Future car options

[Sandspider]

ORIGINAL: pauljmcnulty

Take your point, Paul - of course, a Yeti isn't going to compare with a 944. Out of interest, what did you get as a dog wagon?

We haven't, yet....we still have the old Legacy. Which, given that you can pick a good one up for a grand, isn't worth selling as it's very tatty and probably worth £500!

Thinking was to wait for the new Octavias to drop in price, maybe after one more winter with the Subaru.

I'm now being drawn to a Cactus though: light, clever touches in the design, quirky, should be cheap to run if you buy it once someone's lost the Citroen-standard first year depreciation. I've always liked the more mad Citroens: SM, DS, 2CV etc. The Cactus does look like it might be a bit bonkers. []

Never heard of the Cactus before this, then saw an advert for one last night! Unusual styling :s Possibly not to my taste! Prefer the looks of the Legacy, and they're cheaper and easier to find - I'd be buying second-hand, not new. Cheers.

 

[Sandspider]

OK, I'm going to stop quoting individual posts! But thank you all for the suggestions.

Chas - an ancient diesel Merc estate could work. My dad had an old petrol one - reversed it into a rock and bent all the back door, straighted it out a bit with another rock and it lasted for years. Not the prettiest of cars, but functional and practical.

David - I think a Range Rover is too big, plus the 130 hours of body work don't really sell it to me!! I don't think anything made by Land Rover (or RR) would suit - too much rust, problems and oil leaks. Unless you're lucky to get a good one... As for the modern Rangerovers, styled by Victoria Beckham or whoever, yuck - that's not the point of a LR / RR at all.

I had a hankering for a Lotus Elise for quite a while. Or an Ariel Atom - not practical at all, nor any good off road (as far as I know), but what a ride! Or a TVR Tuscan... I can just imagine the scene - GF thinks my 944 and Jimny weren't very practical, so I come home with an Atom or a Tuscan instead!

Audi Quattro or Allroad could work. The Quattro wins on looks, probably the Allroad on practicality etc.

Soo many options. Wouldn't really want a Jeep due to American handling, styling and thirst...

Thanks again, all.

 

[Masher]

ORIGINAL: Sandspider

ORIGINAL: pauljmcnulty

Take your point, Paul - of course, a Yeti isn't going to compare with a 944. Out of interest, what did you get as a dog wagon?

We haven't, yet....we still have the old Legacy. Which, given that you can pick a good one up for a grand, isn't worth selling as it's very tatty and probably worth £500!

Thinking was to wait for the new Octavias to drop in price, maybe after one more winter with the Subaru.

I'm now being drawn to a Cactus though: light, clever touches in the design, quirky, should be cheap to run if you buy it once someone's lost the Citroen-standard first year depreciation. I've always liked the more mad Citroens: SM, DS, 2CV etc. The Cactus does look like it might be a bit bonkers. []

Never heard of the Cactus before this, then saw an advert for one last night! Unusual styling :s Possibly not to my taste! Prefer the looks of the Legacy, and they're cheaper and easier to find - I'd be buying second-hand, not new. Cheers.

Subaru Legacy... I've had 3 of them for a cumulative mileage of around 200,000 miles. Not one single issue (we're talking the previous model, quirky roofline, frameless door version). Slightly agricultural but built like tanks. A couple of friends had the early versions of the Diesel engined ones and again had no issues and got over 40MPG out of them too (I told them to drive harder - that was crazy for a Legacy!). Good suggestion, go for it.

Cheers
Mick

 

[Sandspider]

Thanks Mick. What sort of MPG did you get out of the petrol version? How were servicing and insurance costs? Just comparing Outbacks and Legacies at the moment... Anyone here driven both?

Cheers.

 

[Masher]

I had petrol versions and in all honesty it's a while back but I seem to recall it was around 30mpg. Maybe check out the old JD Power surveys - or something like this;
http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/used/subaru/legacy-estate/readers-reviews/25207-6
I have driven an outback and if you are a biker and like to lean on corners you'll love it! Personally I'd stick to the normal version both from an aesthetic and driving dynamic point of view. Must be estate and manual - goes without saying of course! []

Cheers
Mick

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Unless ground clearance is a real issue go for the regular Legacy.

Our first one (1998) did well over 100K without fault, only needed a front oil seal and belt change but that was enough to warrant trading it for a car the dealer had in, a 2004 with only 4K on it.

That's now 140K or something, and all it's needed in that time is a battery, ARB bushes, and a new ventilation fan, £50 from a breaker. A clutch and flywheel at just over 100K, costing something like £1200, was a shock, but that's it.

30 mpg is the best you'll get from a 2.0 manual wagon. 20 mpg if you find a 3.0 beast []. Diesels do 40mpg, but aren't as tried and tested and I don't think they're worth the extra unless you will be doing mega miles.

