Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

[RITmusic2k]

Hi everybody!

I got married.

[Rope-Pusher]

Hi everybody!

I got married.

So did I!




Oh, did you mean "Recently"? Nevermind!

[tankinbeans]

I read that in The Simpson's voice.

Grats?

[Tups]

Congratulations!

Hnngggh... Still one and a half weeks until my four-week paid summer holiday begins. I guess after two weeks I start waiting for the holiday to be over and regular working life to continue...

[Rope-Pusher]

Congratulations!

Hnngggh... Still one and a half weeks until my four-week paid summer holiday begins. I guess after two weeks I start waiting for the holiday to be over and regular working life to continue...

You have paid attention to the lessons of life Grasshopper

[Squint]

Hi everybody!

I got married.

Hey congrats!

I hit my 5 year anniversary not that long ago.

Hi everybody!

I got married.

So did I!




Oh, did you mean "Recently"? Nevermind!

[theholycow]

Hi everybody!

I got married.

You poor, demented honky!

Hark. My 10 year anniversary approacheth.

[watkins]

I ate some Starburst candies. I also finally painted the deck of my trailer. No marriage-related news though.

[tankinbeans]

Well, Mrs. Frizzle needs a new windscreen.

Very much grr, many mad.

[AHTOXA]

Yeah, I know about negative equity pitfalls. And I know I'm going to be a few grand (maybe 3k) upside down.

On the plus side, I did speak with my local CU and the loan terms offered to me are quite good at 3.45%. My current APR is higher than that due to past credit issues. Plus, instead of dumping the repair money into the car now, it will simply be paid towards the downpayment on the new thus negating some of the loss.

I'll still end up losing a couple grand, I'm sure. But, I'll likely be in a more reliable vehicle with less stress and wasted time wrenching on it.

I haven't made up my mind yet, but I'm going to go test drive the Forester and the Crosstrek this evening and see if I even like them.

sorry about your situation, but glad you're looking at the subarus. I know you'll want to do your own test drives and comparisons but, based on my test drives of the Forester and Impreza (I test drove a base Impreza sedan - only manual they had in stock; Forester was a premium model with the huge panoramic moonroof and other goodies), the Forester was exponentially nicer than the Impreza (which the Crosstrek is based on). I am not even sure you'll fit in the Crosstrek. I was upset about how unimpressive the Impreza was, especially since it was much cheaper than the Forester. The gearing was too spread out, while the 5th (top) gear was geared rather low for an overdrive. The engine was lackluster, though it did have a cool boxer sound to it. I barely fit in the thing. The handling was nothing to write home about. Positives would be the smooth ride, surprisingly quiet cabin (they thickened the window glass for 2015 and might've added some insulation), and decent acceleration when revved past 4k rpms. The Forester had much better gearing (more aggressive and versatile), much better power (reviews pointed to the Impreza and Forester ultimately being similar in acceleration; my findings were not so close), much more room, much nicer seat (and the premium model Forester has a power seat with nice lumbar support), smoother ride (but not much if any better handling), nicer stereo and interior fit and finish. If you're ok without the panoramic moonroof, foglights (edit: foglights not standard on the forester premium either; can add on at dealer for a few hundred) and other accoutrements, the base Forester looks to be a good value. I also think they are running big deals on the Forester (at least they were a couple weeks back), and they may be able to best the rates you were offered by the credit union. Either way, good luck and please let us know how things go.

Taking this out of my vac pump thread and continuing here.

I drove a base Forester and a premium Crosstrek. Power-wise, they didn't seem that different to me. Yes, the Forester has a slightly better power to weight ration, by carrying something like 1.4 lbs per pound less, or about 4% improvement, from what I recall.

I fit very well in the Crosstrek, and I actually enjoying the ergos off the Crosstrek more than the Forester, but I think I was somewhat swayed against the Forester by it being base model. I did sit in a nicer-optioned Forester and it was great.

THE PROBLEM:

Manual Foresters that are NOT base are rarer than hen's teeth. There is a 2016 coming into a local dealer and the guy will call me when it gets in. The issue with that - very little negotiation room. It's rarity increases demand, so the dealer isn't likely to deal as well on it. If they DON'T deal well on it, that will put the Forester slightly out of my price range.

Optioned how I want and comparably between each other:

Forester - 26,500 MSRP
Crosstrek - 23,500 MSRP

I really need to be at about 23k for the car before taxes and other stuff in order to be in my target budget, and I doubt that they will take 3k off Forester; looking at truecar.com supports my thinking. Crosstrek, however, is very attainable.

All of that said, I'm not sure. I am leaning towards the Forester, because the huge pano room is amazing and I would really, really like the huge cargo space that it offers. My only real gripe with the Sonic (aside from mechanical issues, obviously) is the small size. I've made it work over the years, but I'd like a larger vehicle. The Crosstrek is larger than my Sonic (19.x vs 22.x cubic feet), but Forester is much more so at 37 cubic feet (off my head, might be off slightly).

