@daveh0 You're asking a very hot/highly opinionated question. Some will argue 100K miles and it's done. Even though many believe that 200K miles is the new 100K miles.....And it's also highly dependent on how well or not well taken care. of, ie is it neglected? Is it driven in rust belt?

IMHO, I see no issues with spending $$ to replace the suspension, but you may be the opposite and go NO, not doing it.....Hence what I stated above, it's very very opinionated....My 2001 has 237,000 miles...Have I spent money on it? You bet. But why? Because it's cheaper for me to spend $2000 every 5 years on a major ticket repair vs spending $10,000 on a used vehicle in today's market that may/will need $1200-$2000 in major repairs....Whereas others will tell you, heck no, 100,000 miles I am done, and I'll fork over 30,000 for a new vehicle so I don't have to deal with $2000-$3000 major ticket repair items.

The ball/decision is in your court! Which person are you? But IMHO given the fact you have even asked this question, I suspect your the 100K miles and I am done person. To Quote you "I don't have the time (or $$) to be dealing with issues like that", and you've answered your own question.

Suspension work is generally needed at greater than 100k miles, and that's going to set you back $2000ish depending on what work is being done.

Oil leaks for the newer Foresters with the timing chain? Same may or may not happen at 100k miles. $3000ish

etc...

No on can give you a definitive answer, because no one knows the exact history of the vehicles you're looking at and where they've been driven....

 

Some will argue 100K miles and it's done

To add additional context to this, about the 100k mark is when a lot of big ticket items start showing up on the maintenance schedule for 'most' cars. On an older forester like Mine, or Bman's that is the Timing belt, and all the components that go along with it, an easy grand or so depending on who is slinging that wrench. You can take a look at the approximate listing over on cars101.com to get a good idea on what the items are for the mileage range. Depending on the previous owner, they may have followed those items to the letter, or they could have ignored every last oil change, but even then, adhering to the list doesn't mean stuff won't go wrong. But you still have your big ticket items like Bman said, where you're looking at suspension replacement and all the bushings; $$. So that $3k savings might get eaten up replacing the fluids, the tires, and the struts; hopefully enough time down the road to save up for them.

To continue to echo BMan's sentiment, I've dropped about $5k on my '04 with ~ 205k miles in the last few months (Tires, Head Gaskets, Brakes, Strut tops, alignment, Alternator, ontop of the 'standard' maintenance). For me it was worth it, knowing that the bones of this vehicle are good, that there wasn't a whole bunch of rust or issues. Logically, I know that a single incident at this point (an accident, hail, etc..) will total it out, but I'd rather, for the time being, have one large bill once every few years than the $400-1000/month car payment (depending on new or used). If it's used, inheriting everything the previous owner neglected/ignored and needing to fix it ontop of make the payments.

Where I might depart from Bman, is in the timeline for purchase. I am OK throwing a little more cash at something with under 100k miles as I then "know" that I can still make good habits on that car, and my catch-up list might not be as long. (Some of those "lifetime" fluids can still be changed out before too much damage has been done). But the important part for me is knowing exactly what that catch-up list entails; Getting the car in the air, taking a look at everything I can, pulling on everything, checking every fluid, etc.. So If that catch-up list is as long between two cars, I will still lean towards the one with fewer miles, but if the higher mileage vehicle has a shorter list, especially if they are items I can do myself, That is the one I'd lean towards.


TLDR; The mileage ultimately isn't as important as the condition of the vehicle and how much catch-up is needed to get it back in line with the maintenance expectations.

 

The 120K service is a big reason why so many are traded in just shy of that. It's essentially the same price and list of service items as the 60K, but by 120 you're also looking at stuff like struts and a 3rd set of tires. It's already the most expensive interval service, but throw in a CVT fluid replacement (a good idea at least every 60K no matter what SOA says) and pretty soon it starts adding up to down payment money.

For some people it's worth the money to keep a car they love alive and well. For others that money is better spent contributing to a down payment on a new one. My SO and I fall into both camps. Back in April we traded our '17 for a new one just short of 120K. OTOH it just so happens that tomorrow I'm taking her beloved '05 in for its 180K service.

