Good Afternoon! (When Posted)

[Jefferson]

Hi everyone,

First of all, thanks for having me on here! Now, I have a very keen interest in the Subaru Forester 2.5 XT… one which I hope to be the proud owner of quite soon. Call me crazy, but I am in the process of prepping my 2014 Mazda 6 Sport Nav 2.2D SkyActiv (173bhp) for sale. I am in the market for a manual 2.5 XT and have already looked at a few in person. I found a 2006 one recently on Auto Trader, asked the dealer about it and it had unfortunately been sold that day. Funnily enough, there was a 55 plate one on the lot, but to my surprise, that had also been sold! Are they really that sought after? Also, the dealer wouldn't take the Mazda as he said it was too new and he couldn't offer money on top. So selling myself or to a dealer are the only options.

I must ask… I work 6-7 days per week, early morning to late evening, so how am I supposed to sell from my house? I drive coaches so it's not like I'll be at my place of work either.

There have been countless threads on countless forums about auto vs manual but from what I could tell, apparently the auto isn't far off in acceleration as the manual? Plus, better economy when motorway cruising. Correct me if I am wrong. I am still mainly looking at manual but would love the convenience of an auto if maintenance costs weren't too high.

High mileage Foresters… I've seen a few on the classifieds and I know Subaru is known for its reliability, but is 170,000+ looking bad? I know it's all down to how it's been looked after, but sometimes dealers and sellers can lie. I have checked out threads on what to look out for and I plan on bringing a jack to potential cars I find.

One last thing. I have heard that the 06 onwards have slightly higher outputs (5.7s vs 6.0s on Auto Trader) than the pre-facelift models and there's a component in them which can fail and cost many pounds to replace. I can't find the thread so maybe someone can emphasise on what information I have just given.

Anyway, I am determined to make a purchase, but I have to make sure I sell the Mazda first and then set my eyes on a very good example.

Any information will be great.

Thanks again.

[Jay762]

Wotcha and welcome.

Wrt to selling I was in a similar situation to yourself so struck a deal with a local trader and he got a fixed fee for the sale, I got hassle free sale

As you said high mileage is no issue if looked after but buying second hand will always be a gamble where ever it comes from.

XT's are desirable motors so good ones dont hang about and be prepared to travel for the right motor.

Later models have a 2.5l engine as opposed to a 2.0l this gives slightly more power and low down torque.

There have been issues with ringland failure on some 2.5l lumps - I dodnt have an issue and many others havent but oil starvation & detonation have been blamed for the failures.

It comes down to the material subaru used in its pistons.

Manual vs Auto - yes the manual is slightly faster 0-60, it is the same with my impreza, the auto will have a manual esq mode which enables you to change between the four gears. Which should you choose, entirely down to driving style - if you like stirring the gearbox an auto is not going to give what you want even with the semi auto option selected.

Keep us posted as to your progress