Just go for it. On my second Forester and I have been delighted with both. As Stephen Bayley design guru and CAR columnist said "no one needs more than a Forester".
Stephen Bayley is no bastion of good taste! He used to have a column on the back page of Telegraph Motoring and I remember him writing that the Fiat Doblo 1.9 JTD was "all the car you'll ever need." :)
I'm fond of the Forester. Like any second hand car model, there are hundreds available so don't overpay and be sure of history, condition, etc.
Fuel costs and insurance group are relatively high though for what it is.
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Well I bought it :-) its a one-owners car traded in for a new one, full Subaru history.
Got the price down to £7990 and that price includes 6m tax, 48k/4year service, years warranty and a years MOT. Oh and he threw in a boot tray aswell as it has the light coloured carpets. Must remember that this model wasnt that cheap when new listing at just a tad over £20k with the auto option, so down to 8 grand when its barely run-in seems good value to me.
I know its still more than that private one mentioned earlier, but I found several around the country at much more money than this with more miles.
On the subject of the 5 year cambelt service, I asked him to get me a price for that service as its the next one due - he quoted me £352 including VAT - sounds like a bargin considering what ive been hearing.
We both realise its only the 125 bhp model and the 0-60 is 13 seconds apparently but it bowls along at a fair rate and the handling means you can carry the speed through very easily - its also relatively cheap to insure being group 11.
The main thing is though that we love the car, its a real feel-good sorta car - even the cup holder that flips outta the dashboard we liked and teh armrests in the front seats.
The fact that it has all the extra toys over the base model like the huge elec sunroof, heated seats, cruise control and the alloys just gives it that little bit extra that makes it want for very little.
We didnt think the boot was small at all - yes its not especially deep but wheelchairs require floor space and width more than anything - as it is we can stand the wheel chair upright and get a weeks shopping for 5 people in the boot, exactly what we wanted from it.
Its also the perfect entry height for my less than able grandmother and my misses who has knee trouble.
All in all we cannot wait to pick it up on Tuesday and plan to take it on a good trip to Norwich so we can test out its long distance comfort, plus an enjoyable blast across the Fens.
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Congratulations Stu, I'm sure you'll enjoy the car. The next service doesn't seem too dear to me compared to others I've read about on here.
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Good for you Stu, hope you and your loved ones have a lot of pleasure from your new motor.
I assume you got it from the dealer near to you, they seem nice people and are always helpful whenever my son needs advice or parts.
PS i'm quite jealous.
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It does sound like a good buy then. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. That service sounds a good price too, if it includes the cambelt then its a bargain.
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Welcome to the cult, make it even better and throw away the original skinny rear anti roll bar and fit a thicker 20mm one for about £100 from Whiteline or a lot cheaper s/h take off from an Impreza WRX/STI - only need a couple of spanners and about a 20 min job if you are handy - you don't even need to raise the car up altho' ramps help of course. There is a good owners forum www.subaruforester.org which altho' US dominated has a lively European/UK section.
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Well done Stu. I've been 'resisting' Subaru's for about 5 years, but finally went for a 3 year old Forester XT last October. Great car!
I do mainly shortish trips on the outskirts of a Country town, but still get 26 mpg overall. I get 33mpg on long trips and mine is the turbo. I tried the non-turbo and thought it too underpowered. Trawling through posts on the European section of US Forester website I came to the conclusion that the turbo is only about 2 mpg worse than the non-turbo in the real world.
Cost of servicing is relative. Just over £300 for a cambelt service is cheap when you consider that I paid £300 for the first (oil change) service on a Volvo V70 diesel!
Like many posters here I tend to get fed up with my cars rather easily. I've had the Forester for nearly 6 months and cannot see me changing it for the forseeable future.
Cheers
HectorG
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I saw my friend tonight after being abroad for a while and enquired if he had finally managed to sell his 04 Forester AWP. After trying for the last couple of months, it finally went 'in family'. He eventually gave up on advertising a private sale, didn't bother with the BCA 'SureSell?' scheme, and got nowhere with all his personal contacts.I confirmed the 47k mileage, and to add insult to injury he had the cambelt changed early, put on four new tyres, 12 months mot and long tax........then sold it for £5100!!!! At that price even I,who has been very vocal about it being underpowered, might have been tempted.I bought him a pint to commiserate.
