looking at a forester xt
Discussion
It's worth shelling out on an LPG conversion. It cost £1270 to do my WRX Impreza last April and I've done over 20,000LPG miles since then. LPG is ~70p/litre and I'm pedantic enough to have recorded fuel use and mileage and am getting 24.53mpg.
The conversion will pay for itself in a year and won't detract from the value or depreciate like other mods. Don't believe me, look at the price of LPG-converted cars on the Autotrader site and compare them to similar petrol-only cars. BTW, you'll keep the petrol bits; the car becomes dual-fuel; it'll start up on petrol and it'll swith automatically to LPG once warmed up. You also get a discount on VED.
I've had 2 Foresters from new (an 00 and a 03XT) and covered 130,000 between them with nothing more than regular servicing. TBH Mrs Taxpayer would rather I bought a Forester.
The conversion will pay for itself in a year and won't detract from the value or depreciate like other mods. Don't believe me, look at the price of LPG-converted cars on the Autotrader site and compare them to similar petrol-only cars. BTW, you'll keep the petrol bits; the car becomes dual-fuel; it'll start up on petrol and it'll swith automatically to LPG once warmed up. You also get a discount on VED.
I've had 2 Foresters from new (an 00 and a 03XT) and covered 130,000 between them with nothing more than regular servicing. TBH Mrs Taxpayer would rather I bought a Forester.
Ved said:
Safe to say I will never sell mine. Try the Forester Owners club in the European section.
I feel the same way about mine, too. 2005 plate, 2.5 XTe, had it for 18 months. It'll be paid off in January and I plan to run it for a long time.Sometimes wish it was an STi, but other than that, I'm happy. Tend to avoid the subject of fuel consumption, but I cycle to work now so it's all good.
The sleeper status is amazing. I never saw the appeal of a wolf in sheep's clothing before, but upsetting drivers of more expensive metal is addictive. They simply don't expect this wardrobe on wheels to do what it does.
Also, it's a utilitarian car. It stinks of dog, it's covered in scratches and supermarket dings, and I think it's been washed once since I got it. Adds to the charm.
Picked up a 55 plate XTen earlier this year & love it to bits; it's cost me a few quid (replaced the saggy rear air suspension with springs, new clutch & flywheel, oil & filters, 4 new tyres to replace the 8 year old original but legal Geolanders still on it) but now it's running beautifully.
Like others have said I'm going to run it as the family shed until it dies, although as it's done 76k & I only do around 7k a year, it should be with me for a long, long time.
My favourite thing is seeing the looks on the faces of drivers of diesel repmobiles who get up my arse expecting me to move over, as I drop a gear & disappear into the distance: XTs are possibly the ultimate Sleeper cars.
hadenough! said:
On the look out for one of these if anyone's looking at getting rid?
Sorry, just another seriously happy 2.5 XT owner not about to sell.100k miles on the clock and still love the sleeper value everyday. I dont think there's a 3 series in Essex that hasn't had a shock when trying to lose me on an on-slip to the A12
Here's mine with the Prodrive exhaust fitted 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZQzm6bvqns&li...
Much deeper now it's been on a few months.
For giggles here it is without any muffler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlIoXdyv9Rs&li...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZQzm6bvqns&li...
Much deeper now it's been on a few months.
For giggles here it is without any muffler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlIoXdyv9Rs&li...
hadenough! said:
On the look out for one of these if anyone's looking at getting rid?
I wonder if there's a market for importing them from Australia. Shedloads for sale, all rust-free (or should be), RHD, and many would cover less than 10,000miles/year. Only problem is that 03-05 models are going for AU$7-10k and the revised 05-07 models are AU$11k and up, more if you want leather and the huge sunroof. But if it was to keep, then maybe that's not so much of a problem.Anyway, have a look on www.carsales.com.au for more of a view. But really, they are like sh!t in a field over here.
rouge59 said:
My favourite thing is seeing the looks on the faces of drivers of diesel repmobiles who get up my arse expecting me to move over, as I drop a gear & disappear into the distance: XTs are possibly the ultimate Sleeper cars.
Same. If they're particularly close, then I'll sometimes stick an arm out the window and gesture for them to overtake, as I move to the left lane and floor it.
I'm such a dick...
corvus said:
What did you use and how has it affected the ride and handling? The same or different? Mine shows no sign of sagging - yet.
I think they're KYB springs; I just went off my Subaru indys recommendation as he knows these cars inside out.The ride's pretty good now & a great improvement on the saggy air suspension.
Sorry for the thread resurrection but I'm thinking I would quite like a Forester with the 2.5 engine -
I'm considering anything from shed money up to around the £2.5k mark.
I already have a 20 year old Alfa, slowly draining my bank balance so I want something I can enjoy rather than spend time fixing.
The 2 cars below are both on my ebay watch list - both have covered 100,000 + miles. Having digested all the good advice in this and other threads, I have a question about these cars pictured.
Is it possible to tell from the pic alone, if the SLS is knackered? Both of the cars pictured look a little low at the back, compared with the front of the car. Even if the rear suspension is failing, does this happen over time (years)? Or is it an urgent problem?
Not sure I will bid on/view the cars in question - one ends soon - but I would be interested for future reference.
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/Oii1LkVg.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/JWkaRVPv" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/JWkaRVPv.jpg)
I'm considering anything from shed money up to around the £2.5k mark.
I already have a 20 year old Alfa, slowly draining my bank balance so I want something I can enjoy rather than spend time fixing.
The 2 cars below are both on my ebay watch list - both have covered 100,000 + miles. Having digested all the good advice in this and other threads, I have a question about these cars pictured.
Is it possible to tell from the pic alone, if the SLS is knackered? Both of the cars pictured look a little low at the back, compared with the front of the car. Even if the rear suspension is failing, does this happen over time (years)? Or is it an urgent problem?
Not sure I will bid on/view the cars in question - one ends soon - but I would be interested for future reference.
Edited by andy118run on Saturday 15th April 22:37
Ved said:
SLS looks bust to me, yes. Mine's on 155k now and has zero issues with the suspension or anything else but it's not an uncommon issue. Budget £600 and get some Pedders replacements all around.
I'd get the facelift one personally.
Thanks for that. All I needed to know really, that my eyes were not deceiving me with regard to the SLS.I'd get the facelift one personally.
Sagging sls is a great bargaining point and an easy fix with the Pedders kit http://www.pedders.co.uk/subaru-forester-sg-pedder... .
Alternatively you could lower it by fitting WRX wagon suspension and uprated shocks.![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/BPejlkMO.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/nDLdxEHU" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/nDLdxEHU.jpg)
Alternatively you could lower it by fitting WRX wagon suspension and uprated shocks.
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