Forester STI

[Hendom]

Hi all.

I’m quite keen on getting a STI Forester. I’ve have a few Subaru’s in the past but haven’t had one for the last 5 yrs and I’m getting withdrawal symptoms! Haha. I’m looking at these coz they look like they are a bit more of a family friendly toy which is what I’m needing these days. I’m looking at a couple but the have fairly high kms around the 200k mark. They look really tidy and have a big paper trail of invoices for servicing etc. One has just had $6k spent on it doing all the oil seals cambelt and full 200k service. It won’t be a daily driver and I’m guessing I’ll do less than 5000kms a year with it.But with that many kms should I just run a mile? They seem to be getting hard to find with low kms now. Any thoughts would be appreciated! 

Cheers

[Omsin]

What’s your price range?

 

you can get the newer legacy GT for less than the price of the equivalent wrx / sti but we’re still talking $12-15k.

 

My sister has a 2005 Forester “Cross sport” with over 200k on it, had it since 40K. No engine issues to date, just random electrical stuff like window regulator, side mirror motor failure etc.

 

Generally, IMO it seems like Subaru’s seem to have engine issues or symptoms of issues around 120-140k - just looking at the Impreza wrx/sti models for example.

 

I guess it comes down to who’s owned it and how they’ve driven it / looked after it, being an sti model it’s quite likely to have been “enjoyed” and used accordingly.

 

Do you have money to fix any issues with it? Are you planning on keeping it awhile? Are you prepared to take a chance and be stuck on the roadside with your family?

 

Resale will be a tough one too 

Edited September 7, 2019 by Omsin

[Hendom]

My price range is flexible. They are wanting about 9k for this one I’m looking at. It also had the clutch, front suspension bushes and brakes replaced at 200k as well. They current owner has had it for 10yrs since 90k. So I guess that is one positive. He also had it dyno tuned to 220kw atw 8yrs ago. And I am planning on keeping if for quite a while. I’ve just never had any experience with the 2.5L engines.