Subaru: experiences with new to me 99 OBW

Hi,
I've been following this newsgroup since early September. My previous car,
'91 Honda Accord LX, died on me (again) around that time. Sick of putting
money into the car and in a rush to have a working vehicle to get to work
and school, I found a '99 Legacy Outback Wagon with 50k miles at a local
Honda dealer (loaded save for leather seats). Despite some reservations, I
couldn't pass up the price ($10k). My reservations were mostly due to my
treatment by the dealer. I heard a constant rubbing noise on the rear wheels
during my initial test drive. They said they would fix the issue and then
let me test drive the car again. They said the rear brakes were all brand
new and it was the bearings causing the noise, which were replaced (it took
them 2 days longer than promised to check on this). I came back to test
drive the car. The constant noise was gone, but the rubbing noise was still
apparent when braking (the car also shuddered when braking from a high
speed). I drove away with it regardless (pressured by time) with the
salesman marking that there were still issues with the rear brakes. He
wanted me to drive it for a week (he said the new rotors they put on might
need to be broken in and then the noise would go away). Needless to say, in
all my rushing, I never actually looked through the wheel wells because I
stupidly trusted that the work they said was done was actually done. The
rear rotors were rusted and pitted. They turned the rotors for me, but I
still am unimpressed the my car's braking. The car no longer studders when
braking from high speeds and the rubbing noise is mostly nonexistent. But, I
still don't feel the car brakes as well as other cars I've driven. I find
myself still tensing up when I brake because it feels like it's not going to
stop in time.

My only other issue with the Subaru is the transmission (automatic). It
doesn't feel as responsive or eager to downshift as much as I'm used to
(have heavily driven mostly 90-91 Accords, but also 94 Chevy Beretta and
97-98 Civic). Thankfully, the OBW doesn't downshift as much as the wimpy 97
or 98 Civics (or the Mazda 626 I test drove), but I am oftentimes frustrated
that it won't shift down to 1st when coming to a rolling or quick stop. The
best example of this is with the wicked speed bumps (more like mounds) at my
school. There is one placed at the bottom of a hill. When going up, I
quickly slow down to 3-5mph when going over the mound, get on the otherside
of it and then want to get going up the hill, yet the car is never in 1st
gear so that I can properly accelerate. I feel that if I slow down to such a
speed, it should definately be in 1st. I drove my fiance's 90 Accord over
that speed bump today and it had no problem with being in the 'right' gear.

Enough of me griping... I'm still very much looking forward to the AWD in
the winter...as well as the heated seats!

One quick question... when I start the car... the "AT OIL TEMP" light stays
on for longer than any other lights (save the seatbelt/airbag lights). The
manual says "If the light flashes after the engine starts, it may indicate
that the automatic transmission control system is not working properly.
Contact your nearest Subaru dealer for service immediately." The light is
definately not flashing. Could this still be an issue?

Happy driving,
Matt

Thanks for the replies. Makes me feel a bit better about my purchase (I know
the car had sat on lots from March until I bought it in September. Carfax
reported 350 miles difference from a reading in March til Sept. I wasn't
sure if this had a bad impact on the car outside of the rusted rotors). I
know my issues with the braking and shifting can only be helped by my
getting used to them, but it can still be frustrating. I despise how I was
treated at the dealer and felt rushed to get the first car I found. But I
still think I got a great price on it and I do enjoy driving it. It's not
the sports car I wanted, but it was definately the practical choice for
winters here in Rochester. :-)



"Clayton" <com> wrote in message
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