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New Forester Owner 2006


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Hi,

 

I'm new to this site and to Subarus. I hope I made a wise choice with the Forester for 2006. The Honda has great write ups but is cramped inside and has way too much road noise. The inside armrest is pencil thin and very uncomfortable just as a side note.

 

My recent vehicle was a Honda Accord sedan which was fantastic, but we wanted an SUV and this, what I call a mini SUV, seemed to fit all requirements with really good ground clearance and decent gas milege.

 

Bye, Capri

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exellent choice indeed.what color/model did you get?does it have the new style front end?i wish i could get me a new one, but well...i`m poor.:-\ maybe some day:rolleyes:

 

anyway, good luck with it, and i`m sure you`ll end up likeing it better than the honda.

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subie, hi and thanks. I got the basic model, but it came with rear bumper protectors, a non skid rubber mat that covers the cargo area, keeps things you put back there in place and mud guards. I actually did not pay for them and the dealer forgot to take them off. He could not get the bumper protectors off since they must be super glued on or something.

 

You may be surprised to find you can afford one if you bargain well. You should pay just about the invoice price which is about $2,000 off the stick. They get a kick back (incentive) from the factory for about $452, so there is their profit.

 

When you do buy any vehicle, I think it helps to buy from dealerships with a big inventory, plus the salesperson makes all the difference. Some are stubborn and won't sell the car for less even though they can, so a change of a salesperson can also make the difference as some are better negotiaters.

 

I looked at so many mini SUVs that I'm not sure if the front end is new, but I think it is for this year as well as a little more horsepower with the same engine.

 

I really loved my Honda, so I don't know if I will become an SUV person unless you mean I will become a Subaru person from now on. My sister says once you go SUV you can't go back to a car. If this Subaru needs "fixing", as opposed to just maintenance which is all I did on my Accord, I'll be back at Honda in a few years. I didn't buy the CRV they make because of road noise, and it was too small and a little uncomfortable in general inside. The inner armrest was the size of a pencil, so you could not really rest your arm on it. Someone screwed up at Honda for this CRV model's interior.

 

Bye, Capri

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i found one dealer with 05 5 speeds for $17,999 which did seem pretty good.my uncle has a 98 that he owned since new, which has been extremely reliable.he is up to 150k, and has only done general maintanence (he does his own) the hardest repair was the timing belt.he is also getting about 26mpg.good luck with it, and i bet you`ll end up liking it even better than the honda.

 

Jon

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With a 98, I bet he had to prematurely replace a wheel bearing or two, re-solder an overhead clock contact, and secure the special coolant additive from the dealer.

 

i found one dealer with 05 5 speeds for $17,999 which did seem pretty good.my uncle has a 98 that he owned since new, which has been extremely reliable.he is up to 150k, and has only done general maintanence (he does his own) the hardest repair was the timing belt.he is also getting about 26mpg.good luck with it, and i bet you`ll end up liking it even better than the honda.

 

Jon

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Really I can't complain too much and an 05 should have more of the problems ironed out since forester was introduced in '98. My rear wheel bearing only lasting to 70k miles points at underdesign to me but things could be worse and the thing is fun to drive. Regarding maintenance, 05 should also make for easier oil changes if they designed the plastic underguard anything like our 02 outback which has a quick access hatch instead of requiring total unbolting of the guard (Wonder how many people just throw that chunk of plastic away? - me, I guess I tend to think it may do something).

 

never fixed the overhead clock:) wheel bearings are general long term maintanence to me.no coolant problems
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Hi,

 

These terms of things that need fixing are so foreign to me since I only did regular maintenance on the Honda Accord.

 

The Forester is nice though. I read about having a lead foot, which I do have will decrease your city/hwy figures for gas consumption, so I forwarned my husband who is still getting used to the extra umph over the sluggish Accord. Being a bit sluggish and road noise were my trade offs for having a great running car that could run forever.

 

I didn't need an SUV for it's qualities. My husband just wanted one so we compromised on a mini SUV, but we don't get any snow in the PNW where we live, so the AWD is wasted on us to an extent. It will help in rain and the ground clearance may let us go up a few dirt roads to hike that were unaccessable with our Accord. Just 2 weeks ago, I called a hotel for a reservation and mentioned a hike I would do and the guy said you need a high clearance vehicle to make it all the way to the trail head or else you park two miles from it and hike the rest of the way up adding 4 miles in total to the hike which we didn't want to do, so we will now try accessing that road and see what happens.

 

So funny: The salesperson had a letter in the office he said to read from a customer who was happy. She said they traveled to a place that had 8" of snow in her Forester and it was great, had no problems going through the snow. The letter was perfectly written with correct spelling, grammer and punctuation and made me think it was totally fake. Well, it did give me and my husband a laugh when the salesperson left the office to speak with his manager. It's funny too because the Forester has a 8.1" clearance. What a coincidence that her snow level was just 8" in every spot and not an inch more, LMAO!!!!! These salespeople crack me up.

 

Bye, Capri

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Just checking in. I'm supposed to get 22 city/28 hwy. I've done city driving on 3/4 of a tank and did some calculations to figure I got 21 city. We did have a heavy foot on the gas since we are used to our sluggish Honda Accord.

 

Also, I got to drive it for a 25 min. since it went right off to work with my husband the next day and I love it. Now it makes it seem like there is something wrong with my Accord. It is a peppy car. You really need a lighter foot on the gas than my other car. It handles great and has a nice ride, quieter than my Accord. I think the stereo is better. I'm happy.

 

Bye, Capri

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