Jessamine

Thanks for the reassurance. I'm in central NC, between the Triangle and the Triad.

I recently bought a 2004 Forester 2.5X to get around rural NC. Looking around this site, seems like I'm more of just an interested owner than the gung-ho enthusiastists who have posted here. Is there a more appropriate site for people like me? I do have two questions: 1) When I bought the car (which has automatic transmission), the salesperson told me that when I park it shouldn't set the parking brake. He said I should just put the gear shift in "park" and walk away, unless it's on a steep hill. He said this is because if l forget to release the brake when I drive it'll cost a lot to fix. I've always been told that it puts too much strain on the trans or whatever not to set the brake. The owner's manual says to set the brake. Any educated opinions anywhere? 2) He also said never to let gas tank to get lower than 1/4 full. Says that junk settles to the bottom of the tank that will hurt the engine. But isn't that what fuel filters are for? And it seems to me that if the gas in the bottom never gets used up, it'll really collect a lot of stuff in there. Then what happens if I'm compelled to drive it below 1/4 full some time? Seems like that would really wreck the engine. Plus, it's a pain to keep having to stop to get gas so soon. Reactions?