[fujisan]

Hi Everyone,

I bought my FXT from another member on this forum back in 2009, and it has been a fantastic 12 years since. Best car I ever owned and 3rd Subaru.

I am trying to figure out if I should keep the car for another 2-3 years or sell it. (Well, the truth is that the wife wants to sell it and use the funds to buy an outback Wilderness, but I can’t let go of my beloved Forester, and would prefer keeping it as a second car if the maintenance costs remain low).

1. Anyone who is familiar with older (10-15 years old) Forester would know if the maintenance costs will grow exponentially in the coming years (i.e. above ~$2k/year)? This car was really well taken care of, above the recommended maintenance requirements and schedule.
2. What typically gives or breaks during that period? The clutch was replaced last year and now the alternator died. I’m not very good with my hands and so I need to get a mechanic to do pretty much all repairs.
3. With the mods and condition the car is in, what could I expect to get for it? Dealer said they auction off trade in vehicles, so I would barely get $3k, and from what I have seen on this board the 08 XT Sports in good shape seem to go for around $10-12k.

Any thoughts/help appreciated.
Car info provided below.

Cheers!

96,000 miles
Location: Gatineau.QC / Ottawa, ON (Canada)

Exterior:
Front lip spoiler delete
2.5XT badge delete
Tint-35% Front, 15% Rear and Sunroof
STi hood scoop color matched
Garage XTI hood struts.

Interior
Fuji 5MT leather shift knob
Matching aluminum foot rest
Subaru Cargo mat, net
Belt chime off
Weathertech floormats

Engine/Exhaust:
Protune by Chris at Tonik Motorsports
STi intercooler
Subtle hood splitter
STi VF43
STi catback
Helix catted downpipe
Agency Power crank pulley
SPT turbo heatshield
Green engine air filter
German Castrol engine oil for all changes every 4 months
Block heater

Tranny/Diff:
Kartboy/Tic Supershifter kit
Kartboy chassis bushings

Suspension/Steering:
Swift Sport springs (Mann engineering)
Cobb front and rear 25mm sway bar kit
Kartboy front and rear aluminum endlinks
Whiteline rear link tab support
Whiteline steering bushings

Wheels/tires
2008 Forester STI sports wheels
Summer tires: Continental Extreme Contact 215-55-17 (2019)
Winter rims: Rota G-Force 17in gun metal
Winter tires: Nokian haka r3 215-55-17 (2020)

Brakes
Centric front/rear rotors
Hawk HPS front/rear pads
H6 rear rotor/caliper bracket/pad upgrade
Goodridge stainless steel lines

Additional Mods:
Fumoto valve
Rear Bumper cover
Rally Armor Mudflaps
Custom 2in hitch
3M clearbra

Maintenance
Koyo Radiator + Samco hoses (2013)
Thermostat Mishimoto (2014)
96k service (timing belt, tensionners, water pump)
driver side paint (keyed in 2016)
New bushings front sway bars (2019)
New top hats (2019)
New brake lines (F+R), driver door trim, fuel door lever (2019)
New downpipe catalytic converter (2019)
New rotors + brake pads (F+R)
Pulley (2020)
Power steering lines (2020)
Paint passenger side doors + F+R fenders
New fuel lines + fuel door lever (2020)
New clutch and oilpan (2020)
New struts F+R (2020)
New Hawk HPS brake pads (2021)
New Moog front ball joints (x2) (2021)
New OEM driveshaft (2021)
New OEM fuel filler neck (2021)


The Good
Stage 3 modifications = 300hp at the wheels
Very clean, well maintained, and cared for
158,000 km
Adult driver with 3 kids, driven on a track only 3 times as part of a driving course (BMW school) Calabogie, Mecaglisse (2010), and Mosport in 2011.
Never accidented, most serious mishap was being keyed, and that was fixed.
All service done per schedule or ahead of schedule, German castrol every 3-4 months
Imported from NY city in September 2009, when the car was 10 months old

The bad
Rust starting to form on rockers, wheel well, driver seat, door corners, and near fuel filler
some noticeable dents on the rear bumper above the muffler, rest is pretty good considering it's a 13 year old car: still has original 3M protection on hood, mirrors and driver side bottom pannels, passenger side painted in 2020 so 3M was removed.
rear wiper motor replaced twice, still needs a good clean every couple of months

 

[Mr.AC]

Well...
Your wife already made the decision. So........

