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Subaru Forester (up to 2005)
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Comments
This Mobil site details the various blends available: http://www.mobil1.com/products/trisynth/index.jsp
FWIW, I found Mobil-1 SuperSyn at Walmart in both 10w-30 and 5w-30. They even have 5 quart jugs now.
-Brian
http://www.cars101.com/subaru/forester/forester2004.html
Some truck stops offer "instant" oil testing but that's pricy too. AutoZone or Napa need to offer oil tests at a buck each so people can determine if it's time to dump their engine crude down the drain or not.
Steve, Host
Thanx! -- George
taft: I'm sure those are 03s. Some 04s are already here, and others will arrive soon. If you can find a Baja Sport for $1600 under invoice, that would be an absolute steal. They might mean non-Sport models only.
Papa bear: $25.6k with leather and auto plus the moonroof. $23,323 for a manual XT, for 235 lb-ft of torque! Remember, you have to step up to the $45-50k range to find a quicker SUV.
-juice
Barkley
Useless numbers, IMO. I prefer CR's way of measuring the biggest box, or C&D's cases of beer, clearly the most useful! :-)
-juice
Brian: Wow, that's an interesting link (and not Amsoil sponsored too!). My wife's VW specifies a 10,000 mile oil change interval. While it does have a larger crankcase, I always wondered about that. These results seem to support that oil change interval. As for my Forester, I try and change my oil between 5-7.5K miles.
juice: I think the 00+ Foresters went to a clear headlight lens (vs. fluted) for cosmetic reasons. Did they change the bulb type too?
Ken
-juice
Bob
-Frank P.
Larry
I decided to go looking for it myself this past weekend and I think I found it. It sounded like it was coming from under the cowling that fits around the wipers, so I figured I'd remove that first then road test it without it......
Well I don't think I'm going to need to - as I went to figure out how to remove it I saw that 3 of the five pins in the front that go through the sheet metal to hold it down were bent over. There's enough of an overhanging lip on the cowl plastic that its not obvious until you lift up on it.
Got the pins straightened and actually inserted through the holes and it clamped down pretty good. Had to order two of the black plastic trim pins off the dealer (no charge) as the "fins" were stripped right where you'd like the pin to clamp the most.
Must have happened when the glass company resealed the windshield.
Can't wait to road test after I get those new pins.
Refer to my previous comment about "I hate it when anyone else touches my car!!"
Larry
Thanks for checking. That's good news. H4s are one of the better types of bulbs out there. Lots of new cars today seem to be using the H7s which are not as good.
Ken
-juice
An '03 won't suffice? You should be able to get a decent price on them right now - invoice or below.
-Brian
But seriously, why did they delete the cassette player from the XS for 2004? Cost-saving measure? I thought it was great to get both the cassette and 6-CD changer in the dash.
-Frank P.
In the 5 years I've owned my 98 Forester, I have not once used the cassette player (I do have the 6-CD changer). I'm sure that will be the growing trend in years to come with alternative storage technologies more available. I'd rather have a an MP3 player in my head unit than a cassette -- but that's just me.
Ken
Anyone know if there is an aux input? I'm assuming this is the same head unit they put in the 2003 Legacy GT, where they also deleted the tape player and put the subwoofer in the back instead of under the passenger seat.
I say make it play MP3s if you remove the tape player, then it's not cost-cutting, just modernizing.
-juice
What is an IMBA membership? I'll be purchasing a new 2004 Forester and anything that can save me money catches my interest. Thanks
http://www.imba.com/
In my opinion, it is a good organization for anyone who rides bicycles offroad to support. YMMV.
-Bob
IMBA = International Mountain Bicycling Association; great group and very involved locally, which is why i like supporting them. the invoice pricing for Subarus is just a great benefit. the website is http://www.imba.com
speaking of saving $$$, don't forget about SubaruBucks through Chase's credit card. we gave the dealer $1300 in coupons! more info on http://www.subaru.com
cheers
Tom
Naturally, as the '04's become available, a typical dealer will want to move the older models ('03's) off the lot. Easily invoice pricing, maybe lower if the dealer is so inclined. '04's probably will be not near invoice, but possibly under MSRP with the current economy. I expect the XT to be closer to MSRP initially as well.