The post '04 cars are nicer inside than the earlier ones: interior quality is never a Subaru strong point but they are a big step up from the pre '04 models. Aircon was't common on the earlier ones, either. There are plenty of decent '04-on cars for not a lot of money, and most will have led an easy life if not a farm-living tow car.

We splashed out £120 on another set of alloys on ebay, and some winter tyres. It handles well enough on Sport Contacts in the summer, and is almost un-stoppable on the winters in bad weather.

It's a shame, but the current model is just too big, too expensive, and too rare. Parts on Subarus can be shockingly expensive, but at least there are some breakers for the older models. We've had a bumper, lights, wing mirror etc. nice and cheap.

 

[Masher]

We're on the wrong forum [][][]

Cheers
Mick

 

[pauljmcnulty]

We're on the wrong forum

[]

Might set up a sub-forum just for this thread....[&:]

 

[Diver944]

We could easily stage a coup and banish you to a Scooby forum y'know

 

[pauljmcnulty]

We could easily stage a coup and banish you to a Scooby forum y'know

Lol, have you tried to join a Scooby forum with a 2.0 Legacy wagon??

Even the Legacy UK forum is all people with imported Spec B cars with Wuf levels of mods. Let alone the Impreza forums, where with under 1200 bhp and an ASBO you aren't allowed to post. [&o]

I'm tempted to join the Scooby forums and pretend I own a 360. With it's rear engine it's almost a Porsche....

 

[Sandspider]

Thank you Paul and Mick, that's useful to know.

Great advice as ever on the Porsche Club GB & Subaru Legacy Forum!

 

[Ewan]

No takers for our 159,000 mile 2002 year Merc C220 diesel saloon then?! It's going cheap!

 

[944 man]

I could be interested. Id appreciate some pictures, please.

 

[edh]

I want to join!

I've had a couple of Legacys - great cars. Comfortable & reliable but they are thirsty.

2.0 estate, 02 reg ran for years & cost me nothing. Traded it for buttons as the clutch was on its way out. 30mpg if you're lucky...

2.0 B4 saloon - temperamental twin turbo but fantastic car - also available in estate version. I guess there would be few unmodified ones now. 30mpg in your dreams...

I've always fancied a nice W124 estate - they are such impressive cars. 280 or 320 petrol for me please []

 

[pauljmcnulty]

I've had a couple of Legacys - great cars. Comfortable & reliable but they are thirsty.

I'm not sure I'd agree. Both ours have averaged 30 mpg, over about 200K miles. I think that's pretty reasonable for a hefty estate car with permanent 4wd?

Not up to modern car standards of efficiency, but that's not a fair comparison with a 10 or 15 year old car.

 

[Sandspider]

Thanks chaps. A couple more legacy questions please!

I read somewhere that you've got to drop the engine out to change the spark plugs, unless you have Subaru's special spark plug tool? Can this be true? And does it mean you have to use a Subaru garage to do.minor servicing?

Secondly, I also read that you can turn over the boot liner - rubber on one side, carpet.on the other depending on your cargo. But it didn't specify of this was in the legacy or the outback. Anyone know?

Oh, finally, what do.you.look for when buying one, besides the usual? Might go and join a Subaru forum, though I'm not sure how much more they could tell me than people here can!

Cheers.

 

[Neil Haughey]

Its always worthwhile considering what the dealer and specialist network is like in your area. We used to use a great little place in Wincanton to service our Panda, they are a Subaru/Isuzu/Fiat main dealer, odd combination but it gives me confidence to use those brands of cars. Likewise our local Peugeot dealer is OK with very competitive servicing pricing that makes it pointless looking for an independent garage. VW dealers though we used to use utter A holes, dinged Steph's golf, Audi the same just pure arrogance so I won't be buying any VWs or Audis as long as we live in this area.

 

[Sandspider]

Thanks Neil, good point. I tend to use independent garages, or do the work myself where possible.

My nearest official Subaru garage is in Cheltenham (not very near). But would a specialist Subaru garage be needed for servicing etc. or just major jobs? If I can service a 944, can I service a Subaru?!

 

[pauljmcnulty]

I read somewhere that you've got to drop the engine out to change the spark plugs, unless you have Subaru's special spark plug tool? Can this be true? And does it mean you have to use a Subaru garage to do.minor servicing?

Absolutely not. We get the servicing done by the local garage, although the dealer isn't a lot more: just inconvenient to get to.

The dealer did the clutch and flywheel, as it broke about a mile from them!

I think the front engine seal needs a dealer-only tool, but that was about 10 years ago so might have changed.

Main dealers (inc. Porsche) aren't necessarily always expensive, and often happy to do cheaper rates for older cars. The only issue is they can only use new, original parts. With some jobs used is fine, or aftermarket/ alternative OEM parts are cheap enough to make a difference.

 

[Sandspider]

THanks Paul, that's a relief! Seemed unlikely, but you never know once your stray away from Porsche...

Does seem that you need to remove the washer bottle and a few other bits and pieces to get at the plugs, but it can be done.