Faults:

Replaced the muffler because it got damaged by road debris.

There is no rust, and the leather seats have held up well.

Our 2002 Subaru Forester S has cost nothing to maintain beyond the normal stuff like tuneups, oil, tires.

My sister has the same car, but has 260,000 on hers. She is heavy on the brakes, drives in traffic all the time, steers hard and drives in bad weather often (Chicago). She has put a ton of money into hers; struts, ball joints, steering linkage, cats, plug wires, head gaskets, timing chain, and has replaced all the bearings and boots at least once. Driver's seat frame broken. Like anything else, it's going to cost you to drive hard. This is why it's hard to find a good used one.

General Comments:

You'll be able to drive the Forester for years, just don't abuse it.

Faults:

4 wheel alignment needed and an oxygen sensor.

General Comments:

This car is gorgeous, and can go anywhere through anything.

Faults:

Some rubber trimmings were coming off, some belts had to be changed.

General Comments:

Super comfy and quiet in town. Low gravity center makes for great handling. The XS is full equipped and looks great. It's hard to believe this car has 96000. Feels solid and firm when hitting bumps.

Motor isn't a high rev-er. It's got all the torque down there where it counts. 4WD isn't a luxury in Montreal where parking in winter resembles xtreme off road polar style. If you hate shoveling snow, get one of these. Had it for a while now, and intend to keep it a very long time..

Faults:

I got the car 'cheap' from a dealer, so I was a bit scared at first. Usually that's a bad sign.

And sure enough, the check engine light went on a few miles after leaving the dealer. It took me about 3 months to get used to the car, when I realized (after spending on a few O2 sensors and bringing it to the dealer again and again) that it was just the catalytic converter that was shot. That tripped the check engine light often. But I didn't live in a town where I had to have the cat functioning properly, so I drove it like that. It drove amazing.

In one year, I had to only bring it to the shop to have the thermostat replaced, when the old one popped overnight when temps in Colorado dropped to 2 degrees.

General Comments:

LOVED IT!

I'm the kinda guy who thought these were the dumbest and ugliest cars. But driving the Forester in the 4 Corners (CO, Utah, NM, and AZ) is the funnest thing you can do. I goes everywhere. Same with the old '93 Legacy I used to have.

Hey, as long as you DON'T buy a Subaru with a 2.5L engine, you're OK! The 2.5L often has head gasket challenges, like the '97 Outback I have now.

Faults:

I bought a 2002 Subaru Forester two weeks ago. My brother loves the cars and will own nothing else and so I was sold. I test drove them and loved them.

Day two of ownership the check engine light came on. I returned it to the dealer who serviced it and said that it was a gasket on the catalytic converter. Simple.

Two days later the check engine comes on again. This time they tell me that they can't really figure it out but that they think a cylinder is misfiring and give it a total tune up. I picked it up on Thursday. Saturday the check engine light comes on. Geesh!

I am feeling pretty stupid about buying this car and yet it was impeccably maintained. I know it's history and felt confident about purchasing it. So far all repairs are covered under warranty but that isn't the point. What a nuisance to keep taking it back and I have only owned it two weeks!