 

I just found out that my trusty ol 2016 Forester is a total loss due to some hail damage.
Thanks in advance for any wisdom you may have to impart!!

If the damage is all cosmetic, it may cost a lot to repair it, or not so much.
There are shops that can remove nearly all hail dents for a lot less cost than the insurance which is likely pricing body panel replacements. It's called Paintless dent repair (PDR).

Insurance will usually allow you to keep the "totaled" car for a portion of the proceeds.
Use those to repair the car and you might actually come out ahead and not have to risk buying a used car.

 

Wow awesome info, all - thanks!! I think my fears/concerns that things still can/do start to go wrong around 100K have been confirmed (as much as something as uncertain as this can be), so that in combination with that 120K maintenance point is telling me and my pockets (the ones not overflowing with cash at the moment) to stick with the lower milage options.

I'll be in a better spot to pump a bit more into it (if/when necessary) by the time it takes me to drive the 15-25K miles to put me over the 100K mark.

Thanks again!

 

Aside from brakes and tires (and gas and oil, etc), it's not cost me a dime in maintenance in all of her 65K miles.

I'm not sure what "etc" includes but differential gear oil, engine and cabin air filters and brake fluid were supposed to have been changed at 30,000 mile intervals.

The vehicle was 5000 miles past the the interval for spark plugs as well so that has to be factored in.

Front control arm bushings and CV axle failure was imminent as well.

 

I just found out that my trusty ol 2016 Forester is a total loss due to some hail damage...Having the reliability of my 2016 with 65K miles and not having to shell out for unforeseen maintenance for another couple years are of utmost importance to me.

How extensive is the hail damage? Is it just a lot of cosmetic dents in sheet metal/aluminum? if so, I would keep the hail damaged car and take an insurance settlement. Use a small amount of the proceeds to fix the hood since that is the one part of the car you see all the time. A good PDR shop may be able to salvage the hood without any paint work.

If you are hell-bent on replacing it, I would consider a 2018 over a 2019 for the following reasons:

1. 2018 has a CVT warranty to 100k miles; 2019 has CVT warranty to only 60k miles.
2. 2018 does not have annoying auto stop/start like the 2019 does.
3. 2019 requires a more expensive EFB battery because of AS/S.
4. 2019 has a direct injection engine vs port injection on the 2018 non-turbo. DI engines are known for carbon buildup on intake valves.
5. 2018 has an inexpensive, trouble-free thermostat; 2019 has an expensive thermo control valve which is known to fail.

 

It's a Premium and single owner with pristine Carfax, so that seemed like a good deal to me

A Carfax is never a "green light" to purchase a used vehicle. That's because accidents or major repairs are not always reported by repair shops, not to mention DIYers. At best a so-called clean/pristine Carfax is "yellow light" to proceed with caution by having a PRE-purchase inspection by a mechanic of YOUR choice, preferably one very familiar with Subarus.

 

If you are hell-bent on replacing it, I would consider a 2018 over a 2019 for the following reasons.......

Speaking as the very satisfied owner (so far) of a 2023 and former owner of a 2017, I can say that every one of those points regarding the SJ vs the early SK generations are completely legit and worth considering when comparing a '17-18 with a '19 or '20. The thermo control valve became much more reliable after 2020, but everything else @ForesterBill listed still stands.

One other thing to consider is that if you want to have a little fun with your car and make a few suspension mods it's much easier with the SJ due to its parts commonality with the Impreza/WRX/STi family of that generation. The 2019+ Global Platform isn't all that "global" when it comes to interchangeability between Subaru models.

 

One other thing to consider re SJ vs. SK is whether or not you want Eyesight. It wasn't available on the base model and optional on all other 2016-18 SJs. From my experience shopping for my old '17 (purchased in 2021 and Eyesight equipped) I'd guess about 35-40% of the Premiums and 60+% of the Limited and Touring models were equipped with it. On the SKs it's standard on all models.

