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Rave About Your Rack Please do not post retail SPAM.

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Subaru Outback & Forester


manacubus

13-Feb-2008
12:13:22 PM

And pass other cars and trucks at top-speed! Sadly, you have to pull in for more fuel every 12 minutes.


BundyBear

13-Feb-2008
5:09:19 PM

On 13/02/2008 manacubus wrote:
>And pass other cars and trucks at top-speed! Sadly, you have to pull in
>for more fuel every 12 minutes.

LOL. That sounds like our story on a trip to Araps. We had my GT - 4 dudes - and a trailer of gear. Did some miscalculations on the kms per tank - but we got lucky..

Anyway my GT has been perfect and has not any issues - its done just over 200,000 kms. Maybe is time for an upgrade. Anyone interested ??


Rich

14-Feb-2008
11:54:01 PM

Thanks for all your tips there Christian (and Lee), I'm a lil more enthused by the thought of a $600 insurance bill but I'm not sure I'm rating 1 cos I've been jumping around insurers. We'll see. I'm def keen in having a spin Christian to see what it's like, I forgot tonight as my stomach was moaning about pizza (and beer).

Also I've been checking out all the driver of the XTs lately and have been noticing that YES there are heaps regular drivers just grabbing the top end model. Sounds like its definitely worthwhile investigating lots of models to choose the non-hoon driver.


nmonteith

15-Feb-2008
9:20:25 AM

The variation in insurance prices might be the difference between safe suburban Brisbane (Lee) and ice-gangland-central Melbourne (Christian).


Rich

15-Feb-2008
11:09:53 AM

On 15/02/2008 nmonteith wrote:
>The variation in insurance prices might be the difference between safe
>suburban Brisbane (Lee) and ice-gangland-central Melbourne (Christian).

And so the cost for living in hicksville Ringwood (me) the cost with AAMI is $826.. that's on a 03 XT with an extra $250 excess (total 750). Not too bad. Can make it less for higher excess too. Must be all gangsta-style living you're doing Christian. Or maybe you accidentally told them about some extra boost? ;)

Wollemi

28-Sep-2008
8:51:19 PM

On 8/02/2008 MichaelOR wrote:
it is longer than the Impressa based Forrester. Outback has bigger
>boot space when you have more passengers on trips.
>The limitations are obvious - front overhang, in particular, limits creek
>crossings, driving over steep humps etc. The clearance is better than my
>old Subaru, but it's a soft-roader, not a 4WD. Deep soft sand (eg beach)
>is a problem due to clearance and wheel ruts. Gun it!
>
>Gets between 8 - 8.5 L/100km on climbing trips. Gets around 10.0 to 10.5
>around town. I use 98 Octane on trips and 91 around town - the 98 makes
>no difference around town in terms of economy. The 98 pays for itself easily
>on trips with improved economy.
>
>Get a Manual as they have dual range - and the lower range is useful.
>

I am in the market for a car, probably a Subie. What Michael said above about dual
range sounds good - BUT my prior car (Liberty) was a manual - and what a pain playing
with the clutch between first and second gear while crawling with traffic and multiple
traffic lights when I needed to drive into Sydney. I don't mind being in traffic - but to do
so almost dictates an automatic transmission. Thoughts?


Paulie

29-Sep-2008
3:14:03 PM

While I don't own one a Subie I can say with certainty that whatever you get, make sure it has roof rails as one day you'll be wanting to put roof racks on it! We have literally destroyed the roof of our new car through the use of those stupid clip on racks (the rubber pads ever so slightly move back and forth, quickly wearing away the paint) and now need a respray - next new car I get will have roof rails!!!

bones

29-Sep-2008
6:17:21 PM

I was trying to decide between a Outback and a Forester for a long time. In the end, I went with the Forester as I found I could get a much newer one with lower kilometers for the price (generally a 1999/2000 Outback seems to go for about the same price as a 2003/2004 Forester).


JamesMc

29-Sep-2008
7:06:37 PM

On 28/09/2008 Wollemi wrote:
> I don't mind being
>in traffic - but to do
>so almost dictates an automatic transmission. Thoughts?

If you're going to give serious consideration to fuel consumption then you should get a manual. That's why automatics are so rare in Europe. Don't assume that the price of petrol will stay under $2 for long.

JamesMc


Climboholic

6-Oct-2008
10:21:38 PM

I'm buying a car in the next couple of months and I've narrowed it down to the Forester or a Nissan X-trail. From what I've gathered from this thread the Forester is a reliable car but a bit expensive for parts and servicing.

What are peoples opinions of the X-trail?


