My First Forester??

[Honitonman]

Hi All

An absolute newbie to Subaru and this forum, but am looking for some advice and guidance on what to look for when buying a Forester.

Budget means that I am probably looking at a Forester diesel between 2008 and 2011 with less than 70k miles on the clock.

Any advice and guidance would be great.

Thanks very much

Honitonman 

[stants]

Hello & welcome,

The usual applies really when looking at the forester, that you'd look for on most cars however I'd try and buy the latest model year you can afford/find as the early diesels suffered from, snapped cranks, glow plug and dpf issues, as far as I'm aware the crank issue was addressed and the dpf issues were more down to the use of the car,



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[Mr B]

Main pointers if going for diesel is indeed 2011 going be better option than 2008 to 2010 . only good thing with 2008 was it pre dpf which nice, the crank issue is pretty serious and likely cost you more than the car value . DPF is an awful concept which in long term creates more waste and lowers potential mpg of modern diesels and complete waste of engineering and production effort and one reason I against modern emissions on diesels .

Be sure test drive vehicle minimum of twice and combination of b roads and dual carriageways, be sure clutch feels spot on as these expensive and known be bit problematic (DMF, dual mass flywheel)

Make sure engine runs smooth and no odd knocking or rattling hot or cold . Be very particular (ignore any seller bluff) and any doubts walk away as problems on these can be super expensive and almost like a french peugeot in likeness to some issues not fixable as ecu firmware or oem part related with no revisions available .

 

 

[Honitonman]

Thanks guys, I think I had picked up on going for the latest you can get because of the crankshaft issues on earlier models. I think I have spotted a 2011 with 59k miles at £7.5k.  Subject to it having decent mechanicals and having a good test drive(s)  this appears to be a good deal doesn't it?

Cheers

[Mr B]

Prices can be pretty low on these as not that popular on used market so don't be shy in making offers and put your initial offer few hundred below your ideal price so can haggle up a bit .
Wouldn't pay too much of a premium for lower mileage on diesel, longer runs seem keep them more trouble free .

try and view/test drive at least 3 before buying anything as will give you feel for the vehicle and a better idea of good price and potential faults through comparison .

Here's another that may interest you, my favourite colour on this model forester, would want pay less than asking but how much less really depends on how crisp and clean it is and how much spent on servicing upkeep, thus you got see it to put a value on it .
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Forester-2-0D-XC-2011/122923177805

anything you look at low ball it with sensible offer and more so if simple cash sale.

wouldn't be too concerned with dealer warranty as most of them useless at sorting subaru diesel running faults, main dealer could be bit better but I wouldn't pay a premium for dealer warranty as it simply a waste of money . Don't rush into it and be sure inspect and test drive thoroughly .

Lot of what ends up in dealer yards is polished junk so be careful .

[Honitonman]

Hi Mr B

Thanks for all the advice but it was sold an hour before I could get there.  May be going to have a look at a 2010 Legacy today so same rules apply I guess unless you know of any specific gremlins for that model.

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Davidrtd]

I bought a 2010 diesel forester 18mths ago 120k on the clock.... ok for 15mths & 7k miles then crank rear oil seal went. This was due to a wobbly crank shaft found after dropping the gearbox for the second time. It now has a 2012 52k outback engine awaiting an exchange turbo!  ££££. 

Save money by spending a bit more by going for a late 2011 or 2012 car.  Oh apparently crank problems 2008-10 can be due to weakness in the bearing web design. Also Legacys and Outbacks are not so affected??? Or so I've been told...

[Judd]

You only have to browse eBay to find several legacies with engine problems up for sale at any one time, dismal failure rate.

It wasn't Subaru's finest hour and i can't for the life of me wonder why they didn't make the H6 3 litre into a Diesel instead from the start, its a less troublesome engine overall, and 6's always run smoother than 4 pots, so should have been a better bet from the word go.

[Mr B]

They came to the diesel to late and with poor design and tightening emissions .

Modern diesels are useless due to stringent emissions and dpf that choking the power and potential efficiency from them .

Only way we buy pre 2011 subaru diesels is already broken and for scrap money virtually, Picked up a few super tidy ones for later engine swap.

Unless you got deep pockets stay away from early diesels and if not doing very high miles stay away from diesel full stop as absolutely no savings if account for thorough servicing, at least one expensive fault and fact the mpg pretty poor .