Greetings all
I've copied this across from Pistonheads, as there doesn't seem to be much love for all things Forester over there....
Back in 2008-10, I owned a 2005 Impreza Wagon WRX SL (2 litre engine, Sunroof and Leather) with Prodrive Performance Pack. This was a great car and to this day it's the only car I have ever regretted selling in 23 years of car ownership. I sold it because the fuel bills were becoming a little tedious, no other reason. It turns out the depreciation on it's successors would have more than made up for the heavy fuel costs, but that's another story.....
Fast forward to a few months ago and I decide I want another as my daily driver and begin the search for a 2004-06 car (I just wont touch the the 2007 onwards 2.5 litre engine, as I like to sleep at night!). I was willing to pay handsomely for one with sensible miles and minimal rust. However it transpires that such things no longer exist. Despite months of searching, the ones coming up for sale were all high mileage, with several years worth of rust advisories on the MOTs.
The only option? Take the search to Japan.
Happily the JDM stuck with the 2 litre in their Imprezas, which remained in the Wagons until they ended production of them in 2007. Unfortunately It quickly became apparent that first of all - these are expensive in Japan (looking at £9k OTR in the UK for one with no repair history and sensible miles) and that the heated leather seats of the SL were not an option over there. I couldn't bring myself to pay that much.
So this is where the Forester 2.0T comes in. It's significantly cheaper and a lot of them have half leather heated seats. The only problem is that manuals only make up about 10% of production and fetch a fair premium as a result.
I decided I'd be ok with an Auto for a daily driver, as I'd rather have a better quality car than compromise that to get a manual. However.... we checked out a couple of Autos at Japanese dealers and they either didn't happen, or they dragged on a bit - partly due to the 8 hour time difference. In the mean-time, a very nice manual popped up at auction in the early hours of this morning. I thought sod it, we'll up the budget a bit and stick a bid in. I then get a text at circa 4.45 am ..... and we've won.... for the same price of a nice Auto. Major result!
So what have I got?
Its a 2006 Cross Sports model with the same 2 litre Turbo and 5 speed gearbox as the Impreza WRX (so basically a Forester WRX). Power is 220 PS - not massive, but I assume it'll manage mid 6s to 60. I expect it has a TD04 turbo, so a re-map could see a safe 260-270. Grade 4B (best a 12 year old used car can be) and 78k kilometres (49k miles). Zero rust.
What will it cost me? circa £6,500 all in.
It's currently somewhere between China and Singapore, so a while to wait yet
I've copied this across from Pistonheads, as there doesn't seem to be much love for all things Forester over there....
Back in 2008-10, I owned a 2005 Impreza Wagon WRX SL (2 litre engine, Sunroof and Leather) with Prodrive Performance Pack. This was a great car and to this day it's the only car I have ever regretted selling in 23 years of car ownership. I sold it because the fuel bills were becoming a little tedious, no other reason. It turns out the depreciation on it's successors would have more than made up for the heavy fuel costs, but that's another story.....
Fast forward to a few months ago and I decide I want another as my daily driver and begin the search for a 2004-06 car (I just wont touch the the 2007 onwards 2.5 litre engine, as I like to sleep at night!). I was willing to pay handsomely for one with sensible miles and minimal rust. However it transpires that such things no longer exist. Despite months of searching, the ones coming up for sale were all high mileage, with several years worth of rust advisories on the MOTs.
The only option? Take the search to Japan.
Happily the JDM stuck with the 2 litre in their Imprezas, which remained in the Wagons until they ended production of them in 2007. Unfortunately It quickly became apparent that first of all - these are expensive in Japan (looking at £9k OTR in the UK for one with no repair history and sensible miles) and that the heated leather seats of the SL were not an option over there. I couldn't bring myself to pay that much.
So this is where the Forester 2.0T comes in. It's significantly cheaper and a lot of them have half leather heated seats. The only problem is that manuals only make up about 10% of production and fetch a fair premium as a result.
I decided I'd be ok with an Auto for a daily driver, as I'd rather have a better quality car than compromise that to get a manual. However.... we checked out a couple of Autos at Japanese dealers and they either didn't happen, or they dragged on a bit - partly due to the 8 hour time difference. In the mean-time, a very nice manual popped up at auction in the early hours of this morning. I thought sod it, we'll up the budget a bit and stick a bid in. I then get a text at circa 4.45 am ..... and we've won.... for the same price of a nice Auto. Major result!
So what have I got?
Its a 2006 Cross Sports model with the same 2 litre Turbo and 5 speed gearbox as the Impreza WRX (so basically a Forester WRX). Power is 220 PS - not massive, but I assume it'll manage mid 6s to 60. I expect it has a TD04 turbo, so a re-map could see a safe 260-270. Grade 4B (best a 12 year old used car can be) and 78k kilometres (49k miles). Zero rust.
What will it cost me? circa £6,500 all in.
It's currently somewhere between China and Singapore, so a while to wait yet
