Went and test drove the Subaru again, and told the guy to get with the finance guys and give me some options (will more down affect the APR, etc.), and I will probably pick it up on Monday.
I’m going with the 2006 Subaru Outback VDC 3.0. The gas mileage is not very good, but for the amount I drive, it’s not a problem. Like I have said before, when I had my ’83 Chevy Celebrity and took it in for inspection, the mechanic casually asked me what my other car was, and I was confused and told him I had no other car, this was it. He looked at me and said “You only drove 4700 miles last year?”
The car fits me, and it has an enormous area in the back for hauling stuff and I can fit both dog crates in it, the interior is just gorgeous and super comfortable leather, and who the fuck am I fooling? This car is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It has more horsepower than both my previous cars combined, brakes in half the distance, and just handles curves like a glove. It seriously drives like an Audi RS4. I had my phone on the dashboard and was banging 25 mile an hour curves on the back roads at 60 and on the inside it felt like we were glued to the road and the center of gravity of the car is so nice that the phone on the dash didn’t even move. Also, the acceleration from 30-75 is just amazing. I feel so much safer having extra power to drive out of a situation, where before in the old Subie, I would have been fucked. It really handles like a European sports sedan.
It’s got great lines, beautiful leather seats, moon roof, great stereo, and not a spot on the exterior or interior- if you didn’t know it was a 2006 and the models had changed, you would think it was brand new. The other nice thing is that with 250 hp and 219 lb/ft of torque, I can put a tow package on it and use my neighbor’s little trailer to haul mulch and dirt and not have to crap up my interior.
It’s also the nicest car I will have ever owned, so I am kind of excited. So that is done.
Tata
Good for you! Mazel tov!
? Martin
Yeah, but how does it look sitting in someone’s field?
Alison
Good choice, and congrats! New cars (or just new-to-you) are always fun.
BGinCHI
Time for some traffic problems in the panhandle.
OzarkHillbilly
I think you got ripped off.**
** Breaks does not = brakes.
Stan of the Sawgrass
Congrats!! Now try and keep it out of that cow pasture.
Sourmash
I only drove 3700 miles last year. I’m not sure why I even bought it.
jharp
I am a mini van guy.
dmsilev
Hopefully not a prophecy.
ruemara
Congrats! Seems to be a day for BJ frontpagers to buy cars.
Richard Shindledecker
Drove a friend’s to and from the beach for several years – including in 2 inch/hour rain and 18 inches of standing water – great car.
p.a.
Sweet ride. Good luck. A/C and AWD are 2 must-haves for me now that I’m old and soft.
OzarkHillbilly
I know how you feel. Bought my son in laws half ton Dodge crew cab p/u with 4wd, the 5.7 liter hemi, with electric windows, CD/USB/radio with all the bells and whistles, sun roof, sliding window in back aaaannnndddd…… Heated seats. Never had any of that in a p/u before (2nd cars? electric windows anyway).
After I had it a couple months the wife and I got in her car one day and I started looking for the seat heater button. That didn’t take long at all.
RandomMonster
Some days you just have to pull the trigger!
RSA
Congratulations!
DSC
good for you! My 2000 Subaru Forester has just crossed 100,000 and is running great. I love that car (sigh–I long for better gas mileage too!)
and speaking of mulch and hauling dirt, is anyone here reading the terrific new book “The Martian” from a guy named Andy Weir.
It’s a science geek’s delight. About a guy left for dead in a Martian sandstorm. As in, everyone else on the mission evacuates in the only escape vehicle. He wakes up alive. No one is coming back for 3 years.
The first sentence of the book is, “I’m pretty much f****d.”
I haven’t been able to put it down. He’s determined to live and sets about looking at what he’s got and engineering what the needs. It’s compelling.
And this weird off topic comment is because at this point in the tale, he is populating soil with bacteria (making rich compost) the only way he can.
Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader
He was prolly looking at you thinking, He sure as fuck ain’t walking or running anywhere..
John Cole
@Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader: I was skinny then.
Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader
You and Shawn should make a series called The Streets of Bethany where you investigate crime and drive really fast around town.
John: Shawn, this trashcan wasn’t dumped over yesterday!
Shawn: You’re right, John. I suspect foul play!
John: There’s a suspect – after him!
Shawn: To the Subaru, I’m driving!
John: It’s my car, Shawn.
Shawn: Called it.
John: I’ve had the fucking car one day, man.
Shawn: Get in, fatbabyman.
John: This is bullshit.
Shawn: Seatbelt.
John: I call dibs on driving next time.