Wonder if I could get an XT ..same age & condition, for the same price?
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Excellent - only 102 to go!
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The dealer is of the small variety, the one anyone in Northampton area would know and so far the experience has been top-notch, really couldnt fault it.
I found the handling was more than enough for my driving and my misses rarely does more than 45 mph so speed is less of an issue for us than with many folk.
The way we decided was actually quite simple - it was against a Focus estate auto - we thought about it and concluded that if we bought the Focus, we would have always wished we had goen for the Subaru, but buy the Subaru and we would never give a second thought to the Ford. And we were right too.
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You're not obliged to read it, woodbines.
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the good thing about the Forester is that it has such a benign image for a 4x4. It doesn't attract the "chelsea tractor" sneers from the ignoramati. I had one for a year and it was a super motor. If they ever make a diesel.....I would be very tempted again
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>>If they ever make a diesel.....I would be very tempted again
Coming this year to a showroom near you.
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I talked to the dealer about the diesel coming. Sounds like they are very much looking forward to having them to sell as it completes the engine line-up, not to mention its getting rave reviews - the little smirk he had suggested he is expecting to get very busy off the back of this new engine - lets hop eit meets all expectations in service.
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Everything one hears and sees about these motors makes them sound terrific. People here including the eminent Aprilia have only nuanced criticisms of any Subaru. My sister and her husband, both doctors, he in addition raised in a Yorkshire garage, have owned a whole succession of Subarus down there in New Zealand. Daughter's bf's dad, who seems a pretty sound sort of bloke, has a Forester.
The only thing wrong with the device (apart from Subaru thirst) is its gauche and lumpish looks, carp even by Subaru standards. But you don't look on't mantelpiece when you're poking t'fire, eh?
Edited by Lud on 08/03/2008 at 18:45
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I dont know that its that bad looking, atleast not the 04 model ive bought.
We both thought it was a classy, conservative looking car, not brash, but distinctive enough in its two-tone livery that you recognise one on the road. Better in dark colours for sure.
Nobody buys a jap car for its looks though do they even if it is quite smart.
I think the whole sense that all the oily bits you cant see will just run and run makes the car what it is rather than the styling. That and the sense that whoever designed the driving experience really enjoyed driving.
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Yeah, well, couldn't agree more stunorthants, it's the way it works that matters and the way it looks is unimportant to a rational person.
I wasn't trying to talk you out of it, just mentioning what are to me the thing's only faults, both minor: fuel consumption and appearance. I'd have one like a shot, but not a Forester unless that was the way it fell...
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Good on you Stu.
The original Forester was an ugly beast, but I think the Forester II is smart and subtle looking - no in-your-face like certain chavtastic 4WDs
We were thinking of some other more "sensible" car before we bought ours. I'm sure we would have regretted it and traded-up within a couple of years, so works out good value as 5 years and it's still perfect and a joy to drive.
MVP
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All this talk of Subaru's has started me looking, I'm seriously tempted by a 56 plate Outback 2.5 at Motorpoint for £12.5k, and an LPG conversion. I think the imminent arrival of the diesel models will drive the second hand petrol prices down further still. It may be a fantastic engine but you'll have to do a LOT of miles to recoup the saving.
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One thing that has impressed me is just how universally liked these cars are, and not just by the country set.
I think if they can sort economy out in the petrols without changing the cars basic philosophy or loosing the boxer layout, they will get even more sales.
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One thing that has impressed me is just how universally liked these cars are and not just by the country set.
That's true. Since I got my Impreza I've not really come across anyone who has a bad word to say about Subarus, other than the routine mention of poor fuel economy (which I actually find quite acceptable on my car - I don't think 30-38mpg is bad for a reasonably powerful 2.0 engine and AWD).