Fuel economy, insurance and maintenance is a wash between the Crosstrek and Forester. Also, the Crosstrek and Forester can both two 1500 lbs, which I'd be doing most likely (moto trailer and all-purpose small utility trailer), and this is where the better power of the Forester wins.

Long story short, do I compromise a little bit of cargo space and go with the Crosstrek or get the car I truly prefer over the two (the Forester) and step slightly outside of my planned budget? That's a decision on me, of course, and while I can easily afford more car, I'm not sure if that's the best decision in the long run.

I'll be driving a manual Crosstrek this evening and see. I'd really need to drive a Premium trim manual Forester to cement my decision though.

[potownrob]

Taking this out of my vac pump thread and continuing here.

I drove a base Forester and a premium Crosstrek. Power-wise, they didn't seem that different to me. Yes, the Forester has a slightly better power to weight ration, by carrying something like 1.4 lbs per pound less, or about 4% improvement, from what I recall.

I fit very well in the Crosstrek, and I actually enjoying the ergos off the Crosstrek more than the Forester, but I think I was somewhat swayed against the Forester by it being base model. I did sit in a nicer-optioned Forester and it was great.

THE PROBLEM:

Manual Foresters that are NOT base are rarer than hen's teeth. There is a 2016 coming into a local dealer and the guy will call me when it gets in. The issue with that - very little negotiation room. It's rarity increases demand, so the dealer isn't likely to deal as well on it. If they DON'T deal well on it, that will put the Forester slightly out of my price range.

Optioned how I want and comparably between each other:

Forester - 26,500 MSRP
Crosstrek - 23,500 MSRP

I really need to be at about 23k for the car before taxes and other stuff in order to be in my target budget, and I doubt that they will take 3k off Forester; looking at truecar.com supports my thinking. Crosstrek, however, is very attainable.

All of that said, I'm not sure. I am leaning towards the Forester, because the huge pano room is amazing and I would really, really like the huge cargo space that it offers. My only real gripe with the Sonic (aside from mechanical issues, obviously) is the small size. I've made it work over the years, but I'd like a larger vehicle. The Crosstrek is larger than my Sonic (19.x vs 22.x cubic feet), but Forester is much more so at 37 cubic feet (off my head, might be off slightly).

Fuel economy, insurance and maintenance is a wash between the Crosstrek and Forester. Also, the Crosstrek and Forester can both two 1500 lbs, which I'd be doing most likely (moto trailer and all-purpose small utility trailer), and this is where the better power of the Forester wins.

Long story short, do I compromise a little bit of cargo space and go with the Crosstrek or get the car I truly prefer over the two (the Forester) and step slightly outside of my planned budget? That's a decision on me, of course, and while I can easily afford more car, I'm not sure if that's the best decision in the long run.

I'll be driving a manual Crosstrek this evening and see. I'd really need to drive a Premium trim manual Forester to cement my decision though.

wow, really surprised you found the crosstrek almost as powerful as the forester. Maybe it's the hills here, but it wasn't even close when I drove them - Impreza was pokey unless flogged while the forester hauled even when short shifted. The forester drove and felt like a significantly nicer car. Maybe I needed to drive a premium Impreza but I can't imagine them being that much nicer. Fuel economy is supposed to be significantly better on the Impreza and I'd assume the crosstrek too. You should also be able to get them down to about 24k easily if not lower. It sounds like you need to find other dealers to check out a premium forester manual; unless the online stock is wrong, both Plano and Dallas had 2015 premium manuals on the way to the dealers if not already in stock. Definitely try to test drive a premium forester manual. If you end up with a crosstrek (or Impreza hatch?? Too low??), I'll be happy for you too, just think you should drive the premium (and maybe drive the cars more) before making a decision.

[Rope-Pusher]

Go find your old Cherokee and throw money at the owner until he parts with it.

[AHTOXA]

I have a really nice deal lined up on a '15 Forester manual.

BUT, and this is a huge one.

Started researching the oil consumption issues.
- forums seem to think that manual trans Foresters (and Crosstreks) are more likely to have the issue
- issue does not seem to be affecting all, but still rather wide-spread
- there are two lawsuits Subaru is facing in regards to the oil consumption issues.


Now I have reservations. After my Chevy experience, the last thing I want to do is deal with another large issue, such as oil consumption.

More so, there's not another vehicle that really competes with the Forester by offering AWD and manual while not being a full on SUV.

I'll have to think about this some more. I'm almost tempted to go and look at a vehicle that I've been eyeing a long time - the Focus ST - and see if that's something that I like, while giving me more room and getting me out of this pile of crap car.

[Rope-Pusher]

Y Knot Bye a Green Vehicle?

[AHTOXA]

Those are just ugly to me.