Steeplejack (tablet)
Congrats, Cole! Hope you enjoy the car.
NotMax
Has it been checked out by a mechanic of your choice? If so, then congrats on taking the plunge.
(No lending it to frat boys for the first year.)
Currently driving a ’94 car which has less than 50,000 miles on it.
Changing gears:
April 4, 1968. Remember it as if it were yesterday. One moment life merrily humming along at a rehearsal for Oh, What A Lovely War!, the next sharp shock and an absolute shroud of immense sadness. The world stopped yet again that day.
IowaOldLady
Good choice. My Subaru is great in the snow.
LT
Sharp loking car. Surprised it feels so good – every Subrau I ever drove felt like it had a hippo tied to the roof. Just cemental.
The car we have now is still the newest I’ve ever had: 1995 Toyota Camry. #rad
Roger Moore
@John Cole:
FTFY. I’ve seen some of your earlier pictures.
Fuzzy
Wife and I never drive far. Mine is an 07 with 17k and hers an 01 with 28K. We retired 10 years ago and should be a one car house but her Beetle just keeps clickin’.
SP
I hope you’re getting some serious insurance discount if you’re only driving 5k per year.
monkeyfister
Yep. Just you wait– Cole’s gonna make station wagons cool again.
Did you ever get the wreck out of the field, Cole?
BGinCHI
@Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader: It’s gold, Jerry!
Suzanne
YAAAAAAY!!!
SiubhanDuinne
@Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader:
I would totes watch that.
Quinerly
Beautiful color! I have a green 2002 Outback with 187,000 miles. I’m to a point that I will just have to drive it to death….hopefully, 250,000 plus. I have loved it for driving back and forth from St. Louis to my parents in NC and to New Mexico for vacations. My only complaint about my ‘Ru Is it is very expensive to fix anything that breaks and seems to be tough on brakes. I have lost track of how many brake jobs….and it’s not my driving….I’ve heard the brakes complaint from others. Congratulations on your new purchase!!!
MomSense
Congratulations, John! My Subie has over 200k now and I still love it. I wish you many years of safe, comfortable, and fun driving.
I started commuting to work by bicycle yesterday and boy was the ride home miserable tonight. When I left work and went to the hair salon for the Spring shearing, it was sunny and beautiful. By the time I left, it was bitter cold and sleeting. After an hour of being bundled up and sipping bourbon sitting so close to the fireplace I am practically in the fireplace, I am finally starting to warm up! Oh and I broke my veggie diet tonight and ate spicy lamb stew.
SiubhanDuinne
@NotMax:
It sure did. Got worse just two months later. I’m not sure I’ve ever completely recovered.
monkeyfister
@Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader: Brilliant! Rosie and Lily in the back assisting the investigation, and Steve back home for comms and intel, It’s a winner!
Elizabelle
I wonder what kind of animal will be jumping into this car.
Congrats on the beautiful new to you Subaru.
JPL
This is good news for your folks, since they have been sharing their cars. It is a nice looking car and may you have many years of happy driving. Don’t lend it to the frat boys though.
kc
Congrats!
I had my floofy cat’s butt shaved today. BY A PROFESSIONAL.
Cain
4700 miles? Shit dude, that’s how much I drive in two years. I had a car with 15 years, and it just barely reached 70K.
We have lease, we’re planning on just selling it and then paying off the lease because we only put 8000-9000 miles in 3 years.
I was thinking of getting a Tesla, but with my low mileage I’m not sure if it is worth it or not. Or it could trigger a life of adventure! I’m not sure! One problem is that it takes a shitload of time to get anywhere out in the west coast. Oregon cities are separated by many hours of driving. :/
Roger Moore
@monkeyfister:
Cole is not going to make anything cooler than it already was.
Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader
The next day..
John: See that broken window across the street?
Shawn: So? Glass breaks.
John: Haven’t you read my blog?
Shawn: What does this have to do with your blog?
John: Broken windows are the first sign of urban decay and an indicator of anti-social behavior.
Shawn: Are you confessing to breaking the window?
John: You’re stupid.
Shawn: You’re blog is stupid.
John: Let’s start looking for suspects – I’m driving!
Shawn: We’re already sitting in the car and you are in the passenger seat, dumbshit.
John: !&($#&($&$
Shawn: Who should we shake down first?
John: The Shoney’s Big Boy. And ice cream for dessert!
MazeDancer
Loving your car is a great gift. Every time you get in it, you smile. You keep your cars for a long time, it should make you happy. Congrats!
