Time for an upgrade ;)

dcibel

A sad day as I part with one of my favourite things, my fun ornery Subaru - a first generation WRX, 1993 GC8. Amazing little car, but we just don't need 2 cars anymore, as I have a work vehicle that I drive during the week. I nice gent from Spokane is driving up to pick it up tomorrow.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vdH3dXJ3fzjA6PDD9

The wife has a 2004 Forester in pretty rough shape, so were selling both cars and I'm importing another backwards Subaru, a 2002 Forester XT, it's the same as the wife's car in every way except for the colour and the turbo, and the condition. This one comes with only 55,000kms on it. It might not look that exciting, but I'm not one for standing out in a crowd, love the sleeper race cars

https://photos.app.goo.gl/savJGwwUF5qa3P779

So to add something audio related, with the new ride I'd like to put in a nice double DIN media thing, I am looking at the car android devices, something like the Atoto A6:

https://www.amazon.ca/ATOTO-Double-Android-Navigation-Bluetooth/dp/B07B7JKZBM

I really like using the Android Auto feature in my work truck to use google maps, play the music on my phone and use google assistant with a nice on-screen display. With the Atoto it looks like I have to pay another $70 for a dongle to be able to use the Android Auto feature. Wondering if anyone has other recommendations for a nice android auto capable device that doesn't break the bank. Fancy audio features aren't really necessary for me, I keep all my high end audio in the home.

joeybutts

Not sure it's what you are looking for but the HU I'm going to install tomorrow does just about everything and was less than $250.  Not sure if it does the android thing you are talking about but believe it mirrors and connects all. Kenwood ddx396 I think..... its in the silverado thread

jhollander

Please excuse my ignorance, what's with the right hand drive?  Is it a Canadian thing or just something you like to do?

Wolf

You don't drive on the left up there though.... Why a right-hand drive?

PWRRYD

I've always thought that whoever designed that hood scoop and those two hideous hood louvers should be punched in the face really hard.  Glad it was a good reliable car for you and you didn't experience the engine failure and oil consumption issues everyone I know with a Sub has had to endure.

Wolf

So far so good with our two Sub', 2015 Forester and Outback....

dcibel

In Canada cars only need to be 15 years old to import vs 25 years in the US. We can import from Japan a car that's seen very little use for about half the price of anything remotely comparable on the local market. 2004 forester XT like new with 55,000kms  costs CAD$6k landed and through customs at Vancouver port. Lots of people drive them up here, awesome in winter especially in BC the Subarus are very popular, AWD and lots of power to drive up to the ski hills

My 1993 WRX has only ever needed regular maintenance. Great car. When I imported that one it was about the same $6000 and came with 65000kms on it, looked like it had never seen anything other than dry clean pavement.

Looks like that Kenwood DDX396 has no support for Android auto. Don't think that's the right one for me.

Kornbread

PWRRYD said:

I've always thought that whoever designed that hood scoop and those two hideous hood louvers should be punched in the face really hard.  Glad it was a good reliable car for you and you didn't experience the engine failure and oil consumption issues everyone I know with a Sub has had to endure.

The scoop is a functional item.  Because of the round-about way of plumbing a flat4, they put the intercooler on top of and just in front of the throttlebody in an attempt to not add any more pipe volume.  You should see how much the larger scoop on the aluminum hood of the sti jumps around at speed.  At 140+ it looks like it's going to come through the windshield at any moment. 

Nicholas_23

DB , mind if I ask how much you asked for it? Looks super clean. Also did have the 2.5? 

rjj45

Dude, I am not going to talk audio, I am going to talk Subarus, and it looks like a popular make for our little crowd here.
The symmetric AWD is certainly the best for snow and ice, and the seat warmers are awesome.
BTW, my wife grew up in Japan, and she always corrected me when I said su-BAR-u. In Japan, they always pronounce words with equal  emphasis on each phoneme, so it is su-bar-u   - all even in emphasis.
I got a dealer loaner 2004 Forester in 2005. LOVED that car. Perfect size for me. I really liked that you could slide off the seat, and your feet were on the ground already. Perfect ingress / egress! It was starting to develop the infamous head gasket leak when some Nigerian (sorry) totaled me on the way home from night shift at 4:30am.


So I got a 2009 from Carmax. Not really as happy with it, sort of too big and "growling" compared to the 2004.
It's my understanding (we all need to check Consumer Reports) that the head gasket problem has been solved, but apparently some vehicles still have leaky oil seals, while others do not. Strange. 

