[shapey]

hello!

first time poster - i've just purchased an '06 forester 2.0n/a XE

thought i might turn this thread into a journal.

oct 2020

• car purchased (103k miles, dealer supplied with service including oil, filter, coolant, new d/s window motor)
• new floor mats
• changed alarm code
• replaced old style remote fobs with a pair of flip keys
• replaced rear cup holder
• fitted roof bars link
• maguier's leather treatment to interior link
• replaced pollen filter link
• fitted rear load liner
• vinyl wrapped C pillars link

to do list - mechanical / electrical

• rear o/s window switch
• investigate flat spot in rev range 2500 - 3500k - (seems intermittent, no codes on OBD scan)
• head unit - fitted 11/11/2020 link
• android satnav in factory dash pod - nov 2020 link
• speakers + sub
• rear screen wash not working

to do list - cosmetic

• window tints
• repair small tear in rear seat
• plastidip front grille
• more vinyl wrapping of various bits
• deep clean engine bay
• restore headlights
• wheels???
• roof basket???

 

[Kean]

We had WeatherTech mats in my wife's '08 for 12 years. The OEM all weather mats in her 2020 Forester don't have the same coverage in regard to side walls but they are more supple and fit really well.

.....but yeah, I'd buy another set of WeatherTechs for the new car if it wasn't for those OEMs.

Btw, if you're just looking for carpeted mats, have you looked into the Subaru options? The rear cargo mat from Subaru (also had that in her '08) held up really well and had walls on it to hold liquids if they spilled, etc.

 

[TMX]

I have these 2 in my 2005 Forester and very happy with them.

Might be worth trying your local dealer to see if they can get them?

Deep Try Deep Cargo Tray

Front Rubber mats Mat Rubber - Front<br>

For tan interior with softer mats, there's a choice of these:

Carpet Mat Set - Standard (Beige) <br>

Carpet Mat Set - Premium (Beige) <br>

Source: IMGGB Subaru Accessories

 

[Suba-Lou]

I was going to suggest checking with your local dealer or Weather Tech, but Kean & TMX beat me to it.

 

[shapey]

cheers for the replies, good to see such an active forum.
perhaps I should have specified that I'm in the UK, looks like a few of these options aren't available here unfortunately!

 

[Kean]

Weathertech distributes to 84 different companies through various distributors.

 

[shapey]

I have these 2 in my 2005 Forester and very happy with them.

Might be worth trying your local dealer to see if they can get them?

Deep Try Deep Cargo Tray

Front Rubber mats Mat Rubber - Front<br>

For tan interior with softer mats, there's a choice of these:

Carpet Mat Set - Standard (Beige) <br>

Carpet Mat Set - Premium (Beige) <br>

Source: IMGGB Subaru Accessories

great link, thanks!
it didn't occur to me to contact the Subaru dealerI, I'llgive them a shout!

 

[Scratch]

I got my mats custom made in the colours I wanted (black mats with silver stitching and silver logo), there are lots of places I am sure that do this, but I used my local subaru specialist who do almost all the work for me on my subarus, Scoobyworld in loughborough.

 

[shapey]

I got my mats custom made in the colours I wanted (black mats with silver stitching and silver logo), there are lots of places I am sure that do this, but I used my local subaru specialist who do almost all the work for me on my subarus, Scoobyworld in loughborough.

as luck would have it, that's quite local to me. I did have a look on their site but it mainly seems to be Impreza focused.
good to hear scooby world come recommended, I'll give them a shout.
have you ever used unity in Leicester? they're the closest main dealer I believe?
cheers!

 

[Scratch]

No never used Unity.
Yeah, they can make forester ones as well, they did for me. Been using Scoobyworld for +10 years.
Just give them a call.

 

[Ianb1234]

EDIT: Oh... You said "nice mats"... Mine are nice for the price..


As I'm always in a state of semi poverty I went down the cheap eBay option.

firststopwholesale on eBay

firststopwholesale has been an eBay member since 10-Aug-06 and has 99.7% positive Feedback. Check out firststopwholesale's full profile.

ebay.co.uk

I got the Foz ones from this isseller (I can see them but can't load the actual advert for some reason??) I paid £21.00 for full set - they've gone up a few quid. But be warned, they absolutely reeked for ages when I got them, some seriously unpleasant smell from them. I actually left them outside for 4-5 days and the smell went a little after that.

Also got a boot liner from this seller:

carbodydesign_eu on eBay

carbodydesign_eu has been an eBay member since 29-Apr-10 and has 99.3% positive Feedback. Check out carbodydesign_eu's full profile.

ebay.co.uk

Cheap and cheerful, it's proved pretty durable, protected boot from doggos. I'm sure there are better products available, but that's suited me no probs.

