To all you past and present Forester owners

To all you past and present Forester owners

Author
Discussion

mikal83

Original Poster:

5,340 posts

259 months

Monday 30th December 2019
quotequote all
We are looking for a general workhorse/smallish suv. And the forester seems to fit what we are looking for, so we have a couple of ? to ask.

Looking at 2010 to 2014 ish which should cost 5k to maybe 8k. The diesel xc looks good and /or the satnav version, have also seen a suretrak on ebay but dont know what the differance is with that one.

What should I be checking the car out for, did u like yours. What did you hate....wish you didnt buy it maybe and got something else....

Any and all help appreciated.

Mike

TEKNOPUG

19,336 posts

212 months

Monday 30th December 2019
quotequote all
The diesel engines have a poor rep for reliability. I'd stick with a petrol motor.

mikal83

Original Poster:

5,340 posts

259 months

Monday 30th December 2019
quotequote all
TEKNOPUG said:
The diesel engines have a poor rep for reliability. I'd stick with a petrol motor.
The petrol has atrocious mpg so that isnt going to happen.....what alternative diesel would you pick? The Sante Fe??

Teddy Lop

8,301 posts

74 months

Monday 30th December 2019
quotequote all
The mrs has a forrester. Her mum retired recently having sold them for 20 years so knows a thing or too - like said the diesels aren't good and she said avoid the gen 3, go newer or older. We have an immaculate 08 2.5 turbo they seem to be primarily very well engineered cars , not as touchy feely nicely finished as a bmw say but better made.

mikal83

Original Poster:

5,340 posts

259 months

Monday 30th December 2019
quotequote all
Teddy Lop said:
The mrs has a forrester. Her mum retired recently having sold them for 20 years so knows a thing or too - like said the diesels aren't good and she said avoid the gen 3, go newer or older. We have an immaculate 08 2.5 turbo they seem to be primarily very well engineered cars , not as touchy feely nicely finished as a bmw say but better made.
Bugger. We were sort of looking at 2nd gen, the 2009 to 2010 ones seem nice and mpg good. Maybe a yeti?

TEKNOPUG

19,336 posts

212 months

Monday 30th December 2019
quotequote all
How many miles are you doing for MPG to be a factor? Consider reliability, running costs, depreciation etc and then how much of the overall cost does consumption really concern?

mikal83

Original Poster:

5,340 posts

259 months

Monday 30th December 2019
quotequote all
TEKNOPUG said:
How many miles are you doing for MPG to be a factor? Consider reliability, running costs, depreciation etc and then how much of the overall cost does consumption really concern?
Its not just mpg tho. resale, tax insurance as well. BUT its doable!

If I do around 2000 mpa, and I compared 2 cars at 35 and 45 mpg, with fuel prices as they are now, the differance is less than 100 pounds pa. The bugger is the petrol variants tow less, but the 2.0 pre 2013 forester gets 35 mpg and the newer lineartronic 36.5.


Edited by mikal83 on Monday 30th December 17:27

vxr2010

2,597 posts

166 months

Monday 30th December 2019
quotequote all
or get a jdm sti forester , 27 mpg with out trying 35 on a long run , tax is around 245 £ pa even on an 07 car , insurance very reasonable , plus a quick car when you want it to be

mikal83

Original Poster:

5,340 posts

259 months

Tuesday 31st December 2019
quotequote all
vxr2010 said:
or get a jdm sti forester , 27 mpg with out trying 35 on a long run , tax is around 245 £ pa even on an 07 car , insurance very reasonable , plus a quick car when you want it to be
Wouldnt last 5 minutes on our Cornish lanes.

HorneyMX5

5,429 posts

157 months

Tuesday 31st December 2019
quotequote all
A forrester sti is ideal for Cornish lanes, it’s basically a lifter rally car!

mikal83

Original Poster:

5,340 posts

259 months

Tuesday 31st December 2019
quotequote all
HorneyMX5 said:
A forrester sti is ideal for Cornish lanes, it’s basically a lifter rally car!
And towing 1.5 ton would be such fun!

sparkythecat

7,961 posts

262 months

Tuesday 31st December 2019
quotequote all
I know I'm likely to be stored to death for suggesting this, but go and have a look at some caravan enthusiasts forums/websites or magazines.
Their usually dislikeable traits of being penny pinching parsimonious gits come into their own here, and they'll guide you on the most cost conscious way to drag 1.5 tonnes around the English countryside.

