Silver Forester 2.5 XT

I have just come across a 2003 Legacy Outback H6 with LUX Pack for sale at a good price which has covered @ 140,000 miles. Have been looking just at the legacy in either saloon or estate form but may be tempted to change my mind re an outback. It is the older model outback with single exhaust pipe at the rear and seemingly less power at 207 Bhp. Did Subaru tweek the engine power on the post 2004 models?. How do the Outbacks compare to the Legacy estates in terms of handling and responsiveness please?. Thanks

Agreed 100%. I remember having difficulty in sourcing the parts for my Forester 2.5 XT due to the reasons mentioned by Mr. B above. Good Luck and let us know how you get on please?.

The Spec B saloon that I am looking at also has Sat Nav. Haven't found a Spec B estate yet that has covered under 100,000 miles which is a shame. From what I have been reading, the Spec B is supposed to have better suspension and better brakes than the 3.0 R models. Thanks

Update:- I have narrowed my selection down to a choice of two Legacy 3.0 saloons at the moment as I can't find any estates with low mileage. Both have similar mileage, dark leather trim and automatic transmission which I have been told are smoother to drive than the manuals. One is a 3.0 RN and the other, which is @ £200 more expensive is a 3.0 Spec B. Would it be worth paying the extra to get a Spec B legacy?. What extra pleasure am I likely to get from a Spec B bearing in mind that they have the same power and performance on paper. Does the Spec B handle better and have better brakes?. Thank You

Thanks for the reply. The 3.0 litre Legacy's are all in the £290 road tax bracket as far as I know. Wouldn't want to be paying £500 per year for a younger model. 50,000 miles on the 3.0 R saloon seems quite low compared to many other cars of a similar age. The 2006 Passat 2.0 TDI that I am currently using has done over 180,000 miles and still drives really well but has wanted for nothing in terms of servicing and maintenance.

Thanks very much for your support in helping to persuade my wife that our next vehicle really does need to be a Subaru. :)

Finally. At Last!. It worked. Hopefully will be looking at a number of pre ( silly road tax ) 2006 Legacy's during the next few days. :) Thought that I would ask in this section rather than just the Legacy section, hope that you don't mind. Thanks to getting help from our loyal and supportive SOC forum members, I have managed to convince the wife that a super mini with a 998 cc sewing machine engine just wouldn't be practical enough for us. We would prefer an estate for practical reasons although we could probably manage with a saloon which do seem to work out a lot cheaper. Have been using a Passat B6 2.0 TDI saloon recently and although not a Subaru, I was quite impressed with it. I would like some input as to which of the following Legacy's you would prefer in terms of reliability and driving pleasure please?. They are listed in terms of lowest price upwards. As usual, they are all many miles away and many miles apart so I would like to narrow down the search before deciding which to look at ( first ). Number one is a 2004, 2.0 SE manual estate. @ 180000 miles and is @ £1500 Number two is a 3.0 RN 5 speed automatic saloon. @ 70,000 miles and is @ £2500. Number three is a 2005 3.0 Spec B 6 speed estate. @ 140000 miles and is @ £3200. Number four is a 3.0 R 5 speed automatic saloon 50,000 miles and is @ £3400. Considering that I had a Forester 2.5XT Prodrive before, which one of the Legacy's do you think I would be happiest with. Is the Spec B estate worth the extra £700 compared to the 3.0 RN which has half the mileage figures. Would the 2.0 SE probably be less reliable than the 3.0 H6 engine. Are the automatics better to drive or vice versa. Can't believe that the insurance on the Legacy 3.0 is less than for the Forester 2.5 XT Thank You

When I had my Forester I powered the Roadhawk HD by fitting a Piggy Back Fuse into the fuse socket that powers the Cigarette Lighter then connected the cash Cam power cable into the piggy back fuse. That way the camera only had power when the ignition was turned on.

Parts are now no longer available. Thank You

Now that is what I would call a good wife. Lol.

James Toney tried his hand at MMA rules against Randy Coutoure and we all know what happened there. Don't think Randy would have a chance against Toney under the marquess of Queensberry rules.

II have a few more pluses to present to my beautiful and understanding wife later:- Plus I will be looking to purchase a pre 2006 model so the Road tax will be £290 and not £500 so will be saving £210 there Plus it will have a 3.0 H6 engine so no Turbo or Cam Belt to worry about. Plus it will have a 6 Speed Gearbox so more economical on long motorway journeys. Plus it will be able to tow the trailer tent or caravan ( unlike the super light 998 cc Super Mini ). Plus we will still be able to go visiting and I can still take her to and from Bingo most nights, even on snow and ice ( we live in a steep hilly area ). Still thinking of more pluses.

More excellent information to present in my defence. Thanks. My wife has never been allowed to drive due to medical conditions that she suffers and she will never travel in the back seat for some reason. I will mention the points regarding leg room and comfort levels on long journeys. She did like the Forester XT but wasn't too keen on the acceleration at first but you do have to experiment when you first get a fresh vehicle don't you. :D Off to make breakfast in bed for her now then perhaps get some flowers and chocolates.

