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Subaru Forester (up to 2005)
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Comments
Picked up our son's new 5-speed Blue Ridge Pearl L with CD today and we love it! (Total cost with out taxes $19,106). It came in a week ago--an order time of 4 1/2 weeks. We may have to "car nap" it! (We have it until the end of finals on Dec. 15 when our son will be home from college). It was a 6 1/2 hr. dive round trip, but well worth it to Cincinnati for such a good deal on a great car. It's everything you all have said about it! Will have our son post a picture of it.
John Earls, our salesman, made it so easy for us from start to finish. He really knows his stuff (loves his product) and was very professional, helpful, and knowledgeable in all aspects of our dealings with him. Am ordering a ski attachment from Darlene tomorrow. Definitely see what you mean about the arm rest extension--it would make things more comfortable--but we'll leave it up to the son. Thanks again for a very helpful board!
Anne
Anne: now THAT's a steal! I don't think I've ever heard a lower price for a Forester L. Nice color, too. Congrats.
Nick: I have not heard of anyone actually doing this, just some talk about it. But I'd challenge your dealer - tell him he has to figure that out if he wants to sell you a car.
Good luck to you and to Beverly with your shopping.
-juice
I had the same impression you did since
I also had a Civic prior to my Forester.
It does seem like the Civic has more legroom
(but a lot less headroom) than the Forester.
Found that adjusting the seatback to a partly reclined position (maybe half reclined) helped a lot, in addition to adjusting the bottom angle
to a more forward angle. It seems possible however to adjust the seat track but it would probably be pretty costly...
Good luck
I tend to keep the front of the cushion at the highest position for thigh support, and that also bends my knees a bit so my legs are not stretched out as long. This may work for you.
-juice
Has anyone solved that driver side seat belt rattle? I've noticed a few posts about it, and I've tried the belt in every position with no luck. I was hoping someone knows something before I go rip it open myself and see what I break in the process...
-JC
Beverly
Here's an on-line no-haggle dealer:
www.fitzmall.com
Even though they're on the wrong coast for you, at least you have a reference point for comparison of real-world prices.
You could even bluff and tell a dealer you're considering driving cross-country and buying one here in DC! )
-juice
I am also torn between the 5-speed and the automatic.
Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.
Ed
Juice; We are lucky to be in the DC area where there are at least 2 dealers that sell at $100 above invoice. Both Fitzgerald and Tischer offer this price but Tischer will include a loaner car for warranty service without extra charge. To get a loaner car at Fitzgerald you have to pay $300 over invoice. Both dealerships are courteous and professional.
I too ordered and installed the armrest extension from QSubaru. Really easy to install. Gives you taller storage. I hold a CD pack in there now. Also, works well as a rest as it is the same height as the door rest.
John:
My rattle has seemed to disappear when the weather turned much colder. Just happened to notice this past week that - "hey, the rattle is gone". I now have this occasional weird "buzz" in the dash when accelerating. It's one of those resonance type deals occuring at a narrow (around 2000) rpm range. These minor interior noises mean nothing to me, I would be more concerned about suspension/body creaks - indicating a flaw. I have none of those.
Ed:
I have an L auto. Although I like the auto, my choice was based on my commute (read mucho traffic). If you fare better, go with the stick and make use of all that torque. There are some advantages to the auto - like a more sophisticated AWD system, but it is also more complex and potentially costly down the road. If I had the money (or one of my averaged down tech stocks take off) I'd buy another in 5-speed for the weekends...whoohoo.
Juice:
Drove the Forester in !!!SNOW!!! for the first time today. Was hoping for more, but we only got a few inches and the sanding/salting trucks were out in force. Anyhow, I found some lightly treated backroads - Result; It lives up to all of my expectations with barely no slippage on acceleration and any sliding on turns can be corrected with the throttle - very nice.
-Tony
I've seen the armrest extension on other people's Foresters, but I need the cupholder more -- the Forester already has plenty of other cubbyholes to stash things into (not to mention that glove compartment, which is *HUGE* compared to most glove compartments today!).
