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Subaru Forester (up to 2005) - READ ONLY
18028 messages, Last post on Nov 02, 2006 at 7:19 AM
You are in the Subaru Forester Forum.- Your Host is kcram
What is this discussion about? Subaru Forester, Wagon
#4780 of 18028 Forester owner by megs50
Feb 25, 2002 (9:09 am)
I like my 1998 Forester,but it doesn't seem to have much trade in value. With 34,000 miles no dealer would give me over 7500 for it. It is a smart buy with Subaru Credit,who refuses to re finance or come down on there interest rate, which was high in the first place. I have paid my payments timely , flawlessly but yet they say they Don't refinance leases etc, don't drop rates period. I have had some transmission problems, the seat belts had to be replaced. Get good gas mileage I haven't deceided whether I am just going to turn it back, probably will cause this truck Has no re sale value in Texas, and Subaru doesn't re finance
#4781 of 18028 re-trade in value by megs50
Feb 25, 2002 (9:22 am)
I live in Houston Texas, my forester is in excellant condition, I installed a manufacture Cd player, Alarm system, has 34,000 miles, no accidents, very few flaws. Had purchased this with many upgrades, premium wheels, premium muffler system, heated seats, fully loaded. But apparently these are not to popular here. Dealers told me that up north this vehicle is a good seller, not in Texas. I don't know why , cause these fog lights have really helped me and the awd is good with all the rain we get. But still it is only worth about $7500.00. so don't know what I am going to do about it. I have got much time til end of Smart buy term.#4782 of 18028 Rear Ended and another thing by dolphinchic
Feb 25, 2002 (10:48 am)
Hi all.My Forester is three weeks old. And I love her to death. Last weekend we got rear ended at a stoplight. It was raining and the guy behind slipped into a skid hitting me at 45-50 mph (or so he told the cop). I can't see any damage on my car, but I want her checked out. What should I insist the insurance people check for?
On another note...For the first week that I had the car, putting gas in was no problem...then all of a sudden the little hinged flap to the fuel tank got stuck. When I put the gas pump in, the door only cracks open so I have to very slowly dribble the gas in. Did I do something silly? Is this a quick fix, or do I need to take my car in to the doctor?
Thanks so much
#4783 of 18028 30k service and a cooling system question by john284
Feb 25, 2002 (10:54 am)
Hi, Just had 30K service at Stohlman SUBARU, VA. I found that there is a strong burning smell from the radiator, and the coolant level go above the max level while the engine has run for a while, but goes back to the max level, after it cooled down. I call the dealer, and was told that the opposite should happen: coolent level should be lower in the reservoir while the engine is running. I wonder if they have followed the correct procedure to change the coolant, Shame on their if they messed up. Also I am supposed to have spark plugs changed but the dealership said the plugs are plantinum plugs and should be good for 65000 miles. I have a colleague who got a service at 30K there, and a few thousands miles later, had to have the water pump replaced(within warrantee).Thanks.
John
#4784 of 18028 re: rearended by tidester
Feb 25, 2002 (11:12 am)
...slipped into a skid hitting me at 45-50 mph (or so he told the cop). I can't see any damage on my car...I am quite certain that at 40-50 mph you'd see a whole bunch of damage!
tidester
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#4785 of 18028 Potential Subaru Forester Buyer With Questions by ckirk4
Feb 25, 2002 (11:14 am)
The recent comments about the Forester are very interesting. I found the wheel bearing problem to be so interesting that I contacted SUBARU3, after having had a conversation with a sales person on Feb. 23, 2002, in Lexington, KY. Specifically, the sales person told me to expect to replace the wheel bearings in 50K. However, he said this type of work is covered under the warranty. As for the person handling the calls at SUBARU3, she said this is a new complaint and had not heard about the wheel bearing problem prior to my call. She seem to believe that the complaints are isolated cases. I am interested in hearing more comments about this problem. I am very interested in the 2003 Forester but do not want to buy a vehicle that will constantly have wheel bearing problems.#4786 of 18028 by p0926
Feb 25, 2002 (12:13 pm)
Carroll-a. That sales person is an idiot if he actually said that and he obviously wasn't interested in a sale.
b. SOA reps are under pretty strict rules on what they can and can not say. While SOA is better than most manufacturers in helping owners find out what's wrong with their cars and pitching in to fix the problem, it would be very unusual for them to admit to a model wide defect unless there had been a recall.
c. Anecdotal evidence does suggest that early model Foresters did suffer from a higher than normal failure rate of the wheel bearings. Further more, many bearings improperly replaced by dealers lead to repeat failures (causing SOA to publish guidance for the dealers on how to correctly replace the wheel bearings).
d. In spite of this problem, the Forester is still rated as above avg in reliability by Consumer Reports and is a recommended buy. So while there may in fact have been a problem, is was obviously never very widespread.
e. In any case, reports of wheel bearing failures are rare to non-existent for the last couple of model years so the 2003 model should be free of this defect.
#4787 of 18028 Wheel Bearing Problems With Forester! Does it Really Exist? by ckirk4
Feb 25, 2002 (1:27 pm)
Mark-Thanks for the info. I must admit that I was mildly surprised when the sales person made the
50 K. replacement statement. I was even more surprised when he was so willing to let this be routine warranty work under the 5year, 60 thousand mile power train. As stated in my original text, the person representing Subaru at SUBARU3 seemed to know nothing about the matter.
#4788 of 18028 by ateixeira
Feb 25, 2002 (1:45 pm)
The 2003 model will likely use the new bearing/hub design from the 2002 Impreza, so the issue ought to vanish.Speak of funny number, what if you bought a 2000 Lotus Seven, could you call it a Double-OH Seven (007)?
Lillian: I'd e-Bay that bad boy. You'll get $12-14k or so. Heck, I'd give you $8 grand and resell it up here in DC where they are in high demand.
Hutch: sorry to hear about the collision. Hope Lynn's feeling OK. Mine got hit pretty good from behind, but it sounds like your damage was more serious. All that crumpling is what protected her, though, so we should be happy about that. I'd be looking at a 2003, too, that's the perfect excuse to trade up. It has bigger brake rotors, too!
Richard: I'd suggest you shop on-line for parts. I don't recall exact prices, but I bought all the parts for my 30k service for peanuts.
Dolphin: let a dealer look at the bumper for damage. There are parts that are designed to break away and absorb the impact, so just because you can't see it does not mean there was no damage. Don't rely only on their insurance company, which probably doesn't enjoy handing out money. Go get an independent damage quote from a Subaru dealer, and demand OE parts since it's so brand new.
-juice
#4789 of 18028 megs50 by odd1
Feb 25, 2002 (3:20 pm)
Did you say heated seats? I guess you might get to turn them on the next couple of days.I still say offer them a low number to buy it if it is only worth 7500 here and finance with someone else, since no one seems to want it.
By the way, I saw a 98 Forester L Auto w/31K listed for $14,998 in this past weekend's Carmax ad here in Houston(Gulf Freeway location).
The 60 plus inches of rain a year we get here is exactly why I'm interested in the Forester, as well as not wanting to drive an Odyssey in the traffic here.
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