Since you are asking the internet for advice here's my two cents.
Keep it.
Buy the new car.
Learn to fix it yourself. (given you have the room to work on it.)
Get ready for the head gasket repair job.

If you (have to) sell it.
Don't trade it in.
Wait it out, sell it to someone that would pay what you ask for.
Stock form sells better than a modded car.

 

[TMX]

Keep it, It has done all the depreciating it will do by this age. A brand new car will depreciate like a stone in water in comparison.

Get yourself a workshop manual and tackle the simpler jobs yourself to save money. If the head gaskets haven't been changed, that could very well be in your future but it's an opportunity to upgrade items along the way !

Rust would be my biggest concern in regards to what lurks underneath..........

 

[oMc]

This is the best looking Forester ever made. Keep it.

 

[Quadraria10]

Howdy neighbor. Nice Forester. I am curious who you have had service it over the years? Rust will be the killer and it would be good to have it inspected to see how much there actually is. I have no clue as to the value here, but I would take the 10 to 12K US evaluations with a grain of salt as they are usually in markets with very high demand for Subies and in areas where rust is not a consideration. I would keep it. The value will not really change in a couple of years unless the body disintegrates. Its not as if you need new tires or have a bunch of maintenance that you have put off.

 

[vintage42]

... Get ready for the head gasket repair job...

The XT does not have the head gasket problem of the NA. The XT block has a semi-closed deck, which braces the cylinder tops from movement against the gasket, and the head gasket is multi-layer steel.
The NA block has an open deck with unbraced cylinder tops, and the head gasket is single-layer composite.

 

[FozzyX3]

Speaking as a fellow SG owner ('05 170K mi), you are correct in your assessment of exponentially increasing maintenance costs. Since last November we've had to replace the timing belt (scheduled MX), the accelerator pedal and linkage (got the dreaded CEL/cruise light combo on that one) and more recently the entire shifter (4EAT) assembly. (cable, shift lever, the works) The stiff shifter was the result of corrosion. It was in the shop for nearly three weeks as the SOA warehouse had to get one part from Japan.

@fujisan As for your car, KEEP IT! We have a garden variety base model. You have one of the rarest of modern Subarus. FSXTs (manual or not) are hard enough to find and ones that are stock or tastefully modded like yours even more so. Selling it runs the risk of your car being modded to JDM wannabe oblivion.

 

[dra2120]

Take a look at prices for stick shift sg9 foresters on bring a trailer.com and then decide. Hint: (They all sell for close to $30K USD).

 

[fujisan]

Thanks everyone for the replies; all valuable perspectives/opinions! Much appreciated!
Keep them coming.

The XT does not have the head gasket problem of the NA. The XT block has a semi-closed deck, which braces the cylinder tops from movement against the gasket, and the head gasket is multi-layer steel.

Thanks for the reminder! I also forgot about that.

Howdy neighbor. Nice Forester. I am curious who you have had service it over the years?

Warren (Ottos Subaru/Tonik Motorsports) and over the last 2-3 years, Trevor at Capital Tuning.

Take a look at prices for stick shift sg9 foresters on bring a trailer.com and then decide. Hint: (They all sell for close to $30K USD).

😲Wow, some nice Foresters on there! I didn't know about BaT; thanks for sharing

 

[rattler]

Are you kiddding? Keep. Keep. Keeeeeeeeeep!!!!! Spend the $$$ it'll take to keep it going and be happy that you have a solid reliable car without a ton of useless gadgets that will fail at the drop of a hat. Keeeeeeeep!

 

[Natedog]

Keep it, my buddy Subi mechanic gets over 300k miles on his older hard use Foresters including plenty of towing and mountain roads! I've now got a 2015 (another buddy has 2017) and we both much prefer the 2010 and older, much better quality and less gadgets that break. BTW, beautiful XT you've got there!

 

[perniva1978]

Hi Everyone,

I bought my FXT from another member on this forum back in 2009, and it has been a fantastic 12 years since. Best car I ever owned and 3rd Subaru.

I am trying to figure out if I should keep the car for another 2-3 years or sell it. (Well, the truth is that the wife wants to sell it and use the funds to buy an outback Wilderness, but I can’t let go of my beloved Forester, and would prefer keeping it as a second car if the maintenance costs remain low).

