Why'd you buy your Subaru?
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Posts: 10,197
From: San Ramon, Ca
Car Info: 2013 GR STi
Why'd you buy your Subaru?
Story time. Why'd you buy your first Subaru? What/when was that moment when you decided, "I've got to have a Subaru and I've got to have it now!"
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Posts: 935
From: blaine,WA
Car Info: 2002 wrx wagon black
i had front wheel drive cars rear wheel drive cars. i knew about the subaru wrx sti and evo. but the usa never had the real thing tell 2002 the wrx came with the powerplant that interested me.I wanted the evo but got tide of waiting.
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 555
From: Milpitas, CA
Car Info: 2003 WRX Metallic Silver
Well my dad gave me a Tundra to drive. And then I started school over at Deanza so I needed something to save more gas so I got a new car. I was waiting for the Evo and the STi but my dad wanted me to get a car right before school started so at the time thats the only new car I could think about getting. But i'm happy with it. 
i'm a truck guy. had my toyota 4runner since 90.
paid for too.
but when the wrx came out, everything about it was just... it fits.
the looks, the shape, the AWD... plus the turbo. i always wanted a turbo.
i wasnt serious about getting the wrx until something major broke down on my 4runner that told me, it's time to turn it into a full time trail (4 wheeling) rig.
the first nite i drove the rental car, i went by stevens creek subaru (YIKES!!!!!) and actually test drove both an auto and manual sedans.
sure enough the salesman there allowed me to go full boost on both!
but the bastard was so pushy, i bailed.
about a month of research and getting an email from SOA saying the STi may or may not be coming to the US, i decided to say, what the hell...
as an xmas present to myself, i checked around other local dealers. my cousin was also looking for a sedan also. he had been to carlsen.
i wanted to go and check out other dealers. i called livermore and didnt get a very good response. santa cruz, at the time, looked so far away. ditto SF and northern ones.
so albany was the one i went to. and surprised, the salesman there was so cool and NO pressure.
i was there on dec 24 and asked him to find me a red sedan with no options.
dec 26, i was out 4 wheeling and i get a call saying he found one.
dec 28, i was a proud owner of a red sedan.
that was 2001.
fast forward to jan 6, 2003. subaru shocks the world by OWNING mitsubishi just a week after announcing the evo.
june 6, after an ALMOST close call of getting white with gold STi (thanks cupertino steve...) from santa cruz, i picked up a black with gold one from bianco sube... traded in the red sedan. it was like loosing a child...
paid for too.
but when the wrx came out, everything about it was just... it fits.
the looks, the shape, the AWD... plus the turbo. i always wanted a turbo.
i wasnt serious about getting the wrx until something major broke down on my 4runner that told me, it's time to turn it into a full time trail (4 wheeling) rig.
the first nite i drove the rental car, i went by stevens creek subaru (YIKES!!!!!) and actually test drove both an auto and manual sedans.
sure enough the salesman there allowed me to go full boost on both!
but the bastard was so pushy, i bailed.
about a month of research and getting an email from SOA saying the STi may or may not be coming to the US, i decided to say, what the hell...
as an xmas present to myself, i checked around other local dealers. my cousin was also looking for a sedan also. he had been to carlsen.
i wanted to go and check out other dealers. i called livermore and didnt get a very good response. santa cruz, at the time, looked so far away. ditto SF and northern ones.
so albany was the one i went to. and surprised, the salesman there was so cool and NO pressure.
i was there on dec 24 and asked him to find me a red sedan with no options.
dec 26, i was out 4 wheeling and i get a call saying he found one.
dec 28, i was a proud owner of a red sedan.
that was 2001.
fast forward to jan 6, 2003. subaru shocks the world by OWNING mitsubishi just a week after announcing the evo.
june 6, after an ALMOST close call of getting white with gold STi (thanks cupertino steve...) from santa cruz, i picked up a black with gold one from bianco sube... traded in the red sedan. it was like loosing a child...
Last edited by ldivinag; Nov 17, 2003 at 09:08 PM.
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Posts: 26,618
From: The Land of Rocks
Car Info: Turncoat Turbo
To hearken back to the days of yore in my college youth and relive my DSM (1990 Eagle Talon TSi AWD) memories!
It was the only affordable, small, turbo, AWD platform that I could find. The test drive sold it and my IS300 was on the block after my 2nd visit to the Subaru dealership.
I haven't looked back yet. My girlfriend thought (thinks!) I was crazy.
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It was the only affordable, small, turbo, AWD platform that I could find. The test drive sold it and my IS300 was on the block after my 2nd visit to the Subaru dealership.
I haven't looked back yet. My girlfriend thought (thinks!) I was crazy.
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iTrader: (7)
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 10,029
From: Sacramento CA
Car Info: 02 Impreza WRX sedan
Origami posted by huck
Why'd you buy your first Subaru?
Back in '93 when GMC rolled out with the Syclone pickup, I liked the awesome traction and power of the turbo V6 but couldn't justify spending $23,000+ on a two (possibly three) seater that had a hauling capacity of 500 pounds. No other vehicle caught my attention much until I saw magazine reviews of the WRX. I went down to the dealership and ordered one from Japan without even a test drive (they didn't have a 5-speed one on the lot that wasn't already pre-sold).
Now that I've lived with the car for a couple of years, I'm still happy with my decision. I can go practically anywhere in it, be it snow, rain, some offroad for camping, etc. There are lots of effective mods and tuners out there to choose from.
I also like Subaru's underlying philosophy about their entire product line. I believe in full-time AWD, the boxer engine for a low center of gravity and a longitudinal layout, a turbocharger for increased power and torque instead of a massive lump of displacement that can impact fuel economy.
