During the summer of 2008, after hitting 200,000+ miles the a/c went out on the Impreza. We made the difficult decision not to make the rather costly repair and instead get another car, something that actually was a bit more useful than a sedan. With two dogs we liked to take with us on vacations, we agreed a wagon would be better for our needs. Tina hates SUVs but we both like wagons. So we looked at what few offerings still existed. The Focus was poorly made, IMO. VWs were too unreliable. Ditto Audis. BMWs were pricey. We kind of liked Saabs, but I was frankly afraid of them having worked at the dealer back in the late 80s-early 90s. We certainly were pleased with our Impreza and the awd was a wonderful bonus. Problem was, the Impreza wagon was simply too small in the back for the dogs. Tina didn't think much of the Legacy (too plain). She did, however, like the Forester. Which, I must point out, is technically recognized by the Feds as an SUV. Honestly, that's absurd. It's a tall Impreza. Most everything other than the body above the floorpan is the same, and it has a taller suspension for more ground clearance. Otherwise, same thing we've been driving. Mostly.
A brief primer on Foresters
SF 1998-2002 SG 2003-2008
SH 2009--->
The SF and SG Foresters are based on the Impreza platform. While there are differences in suspension, body etc they are very similiar. The SH is built on the Legacy platform and is a much different vehicle both in components and feel. For ourselves, we vastly prefer the earlier boxy models over the bigger, softer SH. It seems most folks prefer one or the other, but rarely like both. I'm not going to elaborate on the trim levels, changes, etc. If you want to learn all that, I'll refer you to the excellent web site put together by Joe Spitz.
My personal favorite is the SG, but our budget restricted us to the SF. The 1998-2000 Forester was given the Phase 1 dohc (4 cam) engine. Where the 2.2 was bulletproof, the dohc 2.5 was not. It is notorious for head gasket failures, which is not a small repair on the boxer engine (two heads = two HG's). The Phase 2 sohc 2.5 came to the Forester in 2001 and was much improved, though sadly does still exhibit HG failures, though in a less catastrophic way. This link will take you to a good explanation of the differences between the two engines and their issues. So what does all this mean? Should these cars be avoided?
No. The HG problem is generally fixable. And, at this point in these cars' lives, many have already been resealed. This is one of those cases where past service history is very important. Buy a car with records that confirm HG replacement or budget the cost up front to have it done and roll the dice. The other option, of course, is you can do it yourself and this link will give you the step-by-step instructions on getting it done should you choose this path.
Other cautions to be aware of are leaky seals (cams, crank) and timing belts (replace every 90,000 miles or risk breakage and a engineful of bent valves). If you need head gaskets you should plan on a complete engine reseal (engine removed), timing belt, tensioners, water pump and clutch if necessary. At the time of this writing (2009) my local independent Subaru only shop charges about $1500 for this (less clutch). Once this is done, however, you are ready for another 100,000+ miles. These cars can and do go 300,000 with few other problems.
The Foz we settled on was a 2002 L model, 5 speed, 107,000 miles with no service history. It was a scratch & dent one owner car with a clean Carfax. The scratches and dings, while disappointing, save us from later depression since Tina parks in a public lot every day and these damages are inevitable. We bought it from a used car lot/garage that performed the timing belt and front engine seals along with other maintenance but did not do the HG's which weren't leaking. As we had no service history on it, and it being priced $1500-$2000 less than similar cars we had looked at, we decided to take the risk.
Well, it went 8 months before the oil started dripping onto the driver's side motor mount and my driveway. Lost that bet.
The upside of having the HG's done and the engine removed was that we got the clutch replaced for pretty much only the cost of the parts. Turns out it was probably a year from being worn out. 100k is pretty standard for clutches, so again, not really upsetting. Aside from fixing the non-functional clock (very common, and easily repaired), we are otherwise off to a good start.
Modifications to the non-turbo Forester usually focus on the suspension, which we will address. The stock engine puts out about 165 hp, which is pretty decent. To gain hp you're going to have to spend some serious money on headers, exhaust, and cams. While this can net improvement, in my opinion if you want more power this is not a cost effective way to get it. You would be far wiser to simply buy the FXT model with the turbo (same rule applies for adding a turbo setup to a non-turbo Foz...too expensive). Mufflers and cold air intakes may make more noise, but 99% of the time simply are not going to gain you much if any tangible improvement. Our goal for the Foz is to make it look better, handle better, and sound a little meaner. Other than that, it is a good car as-is for our needs.