 

[shapey]

EDIT: Oh... You said "nice mats"... Mine are nice for the price..


As I'm always in a state of semi poverty I went down the cheap eBay option.

firststopwholesale on eBay

firststopwholesale has been an eBay member since 10-Aug-06 and has 99.7% positive Feedback. Check out firststopwholesale's full profile.

ebay.co.uk

I got the Foz ones from this isseller (I can see them but can't load the actual advert for some reason??) I paid £21.00 for full set - they've gone up a few quid. But be warned, they absolutely reeked for ages when I got them, some seriously unpleasant smell from them. I actually left them outside for 4-5 days and the smell went a little after that.

Also got a boot liner from this seller:

carbodydesign_eu on eBay

carbodydesign_eu has been an eBay member since 29-Apr-10 and has 99.3% positive Feedback. Check out carbodydesign_eu's full profile.

ebay.co.uk

Cheap and cheerful, it's proved pretty durable, protected boot from doggos. I'm sure there are better products available, but that's suited me no probs.

cheers. I'll have a look at the link for the boot protector. was the fit ok?

what did the mats stink of?

 

[Ianb1234]

No probs. The mats had some sort of toxic smelling rubbery stink to them, it went away after airing them in the sun for a bit though, but wasn't nice!

Boot liner fits great. I'll take a couple snaps of mats and liner today.

 

[shapey]

No probs. The mats had some sort of toxic smelling rubbery stink to them, it went away after airing them in the sun for a bit though, but wasn't nice!

Boot liner fits great. I'll take a couple snaps of mats and liner today.

cool. i've gone ahead and ordered some "mid-range" mats, black with beige trim. not mega money but hopefully they'll do the job.
deffo want to get a boot liner as well - i'm guessing the liner will impede the access to the underfloor storage, but i probably won't be accessing those too much anyway.

next up is to start thinking about a head unit (plus speaker and sub) upgrade - possibly android auto but failing that, something with bluetooth and aux in. i'd also quite like the ability to play cds as well... i guess that's another thread though!

 

[Ianb1234]

Hey bud, sorry I forgot to take photos the other day!

It does indeed restrict access to the storage, but hopefully as seen in pics it's v flexible to move out the way.

I've never had any issues getting to the small pockets. When I had to change a flat, I just took the whole liner out for ease.

Despite being quite flexible it does seem quite tough on the surface. I've had dogs in the back since day one and there are no holes.

One thing to consider, because it's plastic it doesn't have the greatest surface grip, so objects can slide. They did provide a sort of super grippy piece of material, which works, but for the dogs I put some left over carpet tiles over that material, then I can chuck a bed in there for them and they're good.

 

[shapey]

cool. cheers for going to the trouble of taking pics! appreciate it!
that looks just the job i reckon. no muddy dogs going in mine, just muddy kids! (well, muddy kids footwear etc. anyway!)

car should be arriving tomorrow 🤞🤞 will take some pics when it arrives and do a proper new members intro post.

 

[Ianb1234]

No problem at all, I'm pleased to offer what little help I can/knowledge I have. The forum is full of a lot of really helpful and really knowledgeable folk. Any problems and someone is sure to point you in the right direction!

 

[Lockheed]

No never used Unity.
Yeah, they can make forester ones as well, they did for me. Been using Scoobyworld for +10 years.
Just give them a call.

You know the drill, pics or ....... its not true 🤪

 

[shapey]

well the forester arrived yesterday after having a bit of back and forth with the dealer over a badly aligned front window after a regulator swap.
dead pleased with the car, it's super clean considering the age. a couple of bits to sort on it to be expected.
1. the remote keys seem to be a bit temperamental, the buttons have to be pressed quite hard to unlock the car (single button keys)
2. boot handle has to be manually pushed forwards in order for the latch to engage. I assume this is meant to spring back on its own?
3. rear cup holders are broken - new unit sourced already
4. cd player doesn't like to load CDs. I'll probably swap out the stereo anyway for something with Bluetooth / android auto / dab, but it will have to wait a few weeks.
it would be good to get this sorted if possible in the mean time otherwise radio 2 it is!

other things I want to do are:
give the carpets a good clean (mats haven't arrived yet)
fit roof bars (already ordered)
tints on the rear windows
upgrade speakers
possibly fit a towbar to allow for a rear bike rack

 

[blastertrev]

If the remote key needs a long push or doesn't work from at least 10m, then likely it needs a new battery - they don't last forever by any means. If it's intermittent with a new battery then it may have got dirt etc. into the switches.