Car guys, for used car, Subaru Outback?, Forester?, or . . . ?

sunvalleylaw

sunvalleylaw

Yep.
Need to get two used cars. One can be pretty well used, but serviceable for local traffic for my older kids, and one I want under a 100k mileage on, hopefully +/- 70k. One must have a manual transmission. I would love to get a VW passat wagon, as I enjoy the form factor, but figure good used there will be hard. Considered the Volvo wagons, but am concerned with cost of repair.

The subs look doable. But for the more expensive car, I need the nicer seat that is fully adjustable, including height, and angle of seat bottom. I prefer euro seating, but the better subaru seating should work. The old, not very adjustable seat in the 2000 imprezza we used caused sciatica. I want to stay away from an imprezza sized rig, as after the last one we had was wrecked, I want a little more metal between the rear end of the car and the rear seat. Otherwise, it performed well in the crash.

I had always stayed away from the idea of a forester, as I think they are butt ugly, and indicate you are a community college professor or something. But, they might be practical rigs, especially if we can get one cheap.

Also, I prefer a four cylinder model. Again, manual if possible. Thoughts? Advice? Other suggestions for a decent sport wagon that is not too much dough used? Good and bad years? Thanks!
 
Had a 2000 Forester. Excellent car and I drove it a lot. The only mechanical problem I recall was wheel bearings going bad.

My sister has something like a 2012. It had a few glitches initially but seems to be solid for her since then.

The all-drive means needing to keep the tires pretty well matched so you don't damage the viscous coupler. In Texas, it's wasn't something I felt really helped me much. Given that it's more parts and drivetrain complexity, it's a net minus for my needs. In other climates, it's probably a different story.

Overall, I would consider one again.
 
I had a '99 Forester, really loved that car.

I have always liked the Forester more than the Outback. Obviously I'm biased, but the reviews I've read over the years also seem to favor the Forester by a good margin.
 
Lots of used foresters round here but of course with the approach of winter, the prices are going up. If you do a search, there's a few pretty good sites that will detail the years to avoid due to frequent head gasket failures and what to look for
 
Outbacks are supposed to have nicer ride, but Foresters are excellent vehicles and consistently get high praise for their safety. We're looking at a new vehicle soon and the Forester tops the list with the CRV running a close second.
 
When I bought my Kia Sorento a few years back I looked at new Subarus (namely, the Forester).

I just couldn't get past the high-revving engine. I know they're supposed to be built well, but even brand new, it sounded like it had marbles rolling around in it.

The only issue I see with them is that they tend to rust out (body panels). Dunno if that is a factor where you are (road salt).
 
We had I think a 1996 Outback Legacy Wagon. We only paid $1800 for it, and we got what we paid for. :embarrassed:

Both front doors were rusted out around the trim, and the think had a major oil leak that covered the exhaust manifold with oil, so it's a wonder the thing never caught on fire.

I will say this, though. Despite all of its problems, it ran really, really well. It was the 4 cylinder with a manual transmission. Had plenty of power on tap. Only got about 26 mpg IIRC.

We only had it for about 6 months. The battery died, and one of the windows got busted, so taped a trash bag over the window, jump started it, and drove it to a used car lot to trade it in on a minivan.

We got $2200 trade in. :embarrassed:
 
sunvalleylaw said:
Which are you considering? Any thoughts or research you can share?
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I haven't done much yet. I'm waiting on the tax refund before I delve in too far... :) I've been using the Cayman as a daily commuter for over a year now, and I thought I was going to die every time it snowed last year. Plus I'm just putting too many miles on it. It's snowed a lot since we moved to MD, so either an Outback or Forrester is at the top of my list. I'd also like to have it for road trips, as my car won't hold anything, and my wife's truck just eats gas.
 
VoidTerraFirma said:
Mazda 3s 5door is an excellent choice.
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I like those, and a couple years ago would have been more interested. But they are on par in size with the little imprezza and after a wreck my wife had, I am more interested in the more full sized (small) wagon. The mazda 6 looks ok, but have not found one that is a four cylinder yet.
 