 

I 2nd @ForesterBill . I spent 20 hours researching foresters. Get the 2018 with as low miles as you can afford. Generally speaking, it’s almost never a good idea to buy the first year of a new model. They’ll have kinks to work out. 2017 and 2019 forester owner complaints significantly outpace the 2018 model. Do the research if you want to verify my statement.

And always have your own independent mechanic examine any potential purchase inside and out before you commit. I’ve avoided lemons that way.

 

The only recurring issue I have had with our Foresters is the AC. Our experience is once the car gets to about 9-11 years old, the AC unit gets a bit weak and needs replacing. Never had any issues with suspensions, engine/transmission, gaskets, etc.

 

I find maintenance costs at any mileage a thing. Labour rates are through the roof. The more you need done the more $$$it’s gonna take to fix it. That said, even on older cars maintenance is cheaper than a new car.

 

How extensive is the hail damage? Is it just a lot of cosmetic dents in sheet metal/aluminum?

It doesn't look terrible (to me), so that was 1 of the 1st things I asked the hail repair shop about... "can we just pound those pings out (or maybe even find a new used oem hood on ebay or something) and keep the bulk of what insurance $$ is willing to pay? It doesn't have to look perfect". Once they got a good look at it, they fired back saying there was A LOT of damage in places we couldn't see that would cause leaking and other potential issues.

My insurance paid out ~$7k based on their cat adjustor's initial assessment. The shop then requested a supplement for an additional ~$2k,which was approved and paid AND THEN they requested a 2nd supplement of ~$1k at which point, insurance pulled the plug and declared it a total loss.

Based on all that, I'm assuming trying to go the PDR route is not a all that feasible. Would the vehicle even be insurable once my current insurance has totalled it or can I have the shop kind of withdraw the last supplement request and unring the total loss bell?

I have another couple days to tell my insurance whether or not we are giving them the car and taking the larger settlement amount OR if we are keeping the car and the initial payout + the approved/paid supplement.

 

My insurance paid out ~$7k based on their cat adjustor's initial assessment. The shop then requested a supplement for an additional ~$2k,which was approved and paid AND THEN they requested a 2nd supplement of ~$1k at which point, insurance pulled the plug and declared it a total loss.

I think it is a common practice in the auto insurance industry to low ball hail damage and the above is a good example. Insurers know that many claimants would rather take the money than fix the damage so the insurance company saves money by low balling the initial estimate.

 

Aside from brakes and tires (and gas and oil, etc), it's not cost me a dime in maintenance in all of her 65K miles.

What about cabin air filter, engine air filter, differential gear oil, CVT maintenance and brake fluid flush?

These should have been done at least once in 65,000 miles. Some items much more often.

 

Yeah i worded that poorly. I meant that there have not been any surprises or unexpected expenses... like say a blown head gasket or bad oxygen sensor, etc.
Sorry for the confusion.

 

@daveh0

Anecdotal and if it helps, my 2015 XT has 125,000 miles. You can see the maintenance records at ('14-'18) - TTiimm's 2015 Forester XT Touring

It is a southern car and is garaged. Keep in mind that some of the work listed isn't really maintenance but modifications.

As I stated in a previous post, your car was due for spark plugs. Control arm bushings and CV axle replacement was inevitable as well, probably by 85,000 miles. These have to be factored in if keeping a new car that long is the plan.

 

That’s possible. Here is how South Carolina determines what happens to a totaled vehicle…

From SC-DMV…

Vehicles declared a total loss will be marked as “salvage” unless at least one of the following is true: The vehicle is marked “junk.” The vehicle has been damaged less than 75% and has not sustained water or fire damage. The value of the vehicle is less than $2,000.

Insurance companies may total a vehicle when damages are as little as 40-50% of market value…

 

Hi Luke.. Thanks for joining.....

An accident in your car doesn't really answer the question about "when do maintenance costs become high"... Accidents are outside of maintenance.

Sorry you had the experience.

Please take a moment and read through the "new member info" section here -

New Member Information

Contains advice and links to useful introductory material

www.subaruforester.org

And fill out your profile details...

Thank you!