JamesMc

6-Oct-2008
10:48:48 PM

On 29/09/2008 Paulie wrote:
>While I don't own one a Subie I can say with certainty that whatever you
>get, make sure it has roof rails as one day you'll be wanting to put roof
>racks on it! We have literally destroyed the roof of our new car through
>the use of those stupid clip on racks (the rubber pads ever so slightly
>move back and forth, quickly wearing away the paint) and now need a respray
>- next new car I get will have roof rails!!!

Hi Paulie,
I'm curious about your problem. I've recently purchased a set of rubber pad / door opening clip type roof rails for the Commodore. They've only been on a couple of trips, but there's absolutely no visible damage.

How much driving did you do with yours to create the problem? Did you remove them when not in use? Did you make sure they were really tight?

Cheers

JamesMc

7-Oct-2008
10:07:06 AM

dunno about X-trail but can add a bit about the forester - I'm on my 2nd one, definitely reliable.

parts are exxie - if a $50 clutch plate wears out you have to replace the whole unit for $2000-odd.

servicing is not exxie if you don't use a "Subaru Centre" or whatever they're called. certain other mechanics can do your service way cheaper and it doesn't void your warranty.

if you have to make a warranty claim you can expect the "Subaru Centre" to be a complete pack of $%&@&


cruxmag

7-Oct-2008
11:04:18 AM

On 29/09/2008 JamesMc wrote:
>If you're going to give serious consideration to fuel consumption then
>you should get a manual. That's why automatics are so rare in Europe.

Although modern dual clutch auto gearboxes (VW) are actually more fuel efficient than manuals.

Wollemi

10-Nov-2008
7:45:23 PM

I bought a 1996 Liberty several weeks ago. This thread was very reassuring - thanks all.
Made sure it had roof racks Paulie, and have done a lot of kayaking, well, rolling
practice after work at least. And my frequency of climbing has gone up.

Bit of an issue at the mo; lost my keys with the only immobiliser (seperate unit to the
key). A few days ago - at home... I suspect my father has some dementia - perhaps he
moved them when I stepped into the house to answer the phone.

Subaru want me to get it towed to the dealer in Penrith. Then it is $99 service fee and
$280 per immobiliser. Can you guys assist? Cycling has its limitations.


Li

11-Nov-2008
7:38:06 AM

My 2 cents worth - I used to own a Subaru Forester GT turbo (ex police car) and I loved it! I used to drive up to our property at Jamieson every couple of weekends and it handled really well on the corners...and lots of power when needed. Never slept in the back of it though so can't comment on that. There wasn't a great deal of room in the back seat for adult passengers but that was ok.

Would I buy another one again? Absolutely!

Service was a little more expensive, but then so is my Peugeot which I now own. I will definitely consider going back to a Subaru when I'm ready to get rid of my Peugeot.

Cheers


GravityHound

11-Nov-2008
8:57:23 AM

when i bought my 01 Liberty there was only 1 key. it cost $360 for a replacement so no surprises with the cost.

the biggest problem i see is that they need the car to program the chip in the key so thats why the tow to penrith. they program it and then it needs to be cut or in your case prob a new barrel.

its tough but i dont think you have a choice. if there is another option (other than torching it and claiming the insurance) i would be interested to know


IdratherbeclimbingM9

11-Nov-2008
3:37:18 PM

I found a key of that type in knee deep water at a boat launching ramp once ...
Well drowned it was.
Never did find the owner.


Rat Man

11-Nov-2008
7:09:57 PM

Wollemi,
Please note that there is a difference between the Imobiliser and the central locking activator.

My best friend ( 99 GT Foz) lost his spare keys in a house fire, He took the remaining key to MinitMen (the shopping mall key cutters) and they cut him a new one and programmed the on-key imobiliser. I think the whole thing cost him about $100. (I cant ask him the exact price as he's OS at the moment).

If you mean the central locking remote fob then I guess Subaru is the place, Sorry
Christian

fuseislit

19-Nov-2008
7:00:10 PM

Does anyone else have a problem of the tail lights on their Outback filling up with water every time it rains?

MichaelOR

20-Nov-2008
2:13:01 PM

You may mean the plastic 'lights bit' that runs across the middle of the tailgate. This so called 'garnish' in the tailgate fills up with water if it is cracked or the seals are broken/worn/incorrectly fitted. I had this problem after a repair job when some one rear-ended the Outback a few years ago. Water also leaked/ran out of the tailgate into the boot area when the tail gate was opened.
The seals just needed to to be fixed ..... and the problem was solved. It's amazing how much water came out though. Incidentally the garnish costs a fortune to replace if it is broken.
Michael

There are 63 messages in this topic.