Should I buy a Forester??? Page 2 | BOARDWORLD Forums | Australia's Premier Boardsports Community

Posted 05 March 2013 01:39 PM #16

Andy Aitken

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Dan83 - 04 March 2013 11:37 AM
So I’m moving soon and will have to give up my 2011 Forester (work car)

I’ve been tossing up with what car I want. Some options being, Forester, Impreza, Rav 4, Grand Vitara, and Xtrail, to name a few.

Until recently I was very content to just buy a Forester 2000 - 2004 or thereabouts ($8K-10K). I really like my current Forester and so many people (especially on BW) rave about their Subaru’s.

But, then my mate (he’s a wrecker) told me Subis blow the head gasket easier than most cars. That got me doing some more research and soon I’m reading about common complaints, with the head gasket problem and several other common issues, making servicing costs very high for many.

So what do you guys reckon??? I really want to just go with a Forester, but with all the costly issues people seem to have with them (there are always lots of positive stories too) I’m not so sure anymore…. Feedback from Subaru owner’s or those in the know would be welcome. Cheers

So what your friend said about the head gaskets is true… to a degree. When I was a Mechanic (before I figured out how to live life) Subaru was one of the brands in my dealership. I did see slightly more head gaskets blow with subis but not many more than usual. I think what I saw was the cars in the shop with the heads off for long because doing head gaskets on Subis is a B*TCH! (boxer engines are great but annoying to work on).

Having said that, my 2001 WRX is going great. I think the clutch is just about dead but otherwise I love it.

OH, and one more thing. If you get a WRX please check if the back seats fold down on that particular model. I have a bug eye sedan, and it never occurred to me to check (because every god damn car in the world has seats that fold down).
It’s a structural rigidity thing for Rally I’m told. I do have a little flap that folds down just wide enough to put a snowboard through. But it just sucks I can’t fold the whole seat down to load up the back with stuff. So please check

Posted 05 March 2013 01:42 PM #17

Mizu Kuma

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Hey Andy,

How’s Hakuba goin for ya?????

Posted 05 March 2013 05:09 PM #18

Mudhoney

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I have just bought my 2nd fozzie, the first one ending up quite a lot like Trent’s. We didn’t do a huge survey of other options, but in the comparable range were the Mazda CX-5 which seems to be the current darling of many reviewers, the Honda CR-V and a few others. If you go up a tier, you get into the Audi Q5 and BMW X3. We looked at the Audi and liked it, but it’s pretty seriously expensive and almost certainly isn’t as good off-road as the Scooby Doo. We also got a bit worried by the servicing costs and reliability issues.

In terms of the old MY06 Foz, it was extremely reliable, however ours had low Kms and was serviced every 6 months by Subaru. The only thing that failed was the self-levelling rear suspension, which was easily and cheaply replaced with aftermarket stuff. I also replaced the rubbish standard tyres with Yokohama HT/S.

I would say the positives of the Foz are reliability, off-road ability and if you get the turbo, performance. The new one adds some really nice bells and whistles, increases interior space and fixes the awful fuel economy from the old models. The negatives would be sub-par cargo space (we mitigate this with a cargo box on the roof), lack of auto stop/start on the turbo and a bit of a down-market feel next to the audis etc.

Posted 05 March 2013 10:06 PM #19

Mudhoney

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Another thing to add; I totalled up all the service costs for my Foz over 6 years. Per 6 month service, it averaged about $420 not including extras (new tyres etc), and $620 per service including extras.

Posted 05 March 2013 10:52 PM #20

Dan83

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Thanks for all the feedback guys! It is giving me more confidence to buy a Forester

Although I’m thinking now of spending a bit more. I heard 03 and older are a bit more prone to blow head gaskets. I’ll try get one with not as many K’s too.

Posted 05 March 2013 10:57 PM #21

ozgirl

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When do you move Dan??

Posted 06 March 2013 12:13 AM #22

spaz

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With Audi you get free roadside and I thought free servicing for some time. They do have the best after sales support of any manufacturer.

Boxer engines are the best.
Head gaskets issues are probably due to the huge torque they produce.
Subaru could easily sell their cars for much more, they are worth more than what they cost.

Put any fear aside Dan. They are the best average “priced” car on the road.

Posted 06 March 2013 08:21 AM #23

NBG

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Hmm Foresters eh? The Foz is something I have looked at many times when looking to change cars. The main attraction for me was that it (in turbo guise) had a good cross section of capabilities, it was 4wd and it had performance and decent capability to carry boards etc. In the end the compromises were such that in my mind it didn’t really do anything as well as what I wanted it to. It wasn’t really that much of a performance car (without big dollars being thrown at it), it couldn’t really carry that much without being reduced to a two seater (I don’t really like using roof racks, I like having my boards and gear under lock and key) so I might as well have a ute, and it really isn’t very good offroad.

The first time this choice came up, I went with performance and load at the total expense of 4wd/off road ability and bought a VE SSV ute ( you would be surprised at some of the dirt roads it handled however), the second time the choice came up I went 4wd capability and load and totally forgot performance with a 4wd Ford Ranger dual cab ute. Neither choice has left me thinking I should have gotten the Foz instead, for my intended application both cars have been up to the task.

I almost pulled the trigger on a new car recently but I’m in a holding pattern at the moment, waiting to pay off a personal loan and be debt free before going again, I must be getting old being responsible like this. The choices I was looking at have been all of the new dual cab utes with the VW Amarok the favourite and I have a bit of thing for the Jeep Grand Cherokee in diesel as well at the moment but I’m not sure about moving away from utes, they are just so practical. Lately I have also been entertaining the idea of a Maloo or Clubsport wagon, both useless for the snow though so I dunno. I wish that an F150-250’s, Silverado’s, Sierra"s, Tundra’s and Ram’s weren’t so expensive as they would be on the list as well.

I wouldn’t go an Xtrail, they really don’t offer much of anything unless you got the diesel but I would prefer the Foz in diesel to the Xtrail. My old company ran Xtrails as company cars, the diesels were ok but the couple of older petrol ones we had floating around were crap. CX5 I know next to nothing about, with the Toyota you will pay the Toyota tax for no apparent reason and you’ll be driving a haidressers car to boot.

Have you considered a Mitsubishi Challenger? They are good value for money in the diesel and you could pick up a brand spanker with 5 years warranty and a 10 yr drivetrain warranty of $33K. If you’re not looking at the turbo Foz this has it covered in almost every aspect, bigger, roomier, similar performance, better economy, real off road capability.

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/demo/details.aspx?R=AGC-AD-12686104&Cr=3

Posted 06 March 2013 08:29 AM #24

NBG

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Actually, this is making me a little excited

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=SSE-AD-334206&Cr=21

Posted 06 March 2013 09:16 AM #25

ozgirl

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The dudes budget is around $10k LOL

Posted 06 March 2013 09:50 AM #26

NBG

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Dan83 - 04 March 2013 11:37 AM

I’ve been tossing up with what car I want. Some options being, Forester, Impreza, Rav 4, Grand Vitara, and Xtrail, to name a few.

Until recently I was very content to just buy a Forester 2000 - 2004 or thereabouts ($8K-10K). I really like my current Forester and so many people (especially on BW) rave about their Subaru’s.

I thought that by the above it meant he was looking at spending more and getting a newer model comparable to the 2011 he is getting out of.

Posted 06 March 2013 09:57 AM #27