DiscoStu

Looking for a new or used Forester for my MotherInLaw. She won't get anything used with more than 20K miles on it. Local lot has a few 2009s/2010s in the $23K range. They also have brand new 2011s in the 26K range. She wants the all weather pkg with heated seats/mirrors/windshield. What can I realistically get a brand new one out the door for? (Michigan 6% tax, if that helps). Do you think I could get out for $24K (tax, title, everything included)? Can I do better? What about the used ones? They have about 13K or 15K miles on them. Practically new. Thanks

I remember telling the dealer about the same problem soon after I purchased my 99 OBW. They said it was a known problem, they said they could fix it by reflashing the computer with newer firmware, but I would suffer fuel economy. I chose not to do it. It still hesitates 10 years later.

If someone has an unlimited supply of carfax's, I'd appreciate a check on this, please. I asked the selling dealership to do it and they said they no longer do that. Makes me kind of leery.... VIN: JF1GD61697H511975

Thanks for all of your input. I test drove a 2006 Impreza the other day. I was quite surprised with the interior room. I didn't feel cramped at all (I'm not a tiny guy at all) and it was kind of fun to drive . I agree with your assessment of the price. $14.4 is way too much (it did, however, come with a 100K mile extended warranty). But I found a few others that I may take a look at this weekend that are 2007s and have fewer miles on them for about $12K. If anyone has a free carfax account and could run these numbers, I'd appreciate it. Thanks. VIN #1: JF1GD61637H502060 VIN #2: JF1GD61697H511975

Thinking of trading my 99 OBW for an 07 Impreza Sedan. The local dealer has one with <30K miles for about $14,000 (is that too much?). Hoping I could get at least $4500 trade in on the Outback (am I dreaming?). Aside from the cargo space, what, in your opinion, are the pros and cons of the Impreza as compared to the Legacy wagon? Thanks.

CEL is back on again. I've cleaned the EGR valve. That little filter seems to let air through it just fine. Maybe I'll try to bypass it for a few days to see if that helps. I'm convinced, though, that it is either the solenoid itself, or the solenoid is not getting current when it needs it. Should I be able to trip the solenoid by hooking up leads from the battery to test it? It says 12V on the printing. Does it matter which terminal gets pos or neg?

99 OBW Trying to fix a P0400 code (EGR flow). When exactly should the EGR valve open to allow exhaust gas to recirculate? Is it supposed to happen on acceleration? Only when it's cold (outside temp)? Only when the engine is cold? I can make the valve open by sucking on the tube. I can't seem to watch it happen naturally. I've read that you should see it move when you make the engine rev. Is that true? Trying to see if the solenoid is bad. I removed the tubes while the engine was running. I didn't get any suction from either end (going into the solenoid or coming out). I cleaned out all the vac tubes (rubber and metal) that I could find, cleared out the computer, the CEL went out as hasn't returned (I've made more than 2 trips). Any advice? Thanks all.

Got a quote of $220-$250 for the shop to do this. Does that seem reasonable? Local Subaru dealership ballparked me at $500. A quick google search for the gaskets, grommets, and plug seals looks like it costs about $80. I would probably take me 8 hours to do it and it would still leak. Anyone know of a detailed set of instructions on how to do this? Anyone got a favorite mechanic in West Michigan to recommend? Thanks all.

I have a small oil leak from the valve covers on my 99 OBW. Just had the timing belt, cam and crank seals replaced. How difficult is this? Something I can do at home? I replaced the spark plugs a while back and it took a few hours. The spark plugs go right thru the valve cover right? So I must first remove the plugs. Do the covers come off from the top or do I need to crawl underneath? Is there a handy guide somewhere to explain the whole process to me? Thanks,

99 obw. I need to change the fuel filter. Any advice? I know where it is. It looks easy to replace. Is it a simple as removing and replacing? Is this system under pressure all the time? If so, how do I relieve the pressure to avoid getting fuel all over when I disconnect it? Also, I'm getting a timing belt change next week, the shop that's doing it mistakenly thought I wanted a quote on changing all the hoses, too. I didn't think about it at the time, but should I do it? It's been 180,000+ miles and I've never had a hose replaced. They quoted about $300 for all of them including the serpentine belt(s). Thanks for any and all advice.

