legacy vs forester

[collaboration]

i'm in the market to buy either legacy or forester for my snow season 8)

what are the main pros and cons for both cars?

and could you give me some buying tips?? what to watch out and the most common problems etc

i don't know if its true or not but foresters have issues with head gasket??

[Guest]

A little more info would be useful bro, as in are you looking for a turbo or N/A? 2.0 or 2.5? Year etc?

[Guest boostin]

BF Legacy any day. So much more character than those Foz things.

[Guest]

 boostin said:

BF Legacy any day. So much more character than those Foz things.

And when they said Forester (meaning "of the forest") They REALLY meant it 8)

[collaboration]

 matdaymon said:

A little more info would be useful bro, as in are you looking for a turbo or N/A? 2.0 or 2.5? Year etc?

i'm looking for something around 6~9k and i don't mind but prefer turbo

this will be my snow wagon 8)

[Guest keltik]

For 9k, id hop on trademe and get a BP/BL Legacy wagon. Single turbo and pretty good. Probably nicer to drive through the twisties than a stock forester. Also more space in the boot.

[Joker]

yea Forrester isnt for moving gear around...

even with roof racks for boards/Ski's on either, Legacy wins purely for space

[ODB]

I have a forester turbo. Parents have a GTB wagon.

Ive taken both to the snow. Legacy wins hands down for handling of the road up, room in the boot for boards, handling on the trip to the mountain.

All this in standard form obviously.

Only thing with the GTB is im insure how chains would go under the arches with those 17s. Heaps of room on the Foz wheel arches!

Have you considered WRX gravel express wagon?

I know they look kinda fugly but meh its another prob cheaper option.

[nt_a_foz]

 keltik said:

For 9k, id hop on trademe and get a BP/BL Legacy wagon. Single turbo and pretty good. Probably nicer to drive through the twisties than a stock forester. Also more space in the boot.

a turbo bp/bl for 9k??? i highly doutb that..

when i was looking yesterday through trademe non turbo 2.0L ones where starting at around 12k

[Guest keltik]

Hmm prices seem to have gone up since i last looked. Used to be able to get a turbo BP for around 10k

[Joker]

You may need theses to spy the extra digit you seem to have been missing

$19k more like - have been since i have been searching for a 03+ 3.0r

http://tinyurl.com/y438q3z has been on my watchlist since forever

[deathz0r]

 ODB said:

Have you considered WRX gravel express wagon?

I know they look kinda fugly but meh its another prob cheaper option.

Hey! Nothing wrong with them! 8)

[nztintin]

I've had 5 people, 4 boards and a set of skis in the forester for a trip to the mountain, can't complain with that! In saying that i'd probably go for a legacy for handling if your keeping things standard althought the foz isn't too bad handling, just alot of body roll, foz if your planning on hitting an "offroad" field (tukino etc where you need ground clearance)

[Guest keltik]

Yeah Legacys arent too flash for getting up the tukino road. I only got a few k's into the snow before my front bumper became a plow.

And your all wrong dammit! When i was looking to sell my wagon 8 months ago you could get a 2004 BP for under 10k. The 3.0R ones are rediculously priced and always have been.

[DRFVDR]

 nztintin said:

I've had 5 people, 4 boards and a set of skis in the forester for a trip to the mountain, can't complain with that! In saying that i'd probably go for a legacy for handling if your keeping things standard althought the foz isn't too bad handling, just alot of body roll, foz if your planning on hitting an "offroad" field (tukino etc where you need ground clearance)

Good luck getting even your Foz/Outback up there without damage

I know this road very well I do a few trips a year up there in a bus

[ODB]

hmmm.

Wonder if the bighorn would go alright up there???!!!???

Anyways its all not worth arguing about!! You north islanders need the interislander to get to good snow!

Good luck getting THAT on trademe for 10k!

[nt_a_foz]

 keltik said:

Yeah Legacys arent too flash for getting up the tukino road. I only got a few k's into the snow before my front bumper became a plow.

