Introduction

[Dotanukie]

Hello all, been lurking around here for a few weeks now and thought it time to stick my head up and say hi. Two weeks ago I bought a regal blue LGT limited with manual trans and taupe interior, my first Subaru. Gotta say, I love this car, puts a smile on my face every time I'm behind the wheel. I wanted to see what people thought of the deal I got on this car, I think I did pretty good. Searched around here in NJ for awhile and the best deal I could find was $26200 for this car. Then my buddy, who used to work in the DC area, turned me onto the Fitzmall dealerships in Maryland, just north of DC. Basically, to make a long story short, the 3 hour, 200 mile drive got me this car with the compass mirror, all weather mats and wheel locks for $24895 out the door (not including tax). I was pretty happy with this price, just wanted to see what some others might think.

 

A little about myself and my car interests, I'm 36, married, 2 kids, and an analytical chemist for a major pharmaceutical company. I've been wrenching on cars since I was 12 or 13, rebuilt my first motor (a Ford 390) when I was 15. Most of my life I've been into American muscle. I've had three vintage Mustangs, a 67 bigblock fastback GTA, a 76 Cobra II, and a 71 Mach 1, the 67 being my very first car. Given that it can be said I am a certifiable Mustang nut and will own another in the next few years. I've also had a few Chevys and other Fords from that era. Got into the Nissan Z cars for awhile, had a 280ZX and 300ZX, and had a Jeep Wrangler as a daily driver for almost ten years. My last daily driver before the Subie was a Volvo 850. My current resto project/toy is a car that I've wanted since I was 16, a Triumph TR6. For the last 4-5 years I've been heavily into vintage British cars, or vintage sports cars in general. I've got three nearly from the ground up restos under my belt so far and am always on the lookout for another project/money pit.

 

So how did I end up with the LGT? Well, I had seen this car back in the spring of 04 at the NYC auto show and loved it. Then, when these cars first hit the dealerships last year I took one for a test drive and loved it even more. At that time I was still making payments on my wifes truck but figured it was an option in another few years. Well, fast forward to a few weeks ago, the transmission in my Volvo decides to slowly start dying and the wifes truck has been paid off since the early spring. I had gotten into the idea of getting the new 05 Mustang back last winter but was derailed from that for several reasons which I won't get into here unless someone really wants to hear that story, but I came back to my original idea of the LGT. Haven't regretted that decision in any way, this is a fantastic car. I needed something with room for the two kids, a decent trunk, and overall I wanted something with a big performance envelope and fun to drive factor. This car meets all those needs in spades. My few minor complaints, which maybe someone hear can commiserate with. 1) why don't all these cars come with that extended arm rest thing, seems silly for the limited to at least not have it as standard and an option on the other models. 2) I'm really a little dissappointed that the stereo doesn't have MP3 capability, yet the nearly identicle unit in the outback does (according to the manual). You can get an MP3 capable unit from the factory in nearly every Ford, why not a close to the top of the line Japanese car? I toyed with the idea of seeing what the dealership would want to swap an outback unit for mine, but the price would probably scare a few years off my life, so I'm not to serious about that. One other thing, I gotta get the STI shifter for this, the throws on the stock unit seem long and the overall feel is a bit rubbery and disconnected. Also, at first I wanted the spoiler, but my car doesn't have it. After having the car for a few weeks though I began to really like the stealth look, so I was ready to ditch the spoiler idea completely. However, I saw and realllllly like the JDM lip spoiler, so I'm thinking that would make a nice christmas present to myself in a few months. I'm not big into modding, this is my daily driver and all and I have warranty concerns, but the Cobb tuning tool seems like something I'd like to eventually get.

 

Thats it, thats me. I'm looking forward to getting some good info hear, and where I can, offering some. I'd like to thank all you people that have posted some really great detailed tech info, you've already helped me to kill my seatbelt chime and the damned DRL's. I'll be around, see ya.

[KegTapper]

Congrats on the purchase. A lot of issues you've brought up can be fixed. Arm rest extension isn't expensive to buy as a part and install yourself. The audio thing, well, there are options, but it's not the easiest fix.

 

Enjoy the car along with us other new members...even with the vehicle's drawbacks, it's still nice to have something that's rare