Subaru Warranty Finally Pays?

Our 2016 Subaru Forester has served us well so far for the most part. It gets routine care and has had a couple of visits for recalls. It has been driven to just about all of the states when we took cross country road trips twice to the west coast and back. And we drove to Florida many times to visit my mom. A couple of weeks ago the key started getting stuck in the column. It’s the one safety feature we don’t have - a keyless entry system. Since it was time for an oil and filter change we asked them to check the key problem. I also remembered that we had an extended warranty through Subaru. Thank goodness we did because the price to fix the key issue was close to $600! We ended up having to pay a $50 deductible. I also requested the $10 coupon for oil and filter change. So it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. But it got us thinking that we might want to start considering a new car - if and when we think we need to go that route. So while we were waiting for the car to get fixed we visited the showroom and checked out the 2025 Forester Touring. In the end we have decided that we can afford to wait a bit since the car only has 88,000 miles and is on very good shape. Of course the new cars look inviting, but we just don’t travel like we used to anymore unfortunately. At least we got away with paying less - although the warranty hasn’t paid for itself yet. Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it. Regardless, it made our day that it was covered. 

Car Key Keeps Getting Stuck in the Ignition

It’s time for a routine oil and filter change for our Subaru. It is a 2016 model and has about 88,000 miles on it. This car has driven all over the country. We took a southern cross country road trip to California the year I retired. And the next year we took another cross country trip to Washington state and back along the northern part of the country. And we used to visit my mom in Florida at least a couple or three times a year. Since the pandemic and my mom’s passing we haven’t been anywhere. I never thought our road trip days were over. But I digress. Within the last two weeks the ignition key keeps getting stuck in the ignition ans we are not able to remove it. Luckily if you put it in reverse and drive a couple of times back and forth it usually works. But these are the sorts of things that start to happen when the car begins to deteriorate. We waited much too long the last time and ended up having a major repair in Pennsylvania. That’s not a good thing. So we are starting to figure out what car we would update to when this one is ready to be traded in. I wanted a hybrid because we don’t have the where with all for electric plug in only - and it’s just not ready for prime time yet - especially when you only have one car. But Subaru Forester is not hybrid until 2025/26. I chatted with our Subaru dealer asking when they expected to start getting the hybrids. And since then I have had phone calls, texts, and email messages. We are not stuck on a hybrid but the Toyota RAV4 might be worth exploring. Maybe I can use that as a carrot to get a better discount on a new Subaru. This would be our fourth. So tomorrow we will get that routine service completed and hopefully the stuck key issue will be resolved. We’ll find out about the overall health of the car and see where we go from there. I really don’t want to buy a new car but I also don’t want to get stuck in a less than safe situation like the last time. 

Subaru Oil and Filter and Virginia Safety Check

It’s not quite six months since our last oil and filter change, but the Virginia Auto Safety check was due this month. So we made an appointment for this week to get both things taken care of. We arrived for our one o’clock time and checked in. I also found a ten percent off coupon on the internet that always comes in handy these days. The attendant said it would take about an hour and a half, so we knew we would spend that time walking in the surrounding Tyson’s neighborhood. It’s not exactly the most pleasant place to walk because there is a lot of traffic and noise. At least the rain had stopped but everything was still pretty wet, grey and gloomy. After checking out the Container Store, we continued up through all of the auto dealerships along the metro rail roadway, then turned back toward the Subaru dealership and the Boro. Since we still had another thirty minutes to go we diverted to more of a neighborhood street which was on an incline and getting harder and harder to walk up. When we came back we stopped in the showroom to see if there was anything new for Subaru Forester in 2024/25. Our Subaru is 2016 and will probably need to be replaced eventually. There was a hint that a hybrid vehicle might be available next year - which would be nice since we don’t have a plug to park in our condo parking space, but could be plugged in somewhere if we needed. So we killed three birds with one stone - oil and filter, vehicle safety check, and daily walk. It’s feels good to cross the tasks off your list. 

Flu Vaccines, Subaru Check, Last of the Eye Drops

It was a day to get tasks completed. Slowly but surely we are catching up with the mundane activities that just need to get done. This morning we needed to drive to the Subaru shop for a six months check. I made the appointment last week even though you can just drive in. We had the 90,000 mile review back in March so we lucked out with just the routine oil and filter and general inspection. At the same time we did our morning walk and as we were approaching the shop we got the call that the car was ready. I brought in the ten dollars off coupon. Gone are the days where these sorts of things were fifty dollars. On Tuesday we picked up papers that need to be filled in for flu shots at the Giant when we went for groceries. For whatever reason the neighborhood CVS a wasn’t taking appointments so this is our default pharmacy. We submitted the paperwork but we’re told there was an hour wait. So we went home, had breakfast, and returned. We were immediately attended to - I was surprised it wasn’t busier since lunch time is always more traffic. I don’t know how our arms are tolerating so many vaccines. We got our RSV and Covid vaccines three weeks ago and now the flu vaccine. All I know is I was summoned to jury duty for next week and will feel more protected having got the vaccines. And this week marks the last week for cataract eye drops. I’m down to one drop a day - things are looking up!

