mikeymo

I've got a set of rubber mats for a 2005 Outback/Legacy. Passenger side and both rears are fine, driver's is worn through, but you could probably repair with tape. I wanted to buy a drivers one, but had to get a full set. They're proper Subaru ones. Collect them from me in Leeds if you're interested.

Hi all, thought I should do the courtesy of replying. For a while I hung on to my old Volvo, undecided if I was going to keep the Outback. In the end I did, and sold the Volvo. I took the Outback to K T Green (local main dealer) and paid them for a full inspection. They declared it pretty good. It needed a new gearbox sump cover, and while they were at it they replaced the ATF filter. So it's had a full gearbox service. A couple of suspension bushes that will need replacing, but not for a while. They took off the exhaust heat shields which were rattling. And the exhaust itself will need replacing sometime, but so far is fine. While they were doing the gearbox I took the opportunity to test drive a 2013 Outback 3.6. Which I liked a lot. As my Outback was there I asked the salesman how much he'd give me in part ex, against the 2013 Outback. He went through to the garage, had a look at mine (and presumably asked the mechanic) and offered me £3000, as an opening gambit. Which seems OK to me. I don't think I'll get the 2013 one, but it lets me know that Subaru experts think the one I've bought is OK. I've had a problem with the alarm going off at random. Changed the battery and thought that had cured it, but it's done it once since then. The old battery was probably on it's way, so it's not a bad idea to change it, especially in the winter. I did the last sensor thing with the alarm keypad, and it said the tailgate. Which when I bought it was dodgy, the garage had to fix it. So I'm guessing it could be that. Apparently the sensor is actually in the tailgate lock. It's not a fortune so I might get it replaced anyway. I often carry big stuff. If it locked I'd struggle to get things out via the doors. There was a crack in the back bumper. Oh all right, I reversed into a bollard. So I got that done, and while they were at it a few other bits and pieces on the body. Cost me nearly £500, but it means the bodywork is now excellent. Will post pictures when it stops raining. Now I've got used to the drive I like it. Nice to have the power, but it is thirsty. So as a long time proposition I'm not sure. I might LPG it. Cheers

A main dealer just removed the heat shields on mine. What's the point of them, if the car is fine without them? He said to stop the exhaust setting fire to dry grass, but they're very short for that.

Yesterday I drove my wife's Honda Jazz round the local streets. That felt pretty bouncy too. Today took the Outback to a main dealer for some other work. While they were doing that I took a 2011 Outback they had for a test drive. I thought that was a bit bouncy too. When they'd finished the work they were doing they took it out. And said it was as they would expect. They said they've never had to replace shocks on an Outback (but done lots on Foresters). So my conclusions: 1. I'm used to a Volvo 940. Which is old, RWD, very long wheelbase, 15inch rims (and consequently tall tyres). Built for comfort. It's a relaxing drive, everybody says so. 2. The Outback is as it should be, so I'll either have to ditch it or get used to it. 3. If I want to replace the Volvo with something that feels the same I'll have to get into Mercedes land. Or something similar. Which means big money if (when) it needs work, and I lose the advantages of the Subaru. The Outback has 17 inch rims on it. Would changing to 16 inch rims help? Taller tyres? I'm thinking of going to a 2 rims set up anyway (winter/summer tyres). The 2011 Outback (3.6Rn) was fantastic. by the way. Seats and cabin a lot nicer than my 2005. I'll probably trade up in the not too distant future. Thanks for your help folks.

Also, is there an easy way to tell if the shocks that are on it at the moment are self levelling? Thanks.

Thanks very much Mr B It's going up to a main dealer to get a couple of bits and pieces done. I'll insist they go out for a drive with me to see what I mean. If they think it's not 'normal' then I'll see what they quote for self levelling. If I went for KYB is there a drawback to non self levelling? Obviously I lose the self levelling (duh), but it's got the headlight adjust for that problem. Is it going to strain anything else? I sometimes carry stuff in the back, and once a year we have an expedition to the outer hebrides which is 4 people, all our luggage and 2 or 3 bikes on. If it's sitting really low am I going to harm anything? I've always been one for trying to keep vehicles in 'original' condition. But having spent an amount I'm too embarrassed to disclose on my Volvo trying to do that, I'm wondering whether I ought to adopt a more frugal attitude to the Subaru. After all, it's done 110,000 miles. And I'm not 100% convinced it's the right car for me, I'll be keeping the Volvo for a while. I'd hate to spend a fortune on sls shocks, just to change my mind, or find something else catastrophically wrong with it. Thanks for your advice.

Yes, sorry about that Gambit. So the rear shockers could be worn, even though they're not leaking? Also, isn't the back end self levelling? When I had that on some previous car it was the shockers that did the self levelling bit. Will KYB ones do that? Thanks chaps

There's a subject to get the pulse racing! I've just bought a 2005 Outback 3.0R. 112,000 miles. Lots to like. But over certain road surfaces it's a bit bouncy. Things like patched or sometimes just not very even suburban streets. I've done the 'bounce the corner of the car' shock absorber test and it seems OK. Though I'm not sure how reliable that is as a test. A local Subaru main dealer had it in for a health check and that was one of the things I asked them to look at. They declared it 'OK', though that seemed to mean that the shock absorbers weren't leaking. I don't think they actually took it for a drive. They did say a rear drop link bushing was a bit worn, but nothing to worry about. On motorways it's fine. And smooth roads. But uneven road surfaces it just seems to bounce about. Quite unpleasant really. My old Volvo seems to absorb undulations better, even if it makes a lot of noise doing it. The Outback handles 'rough' surface fine, it's more uneveness that makes it bounce. Any suggestions? Is there a harder shock absorber option? It's got a new anti roll bar in the back I think, worth looking at a stiffer one? I see a lot of people on American forums recommending a certain brand of aftermarket shocker, KYB. But I've got a feeling US and European models are different, suspension wise. Thanks

Just testing the lights. Should there be two reversing lights? Only the nearside seems to be working, but I can see that the lens is different to the offside, so maybe there's only one. (memories of making a fool of myself at a VW garage complaining that one of the rear fog lights wasn't working - there was only one.)