Have you looked at or concidered the '03's? You could get one today instead of waiting! ;-)
-Brian
-Bob
Ed
-Frank P.
-juice
At least take a drive in an '03 and see which model you like (X or XS). If you can't wait 6 months for a Forester, then the '03 would be fine.
-Brian
One of the dealers I've been working with just told me that his entire allocation of XTs (or maybe 5-speed XTs, which is what I want) is THREE CARS over the next four months...He says he won't be selling any of them at anything below MSRP <sigh>. Fortunately, the word from other dealers is somewhat more optimistic than that.
- Lou
I'm wondering the same thing. It would be really, really inconvenient to mash the brake pedal in a panic-stop situation - and have the pedal break off!
-- collapsible foot pedals
-- no more cassette player in XS
-- X upgraded to cloth sun visors instead of vinyl
An '04 might have slightly better resale value down the road, just because it's one model year newer, but not enough to make up for the premium you'd pay now.
I was out doing PT yesterday and ran past the most awesome blue WRX. WOW! Big 'ol meaty disc brakes and all. Four door hatchback.
I altered my route and ran back by it--awesome, nice car. Now I know what all the excitement is about.
I'm out.
-Frank P.
Cargo tray - good option, saving my carpet big time during this move.
No more cassette decks after '03 - I bought just in time!
Next stop, San Diego; "dos tacos pescados y una cerveza Pacifico, por favor!" We'll see how effective that air filter is as I drive by Harris Ranch. MOOOOO! PHEW! Happy weekend to all!
-Frank P.
P.S. Good luck with your move!
Speaking of the VIP program, is that something that is separate from the IMBA or ACA memberships. I thought the VIP program was something SOA limited to certain individuals allowing them to purchase below invoice.
Ken
IMBA. I thought I saw some wording on their web site saying that it was up to the dealer to determine what models were available for this program. In other words, the dealer doesn't have to sell at invoice if he doesn't want to.
If anybody is having trouble finding parts for their Forester, I'd suggest checking www.AllSubaru.com. I've had really good service from them, and the people working there really know about subarus. I can't name any names, but SHE'S a really nice rally driver who happens to work there, and can give good advice because she really knows subarus. I only mention this because a lot of places only cater to WRX's or imprezas, so sometimes it can be hard to find Forester specific parts, or even know which parts are interchangable. Plus they are usually one of the cheapest subaru vendors out there.
Stay away from ISRperformance though. Nice people, horrible service.
I was in Okinawa in the early 70s at Camp Courtney. Its a beautiful island and the people were great. Odd about the WRX. The troops used to buy the big Honda MCs, when I was there, and we used to joke that they didnt get through the whole gear array before they got to the end of the island.
Cassette: I miss the cassette player in my 2003 X. I like to listen to the books that are cheaper on tape. I priced a cassette player at the dealer and they wanted about $500. A local place offered to put in a tape player that broadcasts to a radio frequency and you tune the radio to that. Its only about $150. so i'll go look at it in the near future.
thanks ducktapeguy for the tips. good to know.
I'll second your opinion on isrPerformance.com.stinks i am still trying to sort the springs issue (for those who remember). i am corresponding with a few ppl in Australia directly...
On 5/21 I bought my first ever Subaru, a Forester X. For a near old fool like me I sure got complements from fellow co-workers and friends today on the good looking Cayenne Red cuttie. You could see the "I wonder if I" looks on some faces.
They had 2.9% for five years from Subaru. Price was close to $600 under Invoice. “Will sign papers for Car” with “Don’t need no stinking money” works well by E-Mailing several dealerships and their respective internet manager guys. Then wait for the bids to come in. Check SUBARU.COM for the links in your area.
You don't have to spend that much. Any Radio Shack can sell you a small, low-power FM transmitter for exactly that purpose. Plug any ordinary cassette player into the transmitter, tune your car radio to a matching frequency, and listen to your cassettes over the car sound system. Better yet, you can use the same FM transmitter with portable MP3 players (CD or solid state) and listen to MP3-encoded music over your car system.