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paycer

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About paycer

  • Birthday June 5

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  • Location
    Nebrewska
  • Car
    05 STi, RIP-08sB -->18 Alfa Stelvio T
  • Interests
    apparently I can't get enough Subaru products....
  • Occupation
    Application Developer / aka Programmer

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  1. Did I decipher the press release correctly? The version of the Legacy with the red stitching, SI-drive stuff and Sport specific rear valance only comes with the NA 2.5?! Someone tell me the Sport model can actually be optioned with the "sporty engine"...
  2. An update for anyone that has been suffering/following along with my experience trying to get the dealer to replace the faulty intake mani gaskets. In my previous wall o' text a few posts back I mentioned that I had replaced the Throttle Body to Intercooler elbow hose clamp with a T-Bar style hose clamp to fix a leak on a replacement elbow the dealer 'fixed' in what they determined was the cause of my crappy idle and CEL errors. I had a pow wow with the service manager and the service writer and was told that the svc mgr had called some Subaru Techline and confirmed with an actual SOA tech that indeed there is an issue with the intake mani gaskets. The SOA tech said exactly what all of us know in that the gaskets pucker up when cold and let unmetered air into the combustion chamber and causes the crap idle which freaks out the ECU and throws the CEL. Once the car warms up the gaskets enlarge and flatten out that issue goes away... Yay, Subaru itself knows of the issue but for some reason hasn't issed a TSB on it yet . To get IMGs parts fixed under warranty, the svc manager said we had to make sure that intake path was fully OEM. That means the t-bar clamp I used to fix the leaky replacment elbow clamp (and fixed the leak) broke the OEM parts chain. To get warranty coverage for the IMGaskets I would have to suck it up with another brand new OEM TB to IC elblow and clamps. Once the CEL shows up again drag the Leggy back up to the dealer and get my IMGaskets replaced under warranty. So, the problem wasn't fixed, but my wife's car was "reset" to OEM stock... Of course Murphy's Law dictates that weather in Nebraska will stay above zero for the rest of the year and it will be months and months until the conditions are in place that will cause the CEL to rear it's ugly head again. In the end, it would have saved me hours of headaches to just replace the dang IMGaskets myself, but now it's the principle of the thing to get the dealer to do it... specB Dream: thanks again! My wife had a baby 10 days ago (mine! ) and once I get parolled from husband house arrest I'll try to get to a J-Bird meet!
  3. Max Capacity: I almost went that route but I was pretty sure my A/F sensor was just fine and I wanted use the factory OEM Denso part to avoid the dealer blaming it on a "bunk" (READ: perfectly acceptable substitute) part. spec.B Dream, yes I am in Omaha. I just looked at the thread on nebraska-subaru that I think you're talking about is not the one I'm having issues with. The one that sorta rhymes with Spam Wholesome is the one causing me grief now. I've used them for warranty work on the past three other turbo Subies and had zero problems with them, but most of the staff has turned over in the svc dept so I'm dealing with fresh faces now. The svc writer (cool guy actually trying to help me) is supposed to call me back today after he tries to reason with the svc manager. If that is still a bust, I'll have a 'sit down' with the svc manager tomorrow before I fire up a call to SOA to officially complain. I've always done all my out of warranty Subie work myself, but have heard that Russ' Garage is excellent and I'll use him if I get something that's over my head. Hopefully, I get some satisfaction from the dealer but if not, I'll report back in much shorter post! P.S. thanks for the offer to help with the IMGs, they sound like a pain to get at on the driver's side and I may just take you up on your offer if the dealer continues to play dumb and uncooperative.