Uber Rides Resume

We took our first Uber ride in 2014. It was to the Libraty of Congress concert at the DAR building by the White House. We took a few rides more here and there. But since we moved to northern Virginia four years ago - and the pandemic - we haven’t used it since - except twice for food delivery. Our car needed to have a major checkup yesterday and we didn’t want to spend all day at the dealer. So they provide a free one way Uber ride back to your house, but you need to get your own ride to pick up the car. So I made sure the Uber app was updated and ready to use. There is a lot more on it since we last used it, including safety reminders. The service people arranged for the ride and the driver arrived promptly in a grey RAV4. We validated names and got our ride home. We tipped the driver with paper money this time. Our car needed to stay over night so this morning we called up the nearest vehicle and it arrived within five minutes - a red Camry this time. It’s still amazing to me how all of this works and how things are all connected and fairly easy to use. Unfortunately my husband doesn’t deal with any of this stuff so I need to stay on top of digital services. We don’t have any friends in the immediate area who we could rely on for a ride so it’s nice to have this option since I really hate buses and metro. All I can say is that it felt very weird not having our car for the day - like we were really missing it. We don’t do well whenever there is a change in our routine - even if there are other options. 

The Geico Experience

We are so happy to have our Subaru back! We were rear ended two weeks ago and the back end needed repair work. Luckily the driver had insurance and assumed all liability. Not having dealt with accidents, we have to say that Geico made the process easy to take given all the incredible inconvenience. And we are retired! As soon as the accident was reported the website was easy to navigate and we were kept up to date on everything - from making an appointment with the auto body shop, the rental car - handled through the auto body shop, the payments for the damage, and overall communication. I also had to submit a claim for a visit to the urgent care center, prescriptions, and copay. From the moment of impact I felt something in my neck. It’s still sore today but luckily it’s not worse than that. Hopefully it will resolve over time. We dropped the car off at Koons Chevrolet on Monday and it was ready today. The car looks brand new and was completely cleaned from top to bottom. The Koons experience, the Enterprise rental car experience, and the Geico experience were all very positive. I’m sure all of these folks must take courses in dealing with people who were involved in an accident and are stressed. Luckily we didn’t have to foot the bill - around $3000. But the last two weeks have worn on us. It could have been much worse and for that we are thankful. Now we can feel more comfortable driving back in our own car. 

Subaru Service Confusion - On My Part!

We had just brought the Subaru in for an oil and filter change earlier in the month. Since they weren’t able to check the squeaky brake we had to make another appointment. Since we also had questions about whether to have a major check done as well, I called rather than schedule on line in the event we would need a loaner. After explaining the situation the appointment was made with a loaner and we were set. As usual I wrote the information on the calendar and we received a confirmation email and a text, then another text as a reminder. So when we went this morning to drop off the car several things happened. The guy asked us if we had an appointment and if we wanted a safety inspection. Both my husband and I thought that meant the major check up. What he meant was if we wanted to have the annual safety check required by Virginia law since the sticker said May 22. It would be a month early but would save us another trip. We said ok. When we walked inside, we were flabbergasted when she said our appointment was for yesterday! I have NEVER a made that kind of mistake and was completely embarrassed - especially since we needed a loaner. Luckily she said it was no problem and we could still get the loaner. After signing all the paperwork I just casually asked if the safety check was noted - and it wasn’t. So that was added. Then we needed an orientation on how to drive a keyless car because we keep forgetting about using the brake and pushing the ignition button. The new car feels weird because it feels like it is stalling every time we stop. On the way home we realized that we left our keys with them and we wouldn’t be able to get in to the house (since I don’t carry a purse anymore I don’t carry keys) nor would we be able to park in our condo garage without the fob we left in the car. So we had to drive back to get the keys - but I forgot to ask for the fob. So when we drove back home I had to ask the front desk if they happened to have an extra fob that we could borrow for the day since we didn’t want to leave the loaner car out in the general parking. Begrudgingly they handed one to me. I also forgot to mention at the dealer that we have an extended safety contract with Subaru in the event whatever is being repaired might be covered. So I sent the information via email to the person who had been helping us. I feel so discombobulated and it is very unsettling. Usually my husband watches for the keys - and I even thought about it before we went in. I think we are so out of touch dealing with the real world that we are still thinking like the last two years. I only hope the rest of the day settles down and we are able to pick up the car without another snafu. I’m not good at doing things off schedule. It’s a bit scary. 

Stohlman Subaru Checkup and the Boro

We always make appointments for car check ups. But we thought we might try the Express Service for a much needed oil and filter change and multipoint inspection for our Subaru Forester. So we drove over to Stohlman Subaru in Tysons and it must have been at the right time. The car was checked in at 9:45 and it was done at 10:15! We were told it would take about an hour and fifteen minutes so we were pleasantly surprised. That has never happened before when we had appointments. We need to come back in six months for tires and use a $150 coupon we got because of an incident last year before it expires. While we waited for the car we took our morning walk around the “Boro” - a new neighborhood that is near the metro stop and a lot of traffic. We realized that the Chick FilA has pick up order parking so we might try it one of these days. This store doesn’t have a drive thru so I wasn’t sure how it worked. Then we crossed the very busy, noisy and smelly thoroughfare over to the Boro neighborhood where newly built high rises and shops and restaurants converged on a single street. An Ethan Allen furniture store anchors the corner. There were “fake” streaming wisteria or cherry blossom trees positioned every few feet. The neighborhood probably would be lovely without a pandemic. The area is just too congested for our taste, but handy for our Subaru needs. So it was an interesting experience all around. So for the time it took to get the car taken care of and walk was no longer than our usual morning activities. And we were home in time for lunch.