1. Anyone who is familiar with older (10-15 years old) Forester would know if the maintenance costs will grow exponentially in the coming years (i.e. above ~$2k/year)? This car was really well taken care of, above the recommended maintenance requirements and schedule.
2. What typically gives or breaks during that period? The clutch was replaced last year and now the alternator died. I’m not very good with my hands and so I need to get a mechanic to do pretty much all repairs.
3. With the mods and condition the car is in, what could I expect to get for it? Dealer said they auction off trade in vehicles, so I would barely get $3k, and from what I have seen on this board the 08 XT Sports in good shape seem to go for around $10-12k.

Any thoughts/help appreciated.
Car info provided below.

Cheers!


View attachment 558238
View attachment 558239 View attachment 558240
View attachment 558241



96,000 miles
Location: Gatineau.QC / Ottawa, ON (Canada)

Exterior:
Front lip spoiler delete
2.5XT badge delete
Tint-35% Front, 15% Rear and Sunroof
STi hood scoop color matched
Garage XTI hood struts.

Interior
Fuji 5MT leather shift knob
Matching aluminum foot rest
Subaru Cargo mat, net
Belt chime off
Weathertech floormats

Engine/Exhaust:
Protune by Chris at Tonik Motorsports
STi intercooler
Subtle hood splitter
STi VF43
STi catback
Helix catted downpipe
Agency Power crank pulley
SPT turbo heatshield
Green engine air filter
German Castrol engine oil for all changes every 4 months
Block heater

Tranny/Diff:
Kartboy/Tic Supershifter kit
Kartboy chassis bushings

Suspension/Steering:
Swift Sport springs (Mann engineering)
Cobb front and rear 25mm sway bar kit
Kartboy front and rear aluminum endlinks
Whiteline rear link tab support
Whiteline steering bushings

Wheels/tires
2008 Forester STI sports wheels
Summer tires: Continental Extreme Contact 215-55-17 (2019)
Winter rims: Rota G-Force 17in gun metal
Winter tires: Nokian haka r3 215-55-17 (2020)

Brakes
Centric front/rear rotors
Hawk HPS front/rear pads
H6 rear rotor/caliper bracket/pad upgrade
Goodridge stainless steel lines

Additional Mods:
Fumoto valve
Rear Bumper cover
Rally Armor Mudflaps
Custom 2in hitch
3M clearbra

Maintenance
Koyo Radiator + Samco hoses (2013)
Thermostat Mishimoto (2014)
96k service (timing belt, tensionners, water pump)
driver side paint (keyed in 2016)
New bushings front sway bars (2019)
New top hats (2019)
New brake lines (F+R), driver door trim, fuel door lever (2019)
New downpipe catalytic converter (2019)
New rotors + brake pads (F+R)
Pulley (2020)
Power steering lines (2020)
Paint passenger side doors + F+R fenders
New fuel lines (2020)
New clutch and oilpan (2020)
New struts F+R (2020)
New Hawk HPS brake pads (2021)
New Moog front ball joints (x2) (2021)
New OEM driveshaft (2021)
New OEM fuel filler neck (2021)


The Good
Stage 3 modifications = 300hp at the wheels
Very clean, well maintained, and cared for
158,000 km
Adult driver with 3 kids, driven on a track only 3 times as part of a driving course (BMW school) Calabogie, Mecaglisse (2010), and Mosport in 2011.
Never accidented, most serious mishap was being keyed, and that was fixed.
All service done per schedule or ahead of schedule, German castrol every 3-4 months
Imported from NY city in September 2009, when the car was 10 months old

The bad
Rust starting to form on rockers, wheel well, driver seat, door corners, and near fuel filler
some noticeable dents on the rear bumper above the muffler, rest is pretty good considering it's a 13 year old car: still has original 3M protection on hood, mirrors and driver side bottom pannels, passenger side painted in 2020 so 3M was removed.
rear wiper motor replaced twice, still needs a good clean every couple of months

I had a Tacoma gen 2 for 15 years. Sold two yrs ago. Miss the truck but family grew and it had to go. It was a 3rd car for about 9 months. In your situation, its a 5 speed and XT! You’re going to hate yourself if you sell it. Are you a one car household ? If she wants the wildeness, she should get rid of her car.

