Urban Coyote

Being in Canada it lists "Major Component Limited Warranty (60 month/100,000 km) - This warranty continues to cover major components to 60 months or 100,000 km." Unfortunately to my knowledge not to 100K miles, only 100k KM.

I bought a 2012, 2.0L base model Impreza this past April. The car checked out great in pretty much every way, when I took it for two test drives and when I took it for an independent inspection. I was even able to contact the past owners and ask them questions about the car. About a month after bringing the car home the low oil light came on. As the car is still under warranty I took it to the dealership where they said they could do an oil consumption test on it. I'm in Canada so unfortunately they don't seen to honour the same warranty procedure as they do in the US since the class action lawsuit was settled. I had to pay for the oil change. Fast forward two and a half months and the oil light has come back on. Between the oil change and the light coming on I've driven 7297km (4534 US miles). Is this considered excessive oil consumption? The dealer said when the light came back on to bring it into the dealership....which is 50km (31 US miles) away. Should I do this given the low oil indicator? The dipstick doesn't look too bad...about 2/3 of the way down between the high and low oil indicators. Thoughts? Thanks!!

Thank you very much.....I'll take a look and those and see if they'll be of value to me. I'm searching in Canadian dollars so if these are American currency there may be a discrepancy in car values between the countries.

Thanks. How do you go about finding the 'book' values of a vehicle? You have to pay for those correct? The two that I'm looking at right now are trade-ins. I can't imaging they would tell you what they paid for it as that's a bargaining card that they would hold. As soon as I know what they paid then I know what I'm likely able to offer for it. Same as telling the dealer what I'd be willing to pay. As soon as I do that they'll try to finance a monthly payment that is good for them....not necessarily me.

What are other people's experiences negotiating the price on a used subaru? If a 2012 Impreza is listed at the dealer for $16,000 how much can you hope to (hypothetically) knock the price down? For arguments sake, the car has 60,000 KM on it, no accidents reported, is the sport trim level and is a manual.

I'm in the market for a new hatchback and am considering a used 2.0i impreza. There are a few on the market in my area ranging from a 2012-2014 that I'll consider. I've only ever owned subarus, '91 Loyal, '97 Impreza, '98 Legacy, '09 Impreza and now looking for another. The problem is my current '09, 2.5i is an absolute, miserable lemon. It's had nothing but problem since I got it and now I'm ditching it. What are peoples impressions of the 2012, and 2014 Impreza? Consumer report shows the '12 is a more problematic year than '11 or '13. Can anyone comment on this? Overall impression of the gas mileage of the 2.0i Impreza? Thanks UC

Yes, the bushings need replacement as they are de-laminating. That 'hack' was kind enough to show me when the car was on the lift. Usually when I need a repair I go buy the parts and my mechanic will install them for me as he's a family member. What I'm having a problem with is all the different terminologies that seems to go with this particular part and if they all refer to the same bushing or if there is another bushing in the same general vicinity that could have a similar name. I don't want to purchase the wrong part. So when one seller advertises a "Front Lower Inner control arm bushing" is that the same as a "front control arm rear bushing" or a 'front rear" bushing etc etc. I believe that even the wrx and sti are different in this regard as well so I want to make sure I don't inadvertently purchase something that won't fit. And of course brand name recommendations are always appreciated

Could someone give me the lowdown on front control arm bushings for a 2009 base impreza, and by what names/terminology they generally go by? I was told that the bushings on the front control arm are in need of replacement but I've seen them listed under a number of different terms so am trying to get a clear idea of what I'm looking for. I've seen "Front Lower Inner", "Front Rear", "Front Lower Control Arm, Rear Position" etc. etc. With all the different terminology I'm having a hard time trying to sort it out. Also what brand name would someone recommend for replacements?

Ok, I have a few more notes to add to this trouble shooting issue. After having trouble starting the car this morning, when I arrived at work I switched the headlights off .... which I normally don't do as they turn off when the car is off. When I started the car after it sat at work for 11 hours and with the headlights off it started without too much trouble. My drive home was through a snow storm and as all the snow made the reflection off my headlights so much more noticeable I also noted that there was some intermittent flickering in the headlights while on the drive home. It wasn't severe, but it was there. I parked in front of the barn and revved the engine while watching the headlight reflection off the side of the barn and again noticed some intermittent flickering. It didn't seem to be directly related to engine revs, but if you looked for it it was definitely there. Does this indicate that my alternator on the way out??

The only thing I installed on the car was some LED lights to help light up the back hatch when the trunk opens. They plug into the little factory light that's already in the hatch. These were installed after the first round of battery problems though.....so I don't think they're the cause. Are there any known culprits that will cause battery drain that I should check out first? What about the stock security system?

I'm not sure, but I seem to be having a battery issue with my 2009 impreza. Over the holidays I took a day to thoroughly clean out the inside of the car...which of course requires the door to be opened for an extended period of time. I turned the dome light off after the first hour while I did this, but inadvertently forgot to completely close on the the doors all the way for the night (dome light is still off). The next day the car wouldn't start. All the lights came on then I put the key in the ignition, but the starter just turned over weakly and wouldn't start the car. I thought it was odd. There were no battery lights or anything. I was able to jump start the car and drove into town 50km away. The car started fine for that day. A few days later I took the car on a very short trip where it started well enough, but later in the day it again didn't want to start....same symptoms...the starter is turning over but the engine isn't firing up. At this point I took the car to a local car parts store where they tested the battery and alternator. Turns out the alternator was putting out the correct voltage, but the battery wasn't holding a charge. Ok, great....problem solved. I got a new battery and went on my way. I still thought it was odd for a 2009 to have a bad battery already though. Fast forward today.....car didn't want to start this morning. Same symptoms. Lights came on when I put the key in the ignition but when I tried to start the starter just turned over weakly for a short time before finally starting. I don't take a lot of short trips and my daily commute is 50km each way so lots of opportunity for the battery to charge. This seems like the same problem I had before....any ideas what could be running my battery down, or not charging it fully or properly? Thanks!!