I’ve got 50K miles on a 2001 Forester. (And, yes, there is a low mile driver insurance discount.)
JPL
Why do you need a great stereo if you only drive 4700 miles a year?
MikeBoyScout
John,
For what you “need” a car for you could not go wrong with a subaru (u really should call it your Scooby Doo).
For reasons that would bore everybody, it is the most over engineered car in the world. Keep it from getting rolled/totalled and perform the regular maintenance and it will last you the rest of your life.
RobertDSC-Power Mac G5 Dual
Good for you, John.
The car I’ve been stalking on Craigslist has vanished. I’d been saving up for it and when I had enough, I went to contact the seller and it’s gone. Bleh.
p.a.
Lotta low mileage drivers here it seems. Is everyone retired? I’ve never seen a survey on BJuice. Anyone ever take one here? JC, if you’re here, any idea of this place’s demographics?
Barry
Congratulations, John!
To all – in case you didn’t know, taking your time is how to get a good car. Last time, I got eager :(
SiubhanDuinne
@p.a.:
You know, I think the very first time I came to this place — pretty sure it was the first time I ever commented — there was some kind of informal age-demographic survey going on. Probably sometime in 2007.
(I thought I was old then. Little did I know!)
CaseyL
@Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader: Add me to the potential audience for this show. Really, that’s excellent.
John – Congrats! May you drive it happily for many years, to great adventures, with terrific friends.
GRANDPA john
anybody here besides me drive a Smart Car. talk about a conversation starter. but people in my little town are now finally familiar with it. I love parallel parking spots, I can just pull straight in no backing.
FlyingToaster
This is the first year in my life that I’ve driven over 5K. I’ll lose that discount ( there is a smaller discount for driving 6-10K, at least). And I’ve been driving since 1977.
I’m a city kid; driving prior to this year was for groceries, gigs on 128, and picking up WarriorGirl from her preschool .7 miles away. If I was going into Cambridge or Boston, I took the T. (Boston Area Mass Transit is called the T. Generally combined with cursing because of poor maintenance.)
Now I’m driving 15 miles for school commuting 5 days a week, plus 12 miles for music class commuting 3 days a week, plus a ~20 mile roundtrip into Boston for some museum every other week. And when we add martial arts and swimming, guess who’s on the hook for that?
Tesla can’t release the Model X fast enough for me.
IdahoFlaneuse
@GRANDPA john: I was considering a Smart Car when I got my last car. However, I didn’t think I could get my lab/shar pei in it.
raven
Just watched “The 7 up’s”. Great car chase with Bill Hickman the driver from Bullitt. I looked up Richard Lynch, the scar faced hood who was in tons of movies. He took acid in 1969 and set himself on fire in Central Park. There’s a lesson in there somewhere.
raven
@GRANDPA john: My 66 chevy truck is damn smart. Has a 350 and if you take the fan cowl off you can stand inside the engine compartment and work on it.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader: OK, that made me laugh. I’m not altogether proud of that, but it did.
greylocks
Just buy the fucking car already. Geesh. It didn’t take me this long to get through three husbands. ;-)
Villago Delenda Est
Darn, posted in wrong thread.
This is good news, Cole.
Now we can move on to newer, fresher angst episodes.
JKC
Congratulations. Two words for you if you regularly get winter weather: Snow Tires. They’re worth it.
J R in WV
If you like it because it reminds you of a European sports sedan, why aren’t you looking at a German sports sedan??
Like a VW Wolfsberg GTI for example. Or even a Mercedes C300 Sports model. Which we bought because it was less expensive than the Buick we were looking at.
Just asking.
Know you will love your Sube, everyone I know loves their Sube. But when we tested one, Neither of us liked it better than the old VW we were replacing…
MazeDancer
@p.a.:
Just a guess, but think the low-mileage might be because people work at home. Self-employed, telecommute, or only have to be at the office (or campus) a few days a week.
dopealope
Should have bought an Element … :-)
Arclite
After that description of the car, it sounds like those leather seats were in need of a good wiping up.
Pogonip
@Sourmash: I bought a car in August and as of today it has 4500 miles on it. Yet it seems I am ALWAYS driving somewhere or other.
catperson
Congratulations, Cole.
@J R in WV: Undermining someone’s judgment about a big purchase they’ve already made is just a hugely shitty thing to do.
Mnemosyne
@p.a.:
I’m about 20 years from retirement, but I live about 3 miles from work and have no kids, so most of the miles I put on my car are running errands on the weekend.