 

[kjohannes]

If it were me…KEEP! It seems that you have an ability to negotiate with your wife because you’re asking, but if you’re just dreaming, (lol) the market is hit right now. And if you go the car auction site like BaT or C&B then you could get a pretty penny. Everyone is right here, you have a rare and awesome Foz. Rust could pose a problem but without detailed photos or an inspection it’s hard to say.

Before I read prior posts and thought about it more, I was about to tell you that this is the exact year, trim, and color combo that I have been searching for and I would buy it for 10-12k. 😬 (If you’re open to talking DM me . )

 

[svenspudwad]

Well...
Your wife already made the decision. So........

Since you are asking the internet for advice here's my two cents.
Keep it.
Buy the new car.
Learn to fix it yourself. (given you have the room to work on it.)
Get ready for the head gasket repair job.

If you (have to) sell it.
Don't trade it in.
Wait it out, sell it to someone that would pay what you ask for.
Stock form sells better than a modded car.
[/

Hi Everyone,

I bought my FXT from another member on this forum back in 2009, and it has been a fantastic 12 years since. Best car I ever owned and 3rd Subaru.

I am trying to figure out if I should keep the car for another 2-3 years or sell it. (Well, the truth is that the wife wants to sell it and use the funds to buy an outback Wilderness, but I can’t let go of my beloved Forester, and would prefer keeping it as a second car if the maintenance costs remain low).

1. Anyone who is familiar with older (10-15 years old) Forester would know if the maintenance costs will grow exponentially in the coming years (i.e. above ~$2k/year)? This car was really well taken care of, above the recommended maintenance requirements and schedule.
2. What typically gives or breaks during that period? The clutch was replaced last year and now the alternator died. I’m not very good with my hands and so I need to get a mechanic to do pretty much all repairs.
3. With the mods and condition the car is in, what could I expect to get for it? Dealer said they auction off trade in vehicles, so I would barely get $3k, and from what I have seen on this board the 08 XT Sports in good shape seem to go for around $10-12k.

Any thoughts/help appreciated.
Car info provided below.

Cheers!


View attachment 558238
View attachment 558239 View attachment 558240
View attachment 558241



96,000 miles
Location: Gatineau.QC / Ottawa, ON (Canada)

Exterior:
Front lip spoiler delete
2.5XT badge delete
Tint-35% Front, 15% Rear and Sunroof
STi hood scoop color matched
Garage XTI hood struts.

Interior
Fuji 5MT leather shift knob
Matching aluminum foot rest
Subaru Cargo mat, net
Belt chime off
Weathertech floormats

Engine/Exhaust:
Protune by Chris at Tonik Motorsports
STi intercooler
Subtle hood splitter
STi VF43
STi catback
Helix catted downpipe
Agency Power crank pulley
SPT turbo heatshield
Green engine air filter
German Castrol engine oil for all changes every 4 months
Block heater

Tranny/Diff:
Kartboy/Tic Supershifter kit
Kartboy chassis bushings

Suspension/Steering:
Swift Sport springs (Mann engineering)
Cobb front and rear 25mm sway bar kit
Kartboy front and rear aluminum endlinks
Whiteline rear link tab support
Whiteline steering bushings

Wheels/tires
2008 Forester STI sports wheels
Summer tires: Continental Extreme Contact 215-55-17 (2019)
Winter rims: Rota G-Force 17in gun metal
Winter tires: Nokian haka r3 215-55-17 (2020)

Brakes
Centric front/rear rotors
Hawk HPS front/rear pads
H6 rear rotor/caliper bracket/pad upgrade
Goodridge stainless steel lines

Additional Mods:
Fumoto valve
Rear Bumper cover
Rally Armor Mudflaps
Custom 2in hitch
3M clearbra

Maintenance
Koyo Radiator + Samco hoses (2013)
Thermostat Mishimoto (2014)
96k service (timing belt, tensionners, water pump)
driver side paint (keyed in 2016)
New bushings front sway bars (2019)
New top hats (2019)
New brake lines (F+R), driver door trim, fuel door lever (2019)
New downpipe catalytic converter (2019)
New rotors + brake pads (F+R)
Pulley (2020)
Power steering lines (2020)
Paint passenger side doors + F+R fenders
New fuel lines (2020)
New clutch and oilpan (2020)
New struts F+R (2020)
New Hawk HPS brake pads (2021)
New Moog front ball joints (x2) (2021)
New OEM driveshaft (2021)
New OEM fuel filler neck (2021)