When I got the 2004, I received the Subaru quarterly magazine for a while. One Q&A (in 2005) said that the most requested feature from Subaru owners was a hybrid or plug-in battery Subaru. We are still waiting! Ultimately, Subaru's conservative engineering and slow rate of change may be their undoing. The technology for EVs is moving at a very fast pace, and companies that can't meet the market will flounder. If so, sad.

6thplanet

I love that scoop, it made a nice addition to my Saturn 👍🏻

Kornbread

@rjj45 ; If you are talking about either the passenger and/or driver's side valve cover leak enabling any Suby to mark its parking spot ... as of 13', they have not fixed it.  And they still have a problem with the sti meeting emissions and remaining reliable under boost.  As far as the sti is concerned, it's sad when getting an aftermarket tune, from a reputable tuner of course, can vastly increase reliability but voids the factory warranty.  You mention they are slow to respond ... I think more of them as a Japanese Harley; right or wrong, they have a certain way of doing things.             

dcibel

Nicholas_23 said:

DB , mind if I ask how much you asked for it? Looks super clean. Also did have the 2.5? 

I sold for CAD$4200, with a minor transmission leak. Had I fixed the leak I'd have asked $4800-5000. The v1 GC8 is probably the most sought after with the original EJ20G engine, it had a closed deck block and is considered the most reliable of them all. Later models had open deck blocks and common issues with spun bearings when you crank up the boost.

The 90's to early 2000's were the best years for Subaru. They had a superior AWD system and were a real drivers car. Today the company has changed, they no longer enter the WRC and have dropped the turbo and manual transmission options on the Forester in favour of driver assist safety features, so otherwise a pointless vehicle that doesn't offer much over the other 100 other crossover vehicles available.

The comment about Subaru being the Japanese Harley is probably pretty accurate, the performance models anyway. Despite the common problems, they mostly share common parts and are fairly easy to work on, and owning a Subaru is really like joining a club, I would say the same about Harley.

squamishdroc

As a mechanic we like our customers that have Subaru's - keeps us busy😉😉


Just poking fun guys

Kornbread

squamishdroc said:

As a mechanic we like our customers that have Subaru's - keeps us busy😉😉


Just poking fun guys

   I bet they do.  Suby's have quirks, or at least the older ones do.  People like to 'turn up the boost' and without knowing what their doing, just turning up the boost is going to cost plenty in repair bills.  Even out here in the middle of nowhere, you find subys with a slight miss (broken ring land on #4) for sale.  I would never buy a used wrx/sti!  I drove my sti with 475ft/lb 430hp (at the wheel) for 4 years with nothing more than regular maintenance but I spent tons of time in research before modding a single thing on the car.             

dcibel

Old subie is gone for good, new owner is very excited, this car is a real rarity in the US, not many left at 25 years after all the Canadian teenagers buy them up at 15 years and ruin them

New Subie won't be here until mid march probably, I should know for sure in a week or two when it's booked on the next vessel over.

The sale is celebrated with some Japanese Whisky - Suntory Toki. Not my usual flavours but very nice blend of fruits, vanilla and oak. Somewhat sweet but not overly so like many Canadian whiskies.

Wolf

My family had a ton of Jeeps, as well as my wife's last vehicle. Due to cost, we looked at Su-ba-ru, and so far we've been pleased. To avoid the issues of the past, recommended 2015 or newer.

jr@mac

dcibel said:

Old subie is gone for good, new owner is very excited, this car is a real rarity in the US, not many left at 25 years after all the Canadian teenagers buy them up at 15 years and ruin them

New Subie won't be here until mid march probably, I should know for sure in a week or two when it's booked on the next vessel over.

The sale is celebrated with some Japanese Whisky - Suntory Toki. Not my usual flavours but very nice blend of fruits, vanilla and oak. Somewhat sweet but not overly so like many Canadian whiskies.

Japanese whiskey is so good because they emulate Scotch.

dcibel

No complaints here!

jr@mac

I've got a bottle myself :-)

Nicholas_23

dcibel said:

Nicholas_23 said:

DB , mind if I ask how much you asked for it? Looks super clean. Also did have the 2.5? 

I sold for CAD$4200, with a minor transmission leak. Had I fixed the leak I'd have asked $4800-5000. The v1 GC8 is probably the most sought after with the original EJ20G engine, it had a closed deck block and is considered the most reliable of them all. Later models had open deck blocks and common issues with spun bearings when you crank up the boost.

The 90's to early 2000's were the best years for Subaru. They had a superior AWD system and were a real drivers car. Today the company has changed, they no longer enter the WRC and have dropped the turbo and manual transmission options on the Forester in favour of driver assist safety features, so otherwise a pointless vehicle that doesn't offer much over the other 100 other crossover vehicles available.

