So, I've been a member of this board for 8 months and I'm finally making an introductory post. And it's to announce that I'm not going to be buying a Forester.
I've been looking for the perfect Forester XT to replace my Xterra for the better part of a year, getting more and more frustrated with the lack of affordable, decent condition FXT's in this area. And of course on the few occasions when a good one came up for sale, it would get snatched up before I even had a chance to look at it. I saw a WRB with low miles going for $16k in Caldwell, ID sell in three days flat.
During this time, the realization started to slowly sink in, that a Turbo charged car just really wasn't right for me as a daily driver. We're a one vehicle family, I drive upwards of 22k miles a year, and my workplace is not really accessible via public transportation. So I need something reliable. Also the reality that having to run premium gas would almost negate the MPG savings versus the Xterra.
In a moment of weakness, I even briefly considered a RAV4 (in my defense the V6 ones are ridiculously fast,) but came to my senses.
So, I bought this instead:
2011 Outback Limited 3.6r
I had considered the Outback XT (same issues as the FXT though), 3.0 (still requires premium gas) heck I even thought about getting a Legacy GT and lifting it (others have tried, too much work). When I found out the 3.6 runs on 87 octane I was pretty much sold. Plus no timing belt to change, no turbo to possibly burn out. Just good old, wholesome, naturally-aspirated power :wink2:
Love it so far. Not as fast as an XT, but at least as fast as the Xterra. Should save me about $40-50 a month in gas. My insurance only went up a couple of bucks, despite the car being five years newer and worth more than twice as much.
I plan to continue using this board, if you folks don't mind. I've grown to like this board, plus I still have a paid membership (totally worth it, for less ADs). And Subaruoutback.org seems pretty informative, but doesn't seem as active or friendly, for whatever reason.
I've been looking for the perfect Forester XT to replace my Xterra for the better part of a year, getting more and more frustrated with the lack of affordable, decent condition FXT's in this area. And of course on the few occasions when a good one came up for sale, it would get snatched up before I even had a chance to look at it. I saw a WRB with low miles going for $16k in Caldwell, ID sell in three days flat.
During this time, the realization started to slowly sink in, that a Turbo charged car just really wasn't right for me as a daily driver. We're a one vehicle family, I drive upwards of 22k miles a year, and my workplace is not really accessible via public transportation. So I need something reliable. Also the reality that having to run premium gas would almost negate the MPG savings versus the Xterra.
In a moment of weakness, I even briefly considered a RAV4 (in my defense the V6 ones are ridiculously fast,) but came to my senses.
So, I bought this instead:
2011 Outback Limited 3.6r
I had considered the Outback XT (same issues as the FXT though), 3.0 (still requires premium gas) heck I even thought about getting a Legacy GT and lifting it (others have tried, too much work). When I found out the 3.6 runs on 87 octane I was pretty much sold. Plus no timing belt to change, no turbo to possibly burn out. Just good old, wholesome, naturally-aspirated power :wink2:
Love it so far. Not as fast as an XT, but at least as fast as the Xterra. Should save me about $40-50 a month in gas. My insurance only went up a couple of bucks, despite the car being five years newer and worth more than twice as much.
I plan to continue using this board, if you folks don't mind. I've grown to like this board, plus I still have a paid membership (totally worth it, for less ADs). And Subaruoutback.org seems pretty informative, but doesn't seem as active or friendly, for whatever reason.