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Newt
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PostMon Jan 26, 2015 7:52 am 
Just shy of 407k on my 2001 forester I bought in 4/2000. Head gasket finally went otherwise just some boots, rear wheal bearings, universal joint, cat & tires

It's pretty safe to say that if we take all of man kinds accumulated knowledge, we still don't know everything. So, I hope you understand why I don't believe you know everything. But then again, maybe you do.
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RichP
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PostMon Jan 26, 2015 8:52 am 
Newt wrote:
Just shy of 407k on my 2001 forester I bought in 4/2000. Head gasket finally went otherwise just some boots, rear wheal bearings, universal joint, cat & tires
My kind of car up.gif

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mike
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PostMon Jan 26, 2015 11:00 am 
tigermn wrote:
One thing I will say about the Outback and the Forester as well is the great visibility....
confused.gif In my wife's 2006 there is a post right in the way when you try to back out of a parking space.

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tigermn
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PostMon Jan 26, 2015 11:49 am 
mike wrote:
tigermn wrote:
One thing I will say about the Outback and the Forester as well is the great visibility....
confused.gif In my wife's 2006 there is a post right in the way when you try to back out of a parking space.
Can't speak for previous models... Talking only about the current models (2014-2015) as that is all I have experience with. I was assuming this was related to new car purchase. Plus now you get backup camera as well to help further...

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JVesquire
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PostMon Jan 26, 2015 12:08 pm 
Make sure you get a recent model that has five speeds. Some recent years, like the one I have, only have four speeds and the mileage and power at freeway speeds is a problem. Otherwise, I like it. It's not a smooth ride, but that doesn't bother me too much.

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boot up
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PostMon Jan 26, 2015 12:27 pm 
JVesquire wrote:
Make sure you get a recent model that has five speeds.
Or get a CVT model and don't worry about all the "speeds". cool.gif I am not sure what the infatuation is for rowing your own, for the average person that does a lot of driving in modern heavy traffic and commuting. Of course this forum is a special case with people that never see heavy traffic, and I won't speak for them. I don't get all the knee-jerk hate tossed down on CVT's, often by people that haven't even driven them. CVT gets better gas mileage and you don't have to put up with shift point notches in acceleration. Yah, it sounds different and you don't get that rev and hesitate sound of the old style transmissions, which might take some getting used to by some people. Our Impreza CVT has paddle shifters, so you can pretend to shift. That was fun for a bit. The car's computer does pretty good on its own though. I will say the Forester not having paddle shifters on the CVT made me hesitate about buying it. Further research and my own experience shows that Subaru actually came up with a sensible implementation work around. The "Low" range on the CVT is not just a low speed "classic" low. Its a lower range at any speed. This is actually very cool, and is actually more useful the way 99% of people drive their cars. It does take a bit of getting used to. I will give Subaru props or a couple of changes that count on people adapting to progress in design, at the risk of alienating a few people that can't deal with change. It works for me anyway.

friluftsliv
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tigermn
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PostMon Jan 26, 2015 3:14 pm 
I get a kick out of the guys next to me in their Mustang 5 liters trying to shift through the gears manually as they kinda poke along... You can even see the lurch of the car as it slows down while in between shifting gears. I see this a lot on people driving stick shift cars... Not an isolated incident. In rush hour traffic with an everyday driver. No thanks for sure.

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tigermn
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PostMon Jan 26, 2015 3:20 pm 
boot up wrote:
I will say the Forester not having paddle shifters on the CVT made me hesitate about buying it. Further research and my own experience shows that Subaru actually came up with a sensible implementation work around. The "Low" range on the CVT is not just a low speed "classic" low. Its a lower range at any speed. This is actually very cool, and is actually more useful the way 99% of people drive their cars. It does take a bit of getting used to.
Yea whats with no paddle shifters on the Forester? I guess you have to get the Turbo. Both the 2.5 and 3.6 Outback have them as standard.

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Bedivere
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PostTue Jan 27, 2015 9:55 pm 
boot up wrote:
JVesquire wrote:
Make sure you get a recent model that has five speeds.
Or get a CVT model and don't worry about all the "speeds". cool.gif I am not sure what the infatuation is for rowing your own, for the average person that does a lot of driving in modern heavy traffic and commuting.
No Forester has ever come with a 4-speed manual transmission so it's logical to assume he was talking about the automatic. The old Subaru automatics had 4 gears whereas the newer ones (prior to CVT) have 5. Lots of people found the 4-speed autos somewhat lacking. No one around here is bashing or talking down about the CVT, so not sure where you get that either. Again, since you seem to only read what you want in what I write - my concern was for the reliability of the CVT as in the past they have not proven reliable. If the current iteration has overcome the reliability issues (and it seems it has) then I can see no reason why you wouldn't choose a CVT over a traditionally geared automatic. If I was buying a new Forester it would only make sense to get the CVT. For the last 2-1/2 years I commuted in rush hour traffic from West Seattle to Redmond and back in my manual transmission WRX. I don't find it a burden but I don't advocate it either. Buy what you like.
boot up wrote:
It works for me anyway.
Can't quite understand why you can't just leave it at that.

