swirl marks. I like the brands that aren't all-in-one (ie a wax-on-wax-off. I want, polish on-polish-off, wax-on-wax-off- so next time you can skip the polish step) Instead of using a sock, try a foam pad, and a terri cloth towel to buff out the wax. but most imprortantly, the car has to be CLEAN- anyplace your pad or towel will touch has to be clean or you just carry the dirt around. I used to wash the car after it rained, because the rain would reduce the amount of particulates in the air (pollen settling on the car etc). as far as the rubber trim, you can use those "back to black" products out there to get rid of the white streaks, or try the zaino as SWC suggests.

I agree- it's not for everyone, but for those looking, I think it will do well. after having another child recently, the forester is looking a little cramped. Besides, you didn't hear people talking trash about that "avalanche wannabe" baja when it came out? (I'm not bashing the baja, just referencing a recent thread on the issue) I'm sure baja owners love their car. all this naysaying reminds me of the stuff I hear on other boards when new models come out. Just be thankful Chris Bangle doesn't work at Subaru.

get the stuff off ebay, it's half the price. like I said before, add a subaru sub and a pair of tweeters, it'll costya <$200. w/o an amp, upgrading speakers doesn't do much. (think weakest link in a chain) tweeters do nothing for the base punch as you said. I think it does A LOT for the music clarity. I personally find it more important than the base- but that's me. I only suggested them, because they're a cheap way to improve your sound. if you have them, they'll either be by the rearview mirrors or somewhere on the door.

a budget of $650 for all the things you want is really tight for all the things you want listed above. Conceivably you could do this; H/U w/xm compatibility (or aux input) and pream outs- $200 Front component speakers $100 small 4 way amp (4x30 or 4x40 bridgable) $200 small sub w/enclosure: $100 wiring, inline fuse- $25 dont replace the rear speakers. use the onboard amp to power the factory rears. use 2 channels of the amp to run the fronts, bridge the other 2 to run the sub. expect to spend a day tearing up your trim and installing everything if you've never done it before. 1. don't worry about power unless you like it loud. the factory power rating of 80 watts is a strech (more like 30-40 if you use comparable terms to these other amps) 2. forget rear speakers- they're only for rear seat passengers and they only provide "rear fill," not important. by cutting this step, you save on a pair of speakers and another amp ($250-300) and don't lose any sound quality in my opinion. 3. the most important sound comes from the front- get the compontents. 4. use the factory wiring for speakers- others will claim they're not thick enough- but they're fine- I had a 50w/ch going through factory wire and it was fine. use thicker wire for the sub. 5. changing the HU alone doesn't do anything- unless you don't have all the money upfront and plan to change things one step at a time. although i have to re-iterate my last suggestion... it sounds like you're on a tight budget, and you're leasing the car, so you'll either have to pull everything out or return the car with your new equipment. just get a subaru sub woofer, a pair of tweeters for up high, and plug the XM into the CD changer input of your current H/U- much less cost- much less headache, and only a SMALL sacrifice in sound quaility compared to what I outlined above.

like I said, I've never used zaino, I don't know much about it (other than I've heard good things). if you say you can "wax" your taillights and other plastic trim, then I believe you. is this something designed for plastic, or is it the same stuff you use for the rest of your car? I scanned their website and didnt get anything. the problem is that marketing language is much different than scientifice language and a lot of "terms" are thrown around w/o context. I could beleive that zaino works differently, but saying things like "cure" and "no residue" like they do on their site doesn't tell me anything. they say there's a patent pending, maybe I can look it up sometime and find out more- I'm kinda curious now.

the problem is not with the wax, but the technique, that most people have a problem with. if your car isn't CLEAN, and you're not using the right applicator, then you end up sanding your car. after you apply the wax, the small gashes are filled in, giving you a smooth glassy finish. when the wax wears away, the gashes show up (swirl marks and streaks), so you apply another layer of wax to "smooth" out the swirls and fill in the streaks and it looks great again. but each time, you're effectively sanding the clear coat. Plus, some of these department store or all-in-one waxes are formulated with fine grit in it to polish the surface to remove oxidized paint to help bring out the luster. My dad's 94 lexus looks great (owned since new)- it's even a dark charcoal where its easiest to see imperfections in the paint. you can beleive he's NEVER waxed the car- just runs it through a car wash from time to time. I'm not saying don't wax your car- if you want a good shine, you basically have to. It just seems most people get the bug to "clean" their car, buy some wax or protectant, and do more damage than if they had just left it alone. my wife had a black car she once bought used. we HAD to wax that car regularly because the previous owner did a crappy job of waxing it. I don't care what the manufactures say, once the swirl marks are in the finish, the average car owner wont get them out without a LOT of effort most people aren't willing to go through.

a wax is also a polymer and zaino's got to leave behind some kind of residue, otherwise where's the protection? I'm not knocking zaino, I've heard good things about it. but wax is wax- some are "all in one" and some are "systems" where you have multiple steps. I used to work in paint formulations, and just the nature of wax to be compatible chemically with a clearcoat surface (even zaino I bet) will have components in it which will affect the rubber trim. I would recomend against using wax for the average person. 99% of the time, I can see paint damage on cars where people have regularly waxed their cars- mostly the guys who think theyre doing a good job. Don't get me wrong, the cars always look great after theyre waxed, but then you got to wax your car from then on to keep it looking nice.

$1000 may not be a ripoff- what's the stereo shop going to do? I can take $1000 worth of stereo equipment and you can be sure it will sound better than $500 worth of stereo equipment. upgrading a stereo is just a personal preference as far as if "its worth it." I once had an old Toyota Tercel, and I upgraded the stereo (went waaay overboard). It sounded great. But I'll probably never upgrade a stereo again (via aftermarket route). the tercel had a horible sounds system, and no cd player. Todays stereos sound fine to me. The aftermarket set up I had in the toyota sounded MUCH better than the factory setup I have in our forester and bmw- but now I don't care.... the sound quality is good enough for me to pass the time while I drive. (I should note, both cars have the "upgraded" factory stereo). If there was noticable distortion, or hissing or buzzing, that would be different. also I don't play my music obnoxiously loud anymore. Besides if you go aftermarket, you lose the integrated look and steering wheel functions, etc.... If your budget is $500, I wouldn't bother with changing the HU only. I doubt that will improve your sound at all. to get better sound, you need better speakers, a sub woofer, and an amp to drive it all in addition to a new HU. Now that $1000 quote from the stereo place looks more reasonable. But if your happy with your stock stereo, and you want a little extra punch and finesse, just go with the subaru sub that fits under your seat, and an extra set of tweeters to mount up high. the advantage here is that this equipment is already compatible with the stock HU. also, if you go on ebay or online, you can pick up this stuff for half the price as the dealer. Don't bother upgrading your other speakers- it's just money down the drain unless you go the whole aftermarket route. and since it's subaru, everything integrates nicely (and you did it all for under $200) Will the $1000 upgrade sound better? definately. will it sound 5 times better? probably not.