Will Subaru's direction make your current Suby your last?

[highlander]

ntadime

welcome.

I'm sometimes in the area due to a friend living in Vinton. Got family in Raphine.

Of course some others are in school at Tech.

My daughters are too young to drive and I wouldn't trust one of them with my LGT. She always yells FASTER FASTER from the car seats!!!!

 

Be glad to help with mods if you go that route.

 

Todd

[jazzymt]

It's possible I'll skip a generation. I was none too fond of the '00-'04 Outbacks/Legacies, but I loved my '97 Outback & I love my '05 XT. Given the proposed changes on overseas '07 Outbacks though, I think they're headed in the right direction as far as looks - dead sexy...

 

Besides possible changes in looks, I have no real expectation for complaints. The Outback is 5 stars in my book. There is no other vehicle I'd rather own now that I have 4 seats with cargo room, ground clearance, AWD & a 300hp turbo boxer. I don't see them messing with any of those key features in the near future.

 

~edit~ Bottom line - if it was totalled today - I'd buy another one tomorrow.

[SLegacy99]

Id just like to point out that until BMW began offering 4 years scheduled maintence, they were struggling to sell cars other than the 3 series. People were under the impression that a BMW is too expensive to repair....I think Mercedes has acquired that reputation now.

[ntadime]

Highlander: what kind of mods have you done.?I plan to have a moonroof put in this month

[ntadime]

The reason that BMW went to 4 year free maintanence is that , in the late 90's and into the ealry 2000's a large number of BMW's, particularly the 3 series , were leases. The rates were so good that people who otherwise could not afford one took leases(remember the $299/month leases on the 3's?). But maintanence is very expensive so BMW was getting back a lot of cars that hadn't been kept up and were difficult to resell.

[aaykay]

The reason that BMW went to 4 year free maintanence is that , in the late 90's and into the ealry 2000's a large number of BMW's, particularly the 3 series , were leases. The rates were so good that people who otherwise could not afford one took leases(remember the $299/month leases on the 3's?). But maintanence is very expensive so BMW was getting back a lot of cars that hadn't been kept up and were difficult to resell.

 

If I remember correctly, their "recommended" service interval, lengthened considerably, when BMW started paying for the maintenance. I believe it changed to once every 10,000 miles or so, while the earlier schedule (when the owners paid for it) called for a more frequent service at shorter intervals.

[skibum]

Had I ever owned a Suby, I'd respond "yes". I was ready to write a check for an '06 LGT Wagon, but SOA pulled the rug out from that plan when they axed the non-ltd MT. I'll come into the fold provided an STi type grown-up wagon finds it's way here without a BMWesque pricetag, but based on their current direction, that's a pipe dream. Meantime I'll maintain lookout for a late build non-ltd '05.

[rickster]

It seems to me that Subaru tries a lot of different marketing ploys, & none of them ever really seem to catch on. Subaru, should come up with an agressive marketing campaign & stay focused (I still think they should've kept Lance around). That said, Subaru's attempt to take on BMW would never be taken seriously. If anything Subaru should compete with the German car companies on the basis of cost, & reliability. I should know, I've got a VW R32 & had to replace the engine for a meager 13K due to hydrolock...I took my WRX through alot more water & never experienced a problem.

[legandrex]

I will stay with them most likely. They are well engineered cars. However if 08 has fugly wheels like the 07 I may just end up keeping my 05 when lease is due. The look of the wheels is one of the key factors in my purchase decision.

[twisted]

If they cant make their cars look like hawt sex on wheels on the outside and think progressive like Toyota and Nissan do with their options, i will go with other manufacturers.

 

Seriously, the LGT is a nice car overall but could use some more aggressive design. Also it needs more options to remain on peoples shopping list.

 

Quite honestly, 250-350 hp is becoming the industry standard. Even saturns new offerings are providing near to 300hp.

 

So subaru needs to up the power, quality of interior and options installed and yet keep the price down.

 

Options like HID, illuminated steering controls, mp3 cd , aux inputs, voice controlled navi are a must have for subaru to compete with other mfgs. Even a Mazda 3 offers a nice navi.

 

And they need to up their warranty period, dealer service quality, provide free rentals during dealer service.

 

Another thing that would benefit subaru is to work with leading Mod manufacturers and sell their mods right at the dealership, all installed and warranted by the dealership.

 

Subaru needs to think about offering the latest technology in their cars and not yesterdays leftovers.

Now there are quite a few options for consumers looking for AWD sedans/wagons...so subaru needs to up their product on other levels to stay competitive.

The 07 infiniti Gx would make a perfect replacement to a legacy. Its got more power, better interior and pretty decent exterior and an AWD.