Subaru Forester

[Threehz]

Going to look at one tomorrow for the girlfriend. Searched the forums and found a few opinions and talk, just looking for all the information I can get.

Looking at 2004 XS with almost 125k on the clock.

Just looking for any opinions on the vehicles or Scoobies that are close in year.

Thanks!

[5Toes]

My family has an 03 with 27000 miles now

Good car.. kind of cramped inside but its whatever. Good in the snow (no issue for you) and super reliable

Only gripe is there is alot of road noise

[Threehz]

I have heard that the windows create some excessive road noise.. 27k on an 03, only use it for trips or what?

How is the space in back? Is fitting stuff in ever a trouble?

[5Toes]

Bought it from a woman with alzheimers 2 years back and it had 13k on it :)

My Mom came from a minivan so it is small to her

It can fit most stuff.. no theird row seating so theres quite a bit of room. Go test drive one and see

Road noise with windows down is normal. Remember though the rear windows dont go all the way down. With the sunroof open it makes that "helicopter" effect noise that sucks

Leg room up front is meh.. my e30 has atleast 6 inchs more of knee room. With driver seat all the way back in the subie my prosthetic knee is still within 2 inches of center console. Rear legroom is just enough

[Threehz]

Well I plan to drive one tomorrow and see what it's got to offer. How tall are you?

[GOOBER]

I had 5 foresters in my family at one point. They run forever even if you beat the hell out of them. My mom has an '07, same body style as the one you're looking at. Has decent pick up. The auto transmission isn't the most responsive off the line but definitely isn't as bad as similar cars I've driven. Gets decent mileage for awd and is fairly spacious. I loved the 1st and 2nd gen's because they're basically the same cars and are simple, can-do anything machines. '08+ and up, got bigger, more equipped, and lost the utilitarian-aspect. All said in done a forester is basically an impreza they stretched out, hell in japan they even made a forester STI.

[xphiledan]

check for coolant leaks. check for coolant leaks. check for coolant leaks.

[Wschnitz]

What model? The tiny unboosted flat four and for speed auto they use is complete shit. Either get manual or get the better engine with more speeds on transmission.

[pureaudio]

Test drove a 2011 when we bought my wife's Legacy. Ride quality was worse than my Trailblazer and it had excessive amounts of road noise so it got ruled out quickly.

[Threehz]

Yeah I have ample knowledge of the notorious HG failure, but '04s at least use the better gasket, and hopefully this one will be taken care of, we'll see..

I am looking at an NA+autotragic which I've heard is ruthlessly mundane, but it's for the girlfriend and our coming baby. Speed aint the aim of the game.

[Jand3rson]

The official vehicle of lesbians everywhere.

[Threehz]

Lesbian lumberjacks I heard actually

[CrusherCurtis]

Had 1. They feel a little cheap, its like the body panels are thin or something. Def expect wind noise. As you know there's HG failure, but there's also piston slap. Mine had both. Just google Subaru piston slap. Believe it or not I fixed my HG with blue devil and drove it for a year with no troubles, until I came across me e36m and then I gave it away.

[GOOBER]

I'll just leave this here...

[5Toes]

I am 6 feet tall for the record.. but my prosthetic knee sits lower than my real knee. If that makes any sense