98-99 Forester

[jvic]

Hey Guys,

New to the forums, and have enjoyed having a good read of your posts.
Hopefully I am not going to be repeating a really old post - I am
interested in buying a 98 or 99 Forester here in Canberra, Australia.
Here we have the 2.0 Litre engine and I woudl likely go for a manual
transmisson. I am looking to pay up to about $15K, depending on the
example.

I am interested to know what pitfals I should look out for. One example
I looked at yesterday had 180000K on the clock and they were asking
$13k (au$). It looked quite tidy and would have been the base model
judging by the fitout.

I guess feedback from other australian owners would be most relevant
but I am keen to hear from anyone with some info to share!

Specific questions I have at this (early) juncture are -

What are the major maintenance issues as the kilometres get higher (as
a lot of the examples I have looked at are between 140000 and 180000 on
the odometer)

Are there any faults that I can immediately check when looking at the
vehicle?

How does the Forester handle towing? (I am interested in towing a
motorbike on a light trailer.)

I guess one of my main concerns is whether the engine will have enough
performance. IF I could afford it I would love to go for the GT
version, but I doubt I could afford it, and getting it insured would be
nigh on impossible for a guy under 25 like me!!

I look forward to hearing from you guys, thanks for reading my post.

Cheers

Jason

Canberra, AUS

 

[Wilco van Diest]

Find an 99 Forester! Not an 98 if possible.

A 99 has a bit more HP (125 instead of 122), standard selfleveling
rearsuspension, build-in rear window antenna en some other modifications.

- Major maintenance issues between 140 and 180 k km : take a good look at
the (selfleveling) rearsuspensions. If the car hangs a bit to one side you
know enough..
- Check if shifting gear easy goes to the "rear-position"
- Towing goes great ! LO-gear you know.
- Power enough, It's a Subaru!

Wilco

 

[jvic]

Thanks Wilco, I appreciate your advice.

If anyone else has something to add that would be great.

Cheers

Jason.

 

[bj]

i'd go for a smashed fender bender 2003-04...better engine,no head
gasket issues, better rear bearings..some of the bugs worked out...the
manual tranny is a good idea..equal pull on all four tires...unlike the
auto..

a great car, i have a 98S