ProDave

Thanks. I am still looking for my next car, but nothing is coming up near me (Highlands) I thought if a diesel had got to 90K miles without breaking it's crankshaft, then it wasn't going to. I would still prefer petrol but it seems the age / price I am looking was probably "peak diesel" and petrol versions seem rarer. Good job I am not in a hurry. I might have to carry on towing an over weight (for my present car) for another season.

Apart from the reported tendency of some versions to break a crankshaft, what is actually "wrong" with a Subaru diesel? Was it reliability or performance that made you change after a year?

I am looking for a new Subaru with a higher towing rating that my present one. I have been looking at JDM imports, i.e. first registered in Japan and later imported. What I seem to have found is almost no JDM cars are plated with a towing weight (gross train weight) as towing is uncommon in Japan. It appears that any such car lmpoted into the UK if it is not plated with a gross train weight, it is technically illegal to tow with it, even if the spec of the vehicle says otherwise. Has anyone found a way to legally get around this and legally tow with a JDM import, or do people just do it anyway on the basis the chance of getting pulled by plod is slim?

Just joined the forum today. I have been driving a variety of subaru's for 30 years now, I joined to seek some information as I am wanting yet another Subaru and one I am considering is diesel and I know nothing about that. If I do buy a newer one my present 2005 Forrester may be up for sale.

Background. I have been driving Subaru's for 30 years, an L series, 2 Legacy's and more recently on my second Forrester. All petrol and all found to be extremely reliable, no faults other than consumables and things you expect to wear out. I am wanting to change for a bigger Subaru with a higher towing limit for my new larger caravan. Not much coming up for sale local to me at the moment, but one that has come up is a 2011 Legacy 2.0D with the 6 speed manual gearbox. I have not heard much in the way of good things about Subaru Diesels. So a few questions for those in the know please: This car has done 90K miles so probably low for the age. The seller is at pains to tell me it is a "generation 5" engine, not the "generation 4" that was known for breaking crankshafts. Is that fact or fiction? This car complies with Euro 5, is that what makes it "generation 5"? The engine type from the VIN plate is EE20ZLDALE if that helps clarify it. My basic questions are is this likely to be reliable or not? and second question is routine servicing possible totally DIY as I have always done with petrol, or are there things on this diesel that must regularly be done with special tools? And more general questions is I see this gearbox reviewed as "clunky" and I note dual ratio seems to have been dropped. I found the low ratio dead handy for reversing a trailer, that seems a backward step. And one more, not wishing to overload in a first post, the other gearbox option on this age of Legacy is the "Lineartronic" that description fills me with fear of over complex electronics waiting to go wrong and cost a fortune. Is that so? Are they any good?