  4. *disclaimer* This post is from a frustrated 08 owner that has been trying to get his dealer to fix this glitch for over a year now. Reading this post will either put you to sleep, make you feel better about your own car situation, help you deal with your own dealer on this issue or get you to respond with "Cool story bro", "Shut Up Man!" or "why didn't you just fix it yourself?" The answer to the last one is that after spending (financing!) $32K on a car for my wife, it might be nice is Subaru would get it to run correctly... I mean they did redesign those intake gaskets so there MUST have been something wrong with the first ones yes? *end disclaimer* I've been following along with this thread for months, but I've been taking the car to my dealer for a "fix" since the car was under 36K when mine started throwing a CEL. I figured I would take advantage of the warranty that I paid for in the price of the car...Talk about a frustrating experience! Here's my "fun" in a nutshell: 1. Over a year ago, below zero weather in Nebraska and a, misfire CEL shows up, dealer says it's a loose fuel hose and the issue is resolved. -the weather warms up, I forget about the issue. 2. The weather gets cold again and I print another (older) thread (this one didn't exist yet) and put in the passenger seat with a example pic of the 350Z intake manifold and gaskets showing and don't mention a word of it to the dealer. - the dealer says that an intercooler intake elbow (front lower right side) is torn and they replaced it under "goodwill" and the issue resolved. BTW, the service writer says, it WASN'T the intake gaskets. Remember, that I had never even mentioned intake gaskets but just left the printed out thread on the passenger seat. I leave feeling like a tool for leaving the info on the seat, but I trust the dealership's techs and leave. -intermission from the dealer service bay-(2b). Spring arrives days after the above fix and warmer weather shows up. The car behaves just fine until a groaning sound is heard coming from under the hood under acceleration. I read up on LGT.com to determine the issue and discover that the rubber sleeves in both ends of the replacment IC elbow fixed in #2 above tend to fail and let pressured air past making that groaning sound under acceleration. Many people complain the glue that holds the little end sleeves on is crap and to remove the sleeves and use a "T-Bar" hose clamp to eliminate the boot issue and upgrade from crapper worm and roller (OEM) hose clamps to more solid solution with the T-bar clamp. Me=losing faith in the dealer and not wanting to hassle with not having a car for awhile decide to fix it myself, by removing the rubber boots and using a T-Bar clamp. After my "fix" the sound goes away. 3. the temps drop again this year to around the zero mark and the CEL comes back along with accompanied crappy idle that has been present each time the CEL has illuminated. My wife's 08 spec.B (the car I've been yacking about) is now around 36K so I take the car in for the third time in hopes of not having to deal with an expired bumper to bumper warranty. I mentioned to the service writer that the tech will likely notice the t-bar clamp I used and explained why I did it. This time I leave THIS thread printed out on the passenger seat and mention, "Hey maybe it's the intake gaskets (hint hint!) Later the dealer calls me back to tell me they think it's front A/F sensor and NOT my t-bar clamp connected hose. They quote over $400 to replace the A/F sensor. I decline their offer and find the part at Fred Beans Suburu (in PA.) and find out they charge around $130 for the part. My local dealer wants over $200.00. I let the local dealer attempt a price match and they quote me about $10.00 more than the Fred Beans Subaru would charge. I figure, what the heck, I'll support the local guys and avoid the shipping delays. I install the part myself and clear the CEL. The weather gets crazy warm for winter and the car runs just fine. 4. A few days ago the weather goes back to winter-like and the CEL and crappy idle comes back. Now I'm pissed, but I'm rather civil when I tell the dealer that I am CONVINCED that the intake gaskets are the issue. The dealer comes back with yep, you're probably right and then proceed to tell me to replace anything under warranty, they will have to replace the IC intake elbow back to stock first to see if a CEL shows up! Do I still have the stock end "boots" for it. I do so I bring them back. They call me last night to tell me that they put a new one on and want me to pay for it. Then I will need to take the car back to see if the freaking CEL comes back on before they will do anything else on the car! I melt down on the poor service writer (he's a cool car enthusiast guy) and mention that my wife and I have bought 4 stick shifted Subarus from them since I got my original 02 WRX back in 2001. I even went so far as to wear my Subie Rally shoes, hat, and t-shirt to the dealer when I brought the rubber IC hose boots back to prove I wasn't some dildo trying to get free parts, but probably the biggest Subaru whore their dealer has ever seen. I was told I would be called back today after the service writer talks with the Svc Manager again... Sorry to vent, to you guys, but getting my dealer to fix this glitch has been insane.
  5. Get Boost to show up on the nav and I will get some cash to show up in your hand! lossol and Vwown3d rule!!!!!!
  6. I don't know if any one's pointed this out but you guys must have influenced Subaru. In the 08 we just got the map lights come on with the dome light and then fade to black together. Now how about getting those windows to power up and down with one button click?!
