Subaru Crew Cafe

14566 messages, Last post on Nov 30, 2009 at 3:59 PM

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This is the place for Crew members to kick back, relax, and talk about...whatever!

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Messages Page 1361 of 1457: 1; ...; 1358; 1359; 1360; 1361; 1362; 1363; 1364; ...; 1457; Prev; Next; Last

#13598 of 14566 Re: phones again [p0926] by ladywclass Nov 15, 2008 (4:38 am)
Replying to: p0926 (Nov 14, 2008 9:22 pm) did the browsing at a red light, and then only had to touch the call button to order the rice ... gimme the benefit of SOME snese !
#13599 of 14566 Check this out.... by volkov Nov 21, 2008 (10:01 am)
It's a sobering sight and read. link title Maybe Subie is doing even better than it looks with even modest increase in market sales. Can't help but think that they would have been much better off if their new products could have been out a year earlier and more established before the financial collapse.
#13600 of 14566 What Would Crew Do? by lucien2 Nov 21, 2008 (1:49 pm)
We dropped about 2k into the '99 Outback a couple months ago (134k, it needed a steering rack and a couple of other things) Car started leaking badly last week, took in today..... It needs head gaskets, and a main seal. Once the transmission is dropped for that, clutch should be done as it is original. Also, the car is overdue for timing belt and water pump. Cost could go as high as $3500. On the horizon....who knows? struts? other engine issues? Transmission? sigh Brakes are good, body is good, interior is good. Tough call. What do you all think? Fix it or bail? Replies to this message: grahampeters (Nov 21, 2008 2:03 pm) lucien2 (Nov 21, 2008 2:06 pm) grahampeters (Nov 21, 2008 2:27 pm) xwesx (Nov 21, 2008 4:59 pm) and 2 more... rsholland (Nov 22, 2008 9:05 am) paisan (Nov 23, 2008 6:00 am) lucien2 (Nov 23, 2008 8:29 am) lucien2 (Nov 23, 2008 8:42 am) and 8 more... lucien2 (Nov 23, 2008 10:04 am) and 1 more...
#13601 of 14566 Re: What Would Crew Do? [lucien2] by grahampeters Nov 21, 2008 (2:03 pm)
Replying to: lucien2 (Nov 21, 2008 1:49 pm) G'day With where the car market is headed at present, there are likely to be some very good deals around. That means that new car prices are very negotiable. Equally, used car trade ins will be depressed but not to the same degree. I'd be tempted, if cash flow is strong, to take the opportunity to replace. Cheers Graham Replies to this message: lucien2 (Nov 21, 2008 2:06 pm) grahampeters (Nov 21, 2008 2:27 pm) xwesx (Nov 21, 2008 4:59 pm) lucien2 (Nov 21, 2008 8:52 pm) and 1 more...
#13602 of 14566 Re: What Would Crew Do? [grahampeters] by lucien2 Nov 21, 2008 (2:06 pm)
Replying to: grahampeters (Nov 21, 2008 2:03 pm) cash flow is okay, there is some debt we were going to pay off first....but $3500 would dampen that! Replies to this message: grahampeters (Nov 21, 2008 2:27 pm) xwesx (Nov 21, 2008 4:59 pm) lucien2 (Nov 21, 2008 8:52 pm) ladywclass (Nov 22, 2008 11:36 am)
#13603 of 14566 Re: What Would Crew Do? [lucien2] by grahampeters Nov 21, 2008 (2:27 pm)
Replying to: lucien2 (Nov 21, 2008 2:06 pm) G'day Its awfully tempting to replace at the moment. The new car trade here is stuck with a big problem. Toyota are trying to shift 40,000 excess cars. The Australian car market is usually about 1,000,000 per annum of which Toyota sell maybe 25% (largest market share). So they are carrying about 2 months excess stock. Other makers have similar problems. The Australian Dollar has slipped a long way in the past few months, devaluing about one third against US Dollar) and most hedging will run out in about March or April 2009. That means that the stock of vehicles on dealers lost and at distribution centres has been bought with a strong currency . Fabulous deals are around right now but come April next year, virtually all car prices will skyrocket. Even the local manufacturers are having to cut prices dramatically, in order to compete with importers. Toyota, Ford and GM (Holden) have manufacturing plants here but a lot of cars are imported, often from Japan, Korea or Thailand (where Honda have manufacturing plants). Toyota have a fold out sheet advert, measuring about six feet by two in today's newspapers, pushing the massive deals they are offering. Whilst some of it is orphan stock (a lot of manual transmission models) the prices look very competitive. Here in Melbourne it is a cold rainy day (decent snow forecast on the Australian Alps and Storm force winds) near the end of the month with sales reps getting increasing desperate to shift stock. Could be a lovely day for car buying! Cheers Graham
#13604 of 14566 Re: What Would Crew Do? [lucien2] by xwesx Nov 21, 2008 (4:59 pm)
Replying to: lucien2 (Nov 21, 2008 2:06 pm) Well, were you not practically a half-world away, I would come get that bugger from you and fix it myself. But, as that is simply a pipe dream, Graham presents a strong argument. Fixing that car is still cheaper than buying a new one, but the question is whether you want to dump your money into an old car or not. Replies to this message: lucien2 (Nov 21, 2008 8:52 pm) ladywclass (Nov 22, 2008 11:36 am)
#13605 of 14566 Re: What Would Crew Do? [xwesx] by lucien2 Nov 21, 2008 (8:52 pm)
Replying to: xwesx (Nov 21, 2008 4:59 pm) you speak the truth...most of the $$ is labor. I have not the tools nor the space, myself. Still, I am leaning toward fixing it. We could easily keep it in frontline service for another 2 years, buy a car, and put this one out to pasture as the winter/vacation hauler. Fixing it now means crossing the point of no return...where more than 50% of the major late-life repairs have been made. Plus, it has a brand new butt thanks to that PA driver who rear-ended us in August. A new car right now.....oof. I'm not sure I'm ready. I wouldn't have much of a down payment, and the prospect of more monthly expense isnt my favorite thing to contemplate in this time of job uncertainty.. Still, a new car means no maintenance, more airbags, LATCH, probably better economy (unless we stay in the subie fold), etc. Replies to this message: ladywclass (Nov 22, 2008 11:36 am)
#13606 of 14566 Re: What Would Crew Do? [lucien2] by rsholland Nov 22, 2008 (9:05 am)
Replying to: lucien2 (Nov 21, 2008 1:49 pm) Bail. Once you get well past 100K, you can expect a bunch of expensive repairs. That's been our experience. I say look at a new Impreza 2.5i 5-door or Forester X. There are ton of new Foresters on dealer lots, so getting a good deal should be pretty easy. I think Imprezas can be had for $16K. Bob Replies to this message: paisan (Nov 23, 2008 6:00 am) lucien2 (Nov 23, 2008 8:29 am) lucien2 (Nov 23, 2008 8:42 am) rsholland (Nov 23, 2008 8:49 am) and 7 more... lucien2 (Nov 23, 2008 10:04 am) paisan (Nov 23, 2008 12:43 pm)
#13607 of 14566 Re: What Would Crew Do? [lucien2] by ladywclass Nov 22, 2008 (11:36 am)
Replying to: lucien2 (Nov 21, 2008 8:52 pm) but then again .... we put about $2500 into a car that was already over 10 years old, figuring if we got another 18 months out of it we were still ahead .... daughter drove it as her only car until about 2 years ago, and we are still using it as an occasional driver ... but I agree ... it's a tough decision ...