My previous car also had very low mileage, but that was because there was a bus that took me from my apartment to my office for about $1 round-trip, and it seemed insane to pay $100 a month to park my car at work when I could pay $5 a week to ride the bus.
Carrie
@Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader:
Sean: But,
they seem harmless!
John: Shaddup you (slap/slap)
Heliopause
Scene: Postapocalyptic hellscape, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Temperature is 127 degrees fahrenheit. The Counsel of the Dry Lakes (Kevin Costner, Samuel L. Jackson, Arnold Schwarzeneggar) are lying on the ground as motionless as possible, debating their next move. A robed and hooded figure enters the tent, sits, and dramatically removes the hood, revealing Mary (Linda Hamilton).
KC: Mary!
Mary: Yes. I’ve been to the Oracle. She has revealed the Secret of the Troubled Times.
SLJ: The Secret!
Mary: Yes. The Great Heat of the Troubled Times started in the year, by the old calendar, 2014. A great leader…
AS: I’ll be back!
Mary: Yes. A great leader by the name of John Cole made a fateful choice. His wisdom was renowned far and wide. The Great Liberal Tribe, which numbered greater than the stars in heaven, followed his teachings without err. [averts eyes] It is difficult to speak of.
KC: Difficult!
Mary: Yes. John Cole purchased a self-driving chariot [looks of amazement on the Counsel’s faces] called Soo-Bah-Roo. But the Soo-Bah-Roo was accursed above all chariots!
SLC: Great Spirit save us!
Mary: Yes. The accursed Soo-Bah-Roo had, as the scribes from that time said, “shitty gas mileage.” The Liberal tribesmen all followed the great leader John Cole, and all purchased self-driving chariots with “shitty gas mileage.” The tribesmen of Conservative were already driving self-driving chariots with “shitty gas mileage,” though their names were “the Ram,” “the Suburban,” “the F-150.”
AS: I’ll be…
Mary: Shut up. All of these chariots were abominations in the eyes of the Great Spirit. Thus, the Great Spirit has cursed all humankind with the Great Heat. And it all would never have happened if only John Cole had not led the great tribe Liberal astray.
But there is one hope…
KC and SLJ: A hope! A hope!
Mary: Yes. We must send one of our brethren through the Great Time Portal of Saint Paul. He will travel back to the time of John Cole. He will find John Cole. And he will, in the tongue of the day, “ter-min-ate” John Cole.
KC and SLJ: Terminate! Terminate!
MomSense
@p.a.:
I’m in my 40s and put very few miles on my cars however my teenagers put tons of miles on the cars. Home, work, shopping, banking are all within a 2 mile radius so I try to walk and ride my bike as much as possible.
GHayduke (formerly lojasmo)
Know how I know you have never driven a RS4?
Jay C
@ John Cole:
A couple of points/questions:
1. Congratulations on the new ride! Drive safely!
2. I’m guessing from the “Wheeling Subaru” signs on your pix, the illustrated Outback is your actual soon-to-be car? AMIRITE?
3. Second the recc on snow tires: Not a good idea to rely on global warming to ease your road probs..
4. Would seriously suggest figuring out a way to cover the back seat if/when the creatures ride with you: “The dog only rides in the back” is a worthy goal to try for, but don’t try to fool us or yourself into thinking your four-legged family won’t EVER get onto those nice leather seats: and dog/cat claws will have the best leather looking like confetti in very little time….
Violet
Congratulations on the car! They are great cars. Super comfortable and drive really well. Hope you enjoy yours.
Glocksman
I would have recommended a recent model used Kia, Mitsubishi, or Hyundai because of the 5 year bumper to bumper warranty coverage.
That said, at least you aren’t acting like my 72 year old father and buying a 2014 Camaro SS with a 435 hp engine, though if you look up ‘fun to drive’ in the dictionary you’ll see its picture.
kindness
Congrats John. Don’t go lending out your car any more, OK?
Chris T.
@Glocksman: For my money … well, ok, more than my money :-) … nothing else even touches electric.
The Tesla S (with P85+ package) and Fisker Karma have great handling, the S has better acceleration, the interior is nicer in the Karma. The latest Porsche 918 hybrid beats both of those but costs 8x as much (basically $1M all-in, vs about $135k for the S).
But I suppose a Camaro SS will do, in a pinch. :-)
Gavin
John, if you keep Pirellis on the car you’ll never have to worry about going offroad or being cut off when you’re still on the road.. the grip is ridiculous for any emergency movement and the offroad performance is as good as anything else for its size. I have them on my CR-V and I’ll never get cheap-o tires again.