Just how far would you go to find your perfect car?

Or how I learned to stop worrying and love the LGT...

 

Greetings! I have been a lurking, random poster on these forums for the better part of 7 months. I was drawn here by my good friend jerami1981 after he purchased his Regal Blue LGT sedan last fall. This truly is a great source for owners and would-be owners alike. This forum in no small part led my decision making process to the LGT wagon - a car I purchased 2 days ago from a dealer 450+ miles away

 

It wasn't an easy decision. Other vehicles in the running included the Infiniti G35, Lincoln LS, the Pontiac GTO, used Nissan Maximas, used Acuras, and used Lincoln LS's. A diverse list to be sure. How did I narrow it down?

 

At first I wrote the Leggy off as too small. My last car, a 2000 Nissan Maxima, had tons of interior space and was in general, a GREAT car. But having the unique opportunity to sample the Legacy on long distance trips as both the passenger and the driver (again thanks to jerami) I quickly put that fear down. Yes the rear passengers have a tad less room, but the front cockpit feels just right after only 2 days of ownership.

 

Next came the ammenities. Little things jump out at me as things that I miss from the 5 year old Maxima like no auto-up windows, no auto headlamps and such. Some of the other cars on my list also easily trump the LGT on such ammenities but also cost thousands more. All in all I think the Legacy could use a little tweaking in this area but I can't see missing those few things for the huge gains the Legacy has over everyone else. Well, except the stereo...and I am not going into that again except to say that the Legacy's factory setup concerning the integrated HVAC and stereo almost swayed me away from the car. If it hadn't been for successful additions/changes shown on this forum I could have overlooked the Legacy entirely.

 

The 2 deciding factors for me include the LGT's proven superiority in all weather (even during a state of emergency) and its rareity in this area of the world. The 3rd big factor is the ease of making the already fast LGT into a beast with a few bolt-on parts. The only real trouble was finding the exact right version of the LGT.

 

I knew I wanted a wagon over sedan. Personally, I prefer the looks, but the utility increase is not lost on me. I also knew that the silver was the right color for me. The limited trim was the only option I knew I wanted (leather and sunroof were must haves on ANY car I got). Sounds easy right? Wrong. I may have mentioned that the LGT is rare around here. Well the local dealer only had one GT wagon and it was a 5AT unlimited in red. In fact, the closest place I found with the right car was Cleaveland, Ohio - 463 miles away. What's a guy to do?

 

Drive to Cleveland, trade the Maxima in and drive back in the same day with my best friend (who drove himself, just for the photo op) and my girlfriend. The drive up took about 7 hours, the drive back took about 9 (stop for dinner and NO CRUISE) but the upshot is that I have about 300 miles left in break-in LOL.

 

So here I am, the proud owner of a Brillant Silver LGT wagon with 5-spd ready to help in any way that I can. Speaking of which, the dealer I worked this whole thing out with was Ellacott Shaker in Cleveland. They were very friendly and professional, gave me a good (if not the best deal on these forums) deal on the Suby, a fair trade-in amount and turned us around in under an hour. They had another of the exact same version of my LGT and seemed to have a high stock in manual transmission turbo versions of the Outback.

 

Whew...

You will love the car and I assure you you wont see one every other block.

I would go to the ends of the earth to find my perfect car. Haven't found it yet. I'd consider it something in between a DTM touring car with AutoX owning abilities and a nice pleasant interior like the Legacy's with seats from the EVO. Yeah, I'm still waiting...

price+ condition is on a variable slope relationship to each other for my willing nes to get a car.

 

i want an old pick up truck like a 50's gmc pick up. i want to spend maybe 3000 on the truck.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Pics?

i did the same thing as you. I live in Long Island and the dealerships around here were unwilling to find the exact car i wanted. However a dealer in NJ was able to find exactly what i wanted in a short period of time. A couple of trips to the dealer and I had my very own LGT. I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

This truly is a great source for owners and would-be owners alike. This forum in no small part led my decision making process to the LGT wagon

 

Become a contributor

Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Pics?

 

Yep, here you go

Become a contributor

 

Good point and I very well may. I have also been kicking around the idea of starting my personal website too (for everything though, not just the Suby).

