I recently purchased my first Subaru. I got it thinking I would drive it through the winter then look around for my dream car, which is a truck. Anyway, I bought it from a friend, it's had a bunch of work done to it about 50k ago, head gasket, radiator, water pump, etc. Well, I just accepted a job in Alaska and I'm wondering, should I drive this thing up there in January.
So, how many of you have Foresters with over 215k on 'em, and what should I consider? I know about cars and regular maintenance and such. I'm not super familiar with the specifics of these cars.
If it's up to date on maintenance and hasn't given you any trouble otherwise, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to drive it up there. Just make sure it's winterized really well, get dedicated snow tires mounted, etc. Our '98 has almost 308k miles now and it still racks up ~500 miles every week.
I've a '99 Forester with 214k also.
I'd think this very good for Alaska.
Before heading up there I'd:
* check good tire condition and correct as needed,
* change the engine oil to appropriate viscosity
* if you haven't had the tranny fluid flushed during your ownership, I'd do that.
Due to a bad experience with local shop, I'd go to dealer; which is where I went after said local shop screwed up.
* Oh, yeah; check the radiator coolant freeze point ...
If not already installed, I would recommend a battery warmer and engine block heater--especially for those Alaskan nights! A dealer can install those.
I just returned from a trip to Iowa this week where temperatures were near 0 degrees and my Subaru started up just fine…even without the heating stuff plugged in. However, I use synthetic oil and the battery is still in good shape.
Thanks everyone: Yeah I plan to install a block heater, a new battery and to flush the radiator, change the oil and maybe install a new thermostat before heading out.
DMZ: 469k certainly gives me confidence. That's fantastic.
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