Martinjmpr

I'm a relative newbie, both here and to the Subie world, but I love mine (99 OBW, Auto). Bought it in April with 42k, and have driven it all over Wyoming, Colorado, and parts of Nebraska and South Dakota. I've put nearly 20,000 miles on it in the 5 months I've owned it. I love it! Have had no problems with it, mileage has varied between a low of 26mpg, and a high of nearly 31. Handling on graded dirt roads is awesome - feels like a rally car! Subarus are all over the place in this part of the US, and now I know why.

Looks to me like it either sits a little higher than the 2000-2004 model, or like they trimmed some of the body parts that hang down. I like it. My biggest gripe about the 2000-2004 model is that there is too much plastic hanging below the front bumper. To me that defeats the whole "Outback" theme. Guess that's why I like my '99!

Is MPG the only issue? My 99 OBW gets between 26-30 and the AC doesn't seem to have any noticeable effect on mileage. That with an auto, BTW.

C'mon, dude, are you telling me that every time you buy a video recorder, computer, digital camera, or appliance, that you sit down and patiently read through the whole owner's manual before you turn it on? Well, if you do you've got more patience than about 99% of the people I know. That is also a lame analogy, BTW. The car can't operate without knowing how to work the tranny. I'm pretty sure the car can function whether the parking light works or not.

I can see the info about unequal size tires damaging the t-case or transmission on an automatic. So, the other day, I got a flat, put the emergency spare on, and put the fuse in the FWD socket. They couldn't fix the tire (it was wearing out anyway - see my other post on tires) so they put a used tire on that was of a different make (although it is the same size: P205/70R15). (And yes, I know used tires aren't a good idea, but I'm in the middle of nowhere, there aren't any tire stores around, and I'm going to be in a big city in a few days and I'll be able to replace all the tires then. I just needed something to get me back on the road.) Just for the hell of it, I decided NOT to take out the fuse in the FWD well, basically to see if running my car in FWD only would yield any better mileage. But if this info on the damage to the t-case is correct, then it may be a good idea for me to leave the FWD fuse in place until I can replace all 4 tires, since we all know that different manufacturers can sometimes have different diameters in tires that are of the same nominal 'size'. Is that right? If so I guess I did the right thing for the wrong reason. Martin

Setright: Most American cars don't have 'parking lights' like cars in Europe do. If I hadn't checked up on it I would have thought the parking light was the emergency (4-way) flasher. I think the main reason for those is that in places like Europe where you have extremely narrow streets and people have to park halfway up on the curb (they do this in Germany, I'm guessing Denmark is the same way) it is neccessary in order for other drivers to navigate through all the parked cars. But anywhere I've been in the us (and that's most of it), parking like that would be both unneccessary and illegal, which is why most cars sold in the US don't have that feature.

My '99 OBW just turned over 60k and the stock Michelins are getting really worn. I want to replace them but I also need an alignment (wheel pulls slightly to the right when driving on level streets.) So, which one, do you think, I should do first? I can see the argument that says "get the tires first, then the alignment, that way the alignment will match the tires", but I can also see the argument that says "get the alignment first, otherwise your new tires will begin to wear unevenly when you put them on." Due to cost considerations (i.e., me being a cheapskate) I can't get them at the same time/place. Any thoughts? :confused:

Colorado and Wyoming are Subaru heaven. If you ever go to Boulder (where my alma mater just got voted "best party school in the country", btw! :drunk: ), and you want to get a table in a crowded restaurant, Just say very loudly "Hey, they're towing away a green Subaru" and watch half of the patrons get up and run out. And yes, my Subaru is green

Hmmmm...Right now I'm about 3,000 miles late on getting the oil changed in my 99 OBW because I'm at a very remote site and don't have the time to make an appt at a dealer (nearest dealer is 100 miles away.) This thread makes me feel a little better about not taking the 'easy' way out, as I'd been tempted to do. FWIW, I do check the oil level every time I fill the tank, and it's still good. I should have time to get the oil changed this Friday, I hope. Martin