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I am looking to buy a forester but am unsure if to buy a imported s/tb or the UK spec with the winter pack.
Can anyone tell me the pro's and cons to them please?
Can anyone tell me the pro's and cons to them please?
Did you not have a problem with fitting the back seats ?Plenty good S/tb's out there.
As for interior, just do what I did and replace the standard JDM interior with a UK S-Turbo interior.
My S/tb also has the full winter pack, and all the other toys (No Moon Roof like UK cars).
Power & Refinement.
Standard JDM S/tb Interior:
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UK S-Turbo Interior:
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was it this one ?I'm quite new to the forester so havn't got much of a clue about them as yet but can anyone tell me the difference between the JDM engine and the UK spec engine, is it just the turbo and cams or are there other differences (ie ECU)?
I'm trying to figure out if its worth buying a UK spec and upgrading the engine to JDM spec or is it better to buy the JDM spec and upgrade the interior like kushbex has demonstrated, I am a Ford master technician by trade so the mechanicals don't worry me at all but the cost in converting it does!
I've been to have a look at 2 JDM Foresters so far one off Ebay which was a complete shed and up for far too much money and another one off the autotrader for £2300 on a 97 with 107,000 Kms, this one is in much better condition but does have a couple of minor body/paint problems.
I dont really want to be spending over £3000 if I can help it as my wife has decided she wants a new car too, so the cheaper I can buy the better car I will be able to get her.
Thank you for all the info, help and pics, all the info you can give me is a great help.
With the rear seats the JDM car has outer arm rests & different squabs whereas the UK interior does not. All I had to do was to remove the JDM squab & armrest mounting plates then I cut off the angled armest mount, then refitted to the car so that the new squabs would fit.Did you not have a problem with fitting the back seats ?
Japanese market is really not concerned about history, as long as its got the stamps in the book then most japanese see that as enough. Not as much car crime in Japan as the courts over there have harsh sentences for car fraud.1. There is no service history - other than the last service which is very recent.
Looks like the top box has been removed. You can pick one up from a scrappers cheap. However ask why it was removed, probably the old one was hacked to bits or it was replaced at one time ith gauges.2. Not sure whats happened with the dashboard but if you look at the 6th picture (on the autotrader link above) or the 14th picture on the 2nd page of the link below, the top opening compartment has been covered up for some reason - the guy selling it didnt know anything about it as he is a trader.
3. It has got a cone air filter, blitz dump valve/bov and ridiculously large back box - these things always worry me when buying a car.
Should be in miles not kph. the japanese models are converted with a little electronic gizmo which converts the electronic pulse from 1 into 1.6 giving you a kph to mph conversion.4. Not sure if its a problem or not - the clocks are in MPH but the odometer is still registering in KMH.
Japanese models are tinted glass not tinted. probably been replaced at some stage. replacement tint is easy to come by.5. n/s/r tinted window film is chipped away and split in places - meaning it will need replacing, does this mean the entire privacy glass will need replacing to get the same tint?
standard it should pull away from a gold gti 5 up6. Not sure if it was me but it didn't seem as fast as I would have thought it would be? but on the other hand I only revved it to about 5500rpm whilst it was 5 up (me, trader, wife and my 2 kids), I drive focus RS's and ST's at work and they seem quicker?
no there is no programming. JDM cars dont even tend to have an alarm!7. Only one key and its not a remote key? (should it have remote central locking)Does a new key have to be programmed in on a JDM forester?