BillZ

I am buying a 2001 Forester and was wondering who out there has experience with aftermarket and/or do it yourself mods for the Forester. Not necessarily off road mods, just performance optimizers like high performance plugs and wires. Or even interior improvements. I didn't see a category for this on the board. Is there a discussion I can look up? A few years ago when I was in the BMW community, I spent a lot of time on my early Z3 and got some good results. I like low cost ideas that may not make a big difference by themselves but add a few up, and you can have an extra 10-20 HP, better mpg, or just improve the life and function of the car.

I went and looked at a 2001 Forester L this morning. It was at a small used car dealer. It was a dealer trade in that they purchased for resale. Gold/tan, 69,000 miles. Carfax showed that it received regular servicing from a local Subaru dealer including the 60,000 mile recommended service. 1 owner. Very clean, in and out. No sign of head gasket leaking or bad wheel bearings. The only things I found were the tire tread was pretty worn, maybe about 6 months left on them and there was a slight heat shield vibration noise upon acceleration. The asking price was 6,900. Edmunds.com shows a dealer retail at 7,876 and the trade in value of 5,602. I offered 6,100 on the spot and the guy wouldn't consider it or even try to negotiate. I gave him my number in case he wanted to reconsider and am thinking of calling with another offer of 6,400 if I don't hear from him this weekend. I hate to lose this one but I don't want to find out later I paid too much. Does my offer sound fair or am I possibly going under the dealers profit line?

Thanks again for all the info. I found another low mileage (68k) 2001 Forester to check out tomorrow. How do I check for bad bearings? what does it sound/feel like?

I have heard stories about Subaru head gasket issues for a while but am not familiar yet with all the specifics of the different years and models. Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the advice! Unibrook, how difficult is it to do the bearings? I am fairly mechanically inclined but only have experience with light maintenance/repair such as changing oil,plugs,alternator,starter etc...With a repair manual and the right tools, I normally feel pretty confident about my ability. I called to recheck the availability of the Forester before going out to see it and it had just been sold. I plan to keep looking for another one or something similar. I just saw an ad for what looks like a cherry 98 Outback. 102K mi, leather, good tires and a fresh mechanical overhaul. Maybe worth checking out but it would take some convincing, the wife wants something newer.

Hello all! I am new to this forum. I bought a 91 Legacy, front wheel drive version, about 9 years ago. It has been a good car but needs to be retired. I am now looking at a 2001 Forester with 62,000 miles. In doing my research, I came across many owner reviews of complaints about the wheel bearings. I realize that the person who is upset about a problem is more likely to add their review so the frequency that I see it may not be an accurate representation. Nevertheless, it worries me. Some posted having to change all bearings multiple times in the first 50-60k miles! Is there now a more permanent fix to this problem or do these people just have bad mechanics? Also, any advice on what to look for when I test drive this Forester is much appreciated. It is an L, manual tranny.