What to Buy! And the second hand market currently

Hugh

Hugh

Forum Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2021
Messages
48
Location
South Australia
Car Year
MY06
Car Model
SG Forester X
Transmission
5MT w/ DR
Hello Everyone!

Thanks for all the info on the previous thread about prefered transmissions.

I've been on the hunt for a Forester for a bit now, but the market is very variable and expensive. My budget is around 5k, and most SG2s are going for 6 or above, and SG1s for around 5 and under, but mostly manuals. Even found a manual SG1 with an EJ253!
I travel mostly around town and just offroad for trips etc. I would only be looking to travel to Oodnadatta track sort of level, and Simpsons Desert would be the hardest I would aim for.

Would a manual be fine to buy a cheaper manual, and buy an auto in the next upgrade or when the market calms down OR save my pennies and wait till I can find a reasonable 4EAT SG2.

Cheers,
Hugh
 
@Hugh Having crossed the Simpson twice with autos (the Foz in 2009 and the Triton in 2014) you would certainly appreciate the auto when crossing 1000+ sand dunes ;)
I think autos may also be less likely to abuse - other than mine of course :D
 
I think an auto will be my next car but, as Kevin has, crossed the Simpson twice but in a manual MY03 SG Forester both times, so the choice is obviously yours.......
Kevin is correct though, you are forever gear changing and changing on the move up a dune invariably results in grief although having the 1.6 low range is possibly an advantage in that you can leave it in low and still get usable torque at the speeds you need.
The local, Adelaide Subaru Car Club, is having a Sinpson crossing trip in early June this year if you get a suitable vehicle and are interested.
 
Can imagine a manual would get repetitive on all those dunes! I reckon I'll see if I can get a auto, but settle for a manual if it's cheaper, and save my pennies for a SH or something ones the market dies down.

Thanks for heads up on the Subaru Club!

Are Subaru outbacks any good offroad or are the approach and departure angles troublesome?
 
Hugh said:
Are Subaru outbacks any good offroad or are the approach and departure angles troublesome?
Click to expand...
:welcome: to the forum, Hugh. Going out with Barry (Outback), he had a bit of trouble with approach, departure and ramp over angles compared with my stock height Forester.
 
I've got an 03 Forester you can have if you want. It's an auto. Engine's supposedly blown (never tried to start it) and it's missing a couple of minor bits here and there.
It's my parts car, but I need the space, so it's a feeebie if you want it.
You'd have to come to Cairns to pick it up though.
 
Yeah I reckon Outback might be a no go then.
Ben Up North said:
I've got an 03 Forester you can have if you want. It's an auto. Engine's supposedly blown (never tried to start it) and it's missing a couple of minor bits here and there.
It's my parts car, but I need the space, so it's a feeebie if you want it.
You'd have to come to Cairns to pick it up though.
Click to expand...
Too kind! Appreciate, the offer but Cairns but far for me!

Any tips or things to look out for when inspecting a SG Foz?
 
The main thing to look for would be head gasket issues so seeping between the block and heads, bubbles in the radiator.
Make sure the FWD (Front wheel drive) fuse is not installed as this would indicate rear drive-train issues; an indicator light should be on but the bulb may have been removed.
Pull all dip sticks and have a look at the condition of the oils and for flakes of metal; if an auto the ATF should not smell burnt
Check that all the indicator lights are illuminated when the ignition is switched on - without cranking
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Hugh said:
Any tips or things to look out for when inspecting a SG Foz?
Click to expand...

Over any other kind of car? Expect to do the head gaskets if they haven't already been done, if they have been done check the receipts to make sure it wasn't done by a cowboy. See how the temperature goes when it gets warm. I've heard tales of engines warping and getting very hot most of the time as a result, regardless of what you do to them - reasonably rare though.
Air-con is something else that can be a bit iffy once these cars get older, cutting out at "inappropriate" moments (like when you want it to work) There's a few videos out there of a mod you can do that fixes it, but I haven't got around to it yet (the clutch on the aircon slips, you've gotta remove a couple of shims out of it).

The golden SG is one that was purchased new by someone in their 40's and has hardly been off road... When you are searching, look to buy from older owners, not younger ones! There's quite a few up here that look like one owner cars, and the drivers are advancing in age (like all of us).
 
Thanks everyone, really valuable information!
I might write this all up for someone in the future after.

I've had a look at 3 so far, 2 headgaskets in pretty bad condition, and one asking too much for the Ks.
 
Kms shouldn’t scare you. I’d take a high km country car over the same age and model low km city driven vehicle any day unless I was chasing a good body.

Theory behind this is that the country car would spend more time at full operating temp rather than short cold runs around town.

Other things to look at other than what’s already mentioned is struts and springs - Subaru’s seem to love the saggy butt look after a few years. A new set of springs will rectify that. Check that struts aren’t leaking, they’ll work fine for a while but it’s a sign of pending doom for that unit. Replace in pairs ;)

Suspension bushes are worth looking at. If it feels like it’s trying to crab around corners with small bumps, your rear bushes will need doing, which means the front wouldn’t be too far behind needing work too.

If you buy a fixer upper unit that’s full of oil leaks or needs HGs, it’s a good time to replace all oil seals, lap the valves, replace the valve stem seals (well worth the effort), replace the sealant on the cam retainer plate (always overlooked and always weeping from the lower corners), do all the fluids etc.

If you’re paying someone to do the work buy a vehicle that’s already a good running unit that’ll pass RWC with flying colours! It’ll cost you twice the amount than a good unit to start with - and not all mechanics are good with Subaru’s.

All the best with hunting around for the right vehicle for you. Sadly all vehicles are commanding crazy prices atm. Dunno when the market will settle down again...

Cheers

Bennie
 
Success!🎉

Thank you to each and everyone of you!

In the end I got a SG2 X 5MT in White 155000 Ks on the clock.
Paid just under 5K with some rego for those interested.
Was very straight, had a good service history and got it checked by a mechanic. Was a fleet car for Dept of Natural Resources before being bought by a pretty very meticulous tiler who barely put any Ks on it.
Really happy with the purchase!
Thanks again 😁
 
Well done! From my relatively little experience with tilers, they do tend to be pretty meticulous.

You need to update your profile now. :)
 
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