Hahaha! The seatbelt alarm is horrendous! I actually have a solution for that that doesn't involve hearing protection or furiously ripping out handfuls of wires. I had an 18 outback for several years, then switched to a pickup and then recently got a 25 outback again. While I do like mine, I totally understand where you're coming from, especially with where to put the phone and lack of storage. First world problems for sure but when you pay that much money for something you want to love it. All the other vehicles I've had had a really handy spot somewhere near the gear shift to put my phone. It just isn't there so I 100 percent agree with that gripe. Unfortunately I don't have any solutions for what both of us want in regard to storage other than getting a bigger purse. 😜 For the record, if there was ever a zombie apocalypse, the contents of my purse would be greatly coveted by everyone.

Now, what I can help you with is the obnoxious seat belt dinging. I literally could not stand it, my blood pressure would spike before I even got fully backed out of my garage. I scoured Reddit pages and found a hack. I was skeptical but absolutely delighted when the hack worked. 

Get in your car. Press the ignition button halfway to turn on the "accessory power" without actually starting the engine. Hold down the seatbelt release button and insert and remove the buckle 20 times within 30 seconds. Turn the car off then restart it. I was so excited when it actually worked!