Advice on First Subaru (Forester Sti)
 

Hi,

Just looking to buy my first Subaru. I quite fancy the Forester Sti as I can sling bikes, kids and kit into it and I don't see many about also.

I am going to see this one tomorrow, Subaru : forester sti
low miles, but it is quite pricey especially compared with the recently sold Litchfield example
Subaru : 2004 Litchfield supplied STi Forester
Talked to the guy and he says that it has additional kit over and above the Sti, so a couple of questions:
-What are the desirable extras to look for?
-Is there a buying faq out there for forester sti's?

Cheers

Alistair

Considering the low miles, and what looks like the Litchfield/Powerstation performance and handling upgrades (330/340 zorst+remap, AST+Whiteline handling goodies) his advertised price seems fair. However, considering how the market is for cars like this right now, I'd see how he reacts to a much lower offer and be prepared to walk away and wait for him contacting you back. AT lists 04 cars from £10-12k and the mods listed would set you back £3k or so maybe.

I believe the Forester was facelifted in 05 and a small amount more could get you the newer car....CLICKY.

18's (or even 19's), front splitter, tints and leather are choice cosmetic mods.

Sort of buying faq or things to look out for

2004 SUBARU FORESTER Accident Report | Nationwide Consumer Complaints

VBH squealing :norty:

YouTube - 5thGear - Subaru Impreza WRX STi vs Subaru Forester STi

Corradoboy.
I had a punt at the white one last week.
The dealer was very sketchy with the service history.
Beware!

Whilst my wr1 is under the operating theatre (literally for those who have seen Chy's workshop :lol1: ), Chy at Pennine Subaru has kindly lent me his Forester (old shape).

At first wasn't my cup of tea but now love it to bits. It's so smooth as a car to drive due to the 2.5 block I guess. I noticed that this one has heated seats for the front and the armrest is quite handy too and the tow on the back is good for trailers and caravans. Plenty of room in the booth too for those camping or picnic days. For the long motorway journeys, the cruise control is very handy. It is very economical too if driven sensibly! :thumb:

Thanks for all the info guys, gave me a fair bit to think about.

So I test drove it today and it felt nice and solid, nice ride, pretty quick and I do like the silver colour and gunmetal pro drive alloys.

Anyhow, offer was accepted, put in a deposit and picking it up next week.

However, just took the Engine Type down and it is EJ255DWSBE (same as on this one http://www.modelreports.com/reports/002-00200.pdf).

However the engine codes here Subaru EJ engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Point to the Forester Sti having the EJ257 block.

Looking at other posts on this subject it seems that the engines are largely the same. Am I being paranoid on this point?

Thanks again for the excellent response

Alistair

Congrats - you'll enjoye it! :thumb:

If you are worried as to which EJ255 or EJ257 block should be fitted give Iain @ Litchfield's a call I am sure he would help.

Tel : 01684 850 999

Thanks for the help Flat Eric. Done a little bit more research and the engine type does match up. However, I think I might pay Litchfield's a visit once I have my hands on it. I'm starting to realise that half the fun of owning this car will be reading up and planning the next tweak!

Cheers

Alistair

I own both reports for the STI forester,If you buy one and give it an upgrade you will need to put suspension on to make it stiffer,and depending on you financial circumstances,I would buy the latest reg you can get,CarPlanet have the cheapest in the country and have both new and old shape coming over from Japan this month,hope this helps