I remember the pics from that wreck. The car held up great where it was supposed to.

I'm not sure a bigger car would have done any better.
 
Prages said:
I remember the pics from that wreck. The car held up great where it was supposed to.

I'm not sure a bigger car would have done any better.
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yeah, it did hold up well. One of the things that make me want to go back to the brand. The only thing concerning was that the rear seat was pushed up quite a bit into the front seat from rear impact. My theory is that the longer trunk in the wagon version of essentially the same car would have provided a bit more metal to crumple and absorb energy before it got to the seat area. Just a theory. But also, the additional rear space will be useful to our family for gear for alpine and nordic skiing, etc. The little imprezza holds a lot, but the wagon holds more.
 
You having much luck finding manual trannys? They appear to be very much a dying breed in the states. It's one reason I drive a 17 year old car...that and because it's awesome :grin:
 
nuke_diver said:
You having much luck finding manual trannys? They appear to be very much a dying breed in the states. It's one reason I drive a 17 year old car...that and because it's awesome :grin:
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There are some out there. Harder to find in the later years but shill there. I had a line on a 2009 that I really liked but it sold before I was ready. Another one will turn up. They are more prevalent in the earlier models that we are considering for the kids.
 
The last time I was foolish enough to walk onto a new car lot, when the salesman approached I asked him what they had on the lot with a manual transmission.

He scratched his head, went to his office, and came back with "You're in luck, we do have one."

It was a "pull me over red" Ford Fiesta.

Out of the hundred or so vehicles on their lot, they had exactly 1 with a manual transmission.
 
Can I ask what the attraction is for a manual transmission on that type of vehicle?

I can see wanting a sports car with a manual transmission, but why on a baby SUV with AWD?
 
Coralkong said:
Can I ask what the attraction is for a manual transmission on that type of vehicle?

I can see wanting a sports car with a manual transmission, but why on a baby SUV with AWD?
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For me, it's just a lot more interesting to drive a manual than an automatic.

Plus, I've had bad luck with automatics. The only trouble I've ever had out of any of my manuals is the clutch wearing out, and I can replace that myself.

Our minivan was automatic. We had the transmission replace once at under 100k miles, and it was acting up again when we got rid of it at 170k miles.

Our Blazer is generally pretty good, but sometimes it'll shift down two gears instead of one when you're going up hills on the interstate at 70 mph, and the rpms jump up over 4k. I like being able to chose my own gear.
 
Coralkong said:
Can I ask what the attraction is for a manual transmission on that type of vehicle?

I can see wanting a sports car with a manual transmission, but why on a baby SUV with AWD?
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Less on the Forester for me. More for the outback, which at 2.5 liters, and with a smooth, high revving engine, can be driven like a little four cylinder sports wagon if you want (which I will want). As for on the forester, that car would be for my kids, as frankly, I just don't love that model, though I learned with surprise reading last night that many prefer the look over the wagon look, as they think it is more sport ute like. To me, it looks like a substitute teacher car, partly as that is how they looked to me when they first boxy models came out in the 80s or 90s. But my kid likes them, wants to drive a stick, and even though the sport performance may not be there, if he learns to drive well, he can get better mileage that way. At least I did in my old '90 4 runner with a stick, over my buddy's identical 4 runner with an automatic. Also, he just wants to learn to drive a stick and I support that. I am not letting him learn on my vintage Alfa that I am likely to sell to help fund these purchases. I want to preserve the currently good syncros.

For me, I am settling in on finding a 2008-09 outback with a stick with mileage in the 70k range, hopefully with leather seats. May take a while to find, but they are out there. As far as the cheaper car, whether it ends up forester or outback will depend. Seems like more outbacks are available, but there are a few foresters out there too. The key will be finding a used one that has had the timing belt and head gaskets done recently, and is otherwise reasonably clean and kept up. A few extra miles on a well maintained car is better than a few less on one that is all grimy and needs head gaskets.
 
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