  7. ^ Same thing happened to me. To be fair, in the first post Jon in CT did say that you should check with the organization BEFORE signing up with them.... The link to the NGA in the post claims they are still partnered with SOA, but the page is a fluke left behind by some lazy @ss webmaster. After I got my bummer of an email from them I tried to navigate to that webpage via the site itself and got zilch. The super suck part for me is that I signed up 6.5 months before our Forester XT lease was going to expire. I finally emailed the customer service two months later to find out they weren't in the program anymore and I missed my window of opportunity..... Looks like the family is getting plants and gardening krap for Christmas!
  8. I've checked all the links that were on the first post and most of them point to the respective site's web pages that talk(ed) about the Subaru VIP program. Many of those web pages are very old and impossible to navigate to from the homepage which leads me to think they are defunct offers now. Of the websites where I was able to go to the homepage and navigate to a VIP benefit page, nearly all have changed their wording of the deal to read something along the lines of the following: VIP Partners participants can save up to $3,300* off the manufacturer's suggested retail price (depending on model and equipment selected) on the purchase or lease of any new Subaru from participating dealers. (* From MSRP. Limited time offer subject to changes without notice. Terms and conditions apply. Certain models may be excluded. This offer replaces all existing offers and is not available in Canada or Hawaii.) Also, the only website I found that made any mention at all about being 2% BELOW invoice was the National Gardening Association link. I contacted that organization by email and they said that their contract with SOA had expired and there was no VIP benefit through them now at all. So, that leaves us with no availability of a 2% below invoice (on any of the listed sites) and the rest alluding to possibly the chance that you might get something similar to invoice-like pricing on a new Subie. Clear as mud. Bummer. Oh well, if anyone hears/sees anything on the contrary, please post it up.
  9. I received a reply from the VIP Program after asking specifically if the "National Gardening Association" membership got 2% below invoice pricing and the response I got back was: Thank you for your loyalty as a Subaru customer and for your continued interest in the SOA VIP Program. As previously indicated, eligible employees of <insert company name> are entitled to purchase or lease a Subaru vehicle at special pricing. If you are interested in receiving a Dealer Visit Authorization, please contact SOA VIP Program Headquarters at your convenience. However, please be advised that it is not our policy to disclose information relating to third party vendors or organizations. Again, thank you for your interest in Subaru and feel free to contact me should you require any additional information. Since the VIP people didn't say "No", I'm going to assume that means "Yes", so off I go to join up with the "National Gardening Association". After reading about them on their website it appears to be a worthwhile oraganization so what the heck. Plant a tree so I can get a Spec.B! By the way, there appears to be a VIP Supplier Program (which I can get through work) and also the VIP Partner Program. Both probably vary in their discounts depending on which of those programs you qualify for. I hope this info helps some people and if anyone knows anything else, please elaborate. Ta ta, I'm off to the garden.....
  10. I wrote to the VIP customer service and they replied back with the following: Thank you for your interest in the Subaru VIP program. As an employee of <insert the company name here> you can purchase or lease a new Subaru at invoice pricing. Please contact me if you should have any additional questions. I also checked every one of the links that Jon [in CT] provided and the only one that mentioned a 2% BELOW invoice was the National Gardening Association. All the others eluded to INVOICE pricing/or dealer cost. I've re-emailed the VIP program people asking if this NGA membership will still get you 2% below invoice. If so, it looks like it's $19.95 per year to join and you've gotta be a green thumb for at least 6 months to qualify for the discount. I'll report back what the VIP program people say. If this is still valid, it'd be another $643.58 (destination charge included) for a no-optioned specB. I'm calculating about $541.66 off a GT (invoice - 2%). Not a bad way to spend a Jackson if it's still a valid offer. I'll report back what the VIP peeps say.
  11. Is the 2% below invoice new for this year? I ask this because I've used the VIP program to buy two Subies (02 WRX, 05 STi) and lease an 04 Forester XT. The three times I used the program I got the cars at invoice not 2% below. Does anyone know if the program has changed recently? I was hoping to get a specB (or LSTi:cool: ) with the program when the FXT lease is up in October. The company I work for qualifies me for the supplier program, which as far as I know is the same ol' VIP program. Perhaps there's two VIP program levels? Can anyone enlighten me on this?
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