Most Reliable Forester For around £5k?

[Judd]

The problem with Subarus, and Landcruisers the same, is that so many of them spent their early years in Scotland and the North, where salt damage is much worse, and unfortunately few people realise the car exists underneath so never even bother to hose the salt out at the end of winter, neglected vehicles in such an environment won't last long.  The other issue with such vehicles down south, is have they been used for boat launching, so have the back end dipped in salt water every few weeks.

A few years ago they started to put the addresses of MOT stations on the MOT history, but that has since stopped, pity, it made avoiding Scottish vehicles much easier, so now you're relying on the service history alone to work out where the car spent it's time unless its a one owner jobbie.

My advice is don't be in a rush, my present Landcruiser and the good lady's Forester we were not even looking to buy either, i just happen to have kept an eye on the ads, both Trader and eBay motors, and both of the present cars stood out as being good examples of exactly what we wanted.

For individual cars like these you have to be prepared to travel, and quickly, the Toyota in particular good examples get snapped up quickly because there's a lot of neglected rusty underbody examples out there and i've driven 150 odd miles to look at supposedly pristine examples only to be back in my car within 5 minutes of seeing the misdescribed thing, haven't even opened the doors or bonnet in some cases, luckily it was a Monday and my rest days usually fall on a Mon, so we shot 75 miles pronto and bought mine the same morning it went online, had been traded in for a new motorhome and for sale at the same place and all my boxes were ticked.

So long as you've got some transport for the time being i'd wait until the right car crops up, it will appear but you might have to wait several months, but be prepared to move very quickly when the right one comes up.

[Don Logan]

Yes, i've got two on the shortlist that aren't too far from me; one that i've already seen and just need to go back to look more closely for corrosion. I just need to know the main problem areas for this, so far it looks like rear subframe, strut turrets and wheel arches along with general areas such as exhaust, etc. Both are low milers with FSH so i'll see how i get on. Thanks

[Judd]

Corrosion wise, the Forester has had an easy life corrosion not an issue, though i have extensively rustproofed it anyway with Bilt Hamber's finest.

The Outback was obviously a much older and cheaper car, but apart from exhaust the only real rust was on the rear subframe, again i de-rusted that and rustproofed it and it never was an issue again, but i hasted to add neither car had lived in Scotland.

The biggest issue with all Japanese cars is how susceptible to salt corrosion the brake calipers are, so bank on fully stripping cleaning and lubing those on any car you get, standard Brembo discs and pads are reasonably priced at ECP, especially when they have a sale on online, and they have improved the braking on every vehicle i have fitted them to.

One thing i forgot to mention about 3 litre Outbacks, or at least the up to 03 models, the cats sit just below the inner drive shaft couplings and the heat from them will cause early failure of the rubber boots, fortunately these cars were made to be worked on in such areas and the drive shafts fully dismantle quite easily so new boots and regrease is an easy sat morn job.   If you take a torch and peer down from above at the rear of the engine both sides you should be able to see the inner boots when checking a vehicle over.

Hope you find yourself a good one, as you mention prices are all over the shop.

[Mr B]

rear inner arch/turret rust can be bad and indeed sometimes can look perfect but tap them with small hammer or something and you soon know they bad/thin .

Forester SG can be bad on inner arch/turrets as the reduced metal thickness in those panels as part of weight reduction changes.

They go at seams, strengthening rib directly behind the strut, seat belt anchor point and where joins into sill .

The inner sills and body mount area for trailing arms can get scabby too.

Rear subframe comes a common failure on older subaru's or ones used in poor conditions and no decent prevention or cleaning .

Subframe is easy fix but not cheap if can't do it yourself .

Do check front subframes too and front lower wishbones .

I see hell of a lot of foresters and outbacks, many 15 to 20 years old and in general they have minimal issues and have pretty easy MOT's .

The oem cv boots even ones under cat ( forester same O/S) last well over a decade, good quality replacements (ones made in Japan generally) fit and last much the same and they cheap and easy fit and not going be repeat issue unless using junk parts.