-E
Mike
brush guard
luggage compartment cover
security upgrade
rear cargo net
rear window dust defl
tailpipe cover
woodgrain trim.
The dealer claimed this is 500 over invoice. Do you think this is a good deal? Thanks.
(In most instances I'd rather put the wear on my brakes than on the engine.)
Believe it or not, it's better to downshift and use the normal engine braking effect than to use the brakes when going down hills. Brakes overheat very quickly that can have some serious side effects: (1) brake fade causing braking to become less effective (2) warping of the rotors - which is actual damage to the rotors.
A subaru representative normally looks into these forums. Her name is Patti (Subaru_Team). If you don't get a response from her here, try posting in the Owner's Club "Subaru Crew - General Maintenance and Repair II" here on Edmunds as she tends to be more active there. She may be able to track this down and possibly help your dealer get you the upgrade, if one is available.
Hope this helps,
-TonyL
-Frank P.
-Frank P.
Otherwise I love driving my Forester L,
Beverly that does sound quite high check out www.costcoauto.com
the upshot of it all is that i have had a ball getting into my parking space and totally pi**ed of anyone who is unfortunate enough to be behind me!!!
i cannot understand why SoA have dropped the dual range manual tranny when they are trying to flog the forester as a viable (not brilliant) soft roader.
cheers
gus
Ed: Blue or White? Well, dark colors get swirl marks if not waxes properly. Scratches show more. Salt from roads shows more. Looks beautiful when clean.
White hides scratches well, but dirt shows up pretty quick. My other car is white and it always looks dirty. Very visible, though.
Go with Silver or Gold if you want low maintenance.
Tranny? If you tow, off-road, or commute a lot, go for the automatic. If you auto cross, rally cross, or drive mostly recreationally, get the 5 speed.
Nitro: 360 already? Wild man! If you're getting into a spin, ease of the gas slowly and it usually will catch as long as you countersteer. When it does, hit the gas again and watch it fish tail! WOOHOO!
-juice
I think the roads the other night were real icy to since it the weather turned real quick.
All day yesterday I fealt comfortable and safe through my driving. No spins or fishtails, I think I just had to get used to the way it handles.
By the way I love my Gold color I think it stands out from all the rest, plus it doesnt show the dirt that much, with all the mud the past few days the white car next to mine looks pretty nasty but mine still shines it natural color.
Ross
Drew/aling
Edmunds.com Townhall host
Our climate is kind of lame. We rarely get nice powder. Instead, it's freezing rain, wet snow, hail, etc.
Can't wait to try the new tires in the slippery stuff.
-juice
I'm hoping that we get some of that white stuff in Seattle too. Some snow fell on Sunday morning, even while the sun was out. It didn't stick though. It certainly has been cold enough to snow. Gov. Locke got on the airwaves a few days ago and asked everyone to not turn on their X-mas lights until after 8pm, turn down their heat, etc. or we might risk mandatory brown-outs, ouch! Oh well, if that happens, I will be in my Soob w/the heater blasting and buns being toasted by the seat heater. I knew that winter pkg would come in handy! :-)
Stephen
Ross
We're supposed to get some of the white stuff tonight and tomorrow morning. Steven, saw your Gov. Locke announcement on KING5 last night. Hopefully you'll get some of the white stuff as well! BTW, in D.T Vancouver alone today, I saw something like 6 O.B. wagons(!), and one L wagon. There was also a nice (Black) '00 GT sedan.
Drew/aling
Edmunds.com Townhall host
Conditions were excellent for testing: 3 inches of wet, heavy snow on a base of moderately rutted ice in a large, empty parking lot. Light rain falling, +1c. I now truly understand why so many 4x4s wind up in ditches. Rufus (MY '01 Forester S) pretty well ignored the ice & snow as far as accelerating was concerned. Handling at first seemed on a par with a good (not great) FWD. The moment of inertia is significantly greater than a Cooper or ever a Golf thus making it less "chuckable". Handbrake turns are fair to good for the above reason. The real surprise can when I gave it heavy gas in the middle of a turn - major oversteer! Great fun, who needs the handbrake. After only a few minutes I found I could do reasonably controlled 180s.