Try this to start with
https://www.practicalcaravan.com/blog/41254-5-of-t...

Edited by sparkythecat on Tuesday 31st December 10:21

mikal83

Original Poster:

5,340 posts

259 months

Tuesday 31st December 2019
quotequote all
sparkythecat said:
I know I'm likely to be stored to death for suggesting this, but go and have a look at some caravan enthusiasts forums/websites or magazines.
Their usually dislikeable traits of being penny pinching parsimonious gits come into their own here, and they'll guide you on the most cost conscious way to drag 1.5 tonnes around the English countryside.

Try this to start with
https://www.practicalcaravan.com/blog/41254-5-of-t...

Edited by sparkythecat on Tuesday 31st December 10:21
I'm dragging firewood around my local parish for a local wood community project to help the poorer in our society.

PomBstard

7,109 posts

249 months

Wednesday 1st January 2020
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I had a 2007 Forester from new for about 10 years and 100,000km. It had the N/A 2.5 engine which I don’t think the UK market got - just about perfect as an everyday car. Torquey engine, 16” wheels with 60-profile tyres, big enough for 4 adults (as long as the driver wasn’t too tall), boot bigger than it looked and piece of cake to drive and place on the road. What it cost in petrol (27 for the urban assault, 33 on a run with a bike on the roof) was made up for the breakdowns it never had or the parts it didn’t need outside of servicing.

I’m looking for it’s replacement I drove a couple of newer, 2009-2012 Foresters and was disappointed by the wobbly chassis, too-light steering, and flimsy-feeling interior. But mechanically they’d be just as tough.

There’s more to running a Subaru than checking the predicted fuel use.

Hol

8,729 posts

207 months

Wednesday 1st January 2020
quotequote all
mikal83 said:
HorneyMX5 said:
A forrester sti is ideal for Cornish lanes, it’s basically a lifter rally car!
And towing 1.5 ton would be such fun!
I don’t think the petrol forester kerb weight is enough
I’m sure mine was limited to 1.3 tonne.

PomBstard

7,109 posts

249 months

Wednesday 1st January 2020
quotequote all
Hol said:
mikal83 said:
HorneyMX5 said:
A forrester sti is ideal for Cornish lanes, it’s basically a lifter rally car!
And towing 1.5 ton would be such fun!
I don’t think the petrol forester kerb weight is enough
I’m sure mine was limited to 1.3 tonne.
With the 2.5 petrol mine was 1400kg braked, online specs tell me gross combination mass is 3350kg. Tare is 1455kg, which gives total payload (inc driver) of 1950kg.

Jim on the hill

5,077 posts

197 months

Wednesday 1st January 2020
quotequote all
vxr2010 said:
or get a jdm sti forester , 27 mpg with out trying 35 on a long run , tax is around 245 £ pa even on an 07 car , insurance very reasonable , plus a quick car when you want it to be
27 without even trying? I get around 20mpg and 28mpg on a long sensible run. Great cars though but I wouldn't reccomend one if MPG is a concern for the OP.

vxr2010

2,597 posts

166 months

Wednesday 1st January 2020
quotequote all
Fsti kerb weight is around 1450 kg , gearbox and running gear slightly heavier , it would be an interesting tow vehicle quite a few cars would not keep up off the lights lol , i have a 6.2 litre ute that would be fun too

ericmcn

1,999 posts

104 months

Wednesday 1st January 2020
quotequote all
mikal83 said:
We are looking for a general workhorse/smallish suv. And the forester seems to fit what we are looking for, so we have a couple of ? to ask.

Looking at 2010 to 2014 ish which should cost 5k to maybe 8k. The diesel xc looks good and /or the satnav version, have also seen a suretrak on ebay but dont know what the differance is with that one.

What should I be checking the car out for, did u like yours. What did you hate....wish you didnt buy it maybe and got something else....

Any and all help appreciated.

Mike
Don't get a diesel Subaru, that's all you need to know. Head to UK legacy for all the advice you need. A legacy outback is a good punt in 2.0 or 3.0 variants

ericmcn

1,999 posts

104 months

Wednesday 1st January 2020
quotequote all
Jim on the hill said:
27 without even trying? I get around 20mpg and 28mpg on a long sensible run. Great cars though but I wouldn't reccomend one if MPG is a concern for the OP.
The op like many people are too worried on mpg so a Subaru probably not for them. Diesel Subaru's a waste of time, Petrols a whole different ball game - take your pick