3rd Dec 2010, 18:37

We had one wheel bearing replaced and it was $330... big deal, the vehicle is 11 years old now and we take it on super long vacations every summer, so don't worry. This vehicle is like no other in the snow as well! I know; we live in Saskatchewan... enough said! Solid vehicle!!

18th Jun 2011, 01:44

I'm surprised to see so many people complaining. I've had a few repairs needed in my Forester, but none of them turned out to be all that serious.

Today was a sad day. I had to take one last long drive in my 99 Forester. The postman (woman) up here in the Calif mountains has talked me into selling it to her. 170k miles, and the only thing done to it was to adjust the valves. I swear I got it from a guy who didn't know you have to adjust the non-hydraulic lifters every 100k or so. He didn't do it... it began to run on 3 cyl and his "trusted shop" said it was a bad engine. (Another "lemon"?!!! Or another "lying shop"?!!!)

I got it cheap... really cheap... and after a 75 dollar fix, it has proven to be one of the most reliable and one of the most fun to drive cars I've ever owned. And I've owned about 175 cars since I was 16 years old.

The automatic transmission is a wonderful piece of work, and as much as I love stick shifts, this automatic gives me a smile on my face every time I drive it.

My last drive today was a 250 mile mini trip down the hill (from 7,000 ft to almost sea level and back again). While down in the flats, I loaded it up with gardening supplies and 9 big bags of heavy potting soil and seeds, and 8 full flats of flowers and a bunch of other things. Must have been 1,200 lbs of stuff, and the darned Forester just flew back up the mountain! On the drive down, I couldn't help comparing it to my "new" SVX that I picked up last month. The SVX is great and very fast, but I swear the Forester is amazingly similar in "feel".

The only thing missing is the high speed 'follow thru'. The Forester seems to run out of steam at about 85 or 90. The SVX is just getting its second wind at that point and is ready to fly up to 135mph without a second thought. But the darned Forester is soooo much more practical!! It can fit most everything no problem.

As good as a mini van (almost) when it comes to hauling things. Plenty of room!

I can't help laughing every time I hear a reviewer condemning the Forester as not being a serious off road machine. I don't know how some reviewers drive when off the pavement, but this darned Forester goes everywhere the big bad Jeeps around here go, and it does it with a "spunky" feel that is truly fun, and best of all, it is reliable. And this one has a tiny "piston slap" that some owners think is a big design flaw. 3 minutes after starting each morning, the noise is gone for the rest of the day, and it's been this way for the last 75k miles, it never changes.

My point: Way too many people get taken for a ride by lying shops, when most of the time Forester problems are minor and easily fixed. And fixed for cheap too (usually).

Can't believe I'm selling this thing, I better find another "broken one" pretty soon. It never costs me more than 2 or 300 dollars to fix them up, and I swear everyone I've ever fixed is still running around, even at 150-250k miles, and they still feel solid. The suspension is tight, even at 175 k. Granted, I put new rotors and tires on this one last year, and I swear it still feels the same as my friend's nearly new one that has only 65k miles.

After today's 250 mile drive, I'm afraid I will miss this Forester a lot more than I thought I would. I can't believe I agreed to sell the darned thing.