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tigermn
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PostWed Jan 28, 2015 11:06 am 
Bedivere wrote:
For the last 2-1/2 years I commuted in rush hour traffic from West Seattle to Redmond and back in my manual transmission WRX. I don't find it a burden but I don't advocate it either. Buy what you like.
Yea.. to each his own. Works for me. I don't think adaptive cruise control would work very well with a stick shift though... lol.gif The funny thing is some people basically condemn a CVT without ever having driven one. Don't know about reliability but one would think in theory it should be very reliable. A lot less gears and such than in a conventional automatic. I can say I was somewhat skeptical initially. Now having recently bought the Impreza and now the Outback, I don't see the issues/complaints everyone is talking about at least on the Impreza or Outback. I did notice some noise in a 2012 Altima with a CVT that we rented a couple of years ago, not to mention it handled like crap, but what do you expect from a 4 banger rental car.

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MLHSN
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MLHSN
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PostFri Jan 30, 2015 7:52 am 
Well, we pulled the trigger and bought a Forester.

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Old Not Bold Hiker



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PostFri Jan 30, 2015 8:57 am 
MLHSN wrote:
Well, we pulled the trigger and bought a Forester.
Oh no! That was a mistake! My new Forester engine just blew, the transmission exploded, and the wheels just fell off!!!!! eek.gif ..... Just kidding. smile.gif Enjoy that ride! You might want to look into getting the 20mm STI Rear Sway Bar swapped for the 16mm noodle that comes from the factory. Stock end links with that bar(and matching bushings) seem to be a nice conservative improvement. Don't take my word though. Google it and decide.

friluftsliv
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tigermn
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PostSun Feb 01, 2015 2:21 pm 
boot up wrote:
You might want to look into getting the 20mm STI Rear Sway Bar swapped for the 16mm noodle that comes from the factory. Stock end links with that bar(and matching bushings) seem to be a nice conservative improvement. Don't take my word though. Google it and decide.
Drive it first and see if that is really a concern for you or if it is fine for you as it comes. For some it won't be others will care. Depends on your preference/driving style. I.E. don't just make a change because it is popular on the internet. I'm dealing with the same decision with my Outback. I hven't had a chance yet to drive it the way it needs to be driven to determine if I really want or need to swap out the rear sway bar.

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Old Not Bold Hiker



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PostSun Feb 01, 2015 3:12 pm 
tigermn wrote:
boot up wrote:
You might want to look into getting the 20mm STI Rear Sway Bar swapped for the 16mm noodle that comes from the factory. Stock end links with that bar(and matching bushings) seem to be a nice conservative improvement. Don't take my word though. Google it and decide.
Drive it first and see if that is really a concern for you or if it is fine for you as it comes. For some it won't be others will care. Depends on your preference/driving style. I.E. don't just make a change because it is popular on the internet. I'm dealing with the same decision with my Outback. I hven't had a chance yet to drive it the way it needs to be driven to determine if I really want or need to swap out the rear sway bar.
Drive it and research it, for sure! Different people have different priorities for how their car performs (assuming they care at all). For some people it's power, some handling, some...fill in your own blank here. Yesterday I finally got a chance to really wring out my 2014 Forester with Nokian tires and 20mm RSB mod. Drove Mountain Loop, arriving at Goat lake at 7:45am. Didn't see a single car on the way in, lots of frost and frozen mud though. So I could find my own safe speed. Driving out, the dirt road portions were slimy mud and the pavement was mostly dry with only a few wet spots. On the way out, slow people were being pretty good about pulling over, as was I, when a jeep came up fast from behind. Pretty much ideal conditions for testing handling in different conditions. I am done with my modifications. I was grinning the whole time and still smile thinking back on it. Always felt in control, potholes didn't feel any worse, railed some of the tighter curves where before I felt a bit more white knuckle at the same or slower speeds. Still not a sports car, but you won't get 8 inches of clearance in a sport car either. agree.gif Works for me, but of course....YMMV. Funny part about the "test drive". I was the second car in the lot, pulling in next to a Yaris....which proves ANY car WILL get you there. Both our cars were spotless. At the end of the day, the parking was full of cars covered in mud, which seemed odd with just a couple of pristine cars still parked there. I soon found out why. My car looked two tone by the time I got home. BTW, a good wax job made it really easy to clean the car today (in the rain). Our driveway may never look the same though. smile.gif

friluftsliv
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tom roy
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PostMon Feb 02, 2015 11:29 am 
Subaru or any car change the oil repeat change the oil every 3,000 miles. At close to 100,000 mile change every thing rubber (hoses, belts ,boots). Flush the radiator at least at five years air filter every year. All cheap maintenance. I put 300,000 on a 1980 Courier or Mazda as it really was. My son at WSU drives our 1999 Camary we bought new now has 1900,000 on it. Blew the head gasket on the Courier at over 200,000 and put a starter on the Camary at about 150,000 two real repairs in a half a million miles CHANGE THE OIL. Change the oil and check it after your texting at Jiffy lube, use synthetic. I miss the mileage of the Courier and the Camary both were manual transmissions. Our 012 V6 Pilot is pathetic and my 08 V8 F-150 oh well. I don't think my Vulcan gets as good as mileage as that Camary.

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