Subaru forester?

kmm2150 · February 2014

we are looking at one of these to replace my beloved, 12 year old, beetle - I love that car but it is not fun with a carseat. Just interested to hear if people like it, wish they'd bought something else, as well as what trim level/features/add-ons you liked.

I'd also appreciate any info on if you were able to talk them down on price significantly, etc.

jorkz821 · February 2014

We have a 2011 forester xt. I love it, except that it needs premium gas. We also tested the non turbo version and this one is way more sporty/peppy/whatever. Not sure if that's something you care about. I could do without the sunroof as I rarely use it but all the other features are nice. I do wish the turbo had come in a stick shift though.

Sometimes I think it might have been nice to get the outback instead as it has a bit more room but overall I love it. Currently fits 2 RF car seats no problem and both h and I are tall. The dogs ride in the back (like trunk area).

And sadly no there wasn't much room to negotiate on the price. I think they're already competitively priced and it's a bit of a niche market. And it's also verrrry hard to find a used one with less than a million miles on it, so I think that speaks to the long term satisfaction of Subaru owners.

Tl;dr summary: I love my forester except for the premium gas.

Ratpasta · February 2014

I have heard lots of good things about them from owners. Subaru seems to have really good loyalty from customers and they seem to hold up pretty well.
Because they have boxer motors and all wheel drive people love them for places where it snows a lot or they encounter a lot of dirt.
As far as buying one, always remember that the only way a salesman can make any money is by screwing you, so just bypass them. Find a dealership you like and go on their website and email the Fleet Manager. Ask him to email you the invoice for the car you want and compare that to the sticker. Usually the invoice is a few thousand below sticker and remember, stick is MSRP (MANUFACTURER SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE) invoice is going to be closer to cost. A lot of the time they will accept the invoice price - they still make a little on the car and its off the lot. They hate having cars stay on the lot.
Fleet Managers get incentives to move cars, so you can basically tell them in the email what you're willing to pay and they can say yes or no.
Hope you find something that you love @kmm2150! There is nothing like driving a car every day that you love.

theseaword · February 2014

I had an older one (2004) until recently. I really liked it and probably would have bought another, but I got a better deal on a CRV.

kmm2150 · February 2014

Thanks for all the feedback and tips!! I'm very sad to see my happy little car go, but I'm excited to get a grown up car!

lrn327 · February 2014

We just bought one! We bought an 2014 Premium which is step 2 out the 6 I think trim lines? It has some of the nice stuff but not leather. My brother just bought the same but the Limited which has the leather. With a kiddo I sort of wish we'd bought that one, but it was quite a bit more expensive. Besides, carseat installs rear-facing can be a bit of a PIA depending on what seat you have. With leather I don't think we ever could have gotten it in there. We have a Diono Radian and they're not easy to install to begin with. Forward-facing carseats are supposed to be waaaay easier though. DH actually drives it but he LOVES it. We had a Honda CRV before and we both loved that, but this is even better. Very secure handling and feels extremely solid. The 2014 got top marks in safety too, above anything in it's class, so this is why we went with it. We bought through the Costco program so did get several thousand off the internet listed price. My brother had another dealer match the Costco price with no problem.

Mrs.adambabycakes · February 2014

Don't put rear-facing seats in if you are tall. It will not be comfortable.

jorkz821 · February 2014

Mrs.adambabycakes said:
Don't put rear-facing seats in if you are tall. It will not be comfortable.

Really? Tall like 6'6 or something? We have 2 RF seats there now. I'm 5'11 and h is just over 6' - lots of room still.

There is more room in the outback though.

Mrs.adambabycakes · February 2014

DH is 6' and his knees get crunched in the passenger seat.

lrn327 · February 2014

Certainly depends on what RFing seat you have. Some take up waaaay more room front to back than others. The easiest way is to take your carseat to the dealership and see how it installs. We did it.

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Subaru forester?

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