Use your better judgement when it comes to buying used vehicles of any make and model. Ask if you can see underneath the vehicle and do some research on the dealer itself and see what reviews they have, that may give you a good indication of the kinds of vehicles they bring in and how they have dealt with past buyers. There is nothing wrong with mechanical work being done if done by certified mechanics. Good luck on your purchase.
Thinking about buying a Forester...
I believe my first thread about this was deleted but I can’t think of a reason why... so here goes again
(If I’m posting this in the wrong forum then moderators please let me know)
I’m looking at buying a 2001 Forester S manual with 95,000 miles. It has new head gaskets, a new timing belt, and a new stage 2 clutch. I was hoping to get some advice from some Forester insiders here on what to look for, and how much maintenance I should expect to do on this car if I buy it.
I got some really good info from a couple people on here and I was about to go look at the car today, but after calling the dealer they told me they already had a buyer lined up. BUT, after talking to the wholesaler, he told me that he’s working on another Forester S, this time a 2002 with similar milage. Before putting it up for sale though he’s dropping the engine, replacing the head gaskets, timing belt, clutch and a few other smaller components.
Should I be turned off by this refurbishment, or is this a sign that the car will be rejuvenated and ready for a good long life? Just looking for some opinions.
(If I’m posting this in the wrong forum then moderators please let me know)
I’m looking at buying a 2001 Forester S manual with 95,000 miles. It has new head gaskets, a new timing belt, and a new stage 2 clutch. I was hoping to get some advice from some Forester insiders here on what to look for, and how much maintenance I should expect to do on this car if I buy it.
I got some really good info from a couple people on here and I was about to go look at the car today, but after calling the dealer they told me they already had a buyer lined up. BUT, after talking to the wholesaler, he told me that he’s working on another Forester S, this time a 2002 with similar milage. Before putting it up for sale though he’s dropping the engine, replacing the head gaskets, timing belt, clutch and a few other smaller components.
Should I be turned off by this refurbishment, or is this a sign that the car will be rejuvenated and ready for a good long life? Just looking for some opinions.
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Always ask for a Carfax, dont buy anyones salvage or rebuilds.
If that maintenance work hasn't been completed yet, ask him to document the process with pictures and videos so you can be sure it's been done. I'm a bit skeptical hearing that. A 2002 Forester can only go for so much so there's not much return on investment in doing that much work on the car just to sell.
Couldn’t find many reviews about the dealer, what I did find was a bit sketchy. It seems they deal mostly in high milage vehicles. However the Forester in question is pretty low milage for its age and is being worked on by a third party, not the dealer itself. The guy who’s working on it told me his first Forester project (the one I originally wanted to buy) had a great market and sold quickly so he’s doing more, which is why he started another. Carfax for the first one was clean (two owners, no accidents or damage reported), so we’ll see if this next one is the same.
Well it sounds like you are doing your do dilegence and finding out all about the vehicles, speaking with the repair shop and vehicle history. In Canada we must do safety inspections for selling both privately and dealers and sometimes those can be questionable but as I say go by your gut, its very easy to see the difference between well taken care of vehicles. I'm a car fanatic and recently sold a 2010 GMC Terrain that was practically like new, although it had 144000kms and owned since new, so those types of vehicles are out there. Start with a really good base and you should be golden, try to look at as many of the model you want to get a sense of how they age and that will give you a good idea of where to focus. Good luck.
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