I meant the auxiliary (serpentine?) belt. But that's a complete guess. It's not a noise that worries me, but I'm not a mechanic and haven't listened to a subaru engine before. Yes, I knew the timing is a chain, not a belt. That was a big part of my decision to go for the 3.0. I'll get it either to that chap in Sheffield that people recommend, or else my local dealer, and they can give it the once over. Will post pics when the currant bun's shining!

Picked it up today. So far very impressed with the condition. In fact looking through the history it looks like it's been main dealer serviced up until a year ago. Lots of receipts 2011-14, mainly for brakes, including a piston and caliper. And a bit of money spent, so previous owner not a skinflint. The last MOT had advisories for slight suspension play. But apart from that this feels like a fairly well looked after vehicle. It's 'sand' leather, or whatever they call it, and when I first looked at the drivers seat, though not torn, was a bit brown. The lad at the garage has done a top job prepping it, the interior looks like new. There's barely a mark on it. It handles differently to my Volvo, obviously. But it feels nice. And there's power when you want it, I discovered! And what a quiet engine. There's a little bit of chatter from the front end. I'm suspecting the tensioners for that belt? I'll get it to Subaru or a specialist ASAP to inspect and advise. Cheers, Mike

Hi folks OK, as per my previous post, I picked up a 2005. 3.0R Outback today. So far so good. Checking everything I can, the only thing I've found so far is that the rear parking sensors don't seem to work. Is there an on/off switch for them? I reversed up to my house, my son guiding me, and they never came on. Am I making some simple mistake? Thanks, Mike

The place selling it is just a general cheapish car dealers. But fairly big. Nice thing was the guy didn't try to hide anything or distract me. He pulled it into the centre of the warehouse, started it and just left me to it. Never hassled me at all, so if there is a problem, he wasn't trying to hide it. It started from cold, in fact he had to get his battery charger thingy (so I'm expecting to put a new battery in). So he hadn't started it up. In fact it hadn't been prepped or valeted. Which is how I like to see them. I had time to test every electric window etc. inspect the leather and so on. When we came to the test drive he pulled it onto the road, but then got in the passenger seat and let me take it where I wanted. So as far as I can tell it's kosher, albeit with the usual high mileage used car caveats.

Thanks. I gave it a fairly decent drive and it all sounded and felt fine. I accelerated a bit hard on the motorway, mainly to see how noisy it is, and it felt fine. I listened to the engine with the bonnet up, it sounded very quiet and smooth. I realised afterwards that I forgot to look at the CV boots, which seems to be a common failure. That oil is nothing to me - my turbo Volvo 940 uses a litre every thousand miles! I've given the guy a deposit. I'll give it another thrashing when I pick it up. If I spot anything really worrying I'm actually prepared to walk away, and lose the deposit if necessary. I bought a lemon of a Ford Scorpio years ago that taught me it's better to lose a bit of money early on, than waste thousands trying to rescue a duffer. But all my research says that the Outback 3.0 is a pretty robust thing, and the history looks good, so fingers crossed. And it's got an RAC warranty (for what it's worth!).

Thanks. History looks pretty good, though not perfect. 1st owner had it (IIRC) up to about 80,000. Subaru main dealer serviced, at correct intervals. 2nd one up to about 100,000. Stamps in book. 3rd one just for a year. That's the worrying one, whether they've found a problem and want to get rid. Or maybe they didn't like it or the fuel cost. Plus side the last owner put 4 new tyres on (though not a named brand), 4 new discs and pads. There were plenty of receipts to look at. I can't remember exactly what, but I think there were quite a few suspensions, brakes (including at least one cylinder), maybe bearings. One receipt was over £1500 so whoever had it didn't shrink too much from spending money, which is a good sign. Also there's a Subaru boot liner and Subaru floor mats. So all signs of somebody who cared. There were also some exhaust parts on the receipts. When I looked underneath (nice and easy on this car!) it looked like the back box was newish. And yes, the Y section looks pretty rusty. So I'm ready for that. I've had 2 SS exhausts put on my Volvos by a local chap. When it needs doing I'll get a quote from him. I know about the petrol cost. My Volvo does <25mpg, so almost anything is better than that. I do about 11,000 miles a year. If I do more miles it's because I'm doing more work, so there's a pay-off. Sort of. My main worry is getting somebody to work on it. With my Volvos I've been taking them to a really experienced independent shop in Leeds (P&R Motors). There's nothing they don't know about old Volvos. And they made life very easy. Always had a car to lend me, if I had a problem I could get it in the next day. With Subaru there's a main dealer a few miles away (K T Green, Otley). They have a bit of a reputation for being expensive. Though if I keep their name on the service record it'll keep resale value up. I think I'll be on this forum quite a bit, thanks for the replies.