Hey guys, I sold my Loyale a couple years ago when I left the country. Now that I'm back, I want to get an '04 or older (for price reasons) Forester. Any year that would be best?

 

I'm looking at an '02 with only 47,000 miles on it. Unfortunately, it's cosmetically in mediocre shape... large hole in driver's side front wheel well (how much to replace this before rust becomes a big problem?), rust spots on rear hatch (look like they are coming up through the paint (perhaps a leak in the window seals?), carpet under brake pedal worn to the floor board (no floormats), extremely dusty engine compartment and door hinges (owner lives on dirt road), and failed an emissions test in its history (through it seems to run well now and no CEL on). How much would it cost to make these repairs, and should I be willing to buy this Forester with low miles even though it seems to have experienced some neglect?

 

I'm also looking at an '01 with 109,000 miles. It's in great shape, recently changed timing belt and tune up, and a manual tranny (though my wife prefers an auto now that we have a baby). Both of these cars are the Forester L.

 

Any advice welcome.

Thanks,

Tim

"hole in fender", that sounds odd. rust is bad, but i can't tell if it's just surface or what without seeing it. might be rather benign.

 

hard to say what stuff will cost. need to know what exactly is being done and if you're doing the work or not.

 

the 109,000 mile one sounds better in my opinion. better taken care of an crucial maintenance done. it would be nice to know who did the timing belt job, if the water pump was also replaced, and if any idlers were replaced too.

 

Two significant issues in these cars are headgaskets and torque bind.

 

The headgaskets leak externally, so they should be easy to spot. Just look at the rear side of the engine. Also ask the owners, they may have already had them replaced. Subaru had an extended 100,000 mile head gasket warranty campaign for 2000-2002 EJ25's.

 

Torque bind can be felt by driving in tight circles, steering wheel turned to full lock, on a paved parking lot. Any sense of binding or slowing down, hoping, etc is indicative of torque bind.

 

Both of these are prominent issues with more information here and on your favorite search engine, do some reading if you're interested in learning more.

"carpet under brake pedal worn to the floor board"...............hard to imagine that much wear on an 02 with only 47K miles. You say lots of rust, dust and dirt? None of this sounds good. If it were me, I think I would pass on this Forester.

I would pass on the rust bucket.

I would get the other...only if nice and cheap!