shoot... the wrx is totaled

VW, Ugh. Never again. Mine was bad ('85) and from what friends with newer models say they aren't much better. Great engineering, poor execution.

Scion....maybe if they put more Toyota quality into them. I don't see that happening. The BRZ might be a different story. It is a smooth car.

Audi...same as VW. Problematic.

Hyundai? The Tiburon replacememt is a slick car, if you have the scratch. And Hyundai is standing behind their cars better than anyone right now.

Another AWESOME car is the G8 from Ponti---er, never mind...

Like all "big business", insurance companies are out to make money, with the customer being rather irrelevant. Unfortauntely that means many cars are "written off" simply because it would cost the greedy insurance company more to fix it than it does to pay out for a replacement car, but in reality the car can often be fixed with no issues.

If you REALLY like the car and your wallet can take the hit of the repair bill (and of course if it's not easy to get a replacment of the same make and model), then it can be worth getting quotes / advice from a few repair companies BEFORE going to the insurance company (once you file and agree to a claim they basically own the car - they also get some of their money back by selling it for scrap / parts).

Hmmm ... "alt.auto.SUBARU" ... I wonder what the answer will be? ;-)

When my '98 Forester got totaled I learned that insurance company would give book value when cost of repair estimate exceeded about 70% of book value because repair could end up more costly and cost them.

I replaced my '98 with a new, at the time, '03. Fortunately Subarus have good book value. Also, rule of thumb for me is to replace a car when cost of repair exceeds book value because that is all the insurance company will give you.

My Forester had replaced a Mazda 323 that was stolen and stripped for parts. Even though I had just bought 4 new tires, it added nothing to the Mazda's book value.

A car is totalled when the sum of repair cost and salvage value excedes book value. Sometimes they estimate high on the repair cost to "cover their ass".

There's a hot car to boost parts from! :rolleyes:

I thought about buying a Baja back when I bought my 2.5 RS. One could still get an RS as a two door. The Baja would've been something a bit unusual.

Slight change in plans... this one will go the wife. Her short list includes the '13 Legacy sedan 2.5i Premium auto trans.

Does any one know the status of the 2.5L head gasket failure issue?... Has it finally been solved? Is 'special' coolant treatment still required?

How about the new CVT?

Any other considerations?

Thanks for all responses.

The stripped Mazda was found up on blocks in one of the worst parts of town. The car was 10 years old but the thieves took everything but the radio. Maybe the radio was too old. It looked like they just scooped everything out from under the hood: engine, radiator, transmission, the works. Of course, all the wheels, including the spare were stolen.

Thieves actually did me a favor as I got a Forester, wanting AWD, and to partially pay for it cashed in a stock option that every employee in the company had gotten. Stock was at its highest value and I made $10,000 whereas if I had waited til the expiration of the option period, I would have made zilch.

Basically yes. My son is an insurance company lawyer and told me this. He was also extremely useful to me in dealing with the insurance company of lady that hit me. She said it was my fault in spite of the fact that she was the driver ticketed for the accident. I needed a new car for a long trip I had scheduled and put it on my insurance until she paid up and she ended up paying more with my son working on it.

Aside from A3 being front wheel driven (=3D zero fun) what problems you are referring to?

The dual clutch programming is completely different between VW and Audi. And then probably within the audi lineup as well.

Why? Porbably now that the brand is defunct G8 deals are abound. At least in the US of A if not in it's home aussieland.

You did drive 323/protege to have some first hand experience for eye rolling or you just merely looked at the spec sheet? (rolls the eyes)

Yeah, I've driven Proteges before. A nifty appliance, not much more.

The G8 was a pretty desireable car. The one I saw rolled off at $32,000. I can imagine the price has only gone up.

I don't know what they get in Oz, but this one had more than a few Corvette and Cadillac parts in it. It was one of the last ones off the line, and I think the guys at Pontiac had a little fun with it.

I used to have an 1980 GLC hatchback. That certainly was an appliance. It was most like a toaster - it was reliable and accelerating felt like waiting for toast to pop up. It was a funky faded metallic orange. It looked like a dirty pumpkin. I suppose the tartan seat inserts were supposed to give the car a sassy feel but mostly the fabric took on a stained, low-rent look. My lime green RX-3 station wagon probably looked goofier but at least the engine would make me happy - even a little sassy.

Oh, now the RX series. THe epitome of Japanese cars. Quirky, weird, "different" controls, layouts, etc, but most decidedly COOL! I loved those weird Japanese cars. Too bad they don't go back to making them that way....esp with a small Rotary engine!

Just to followup and close the thread...

We decided to go practical over fun and there's a new Outback in the garage. (2.5L CVT) It's heavier than I like but it drives pretty nice. I'm not a fan of automatics but the CVT works really well.

[you know who you are :]

I take it you had 1.6 though 2.0 also made more noise than acceleration.

and i definitely envy the quick reacting bastards who had enough brains to snap protege 5 that was sold briefly before protege was replaced with mazda 3

I think electric smooth&quiet 2.3 was an option in that car, but then, I don't remember for sure

the noisy 2.0 probably would not be missed in the land of V8s

and who chosen that car [interior] exactly? so mazda made it. and you just had to buy it.

my 2002 323 was sand on the exterior and pleasant beige on the inside and it did not look cheap on the inside.

with semi slicks the limitations of the engine and front wheel drive became apparent though :-))))

I would somehow doubt that. G8 was supposed to be "almost" BMW 5xx for the value seekers. If the price were to go up then you could get a better steering new barebone 325i (snowbelters: bring another 3 large for 325xi) or A4 quattro if you don't mind a smaller cars.

I would expect G8 prices to hold steady or go down depending on the current number of "somewhat affluent" value seekers in the US population :)