swc7916

I've a bad experience with Cooper tires and wouldn't touch them with a 10-foot pole. The same thing with "house brand" tires. I agree with Ranger83 about not "cheaping out" on tires. In the long haul, over the years, Michelin has consistently produced the best tires. I don't bother to price-shop for tires anymore, I just go to Discount Tire and buy Michelins.

I second that. Also, if you're driving long distances a lot I would go for the Legacy over the Impreza - it has a longer wheelbase so it rides better and is quieter, too.

I wouldn't recommend using the OEM bars; because they're curved and attach at the ends, their effective length is short and over the top of the roof. The after-market bars extend outboard of the rails and are flat, so you can mount things closer to the ends of the bars. Look at Yakima or Thule.

(Respectfully) - Read your owner's manual. This is the way it's supposed to work; at least that's how it works in the 2001 through 2005's that I have owned. You must use the remote to deactivate the alarm system; unlocking the door with the key does not deactivate it. When the alarm system is activated the car won't start and the alarm will sound when you turn the key in the ignition. If that happens you don't need to disconnect the battery, just turn the key in the ignition from the ON to the OFF position 10 times and the alarm will turn off.

You live in Michigan and would consider an Impala over an Outback? How could you consider such a decision? It's an apples and oranges situation - get the Subaru, of course!

Does the radio still work? Do you actually listen to cassette tapes? When the factory radio in my '96 Outback died I replaced it with an Alpine radio/CD player.

Actually, hybrids make more sense than hydrogen or electric autos. Gasoline is extremely energy-dense while batteries (at least the current technology) and hydrogen is not; so you can carry enough of it for reasonable driving range. Also, most people only look at the pollution coming out of the tailpipe - where do people think that the electricity comes from? Do they realize that it may be produced at a coal-fired plant that is polluting SOMEWHERE ELSE? Or don't people realize that hydrogen does not come free - that you have to use electricity to produce it from water and you never get back the energy that you put in? What would happen if a large fraction of the automobiles depended on the power grid for their energy? When was the last time you saw a new generating plant being built? These are reasons why I don't see large-scale use of full electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles - it's just a transfer of energy from gasoline to the domestic power grid, which I don't think has the capacity.

Hybrid cars are just that - a stopgap technology. Unless I intended to drive one a lot and wear it out in less than 10 years I don't think that I would want one, or at least won't spend the extra money for one. These cars seem to me to be terribly complicated and the technology seems to be in its' infancy; I wonder if they'll be viewed as a passing fad a few years from now. Toyota needs to produce a 270hp Highlander hybrid in order to sell it - the original hybrids were sold to the "greenies" who didn't mind driving a two-passenger, low-performance car as long as they got high gas mileage and low pollution. The buyer who is willing to spend upwards of $40k for a car is not going to settle for that; if they're going to spend more, they want the improved gas mileage AND the performance. And I don't blame them.

I don't. On city streets where the traffic is stop and go and the speeds don't exceed about 40mgh I put it in 3. Otherwise, it is in D. I don't like downshifting an automatic transmission because I'm afraid that I will overshoot and put it into 1 when I meant 2. Also, with a manual you can rev the engine between gears when downshifting ("double clutching") so that the engine speed matches the transmission and the downshift isn't so abrupt; you can't do that with an automatic.

I just saw a 2006 WRX sedan today; I did'nt know they were at the dealers already.

In stop and go traffic where the speeds don't exceed 35mph or so, I will put my Outback in 3. I do this so that the transmission won't keep shifting between 3rd and 4th and if I keep it in 3rd I will get the acceleration when I want it, not when the transmission decides to downshift - I hate wanting the car to go but being stuck in too high a gear.

The OB Sport Special Edition is the best deal in a 2005 Impreza. The rebate on the OB Sport is higher and the extra $500 for the Special Edition package is definitely worth it. That said, when our 2005 OB Sport SE was totalled I was going to buy another one, but I made the mistake of driving a WRX Sport Wagon and I couldn't go back. The WRX engine is smoother, quieter and obviously more powerful, the clutch is better, and the handling is better - it's just a nicer car to drive.

