Nick Cann Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) Good afternoon! I am Nick Cann, and I am an ex-pat living in Tarragona. I bought a 2000 AWD auto Forester a couple of weeks ago, and it was not a pretty sight! The previous owner obviously put it through its paces in the forests and caminos round here, and did quite a bit of body damage along the way!! Bumpers are creased/split, paint on them coming off...and the local Spanish cretins' obsession with keying cars on every panel makes it look pretty sorry for itself :( The only pieces actually missing are the headlight washer jets, which I will blank off anyway...and the (UK view ;) ) rear driver side passenger door has lost the moulding trim along the outside lower panel, along with the square passenger side fog light Impossible to find over here, because not that many were sold or imported...so I thought I would join here, get any helpful info about the vehicle, and see if anybody can tell me where I can get the lower panel! I love the flat 4 boxer engine, and it goes anywhere without moaning tooo loud!! It will be a smart car when I have finished with it...just need that pane, and the foglightl!! Any help appreciated in locating one!! Thanks! Edited July 14, 2014 by Nick Cann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 eBay will probably be your best bet, should have breakers in the uk who will ship to spain, east europe has a few foresters so parts from them may turn up. Is a few specialist subaru breakers but prices are a premium so best exhausting other options first, Good useful wagon you got, SF models are built well & stand up to quite some abuse. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Cann Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Thanks very much for your kind and prompt reply! I bought it from a person who thought the reverse gear in the auto box had gone, but when I got it up on the lift, I discovered that all it was, was a gearbox mounting and engine mounting were near their sellby date...and when it was put into reverse, the engine and gearbox moved under the torque, causing the gearbox to vibrate. As soon as I swapped them out...no more noises or shakes!! It has 220 thousand kilometres on the clock, and the engine and drive-train are really nice and quiet now. I've always had Cherokees and Nissan Patrols before, and they burn a hole in the fuel tank/wallet at an alarming rate!! The Forester is remarkably economical on fuel by comparison...and I think I have a good buy on my hands! I saw a complete set of the same panels on eBay USA, but shipping, import tax etc, and the fact that there were all of them, and I only need one, meant I didn't try for them. Perhaps I should have , and sold the others off over here!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Keep looking & perhaps try messaging some of the breakers on eBay, UK or Europe shipping to spain would be acceptable. sourcing good used parts even when in the UK is never that easy unless you lucky enough find required model at a local breakers. Start a thread in parts wanted section as if any members have the parts or easy access to them it would be easy item to post to spain. Money you saving on fuel is a big bonus, Forester is a superb usable wagon, just not many people know about them but in some ways that a good thing :-) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Hi mate welcome to S.O.C Shame about the car but does sound like you have picked up a good buy and most the damage can be repaired. I thought it was just england that keyed cars :( touch wood nobody has done mine but I had bought a car where someone had gone around it with a key :( Like Mr B said it's worth making a post in the wanted section you might have a breakers that come on and view and just be in luck with the parts you want and happy to ship over :) I will keep an eye out for any being broken for parts for you too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Cann Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 Thanks again!! I love the car already!! It is also so easy for my wife to drive as well, which is a bonus :) And thanks for the welcome ;) I bought this car because my Brother-in-Law, who lives in The Gambia, wants to come over to Spain to stay for a few weeks each year, and because he had polio which rendered his 'clutch' foot/ leg useless, it had to be an auto; ae easy access for a disabled driver, and the Forester fits the bill to a 'T'.It looks ginormous when it is parked up between our 2 Mazda MX5's :D The rest of the year, it will be our 'workhorse', and has proved its worth already. I will take your advice and post a thread in the 'wanted' section; who knows...somebody might have one lying around somewhere!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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