Excellent news. Please can anyone supply more factual reasoning like this for me to use as evidence in my case for buying another Subaru Estate. Independent advice is very important as she thinks I am biased and will twist all reasoning in favour of having a Subaru. Her case for buying a Super Mini for financial reasons at present consists of:- 1. Cheap Insurance. £200 fully comp 2. Zero Road Tax which saves £290 to pay towards fuel. 3. Cheaper Petrol as it won't require Shell V Power or Momentum 99. Saving at least 20 p per gallon. 4. Excellent fuel economy, allegedly averaging 60 MPG. 5. Cheaper maintenance such as the price of 13" tyres compared with 18" for the Legacy. My case for buying another Subaru estate consists of:- 1. It's a Subaru and she really liked the Forester 2.5 XT that we owned previously ( apart from when I took her out in it for the first time and almost launched ). 2. Increased safety compared to a Super Mini due to the legendary all wheel drive system , plenty of power when you need it and the excellent road holding in all weather. 3. Comfort levels especially on long journeys including ease of driving plus it will go up hills. 4. Fuel economy figures for the Super Minis are nowhere near what the manufacturers claim whereas the Subaru figures are pretty much spot on. 5. Much more load space so she can buy more shopping and take more clothes on holiday. 6. She doesn't have a driving license, if she really loves me she will let me buy a Subaru plus her family will disown her if she makes me buy a super mini. The more evidence I can collect to support my case the better. Must go out to buy some flowers and chocolates and let her go to bingo more often maybe.

Just about able to afford another car after having to sell my forester earlier in the year due to unforeseen financial problems. So here I am looking for a nice Subaru Legacy and came across a nice Spec B Legacy estate at a reasonable price. :) Wifey then says " due to austerity measures, we need to buy one of those Zero Road Tax Super Minis ". I want us to have a Suzuki Alto or a Kia Picanto or similar in order to keep the monthly spending down. I have been trying to convince her otherwise but at the moment she is having none of it. Will any members of the SOC admit to owning and running one of these so called Super Mini's as a second vehicle?. Will I have to disguise myself as the STIG in order not to be recognised and park my car well away from where we live?. Have been looking at the figures and although they may do up to 70 MPG the 0-60 times are a little soul destroying, our 9 seater diesel minibus is faster.

So wheels with a 48mm offset will slightly increase the width of the track by @ 7mm each side.. Interesting, as long as they don't stick out past the wheel arch they may improve the ability to clear some of the 100's of speed humps around here.

Haven't seen the Legacy yet so wasn't sure of the offset of the wheels. Will have to double check because if the offset for the Legacy should be 55 mm then 48 mm offset of the Foz wheels may catch on the struts etc. Thanks

Will the 17" alloy wheels from 2005 Forester XT fit the 2005 Legacy spec B please?. The Legacy has 18" wheels but Low Profile tyres. I have a set of alloys from my old Forester which have almost new 215/55/17Dunlop Winter Sport 3D tyres fitted. Thanks

Same here, have been watching since the early days of " No Holds Barred ". It will be a shame for Jones but I can understand that the UFC have probably been forced to act in this case. Another shock to me was the suspension of Anderson Silva for failing a performance enhancing drugs test.

Two rear hub arm assemblies that are surplus to requirement unless someone wants to donate the rest of a Forester. My friend bought them from a breakers yard for his forester but ended up not using them so gave them to me to get rid of. One offside assembly and one nearside assembly. Pictures are attached. If anyone wants to make use of them and can collect them then let me know before the scrap man has them. Free to a Good Home.

Great News. Happy Days Indeed.

Totally agree with the above statement. Had to sell my Forester purely due to financial circumstances earlier this year. I knew that I would regret selling her but one vehicle had to go to free up some cash and we couldn't really do without the 9 seater as it is so practical and suits our needs. It made sense at the time as the Road Tax and Insurance were both due at the end of the month so we saved quite a few hundred pounds there plus what we got for the sale of the Foz. Once we get back on our feet I will be looking to get another Subaru estate, possibly a Legacy or Outback or another Forester. Truth be told I have been looking around for the past few weeks and saw a few nice Legacys and Outbacks for sale but not able to buy yet, still saving up.

Haven't really considered an automatic as I am used to driving vehicles with manual gearboxes. I once owned a Volvo V70 T5 which was automatic. It was smooth and nice enough to drive and quite fast with allegedly 250 BHP but I never felt in full control being an auto. The gearbox developed a fault whereby it was stuck in third gear and Volvo quoted £3700 for a new gearbox ( car wasn't worth that ). We had it reconditioned for £1700 with a 12 month warranty then sold it a couple of months later. Does the Outback generally handle as well as the Legacy?. My Forester XT used to handle very well considering the extra ground clearance. I am hooked on having another Subaru having had to sell my Forester prematurely so am slowly saving up.

Hopefully when we get straight financially ( not too long now ) I will be looking for another Subaru Estate as I am still missing my Forester 2.5XT. Would have to be pre 2006 before the road tax costs went over the top. Liking the idea of a legacy estate or an outback maybe but not sure whether they would be better than my previous Forester ( which was excellent to drive). Probably would prefer the larger 3 litre lump without a turbo rather than smaller engine with big turbo. They seem to offer similar power and economy figures. I believe that the Legacy 3.0 has a 6 speed manual gearbox whereas the Forester and Outback only have a 5 speed gearbox, ( correct me if I am wrong ). Does the Legacy also have a chain instead of a cam belt?. Compared with the legacy 3.0 R what extras does the Spec B legacy have in terms of instruments, handling and driveability please?. One more thing- I would prefer it to be silver because we all know that silver cars look faster. :) Thanks

That sounds like a Good Price for a second vehicle. I have over 9 years NCD on my first vehicle but managed to accumulate 1 year on a second car which was the FOZ. My first vehicle has been modified so we are limited as to which companies will insure it. From experience, most of the major insurers who give the best deals won't normally insure vehicles with power and performance increase mods.