The Good
Stage 3 modifications = 300hp at the wheels
Very clean, well maintained, and cared for
158,000 km
Adult driver with 3 kids, driven on a track only 3 times as part of a driving course (BMW school) Calabogie, Mecaglisse (2010), and Mosport in 2011.
Never accidented, most serious mishap was being keyed, and that was fixed.
All service done per schedule or ahead of schedule, German castrol every 3-4 months
Imported from NY city in September 2009, when the car was 10 months old

The bad
Rust starting to form on rockers, wheel well, driver seat, door corners, and near fuel filler
some noticeable dents on the rear bumper above the muffler, rest is pretty good considering it's a 13 year old car: still has original 3M protection on hood, mirrors and driver side bottom pannels, passenger side painted in 2020 so 3M was removed.
rear wiper motor replaced twice, still needs a good clean every couple of months

Keep don't sell. Wait for rust to become more serious. The older X and XT engines are reliable, and still less exspensive then the price of newer models with too many bells and whistles.

 

[cproo12]

I was about to tell you that this is the exact year, trim, and color combo that I have been searching for and I would buy it for 10-12k. 😬 (If you’re open to talking DM me . )

This is exactly what I'm sayin... I already bought an 06 XT 5mt earlier this year for 10k, but if I would have seen one like this, would easily be willing to pay up to 15k for it.

Keep this rare cult car!

 

[Crosstreck1994#]

Well...
Your wife already made the decision. So........

Since you are asking the internet for advice here's my two cents.
Keep it.
Buy the new car.
Learn to fix it yourself. (given you have the room to work on it.)
Get ready for the head gasket repair job.

If you (have to) sell it.
Don't trade it in.
Wait it out, sell it to someone that would pay what you ask for.
Stock form sells better than a modded car.

The answer is in your question. You condition retention by saying if maintenance costs are low. That does not at all seem likely to me based on all these posts. Secondly, look at the above comments. Learning to fix it yourself is fanciful. Are you seriously going to obtain the tools that you absolutely will need to keep this car running properly? How many dollars of tools are you going to buy and how many hours on the learning curve of repairing older Subarus are you going to expend? Who will you learn from? Manuals?

Next, the above poster is certainly correct. Sell it yourself, don't trade it. Craigs list in my region costs $5 per MONTH. Every $50 is TEN months of advertising. Hold out for your asking price. If you are roughly correct on your asking price it would be terrific salvage on a car of that age and condition.

Sure there is enormous sentimental value in retaining as most of these posters reveal but as a practical matter, my view is that putting it on Craigs list is your best option. Any significant failure and your $10-12K asset is going to go to near zero and you will have a used parts car on your hand...

 

[Quadraria10]

Folks study his maintenance list and what has been done over the past couple of years. Both winter and summer tires are newish, brakes replaced recently, brake and fuel lines replaced, new radiator, , fuel neck, power steering line, lots of suspension components etc, basically I am sure that car drives like new. Its impressive that some members would pay the equivalent of 15K Canadian dollars but it is an original sports wagon with a manual transmission. As I said ( I live in the same area) the only area of concern is the potential for serious rust in an area where salt is used on winter roads. That should be treated as soon as possible, but otherwise its quite possible that car will not require a cent in maintenance beyond reg stuff over the next year or two. I still vote keep it.

 

[FozzyX3]

@Crosstreck1994# I don't know if you understand what sort of vehicle the OP has. This isn't just any old SG Forester. The '07-'08 XT Sports 5-speed is the Holy Grail of Foresters. Approximately 500 were imported to North America in '07 and 300 in '08. It's not the sort of car you throw up on Craigslist and sell to some 17-year old with $12K of mommy and daddy's money who will inevitably wrap it around a utility pole doing 130 in a residential neigborhood.

There's a LOT more than sentimental value at stake.

 

[Quadraria10]

For any one who might be curious

Search for "subaru forester xt"

Bring a Trailer Auctions is the best place to buy and sell vintage and classic vehicles - Porsche, BMW, Land Rover, and more.

bringatrailer.com

 

[08subfor]

I'd buy it a heartbeat for $3k!
Keep the vehicle, unless you can sell it for $20k, that is!
Some makes and models are ridiculously priced, IMO.