car advice

I never thought I'd like a van... but I love it.

You can fit all your gear, including your bike(s) inside and if you secure it all properly, I've seen people pile the seats on one side and leave ample sleeping area in the back with foam pads and air mattress. So, you might spend a bit more on gas, but you could save big bucks on lodging... Not to mention always having a comfortable place for a quick nap.

I hope whatever you get is trouble free and well priced.

All the best!
 
<--- Insurance auto appraiser. Never see Subaru's with much more on them than the one you mentioned, and they have a bit of a reputation for blowing head gaskets about every 60k or so.

I see many Hondas and Toyotas of all variety with near or over 200k. Record was a 326k honda civic. Motor had been rebuilt at 200k, tranny never done and nothing else major mechanical or suspension other than brakes.shocks, etc. according to the owner. Unfortunately, it was totaled in the crash :(.
 
I've never owned a Suby but a close friend of mine had a 2004 Impreza WRX and it went through three motors within 3 years. I'd personally stay away from them based on his experience alone. I've owned half a dozen Honda's, my first being an Acura Legend that I put over 220K miles on before trading it in on a Honda Prelude. Excellent cars for the money imo.
 
nine7six said:
I've never owned a Suby but a close friend of mine had a 2004 Impreza WRX and it went through three motors within 3 years. I'd personally stay away from them based on his experience alone. I've owned half a dozen Honda's, my first being an Acura Legend that I put over 220K miles on before trading it in on a Honda Prelude. Excellent cars for the money imo.
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Dont mean to bust on your friend, but burning through motors on a WRX normally results from abuse/poor maintenance. A WRX is a little hot rod with a weeeee motor and a GIANT turbo. Turbo's get extremely hot, (If you beat on the car for a few minutes and then open the hood at night you can sometimes actually see the housing glowing orange) and engine oil is cycled through them to try to keep them cool. It is also important to let the car idle for a few minutes after spirited driving, before shutting it off. This lets oil cycle through and cool the turbo gradually before the flow stops. If you beat on your WRX, then shut it off, the oil in the lines near the turbo literally cooks, resulting in sludge, resulting in clogged oil lines throughout the motor, resulting in going through 3 motors in 3 years. Oil changes are also SUPER important on anything with a turbo, for the same reason. On a normally aspirated newer vehicle you can go 6-7,000 miles with tradcitional motor oil with NO ill effects or increase in engine wear whatsoever. It's just the service stations and oil companies trying get your money that pumps the 3k mark into your head. Studies have been done... BUT, with a turbo, especially something ike a WRX where the turbo works really hard a lot, you should use only synthetic, and change it often (every 3-4,000).
Sorry for the babble...I dont know much about much but I do know much abut this topic.....:D

DOnt wanna hijack the thread though...again, Subies are great cars but one with the mileage mentioned earlier has had most of the good wore off it....
 
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Sircrashalot said:
Dont mean to bust on your friend, but burning through motors on a WRX normally results from abuse/poor maintenance. A WRX is a little hot rod with a weeeee motor and a GIANT turbo. Turbo's get extremely hot, (If you beat on the car for a few minutes and then open the hood at night you can sometimes actually see the housing glowing orange) and engine oil is cycled through them to try to keep them cool. It is also important to let the car idle for a few minutes after spirited driving, before shutting it off. This lets oil cycle through and cool the turbo gradually before the flow stops. If you beat on your WRX, then shut it off, the oil in the lines near the turbo literally cooks, resulting in sludge, resulting in clogged oil lines throughout the motor, resulting in going through 3 motors in 3 years. Oil changes are also SUPER important on anything with a turbo, for the same reason. On a normally aspirated newer vehicle you can go 6-7,000 miles with tradcitional motor oil with NO ill effects or increase in engine wear whatsoever. It's just the service stations and oil companies trying get your money that pumps the 3k mark into your head. Studies have been done... BUT, with a turbo, especially something ike a WRX where the turbo works really hard a lot, you should use only synthetic, and change it often (every 3-4,000).
Sorry for the babble...I dont know much about much but I do know much abut this topic.....:D

DOnt wanna hijack the thread though...again, Subies are great cars but one with the mileage mentioned earlier has had most of the good wore off it....
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lol, I was a certified Honda Mechanic for over 5 years and my friend owns a shop in FL where he imports JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) cars, front clips, motors, etc. His shop also specializes in motors swaps, engine builds, custom turbo kits, fabrication, etc. I would say we both have a fair amount of knowledge when it comes to import cars..