Will '16 rims from a 2004 Outback fit a 2009 Impreza? I'm having a hard time finding the specs on the 2004. I believe the Impreza is 16 x 6.5, 5x100 with a 55mm offset.

I'm planning to get some body side molding for my 2009 impreza and was wondering if anyone here has installed these themselves? They look super easy and was wondering if that really was the case. I'd also like to buy some window rain guards and was wondering what online site is good to purchase goodies like these from? The dealer wants an arm and leg for these extras so I'd like to shop around a bit. I was looking at the subaru genuine parts site as one option...any other good ones out there? Thanks! UC

That's fantastic, thank you very much! I've learned a lot and will make sure to take care when searching for a new set of rims. Onward and upward as they say

Nope, you don't sound cocky, but it also has to be understood that in order to learn you have to ask questions and try to gain experience. You can't learn by remaining mute and expecting to gain knowledge by osmosis alone. That's why I ask lots of questions...to gain knowledge so I can make the best choices possible. If you don't ask, you can't learn. I'm sure most of the Subaru gurus on this board didn't start out as experts.

Thanks for all the input. I was hoping to potentially size down by one rim size as tire for 15's are quite a bit cheaper than 16's around here. I don't skimp in the quality of the tires I buy, but was hoping to potentially save a little on the size. My new Impreza came with pretty much the cheapest tires on the market so I'll probably be buying both a new summer and winter set in the next year. Unless anyone has experience with Goodyear Nordic winter tires? Are they any good?

That's just it....what exactly are all of the measurements I should be concerned with? When you say "hub-centric" what exactly do you mean and what is the correct number for a 2009 impreza.... same with offset? Sorry, I never concerned myself with rim sizing before so this is a new learning curve for me right now. Doing a general Google search for impreza rim size came up with surprisingly little info.

I'm going to start looking for a nicer set of summer rims for my new 2009 Impreza. As long as the bolt pattern is 5 x 100 (or 5x4) I should be good regardless of the rim size...15 instead of 16 for instance? What does the '100' stand for exactly and is there any wiggle room in that measurement for rim sizes? The stock tire size is 205/55 R16. If I were to find a very nice set of 15 rims would I would be safe to run 195/65 R15, or a 205/60 R15 on the car? Thanks! UC

I should have mentioned I don't plan to buy new tires right off. I was thinking more for when the current tires need replacement. Now I just have to decide what goodies I want to get for the new roo. Any suggestions on where to look for fun extras? I'm not talking rice-rocket stuff, more like nice external/internal touches to add a little uniqueness to the hatchback.

Thanks guys! What about with things like going through heavy rain or snow? I drove my new roo home last night through heavy rain and it definitely handles differently from my Legacy. It does not seem to quite stick to the pavement the same and I felt a bit more hydroplaning than I would have felt in the Legacy. Is that a product of a wider tire on a lighter vehicle, or just the fact that it's a smaller, lighter car?

If all goes well I pick up my new to me 2009 Impreza 2.5i today after work. Woohoo! It's blue too! Not that there's anything wrong with black, white of any shade in between....I just really like cars that are a color My thought is I would like to put a slightly narrower tire on it than the 205/55 R16 that are on it. Would that be possible? My hope is that it would help the rolling resistance and help with the fuel economy a bit. Thoughts? My current Legacy has 14 rims. Is it possible to use them on the new Impreza or is that too much of a stretch? I'm thinking it probably is.

Exactly....the title of the car was not free and clear. The guy didn't have the title to the car as he bought the car with a loan from the bank. I still would never go look at a car with the full purchase price in cash with me. To me that's just asking for trouble. Place a deposit pending a mechanical, VIN and title check sure, but not hand over the full price on the spot. It's my responsibility to do due diligence and I would not trust to a 15 minutes test drive and a quick look over of the car enough to purchase it outright. I'm not a mechanic and I realize I don't have the expertise to make a choice like that on the spot. After the guy accepted my offer I did try to give the him a deposit if he would sign a purchase agreement....he refused. That's when all the red flags started going off. Definitely slimy but a good experience to learn from.

The only problem with showing up cash in hand is you're taking a risk that the car may have a lien on it. The title has to be clear and free before I would pay for a car as I would not want to take on that sort of headache. I would never just show up to look at a car with cash....too risky from my perspective. If a deal is that good then it's probably too good to be true. I took the car for s test drive and had a mechanic look it over before I made an offer. All I needed from the seller was proof of a clear title on the car. You guys are right though....time to walk away. I don't actually think there's anything wrong with the car itself....it's the owner.

I've been trying to purchase an Impreza and thought I had found my 'new to me car'. I took it for a test drive and made an offer to the seller through email which was accepted. I offered to put down a deposit which the seller refused, which I found odd. Then this morning he says he has two other offers on the car and is planning to have it appraised at the local Subaru shop and "go from there". What I was wondering is can he back out once he accepts an offer? I figure the guy is big time full of kaka.

Just a quick tip. When you find a page that is working....bookmark it. It will keep working when you go back a few days later so you don't have to perform the same search each time you want to check a VIN. Hard to tell if it will work indefinitely, but it will for a while anyway.