And your all wrong dammit! When i was looking to sell my wagon 8 months ago you could get a 2004 BP for under 10k. The 3.0R ones are rediculously priced and always have been.

noooo way..

i shit you not a bl/bp wagon whichever one it is sold with a blown BEB and done 120,000km was black and manual but it sold for 15k i shit you not....

When i was looking last week non turbo ones were 12k plus starting and turbos on top of that

[nztintin]

 DRFVDR']

[quote name='nztintin said:

I've had 5 people, 4 boards and a set of skis in the forester for a trip to the mountain, can't complain with that! In saying that i'd probably go for a legacy for handling if your keeping things standard althought the foz isn't too bad handling, just alot of body roll, foz if your planning on hitting an "offroad" field b](tukino[/b] etc where you need ground clearance)

Good luck getting even your Foz/Outback up there without damage

I know this road very well I do a few trips a year up there in a bus

I've been up in the foz and most of the way up in a bc legacy, foz made it with a few scrapes underneath and a few sections i had to have a couple goes at, wouldn't recommend it on a regular basis!

[collaboration]

good! this narrows down my option to legacy

if i'm getting a legacy, i would most likely to spend around 6~8k

what do i have to look for when buying a legacy? common issues that i should be aware of??

[Munkvy]

Dont get a BG. If it doesnt kill a BEB it will at least eat Bilsteins and fuel.

[Guest keltik]

For that money, youd be looking at a BH/BE shape.

Twin turbo ones = lots of things to go wrong and lots of things to look for.

2.5liter ones = seem to be reliable? No real experience there

2.0liter ones = pretty solid, not exactly a powerhouse but less chance of failure compared to your average twin turbo

3.0liter ones = pretty bulletproof. Only available in auto tho.

My personal pick would be an Outback Lancaster 6. Im pretty sure you can get one for around the 8k mark if you look hard enough. They have the 216bhp 3.0liter flat 6 so are pretty reliable and reasonable on gas. Also you get the option of VDC which would be handy on slippery mountain roads. The Lancaster also has a pretty plush interior which will be nice on the long haul trips to the snow. You also get a cargo fan in the back (still dont know what its for) and most of the ones ive seen have heated seats.

Also they have a bit more ground clearance than a standard Legacy but still handle reasonably well. They just fall a bit short in the looks department for some people, but i like them. In the single color they look cool, just the 2 tone sucks.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Cars/Subaru/auction-283730089.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Cars/Subaru/auction-283017197.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Cars/Subaru/auction-284173151.htm

[collaboration]

what's BEB??

Lancaster 6 looks ok to me too.. definitely will keep in mind. pretty gutted that it doesn't come in manual trans

i will pretty much get any legacy wagon in mint condition that sits in my budget range

by the way, when you say twin turbo have lots of things to go wrong... do you mean general turbo car issues? heads, gaskets, turbo, etc??

[Guest boostin]

 collaboration said:

what's BEB??

Lancaster 6 looks ok to me too.. definitely will keep in mind. pretty gutted that it doesn't come in manual trans

i will pretty much get any legacy wagon in mint condition that sits in my budget range

by the way, when you say twin turbo have lots of things to go wrong... do you mean general turbo car issues? heads, gaskets, turbo, etc??

BEB = Big end bearing. No, well yes, but twin turbo's are much more prone to failure. Too highly strung is the basic gist of it.

[ODB]

as mentioned my folks own a BH twin turbo wagon and I have done all the maintenance and have never had a problem.

It helps that they are the first owners ex japan and car is as God(subaru) intended.

As mentioned, if you plan on mods, particularly engine mods steer clear of the twin turbo.

Also as mentioned earlier, if you do go the twin turbo wagon make sure you get the later BH(circa 2000) as they are much better in factory fettle.

are you sure you dont want to spend that 8-9k on a Safari??????

[DRFVDR]

Or landcruiser (wwayyyyy better than a Safari/patrol)