For the record, I'm not going to attempt this myself. I'm taking it to AutoLab this weekend. I've taken it there before and trust them. I also found a $50 coupon online. So it will end up being about $500 which I think is fair. Thanks for all of your advice.

Got another quote from AutoLab for $554 for the job. That sounds in the ballpark. I'm gonna call around some more.

I definitely need rotors (at least on the rear). They are gouged and make a hell of a racket every time I brake. What is a reasonable cost to have a local shop do all 4 brakes for me? I feel confident I could do it, but it may take me all weekend, and I don't have that kind of time. Plus if I break something, I would probably have to have it towed for someone to repair it.

99 Legacy OBW. My subie needs new brakes. Is there a do-it-yourself guide that someone can point me to? Are there any gotchas I should worry about? Special tools I would need? Seems like it should be simple, right? Steps: Jack up a corner and stabilize the car. Remove tire Remove caliper Remove Rotor Put on new rotor put new pads in caliper put on caliper put on tire Repeat for 3 other corners. Sound reasonable? I've never done this before, the first shop I called wanted $500 per axle to do brakes. I figure I should be able to get 4 rotors and 8 pads for about $250-300. Does that sound right? Where do you get them? Thanks in advance.

Are there instructions here (or somewhere else) on how to do such a thing. It doesn't sound all that expensive. I'm willing to give it a shot. But how?

What does that mean? "Relay your Lamps"

I bought one of those CrystalView headlight polishing kits at the Auto Store ($20). I followed the instructions (I actually polished a little more that they said to), and I must say the lenses do look brand new now. Then I went to try to adjust the beams. I found several sources on the internets that said to mark a cross on the garage door where the center of your lights are, then back up (exactly straight) 25 ft and adjust the vertical and horizontal until the hot spot is just below and to the right of the cross. Fumbling around in the dark, I was turning the white plastic screw and couldn't see any movement. Got back in the light and found that I had stripped the plastic part and was just moving it around the screw. How do I fix this? Can I rip the plastic part off and turn the screw some other way? Maybe with vise grips? I sprayed some WD40 on the threads to loosen them up. I probably should have done that first.

Don't want to sound like too much of a newbie here but... what's legacycentral?

99 Legacy OBW Driving at night I notice that my headlights are not nearly as bright as my 06 Toyota RAV4. Even when switched to high-beams, people don't flash their lights at me for being too bright. I just replaced the bulbs with new ones (not those $300 blue ones, just the better white ones). Could they be out of alignment? Are there instructions somewhere here on how to align them? How else could I brighten things up at night? Thanks

I'm assuming that the code is the same PO400 that I have been getting all along. I checked the vacuum hoses and blew out the filter thingy like the other guy did, and reset the error codes. The light stayed off for about 75 miles and came back on. Just wondering what I should check next.

My CEL light came on again while driving to work this morning. What should I check next?

Found it. Blew it out with compressed air, like you. Disconnected power for 10 min. So far, so good. Drove about 40 miles so far with no light.

Maybe mine's just really dirty. I will look again. My mileage is still about 25 mpg. I've gone to AutoZone and have had them clear the codes a few times. I've gone thousands of miles before it came back on. Last time, however, I got about 20 miles before it came back on. There is no noticable difference in the way the car sounds, drives, or feels. Just that dang light on all the time...

Where is this located on a 99 OBW. I got the same code in my computer, but I don't see anything that looks like this under the hood. Thanks.

99 Legacy OBW 170,000 miles and no HG problem yet <crosses fingers>.