The comment about Subaru being the Japanese Harley is probably pretty accurate, the performance models anyway. Despite the common problems, they mostly share common parts and are fairly easy to work on, and owning a Subaru is really like joining a club, I would say the same about Harley.

How difficult is it to import JDM stuff into BC?

dcibel

Nicholas_23 said:

dcibel said:

Nicholas_23 said:

DB , mind if I ask how much you asked for it? Looks super clean. Also did have the 2.5? 

I sold for CAD$4200, with a minor transmission leak. Had I fixed the leak I'd have asked $4800-5000. The v1 GC8 is probably the most sought after with the original EJ20G engine, it had a closed deck block and is considered the most reliable of them all. Later models had open deck blocks and common issues with spun bearings when you crank up the boost.

The 90's to early 2000's were the best years for Subaru. They had a superior AWD system and were a real drivers car. Today the company has changed, they no longer enter the WRC and have dropped the turbo and manual transmission options on the Forester in favour of driver assist safety features, so otherwise a pointless vehicle that doesn't offer much over the other 100 other crossover vehicles available.

The comment about Subaru being the Japanese Harley is probably pretty accurate, the performance models anyway. Despite the common problems, they mostly share common parts and are fairly easy to work on, and owning a Subaru is really like joining a club, I would say the same about Harley.

How difficult is it to import JDM stuff into BC?

I go through a broker - $999 flat rate to do all the paperwork involved, which is included in the $6k I mention above in the total car cost. At the end of the day you can shop through the online auction sites and some wholesale stock and when you've found something you like, all funds get paid to the broker and you just wait for them to tell you when the car is expected to arrive at the port and be cleared through customs. If you live far away from the Vancouver port, you can get the car transported for you. When I bought my car in SK it was transported by train, took a little over a week and cost CAD$700 for the freight. Being that I live 5.5hrs drive from Vancouver now, I'll end up taking a 1 way flight to Vancouver and driving the car back.

Going through a broker is a lot easier than trying to do any part of the process yourself, I think it's a reasonable fee considering what is included:

• Purchase price of the vehicle in Japan
• All related export fees (exporters fee, shipping to port in Japan, Japanese customs clearance, English translation of export documents, etc.)
• Radiation checks at Japan port
• Bank fees for the international wire transfers to Japan
• Shipping from Japan to Canadian port (point of entry to Canada is Vancouver, BC)
• Fire and marine insurance ( in case of total loss )
• Customs clearance fees that are handled by a professional customs brokerage firm
• Canadian border services agency (CBSA) inspection fee
• Air conditioning tax (if applicable)
• Canadian port service charges
• 5% Goods and service tax (GST)
• 6.1% Duty
• Documents for your provincial registries office and courier charges
• JDM Connection service fee

jdmconnection.ca if you want to check it out for yourself.

squamishdroc

dcibel said:

Old subie is gone for good, new owner is very excited, this car is a real rarity in the US, not many left at 25 years after all the Canadian teenagers buy them up at 15 years and ruin them

New Subie won't be here until mid march probably, I should know for sure in a week or two when it's booked on the next vessel over.

The sale is celebrated with some Japanese Whisky - Suntory Toki. Not my usual flavours but very nice blend of fruits, vanilla and oak. Somewhat sweet but not overly so like many Canadian whiskies.

Have you tried the Nikka Whisky's? Pretty good as well.

dcibel

I have not, I'll keep an eye out for them though.

squamishdroc

dcibel said:

I have not, I'll keep an eye out for them though.

This one is my favorite.

Wolf

jr@mac said:

I've got a bottle myself :-)

If you were a whiskey, what would you be? (It's a joke!) And how would you get in the bottle?

jr@mac

I'd be a single malt, cask strength, Isley style. 

jhollander

I'm on the Bourbon trail right now.  I'm interested in the Japanese whiskey but need to find a tasting event

jr@mac

I'll bring a bottle to next Iowa, John.

jhollander

Jr. sounds good, I should have some Bourbon to to share.

dcibel

Big day today, my new Subie was delivered! It came with a dead battery and no gas, but once I boosted it there's no surprises, it looks as advertised with only some minor scuffs and some rust on the exhaust, under the hood looks immaculate! It could use a good waxing, fairly dull looking paint but none of the clear coat peeling that seems somewhat common in the land of the rising sun. My biggest concern was the washer fluid, it was just water in there and was frozen this morning, which could have broke the pump and/or cracked the tubing. Warmed up this afternoon and I drained it out, everything works!

Now all I need is to get this sucker through a safety inspection and I'm drivin' happy!