There are faster and better handling cars out there, but they aren't Subarus. From everything I've heard and read, the Mitsubishi EVO VIII is a significantly better handling car near the limits than an STi, but if I were in the market for another car the STi would get the nod from me because it isn't a one-off based on a front-driver. As I typed earlier, it's a philosophical preference not based solely on objective data.
--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush
Why'd you buy your first Subaru?
Back in '93 when GMC rolled out with the Syclone pickup, I liked the awesome traction and power of the turbo V6 but couldn't justify spending $23,000+ on a two (possibly three) seater that had a hauling capacity of 500 pounds. No other vehicle caught my attention much until I saw magazine reviews of the WRX. I went down to the dealership and ordered one from Japan without even a test drive (they didn't have a 5-speed one on the lot that wasn't already pre-sold).
Now that I've lived with the car for a couple of years, I'm still happy with my decision. I can go practically anywhere in it, be it snow, rain, some offroad for camping, etc. There are lots of effective mods and tuners out there to choose from.
I also like Subaru's underlying philosophy about their entire product line. I believe in full-time AWD, the boxer engine for a low center of gravity and a longitudinal layout, a turbocharger for increased power and torque instead of a massive lump of displacement that can impact fuel economy.
There are faster and better handling cars out there, but they aren't Subarus. From everything I've heard and read, the Mitsubishi EVO VIII is a significantly better handling car near the limits than an STi, but if I were in the market for another car the STi would get the nod from me because it isn't a one-off based on a front-driver. As I typed earlier, it's a philosophical preference not based solely on objective data.
--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 399
From: Ca
Car Info: Silver WRX wagon
Saw a red Outback sport in the parking lot at work a few years ago and thought it looked cool. Thought I might get one for my next car. But the 84 civic sedan was still going strong with about 270,000 original owner miles on it . The trunk was tied up with string from a rear ender that "wrote off the car" but it was a reliable and quite fun to drive for what it was. A year or so later it died and the spouse says its time to look at new cars. So we go to the Subaru dealership and lo and behold the WRX has just come out. Guess my eyes started doing that Toad from Wind in the Willows thing.
Anyway I have a tendancy to be exceeding cheap so, so I kept driving it much to my wife's disapointment, I fixed the Civic for $5. Turned out it just need new plugs
Well the next thing was that my son was desperate to get a PS2 so my wife made a deal where if he got straight As for a semester he could have one. She didn't realize how much it was ($400 with a couple of games at the time ). Anyway he did it so deal is a deal and I had to buy one. While dong so I came across V-Rally2 in the bargin bin at Cosco an though it looked kinda cool.
So I started playing it and of course noticed that the Subaru Impreza was one of the primary cars. Made me get out the brochure and drool a bit.
Not long after that the Civic died again (296,000mi); quite politely I might add. It just stopped running at the top of the hill going into San rafeal and I was able to cruise over a couple of lanes an park it on the wide sholder by the off ramp, two block from the bus depot. So I went to work on the bus.
In the mean time my wife had looked up Subaru WRX on line, decided I need a Silver one, found one in stock at the local dealership and made an appointment.
I thought the Civic might have a broken timing belt which would mean RIP for sure but my mechanic said it probably needed a new igniter which was going to cost ~$120 to fix . I was torn but my wife insisted that I go test drive the WRX first.
Well I got the WRX :banana: Definately would have been cheaper to fix the Civic. On the other hand, even the Salvation Army wouldn't take it as a donation
so perhaps it was time for a new car
Tim
Anyway I have a tendancy to be exceeding cheap so, so I kept driving it much to my wife's disapointment, I fixed the Civic for $5. Turned out it just need new plugs
Well the next thing was that my son was desperate to get a PS2 so my wife made a deal where if he got straight As for a semester he could have one. She didn't realize how much it was ($400 with a couple of games at the time
). Anyway he did it so deal is a deal and I had to buy one. While dong so I came across V-Rally2 in the bargin bin at Cosco an though it looked kinda cool.So I started playing it and of course noticed that the Subaru Impreza was one of the primary cars. Made me get out the brochure and drool a bit.
Not long after that the Civic died again (296,000mi); quite politely I might add. It just stopped running at the top of the hill going into San rafeal and I was able to cruise over a couple of lanes an park it on the wide sholder by the off ramp, two block from the bus depot. So I went to work on the bus.
In the mean time my wife had looked up Subaru WRX on line, decided I need a Silver one, found one in stock at the local dealership and made an appointment.
I thought the Civic might have a broken timing belt which would mean RIP for sure but my mechanic said it probably needed a new igniter which was going to cost ~$120 to fix . I was torn but my wife insisted that I go test drive the WRX first.
Well I got the WRX :banana: Definately would have been cheaper to fix the Civic. On the other hand, even the Salvation Army wouldn't take it as a donation
so perhaps it was time for a new car Tim
Originally posted by gotwrx
On the other hand, even the Salvation Army wouldn't take it as a donation so perhaps it was time for a new car
Tim
On the other hand, even the Salvation Army wouldn't take it as a donation
so perhaps it was time for a new car Tim
yea i agree, when even the salvation army doesn' take it as an donation, that car is pretty much worthless. but i'm sure it's helped you make tons of money delivering you back and forth from work and such
250,000-mile Club President
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 4,770
From: Bizerkeley
Car Info: MBP 02 WRX wagon
When I had to put chains on my RX-7 to go to Tahoe, I decided that a Subaru was in order for the second car, so I got an 84 wagon.
That got sold when we leased the Forester.
When my BMW 635csi started having motronics problems, I decided a WRX should replace it
That got sold when we leased the Forester.
When my BMW 635csi started having motronics problems, I decided a WRX should replace it
