New addition to the family - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

OM617YOTA · #1 06-10-2016, 12:25 AM

Bittersweet day. Traded in my GTO for a Subaru Forester.

Stretch · #2 06-10-2016, 04:24 AM

Seriously?

GTO for a Forester?

No way...

tjts1 · #3 06-10-2016, 05:59 AM

That's depressing.

JB3 · #4 06-10-2016, 06:54 AM

Looks like a nice example. Let me guess, 4 doors trumps 2 doors becse you cant stuff a kid behind the seat of a GTO that easily?
I recently made some similar decisions

Manual or auto?

OM617YOTA · #5 06-10-2016, 09:39 AM

No kids, unless you count the dog.

The GTO went like hell in a straight line and stopped OK. When turning is when the nearly 4k lb curb weight reared it's head. The engine was fantastic, as you'd expect any of GM's LS series to be. Powerful, reliable, fuel efficient for the output. Sounded great.

Every single other bit of the car was crap, and falling apart. I put three differentials in it in the 30k I owned it. Interior pieces would crack randomly. Have you ever ordered a sun visor for an Australian car? $200. Trunk actuator, $145. The T56, not overly known for longevity or robustness in other(lighter) applications, when coupled with a 4k lb car was not happy. Mine had clearly been replaced before despite me acquiring it at 78k miles, and was going to need to be done again soon when I traded it in at 108k. The back seats were comfy but a serious pain for an adult to access. The power seats were glitchy and slow. The trunk was tiny, as it had to share space with the fuel tank. Took a road trip to Seattle with two women, they packed more for the weekend than I would for a week, GTO was fun but we agreed never again.

The Subaru also costs half as much to insure, and the numbers on the trade vs. cost of the Subaru were VERY nice. I also bought regular gas yesterday for the first time in a decade.

The more time goes by and the more I think about it, the happier I am about this.

Edit: Auto trans. Would have preferred manual, but couldn't pass up this deal and having something else in the stable that the girlfriend can drive is a bonus that can't be overlooked. I also have to admit that sipping coffee while driving one handed on the way to work this morning was quite a novel and enjoyable experience.

Stretch · #6 06-10-2016, 09:50 AM

Well what a relief - I thought you meant a proper GTO.

Good move!

Yay Subuaru - though look out for some hideous spares prices...

...trade it in when the ash tray is full!

jcyuhn · #7 06-10-2016, 10:58 AM

Isn't Subaru ownership pretty much mandatory in Oregon?

I believe that one has the CV auto trans - how do you like it so far?

OM617YOTA · #8 06-10-2016, 11:28 AM

Stretch-

Indeed, one of the newer impostor GTO's, a rebadged Monaro. I would agree that trading in a classic GTO for a Subaru would be blasphemy.

jcyuhn-

With the rainy season being 9 months of the year, Subaru is hugely represented here and there's no stigma attached. Obama/Bernie/Hillary stickers don't come with them from the dealer, and you're as likely to see a greasy mechanic or an actual cowboy(as in one who works with cows and horses for a living) step out of one as a soccer mom or a solidly built woman with a buzzcut wearing flannel and Caterpillar boots.

The CVT has been nice for the ~100 miles I've put on the car, it even "downshifts" and engine brakes. I did notice that there are "gear" pauses and jumps with it, which I know are not needed from a mechanical perspective and which I wish hadn't been programmed in. I test drove a Nissan Versa with the CVT and didn't like pushing the gas and having to wait for the rubber-band-tightening feeling before it actually took off. No such issue with the Forester, it's much more cleanly executed.

Very happy with it.

jcyuhn · #9 06-10-2016, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OM617YOTA

Stretch-

Indeed, one of the newer impostor GTO's, a rebadged Monaro. I would agree that trading in a classic GTO for a Subaru would be blasphemy.

jcyuhn-

With the rainy season being 9 months of the year, Subaru is hugely represented here and there's no stigma attached. Obama/Bernie/Hillary stickers don't come with them from the dealer, and you're as likely to see a greasy mechanic or an actual cowboy(as in one who works with cows and horses for a living) step out of one as a soccer mom or a solidly built woman with a buzzcut wearing flannel and Caterpillar boots.

The CVT has been nice for the ~100 miles I've put on the car, it even "downshifts" and engine brakes. I did notice that there are "gear" pauses and jumps with it, which I know are not needed from a mechanical perspective and which I wish hadn't been programmed in. I test drove a Nissan Versa with the CVT and didn't like pushing the gas and having to wait for the rubber-band-tightening feeling before it actually took off. No such issue with the Forester, it's much more cleanly executed.

Very happy with it.

There are plenty of them running around down here in Dallas as well. Mostly Outbacks, with Foresters a close second. Hell, my wife replaced her Bluetec with an Outback a few months ago. The dealer has many photos of buyers with their new Subaru. Buyers of Outbacks and Legacys look mostly like empty nester couples - moderately affluent, kids out of the house, no longer need a minivan or SUV. WRX buyers consist entirely of fanboys wearing backwards ball caps. The divergence was amusing.

Subaru does have one of the better CVTs that I have driven. It's tolerable, but can't say I really like it. With the clatter their H4 makes I fully understand why they programmed in the fake shift points under acceleration - the CVT drone would be quite offputting.

Desert Panther · #10 07-20-2016, 02:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OM617YOTA

Took a road trip to Seattle with two women, they packed more for the weekend than I would for a week, GTO was fun but we agreed never again.

So ehhh, did you score any or what?

You appear to have left out that important detail!

Also, i had no idea those Monaro GTO's had such poor build quality. I figured that by being Aussie built, they would be higher quality somehow.

t walgamuth · #11 07-20-2016, 07:31 AM

Subaru, built in Lafayette In.

sloride · #12 07-20-2016, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

Subaru, built in Lafayette In.

Not the Forester still Japan, at least to 2014. Wifey loves hers, it is the Jeep Wrangler of Japan developed for the forestry service in Japan. Great here in the snowbelt where we regularly see 6/8" snowfalls and the occasional huge ones. Same money as the CRV and RAV with more room, the onboard deal shows we regularly get 26+mpg.
Another nice thing about the "boxer type" four cylinder is my hands do not go numb from the steering wheel shaking like most four bangers, it runs smooth.

t walgamuth · #13 07-20-2016, 10:48 AM

Looks like you are right...outback, legacy, impresia...built in Lafayette.

OM617YOTA · #14 07-20-2016, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Desert Panther

So ehhh, did you score any or what?

You appear to have left out that important detail!

Also, i had no idea those Monaro GTO's had such poor build quality. I figured that by being Aussie built, they would be higher quality somehow.

One of the girls is my girlfriend.

The other, though quite attractive and probably willing, I would have avoided even had my girlfriend been willing to share. Some things are not worth the trouble.

Took a whole carload of women to Portland for a day this past weekend. Me, my girlfriend, and three friends, and we even had room left over for stuff bought at the Saturday market. Simply would not have been possible in the GTO. Much better visibility, much easier to get into and out of cramped parking space and easier to navigate Portland streets than the GTO. More power outlets, important when most of them were constantly playing that stupid Pokemon game. Averaged 25mpg for the trip at ~75mph on the freeway and then bouncing around town, on regular gas, slightly less than that on my 40 mile/day work commute. GTO got 14-16mpg.

I like it.

t walgamuth · #15 07-20-2016, 11:38 AM

Guess that takes the GTO off my bucket list.