The standard rubber (Yokos) is adequate, little more. For the typical Vancouver winter it makes no sense to upgrade, but in Toronto I would probably do so. I gave the ABS a good workout and overall I think that I like it. Good steering control, very positive feedback and reasonable stopping distance on wet ice. I don't think I could do better (perhaps not as well) with it disconnected. BTW I passed my driver's test in a major snowstorm back east in '63. I do know winter driving. It is very easy to get up more speed than the brakes and steering can handle even though both are good. I had to remind myself that the road were treacherous!
After the parking lot exercise, I hit the hilly city streets. I found that I could detect the torque transfer when accelerating heavily on mixed clear-wet-icy roads, but it was very smooth and total control was maintained at all times. By this time a few others were up and about. To cut this short, Rufus did marvellously in the real world test. Among others, I pulled around Accord, Passat, MB C-series and some sort of Buick that could not make the various hills. Rufus had no trouble from a dead stop. All in all, I am most impressed. Will head for the real snow soon.
Ross
Any advice will be very apperiate.
Jay
Jay
I've seen several S models in gold (with the gold bumpers/cladding) that look great. It's sort of a gold-on-gold look—very handsome!
Bob
-Dan
Boris
Jay
Ross
And I received a coupon from Subaru regarding extended warranty,
6/100,000 for $1284.72.
Does it worth consideration?
Any advice would help!
Thanks!!
Sean
You should be able to apply the extended warranty at any time your vehicle is still under the 3/30 bumper-to-bumper warranty. I'd wait until the last minute to decide. Why give them the money now?
Ken
Juice has been away, but you can find all of his Subaru related info at his homepage:
http://thejuiceman.homepage.com/soob.html
Have fun!
Ken
Mike
-TonyL
Steve
If the windows are fogging, try running the air conditioning and heat together with ducts directed down onto the floor area. Carpeting is a great holder of moisture and you may have an accumulated moisture load there which you are not clearing. Air Con dehumidifies the air and if you get the temperature of the car up the moisture in the carpet tends to evaporate so it can be recirculated through air con system. You need to do this for quite a while, possibly an hour or more.
Whilst doing this, you may need to experiment with recirculated and fresh air.
Also check drains from air con unit are clear as water may not be getting away. This may be hard if you are in a below freezing atmosphere when it is possible that there may be frozen water in the drains.
Wider issues are to look for any leaks, particularly from drain ducts which are clogged by autumn leaves. They may need to be run through with a soft wire or small plastic hose. It is sometimes easier to locate the bottom of the drain and work upwards rather than the other way as this clears leaves etc more easily. Look at particular at the drains around the sun roof as moisture here can lodge in the roof lining.
Lift rubber mats so that moisture trapped beneath them is drawns out too.
Also shake off snow etc before getting into the car as the accumulated moisture from this builds rapidly, particularly if you are repeatedly in and out of the car.
If you still have problems, check all door seals carefully.
When all else fails, ask a repairman to check it out for leaks around glass etc.
Hope that helps
Cheers
Graham
Thanks for your response. I've tried with outside air, I've tried with re-circulated air, I've tried with the ac on, I've tried with the ac off, I've tried with high heat, I've tried with low heat, I've tried everything I can think of, and none of these combinations work when the atmospheric conditions are just right. This is the only problem I've had with the Forester, otherwise I love it. My wife, who also has a small car (Nissan Sentra) claims that the fogging problem is a standard problem in all small cars. I don't know, maybe so.
Graham,
These are some good suggestions, I'll try them. One piece of information I've left out. I don't have a problem when I'm by myself, or have only one other passenger. However, with more than one passenger--impossible. I think the moisture source is the breath from all of these people, and that the system just can't handle it. I'll let you know the outcome.
Thanks again,
Mike