I've had my alignments done at Omni Brake and Alignment on 124th in the row of auto repair shops between the Ford and Infiniti dealers.

Sorry to say this, but believe me - getting kids in and out of car seats is a big pain in the rear. I would recommend some kind of a minivan, preferably Honda or Toyota. When our kids were little we had a Vanagon. You could open up the sliding door, step into the van, and get the kids all buckled up while standing in the car. This was particularly nice when it was raining. As a matter of fact, the 2001 Outback that I owned had been traded in for a Chrysler van by a couple who found that it was too much trouble getting their child in and out of the car.

I ALWAYS use anti-seize on sparkplugs.

This post is a little incoherent: You state that the previous private owner didn't give you one of the remotes - Did they give you the other one? If you don't have any remotes, get one and try it out; you probably have remote entry but not an alarm system. What do mean about there being two designs available? Are you referring to the keyfobs? On each 5-year model change Subaru seems change to the keyfob. The 2000 to 2004 keyfobs are an odd shape, the earlier ones having grey buttons and the later ones having an orange and a blue button. They're interchangable. I have gotten two or three of them from eBay for about $10 each.

My '96 Outback shifted like that - I liked it; I wish my newer Outbacks shifted that well.

Where did you get THAT information? My understanding is that dealer's invoice is what the dealer pays for the car, but there are "holdbacks" that are sent back to dealer when the car is sold. These holdbacks only amount to about less than $500, if that.

I cited Joe Spitz' website because he conviently listed the organizations that are eligible for the VIP program. If you go the individual sites they will tell you the same thing. The dealer's invoice can be found in a number of sites on the web. I don't think that it is "convoluted". If you have checked at least a couple of places you will have a good idea of what it should be. Around here, the best pricing seems to be Costco pricing, which is/was $400-$450 over invoice depending on the dealer, and you may be able to get it down another $100 or so. Unless it is well into the end of the model year, it is hard, if not impossible, to do much better than that. My experience is that if I can get within a couple hundred dollars of invoice, I have gotten a pretty good deal. The best deal that I have gotten was when I bought my 2004 for $49 over invoice minus holdbacks (an advertised deal by Chaplin's.) Believe me, I price-shop and I play the dealers against each other, and I have never gotten a car at dealer's invoice. Besides, what's wrong with the dealer making a profit, as long as it's not too much? If I find a dealer and salesman that I like, I am willing to pay another $100-$200 to do business with them. What's a couple hundred dollars on a $20,000 car?

Huh? There's nothing convoluted here except your argument. If I follow what you are saying, then I can never know what the invoice price is. If you are able to use the Subaru VIP program then you won't have to haggle with the dealer. Sheesh, I never thought that I would get bashed for this post.

I had a 1996 Outback also, and it has no release for the rear hatch inside the car. When the factory radio/cassette died in my car I replaced it with an Alpine radio/CD unit from CarToys and was very happy with it, except for the tiny buttons which I couldn't see very well.

To get access to an on-line manual, create a site on www.mysubaru.com. You will need to enter the VIN of the car. After you have created your site there will be a link to a user's manual on the left side. This site also has other useful stuff such as recall information for your car and a place to enter service information.

I don't know if this has been posted before, but Subaru has a VIP program where members of certain organization can purchase a new Subaru at dealer's invoice. Most of these organizations seem to be ones in which Subaru is a corporate sponsor, like National Ski Patrol and International Mountain Biking Association. It looks like anyone can become a member and the dues are $25 to $30 per year. You must be a member for at least 6 months to be eligable for this program. For a list of the organization see http://www.cars101.com/subaru/subaru_discounts.html

I change my oil and oil filter every 3 months or 3,000 miles, and I always use genuine Subaru filters. I have K&N air filters in my cars and they haven't been in use long enough to clean them yet; otherwise, I change paper air filters every 30,000 miles or when they are dirty.

4, and they're all mine (I live on a short street.)