Update on the Band Mobile: A 2001 Subaru Outback Impreza Sport. 172,000 miles and counting.
It has been 20 months and 35,000 miles since we switched from the Sweet Saturn to the Silver Sub.
The tires are now a year old and have proven themselves sturdy still after yesterday’s 10-hour marathon through the pouring rain. All but maybe an hour of this drive had precipitation dumped on us, and the Silver Sub handled it like a pro. AWD baby!
A headlight was smashed in while parked in a parking lot about 4 months ago. Safety inspection wasn’t due for another 5 months and the light still worked in spite of its constant exposure to the elements. That is, until it finally quit on us last night. A replacement headlamp has been ordered and is on the way.
The Sub’s horn has been out of commission for, geez…maybe 8-9 months now. Again, with safety inspection so far away, it seemed like a matter that could have been laid complacently on the back burner. Now inspection is a month away, and I should really ameliorate this sooner than later. On a side note: While being horn-less, there have definitely been 2, maybe 3 occasions where I felt that safety may have been compromised due to the lack of horn. I haven’t really felt the need to use it all that much at all. I must not be a honkin’ kinda fella.
The stereo unit is slowly but surely degrading. First fell the tape deck. Yep, that’s right. My car is so old that it still has a tape deck. It worked for a bit before inevitably eating up all of my Pearl Jam tapes. Then all we used it for was with a tape adapter to plug in ipods — then it gave up on us entirely. The CD player is working okay. After multiple cleanings though, it still manages to find a way to skip on most CDs and refuses to play many burned CDs. A new unit has been ordered and is on the way. Never installed a car stereo before. How hard can it be?
No oil leaks. No water leaks. And it’s got a kick-ass defroster. 3 big differences from ye olde Sweet Saturn.
The Silver Sub is maintaining an alright 27-28 mpgs. A far cry from the Sweet Saturn’s 38-41 mpgs, but it could be worse.
The old crack in the windshield has not gotten any bigger. So that’s good. But, I think there’s a new crack, although I could be wrong. It mighta been there the whole time. ‘S hard to say.
I wonder when the timing belt was changed last….