Corrosion is about biggest thing can get caught out on and can be hard spot so be thorough and do just look you got tap the panels and dig around muddy clogged seams  to know for sure .
waxoyl or similar products applied to underbody, inner panels and suspension parts with some thought and care makes huge difference long term .
 

Do also remember rear SLS struts can get fatigued so if see a sagging rear end they be the issue .
over all not much worry about if take little time and stick with a nice clean car, we currently got a 2002 2.5 outback at 120K that picked up private local sale for 1K, thing is close to perfect, not a fan of the 2.5 but car that faultless even if had head gaskets needing doing it be worth doing as they such great practical reliable wagons .

Fair few good ones out there, just take time and don't be afraid pay little more for real clean care as for sure you get your moneys worth and then some on a proper clean/tidy older subaru .

 

 

[Don Logan]

8 minutes ago, Mr B said:

rear inner arch/turret rust can be bad and indeed sometimes can look perfect but tap them with small hammer or something and you soon know they bad/thin .

Forester SG can be bad on inner arch/turrets as the reduced metal thickness in those panels as part of weight reduction changes.

They go at seams, strengthening rib directly behind the strut, seat belt anchor point and where joins into sill .

The inner sills and body mount area for trailing arms can get scabby too.

Rear subframe comes a common failure on older subaru's or ones used in poor conditions and no decent prevention or cleaning .

Subframe is easy fix but not cheap if can't do it yourself .

Do check front subframes too and front lower wishbones .

I see hell of a lot of foresters and outbacks, many 15 to 20 years old and in general they have minimal issues and have pretty easy MOT's .

The oem cv boots even ones under cat ( forester same O/S) last well over a decade, good quality replacements (ones made in Japan generally) fit and last much the same and they cheap and easy fit and not going be repeat issue unless using junk parts.

Corrosion is about biggest thing can get caught out on and can be hard spot so be thorough and do just look you got tap the panels and dig around muddy clogged seams  to know for sure .
waxoyl or similar products applied to underbody, inner panels and suspension parts with some thought and care makes huge difference long term .
 

Do also remember rear SLS struts can get fatigued so if see a sagging rear end they be the issue .
over all not much worry about if take little time and stick with a nice clean car, we currently got a 2002 2.5 outback at 120K that picked up private local sale for 1K, thing is close to perfect, not a fan of the 2.5 but car that faultless even if had head gaskets needing doing it be worth doing as they such great practical reliable wagons .

Fair few good ones out there, just take time and don't be afraid pay little more for real clean care as for sure you get your moneys worth and then some on a proper clean/tidy older subaru .

 

Quote

Thanks. What's the cost for replacement springs and shocks if rear is saggy?

 

 

[Mr B]

For an SG as an example we charge £350 for kyb excel g (japan made) and kyb springs plus new bump stop and protection boot, heavy duty springs £20 more and also can do custom springs from spring coil to any spec which good for special towing scenarios, small gain or drop in ride height or for slight improvement to handling on an XT .
If need strut top mounts that extra but most rear mounts are good and price options between 60 to £100 are available from magnum technology or kyb

If you want retain SLS setup then it got be oem tokiko struts and they only available via subaru and new are about £300 each on a good day .

kyb works very well on these on ride height, ride quality and decent durable quality .

[Don Logan]

Thanks for all the advice. I picked up a 2005 XT 2.0 auto this week. When viewing I spent a lot of time underneath with a screwdriver poking and prodding for ages checking for rust and couldn't find anything of note.

 

It's a fairly leggy one with 130k miles, hopefully the FSH helps negate the mileage a bit though. I'm going to replace the cam belt (now due), waterpump, thermostat and coolant. I was also going to do the auto transmission fluid and oil to both diffs. Is there anything else that may want replacing by now as a good preventative measure? I have receipts for recent engine oil/filter replacement and the spark plugs were done at 80k- whats the frequency on these? Radiator looks good but I might get the pipes replaced when the cam belt, water pump and thermostat are done.

 

The rear doesn't appear to sag- does anyone know what the hub to wheel arch measurement should be as standard?

[Mr B]