Very nice car. I agree that if you are going to spend all of that money on a new car, you should get exactly what you want. You will be glad you didn't settle. I also had similar cars on my shopping list. I had a '96 Maxima SE 5spd., and it was a great car. But to me it lacked a soul. It was fast, looked nice, well put together, and dead reliable. But it wasn't fun to drive. There is a big difference in the feel of my Legacy. It feels like a smaller sportscar, until I look over my shoulder. I Love the G35, but I wanted AWD and a manual tranny, and I wanted a Wagon. The GTO bang for the buck is hard to overlook, they are selling for CHEAP. But I really don't need a 2 door. It does seem strange that Subaru left out a lot of the conveinience features, but I'm more then happy with the trade off.

 

Jason K.

What kind of state of emergency are you talking about? 20 inches of snow the week before christmas and getting stuck with nowhere to go? I kinda know what you mean...been in Evansville a few times, including last december. I actually drove from Orlando, Fl to Evansville in June 13 and from Evansville to Webster two weeks ago, TX...wanted to stay there longer but I couldn't so I had to come to Webster.

Great story, and definitely gives me better understanding into your background, and why/how you chose the LGT - especially why you came all the way to Cleveland!

 

Great irony - I'll be in Chicago some time soon! Should be over Labor Day weekend. Maybe we can re-up for that photo-shoot?

 

 

Great to see that an LGT is going to another enthusiast.

 

-A

 

PS: My buddy and I also did the road-trip thing, for just about the same distance/time, to pick up my TSi. Definitely bunches of fun, even counting the rather shady hotel where we stayed for the night, LOL!

I drove to Orlando to find a red sedan with tan interior, limited, with manual trans. It's about 7 hours each way

 

I bought an Eclipse in Chicago in an O'Hare parking deck. Even my Grand Marquis was from North Carolina. One Stealth was from Tampa, FL, and the other came from Columbia, SC. When I buy a car it's got to be the exact one I want, nevermind the distance!

What kind of state of emergency are you talking about? 20 inches of snow the week before christmas and getting stuck with nowhere to go? I kinda know what you mean...been in Evansville a few times, including last december. I actually drove from Orlando, Fl to Evansville in June 13 and from Evansville to Webster two weeks ago, TX...wanted to stay there longer but I couldn't so I had to come to Webster.

 

That would be the one . I posted a story on here I believe relating how jerami1981 had to pull out my Maxima with his LGT. However, my Mom's XTerra LOVED being in the deep snow. Oh yeah, the XTerra and Pathfinder were also on my list until I realized that an SUV would not fit my driving style in the least.

Great story, and definitely gives me better understanding into your background, and why/how you chose the LGT - especially why you came all the way to Cleveland!

 

Great irony - I'll be in Chicago some time soon! Should be over Labor Day weekend. Maybe we can re-up for that photo-shoot?

 

 

Great to see that an LGT is going to another enthusiast.

 

-A

 

PS: My buddy and I also did the road-trip thing, for just about the same distance/time, to pick up my TSi. Definitely bunches of fun, even counting the rather shady hotel where we stayed for the night, LOL!

 

Hmmm..my girl has family in Northern Indiana too...

I got stranded last december when the snow came. I arrived two days before the storm and spent Christmas day on a plane because of it. I liked it, it was my first time seeing that much snow, but the bad things was that couldn't do anything there for a week. I also have family in Gary and my dad lives about an hour from Cleveland and also I'm hoping to go back to Evansville soon...

I got stranded last december when the snow came. I arrived two days before the storm and spent Christmas day on a plane because of it. I liked it, it was my first time seeing that much snow, but the bad things was that couldn't do anything there for a week. I also have family in Gary and my dad lives about an hour from Cleveland and also I'm hoping to go back to Evansville soon...

 

Dude, that sucks. I was trapped inside by a fireplace with my girlfriend. Then, when I was able to get out I stole my Mom's XTerra and messed around for 2 days - that was a lot of fun :-D

 

If it makes you feel any better I did clear my parents driveway by myself with a shovel...

 

I kind of have this devilish little grin going in my mind about the next time it snows around here now that I have the Suby.

Yeah, having a Suby would definitely make things easier when it snows like that and a good set of tires.