mmarshall

Wish us luck today, guys. I'm going shopping with a former co-worker today for his retirement gift.....a new Subaru Forester (that's what he decided he wanted). He's giving his old Hyundai Tiburon to his son. He'll take the new car with him when he moves into his new house in WV that is being built.

I'm going to try and get a good deal for him from the same salespeson who sold me my Outback.

(That Tiburon, BTW was a nice car....bright red, with a 5-speed manual. Very well-built....especially in comparison to previous Hyundais. I drove it a couple of times the last time I helped him move).

IS-SV

Best of luck on the price negotiation.

mmarshall

Thanks. They also have a discount, no-haggle Internet price on all of the Foresters which also looks pretty good....roughly about $2500 off. But, we'll see. I'll be off in a few minutes.

DriftGirl

iTrader: (6)

My old house was about half a mile to the next neighbor. We would always see each other driving on the 2 lane road...cept for the heavy snow days.

A couple that lived "next" to me stopped by to ask if I needed to get groceries or anything because it was pretty much snowed in that week.


They had a forrester that acted like it was bright sunny day

The build quality is first rate.

Good luck!

caddyowner

Is he locked onto the new generation Forester or could he live with the last gen model and save some bucks?

Faymester

/saying tuned for result

TripleL

Have a successful day mmarshall

<subscribed>

mmarshall

Thanks.

Yes, Subarus are superb in the winter. But the overall build quality on the new Forester, though still above-average, doesn't seem quite as solid as the last-generation model....and there has been some minor decontenting. That, though, is balanced by now having much more room inside, standard ABS/traction/stability control, and hood struts instead of a cheap prop-rod.

mmarshall

No, for several reasons, he wanted a new one (2010 or 2011). And he's getting a pretty good deal on the new one...see my reply to Faymester and TripleL, below.

mmarshall

Thanks, friends.

Well, here's the result: After looking at what was on the lot, they didn't have quite exactly the combo he was looking for. But one is on the way to the dealership, and will be there the first week in August (Forester X Limited, Sage Green, with Sirius-adaptability (not the radio itself), light Dove-Gray Leather interior, and bumper-guard/cargo-cover accessories.

It lists for between 27 and 28K, but the Internet sales-price brought it down to around 25K, and that includes all the dealer-fees except the state tax (tags will be transferred).

So, he left a $500 deposit, and we'll pick it up when it's ready.

(I'm not surprised he wanted that color....it is proving to be very popular with the Subarus it is offered on).

Thanks for your responses.

IS-SV

Sounds like a productive trip for the buyer, great color selection. Can't blame them for wanting to stick with buying latest gen of the Forrester since it's much improved.

mmarshall

It is and it isn't. The old Forester seemed to have more solid sheet metal, more solid-feeling interior trim, better hardware, a coolant-temperature-gauge, a two-tone paint option, and incredibly hard B-pillar strength in an accident that even firemen couldn't cut into with the JAWS. The new one removed the coolant-temp gauge (substituting red/blue idiot-lights), removed the two-tone paint and L.L. Bean options, took out the mirror-mounted turn-signal indicators, changed the rear AWD from a mechanical limited-slip differential to electronic brake-induced, used more interior plastic, and took out a few cubbyholes inside.

But, on the plus side, the new one is MUCH larger/roomier inside (something a lot of Forester buyers wanted), dumped the El Cheapo hood prop-rod for nice gas struts, added standard ABS/traction/stability systems, added the tire-pressure system, introduced some nice new single-tone colors (of which Sage Green is one), added full-frame surrounds for the door windows, and held the lid on pricing.

IS-SV

Yes, the non-superficial stuff has improved.

Note: All modern cars today with high safety ratings cause the same problem with rescue workers when cutting through B-pillars and safety cage pillars. I saw a tv report with actual firefighters interviewed on this topic, essentially they go through/use-up multiple expensive hardened saw blades before they eventually get to injured victims. This problem is not exclusive to Subaru.

LexFather

Very nice pick up. So theres only one SUbie dealer around?

mmarshall

No. It's not like Suzuki....there are a number of Subie shops, close-by, in the D.C. area. But I felt that the first place to check would be the dealer/salesperson I got my Outback (and my brother's Impreza) from. I like the place; I've sent them customers before (and gone up and shopped with a few of my neighbors there, too), and they usually get good deals. Today's deal, of course, did not disappoint, either.

That's why I have often said in CL posts, in response to car-buying inquiries, that it pays to make friends and be repeat-buyers/customers in the auto-sales buisness.

While I was up there today, Mike, I checked with the Service Department on the progress Subaru is making on the front-suspension/steering problems in the new-generation Outback...the issue I did a CL thread on. (One reason my colleague got a Forester is that, because of those and other issues, I didn't recommend the 2010 Outback/Legacy). I was originally going to get a new Outback myself this year, but I think I'll keep mine till at least next summer, when the 2012s come out....and then see how things are going. The factory has tried a number of Band-Aid fixes (mostly replacing a few revised parts, here and there) that have had only a limited amount of effectiveness. It looks like the entire front-end cradle/suspension and steering rack may need to have a significant redesign to get rid of the shimmy/tracking problems once and for all. Too bad, because otherwise, I am sold on the Legacy/Outback series myself. None of these issues seem to have affected the new Forester, but I just don't like its overall design as much as Outbacks. My colleague, though, does.