2005 Lgt. steering wheel, paint, etc.. (lgt vs. a4)

Im looking into buying a 05 Lgt manual.

I noticed that the top section of the steering wheel was comming apart from the rest of the steering wheel, is this normal?

 

the car has some paint chipped off, which now the metal has rusted. its not through the metal, I will have this sanded and repainted. Is the paint on these cars weak? do these cars rust easily?

 

it had the standard height shifter (not a short throw), when shifting into the actual gear, the travel (from neutral to the selected gear) was shorter then other manual cars ive driven, is this normal?

 

basically i want a turbo awd car. cross shopping between a Lgt and a4 turbo (b6 1.8t)

 

the legacy is a 2005 with 40k miles, hopefully to get it for a great deal.

I have an 05 and my wheel is minty. I'm sure if you looked around you could find a low-cost replacement.

Subaru paint is soft, but is not terrible. Our cars are not known to rust.

The stock shifter was (I installed a short shifter after a month of ownership) very tall and, in my opinion, long. Felt a bit like rowing a boat. An STS tightened things right up.

The Legacy GT is far superior to the A4. The Legacy has more than 60hp stock for stock and TONS more potential. (1.8<2.5) There are also a million other things that make the Subaru better, but I don't feel like typing. Look around the forum and decide for yourself.

An 05 with 40K is a gem. Buy it.

Agree with E-tank. I was entertaining an A4 and a BMW 325xi when I settled on the 06 LGT. I have over 50k on mine and the only issue was a bad AC clutch (warranty item). My LGT can easily hang with my buddies 01 Audi S4 and I only have Stage 1 93 AP programming. Also, if its a daily driver and you live in snow, this thing is better than anything else I've ever had in snow and ice. I run Blizzaks during the winter and it is rock solid in snow and ice. I previously owned an AWD Ford Explorer and a 4WD Dodge Ram and would take the suby in the snow any day (it does get a little hairy in 2+ ft of powder when the snow's coming over the hood and windshield... it keeps going but it's hard to see).

 

The paint does seem to scratch pretty easily but most of my damage is on the front bumper so its hard to see since its black plastic and my car is black. Don't let a steering wheel stop you from getting a great car with nice low miles!!

well i pulled the trigger. 2005 Lgt with 40k miles. black, 5 Sp. base model. got it for $11,000. (needs minor cosmetic work)

 

anyways, one issue: the plastic panel above the clutch and brake pedal seems very low. the tip of my shoe sometimes catches this panel, have others experienced this?

should i just remove the panel altogether?

Congrats! You made the right choice.

Welcome to the community.

I have size 14 feet and don't have the issue you've described with the panel. It sounds like it may not be snapped in correctly. $11K sounds like a solid deal for a non-limited with 40k miles. You did well. Now the modifying begins!

The car still has a powertrain warranty (i hope i can find all the maint. records), should i extend the warranty (through subaru)?

for about $2000, i can get an additional 4 years or 48k miles.

 

if i do get a warranty, wont it be voided if i mod the exhaust, chip the car, etc...?

Exhaust and intake would not void [.. or should not] void a warranty directly. The warranty on those items will no longer be valid as they aftermarket, however issues caused by those items will not be covered [ie; a CAI sucking in water and hydrolocking the engine]

The car still has a powertrain warranty (i hope i can find all the maint. records), should i extend the warranty (through subaru)?

for about $2000, i can get an additional 4 years or 48k miles.

 

if i do get a warranty, wont it be voided if i mod the exhaust, chip the car, etc...?

 

No, it's a waste of money. Subaru is awful about honoring warranties anyway.

No, it's a waste of money. Subaru is awful about honoring warranties anyway.

 

really? I don't agree with that. Subaru might be awful to people that lie and try to put one over on them. Which If it were my business I'd totally would agree with their Business practices... remember it is a business.

really? I don't agree with that. Subaru might be awful to people that lie and try to put one over on them. Which If it were my business I'd totally would agree with their Business practices... remember it is a business.

 

Many people with stock cars and dead stock turbos would disagree.

 

You have too much faith. Subaru itself is probably average, but most dealers who are the front line act unethically. It's the rule, not exception. Case in point, a tech is paid less for warranty work than the same work outside warranty. It is the built-in incentive for the tech to blame you, customer, and deny warranty work.

well i pulled the trigger. 2005 Lgt with 40k miles. black, 5 Sp. base model. got it for $11,000. (needs minor cosmetic work)

 

anyways, one issue: the plastic panel above the clutch and brake pedal seems very low. the tip of my shoe sometimes catches this panel, have others experienced this?

should i just remove the panel altogether?

 

Holy Snap, sweet deal. Im running an 05 standard with black paint too. Only drawback is it now has 105K on the odo. I got it in july with 102 for 7400 and i thhought that was a steal. If i could drop 60K for only 3,500 more, id be trying to S some D at a bank to get a loan..... not rly, but you know what i mean. congrats man, and i think youll love it. Like stated previously these LGTs (like all subie turbos) have tons of potential. Enjoy!!

oh and as for ur Q about the steering wheel, mine has over 100K worth of hands and is still pretty mint

everytime i drive this car i appreciate it more and more.

 

i have a question about the oil. on my previous cars (all imports) i noticed a faint smell of gas in the oil. but on the subaru, the smell of gas is a little stronger. is this normal for a boxer engine? the car drives fine, no cel's.

Disagree. Subaru bent over backwards for me. They extended goodwill on many occasions, not to mention warranting items OUT of warranty.

 

No, it's a waste of money. Subaru is awful about honoring warranties anyway.

well i pulled the trigger. 2005 Lgt with 40k miles. black, 5 Sp. base model. got it for $11,000. (needs minor cosmetic work)

 

anyways, one issue: the plastic panel above the clutch and brake pedal seems very low. the tip of my shoe sometimes catches this panel, have others experienced this?

should i just remove the panel altogether?

 

LOL, that happened to me when I first purchased the car. Therefore, I took that piece out and cut it!!! Now problem solved, and glad I did that 2 years ago.

Whoa dude, You live in Minneapolis? That is awesome. There are very few LGTs in MN. Let's meet up, but until then I'll keep my eye out for you in the cities.

Disagree. Subaru bent over backwards for me. They extended goodwill on many occasions, not to mention warranting items OUT of warranty.

 

There are exceptions to the rule. 6 out of like 8 dealers I dealt with suck. And I mean SUCK. Even if they honor warranty, expect shoddy job and more problems down the road, or scratches on the car, etc.