As for the suby, it had minor modifications.. bov, turbo timer, full exhaust.. majority of the modifications went into the suspension and brakes. It has a plethora of gauges to monitor oil pressure/temp, boost, exhaust temp, etc. Ran stock turbo/boost, which is a small turbo btw..

As for oil, lol.. I personally change my oil/filter every 3K miles and I know Marks cars are meticulously maintained.. On my 2000 EK w/turbo H22A I changed the oil every 2500 miles. I would not recommend running synthetic oil in a forced induction car as it is an absolute waste of money considering how often you change the oil, not to mention I prefer to drain the oil and have it come out looking as clean as it did when I put it in.. which you simply do not get with sync oil.

-Mike
 
nine7six said:
lol, I was a certified Honda Mechanic for over 5 years and my friend owns a shop in FL where he imports JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) cars, front clips, motors, etc. His shop also specializes in motors swaps, engine builds, custom turbo kits, fabrication, etc. I would say we both have a fair amount of knowledge when it comes to import cars..

As for the suby, it had minor modifications.. bov, turbo timer, full exhaust.. majority of the modifications went into the suspension and brakes. It has a plethora of gauges to monitor oil pressure/temp, boost, exhaust temp, etc. Ran stock turbo/boost, which is a small turbo btw..

As for oil, lol.. I personally change my oil/filter every 3K miles and I know Marks cars are meticulously maintained.. On my 2000 EK w/turbo H22A I changed the oil every 2500 miles. I would not recommend running synthetic oil in a forced induction car as it is an absolute waste of money considering how often you change the oil, not to mention I prefer to drain the oil and have it come out looking as clean as it did when I put it in.. which you simply do not get with sync oil.

-Mike
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Ok.....had to be bad rotella & a stuck piston return spring interfering with the muffler bearing then............Maybe the highly modified brakes worked too well and the sudden deceleration destroyed the squirrel gear..........naaaa not with a coffe can tip though....WAIT...I KNOW....he forgot to put the red 'R' emblem on so the motor didnt get enough air and the 'full exhaust' instead of only part of an exhaust leaned out the birdseed too much........:rofl:


Oh, and you must be right too that synthetic oil sucks & is no better than dead dinosaur.....except then there is this study and many more using all brands of synthetic vs. all brands of dead dino....oh and then theres those pesky race teams from all forms of racing using the synthetic cuz the engineers that the manufacturers hire to make decisions to make their products perform better are dummies.......you must be right and I am just talking shit......

http://www.searchforparts.com/important_articles/amsoil_testing_with_taxi_cabs.php
 
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civics

Sircrashalot said:
<--- Insurance auto appraiser. I see many Hondas and Toyotas of all variety with near or over 200k. Record was a 326k honda civic. Motor had been rebuilt at 200k, tranny never done and nothing else major mechanical or suspension other than brakes.shocks, etc. according to the owner.
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civics rule, mine is approaching 200k, it's not fancy or not even close for being fast but i do get good gas mileage wit it and i stuff a lot of crap into it. if your "condensing" your belongings then maybe it could fit into a civic.

i luv alaska. i was there 2 years ago for 2 weeks. i'd love to live there in the summer wit it's 12 hour days of sunlight but screw da winters, i take jersey winter over there's.

good luck!
 
make that 22 hrs of sunlight. we're currently getting more than 12 hours of sunlight in new jersey....
 
dirty bert said:
civics rule, mine is approaching 200k, it's not fancy or not even close for being fast but i do get good gas mileage wit it and i stuff a lot of crap into it.

good luck!
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Have ridden with Bert. Can vouch for how much gear he carries in that honda .........
 
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