The diesel does look tempting, but my major concern would be that its totally unproven. Although Subaru make good engines I would assume the diesel fuel system is not made by them but bought in from an outside supplier. I only know a couple of people who have modern diesel cars (Ford and Renault) and they have both had very bad experiences with them, so I am wary until demonstrated otherwise by Subaru (maybe in three years time!!).
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Good point, qxman. Look at Honda, who are also comparatively new to diesel - the stories of ultra-reliable petrol Hondas are legion, but there have been at least two backroomers who have had major failures with their diesel Accords.
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I can only add to this Subaru 'love in'. I've had my Legacy 2.0R for a couple of months and its great! Even the fuel economy is shaping up OK (I knew I wasn't buying an economy car). I only wish I'd discovered these cars before I purchased my truely dreadful Mondeo TDCI. The Subaru is from a different dimension to a Ford.
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As a follow up to qxman's comments, I do notice, as I browse the BR from time to time, that an very large proportion (perhaps 50%?) of the 'Technical Problems' are from owners with diesel engined vehicles.
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Which means 50% are from petrol engines. The diesel problems do seem to be rather more serious and expensive though. Does anyone know what proportion of cars on the road are diesel?
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Market share of new registrations of diesel cars has been slowly rising to 40%, so the carpark is likely to be 25-30% diesel at most.
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The biggest problem I found with a 2.0 impreza (non-turbo) was the tiny fuel tank that meant you had to stop (what felt like) every couple of hours on the Autoroute.
Cruising at 80 was noisy (though that may have had something to do with the snow tyres, but I thought the engine could do with an extra gear) and expensive.
Get onto proper roads, though, and what a dream.
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We've had a 2004 2.0 XT auto from new (photo in profile). The only thing it has had outside yearly servicing is a new battery for the key fob.
SWMBO is so satisfied with it she bought one for her office - a 2006 2.0 X auto to replace a Mondeo estate.
But - she left one of the tiny map lights on over the long weekend and has completely flattened the battery!
In this day and age, I consider this a design fault. Why on earth is there not a device built into the car that switches off non-essential electrical items when the battery voltage drops to a low but still operational level? When the car was next started there could be a chime and/ or a Low Bat Volts message/ indication on the dash.
Or even more simple - a timer on the blooming thing!
(Rant due to the fact that I have just wasted the best part of my morning trying to get it started, and failing due to the chuffing after-market alarm which is locking me out.)
Stu, does yours have an after-market alarm? IIRC, Subaru do not offer factory alarms.
Edited by Billy Whizz on 11/03/2008 at 11:12
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I thought Cat 1 alarms were standard? Certainly is on my 06 Legacy.
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when I last looked into it (2004) Cat 1 alarms were indeed standard spec but not factory fitted. The Dealer fitted an after-market alarm to every car sold. Mine is Cobra.
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I think mine is a factory fit.
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nick, I'd be very interested if you would confirm this. i.e that your alarm immobiliser is definately factory fit.
My 2004 Forester alarm is fully integrated with the central locking but comes with a Cobra instruction book and there is a little Cobra badge on the flashing led affixed to the corner of the windscreen.
Edited by Billy Whizz on 11/03/2008 at 13:10
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Billy
The alarm on my Outback 2003 model (new shape) is definitely factory fit.
Cheers
jdc
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As far as I know, the alarm is factory - mine had a thatch' CAT 1 and there is a section in the service book I think it is with all the details - will update later when I collect the car and know for sure. It works through a Subaru remote key so I assume it is factory fit.
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My alarm manual is Subaru branded and comes with a Subaru booklet. I think the alarm is made by Sigma (judging from some small print in the manual) and was fitted to 04 model year onward Imprezas, Foresters and Legacies. However, it is a separate booklet, not part of the main manual which covers the immobiliser, so I presume it's a UK-only feature. I don't know for sure whether it's factory-fitted, I made the assumption because all the literature is Subaru. But it could well be dealer-fitted and Subaru just had the handbooks printed.
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thanks for all the quick input, guys. I will look into it a bit more (to double check my facts/ memory!) a bit later. But I'm just off out the door to have another go at charging the flat battery - got my earplugs with me this time!
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When I bought my Legacy (55 plate) I asked about the alarm and was told that it was fitted in the UK at the Subaru import centre (maybe a dockyard somewhere?).
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Well that was easy - I went back this morning to try once more to start the office car. I put the charger on for 30 mins, after which time the voltage was 12.20 according to my multi-meter. I put my ear plugs in, reconnected the battery and after 10 secs the siren went off (118 dB). This time, although the bonnet was still up, the car doors were shut , and one simple press of the remote and the alarm was silenced!
Yesterday, I had the driver's door open (which, I have learned the hard way, is essential when fiddling around with batteries on my P38 Range Rover. Not so for the Forester).
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Here is the story as far as I see it regarding alarm fitment on early-to-mid 00's UK Subarus:
Subarus for the UK market were factory fitted in Japan with an engine immobiliser (information about the immobiliser is included in the Driver's handbook). Local Japanese market RHD cars had no alarm. When Subarus got to UK they were all upgraded to an integrated Cat 1 Alarm/ immobiliser based on a Sigma alarm. (Hence separate booklet).
Prior to 1999 all alarms were dealer fitted,
1999 Model Years /2000 the alarms were fitted by International Motors/ IM Group (the UK importers) at their centre in Quedgeley, Gloucestershire.
2001 MY/ onward: only the alarm wiring was factory installed but the rest of the assembly continues to be physically fitted in Gloucestershire (with the possible exception of Imprezas from Sept 2007 on).
Sources: subaruforester.org, scoobynet.com, thatcham.org
Below is a detailed post I found on scoobynet.com dated 25 jan 2005 by Sigma Sam (a top engineer working with Sigma alarms and Subaru):
QUOTE
The standard UK security system on earlier vehicles was refered to as Sigma M30 security systems - these security systems were fitted to all vehicles at the import centre in the UK, but the system was categorised as an "aftermarket installation" and relied on the Sigma M30's product evaluation number (see below).
As this was classed as an "aftermarket installation" a certificate of installation may be required by your insurance company.
Quick identification - the siren is visable under the bonnet & ultrasonic sensors on the A-pillar are of the "canon type".
On later vehicles & Imprezas from 2001 MY, the same Sigma M30 alarm system is used, however the security systems wiring loom was integrated into the vehicles wirng harness during production. This was now classed as an "factory installation" and the vehicle was assesed as a whole, to obtain a lower insurance grouping, and the vehicle given it?s own unique ?Thatcham Evaluation Number?. The combined "factory" security system was now refered to as the "Subaru Category One Alarm System".
As this was classed as a "factory installation" a certificate of installation is not required by your insurance company as it is a standard item - just the evaluation number for the vehicle.
Quick identification - the siren is not visable under the bonnet & ultrasonic sensors on the A-pillar are of the "sphere type" and colour matched to the trim.
The following evaluation numbers are given as a guide only. Please consult your dealer for the correct evaluation number for your vehicle:
:
Impreza:
1999 & 2000 MY (Sigma M30) TC2-808/0198
2001 & 2002 MY (Subaru Category One Alarm System) TC2-1199/0501
2003, 2004 & 2005 MY (Subaru Category One Alarm System) TC2-1265/1002
Forester:
1999, 2000 & Early 2001 MY (Sigma M30) TC2-808/0198
Late 2001 & 2002 MY (Subaru Category One Alarm System) TC2-1202/0501
2003, 2004 & 2005 MY (Subaru Category One Alarm System) TC2- 1265/1002
Legacy:
1999, 2000 & Early 2001 MY (Sigm M30) TC2-808/0198
Late 2001, 2002 & 2003 MY (Subaru Category One Alarm System) TC2-1203/0501
2004 & 2005 MY (Subaru Category One Alarm System) TC2-1265/0803
END QUOTE
For an update of this list see: www.thatcham.org/security/pdfs/categories/Passenge...f
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