Do any of you have the 2.5 (2012-2013ish models) in a mountainous region?  My little cousin's 2007ish Forrester with the 4-cyl really  lugs down around here.  I drive accross the state of Montana no fewer than 10 times a year (Billings to Missoula and back), and have 2 major mountain passes and 4 minor ones between here and there.  We also drive about 80-82 on the interstate, and I want to make sure there's enough sqirrels running for me.

 

Becasue of this, I'm thinking I want the H6 engine, but the gas milage and the purchase price are pretty heafty compared to the smaller one.

 

Any help would be greatly appriciated!

haha um.. did you take a picture of your dashboard while driving 70 mph?

Heres a picture of mine, just got it a couple months ago.

Kinda funny story behind this pic. When I got the car I was trying to keep it a secret from my family, but I was to excited to see what they thought. So I parked it in a used car lot and said I was looking at this car and wondered what they all thought. 

2005 subaru outback xt limited

2.5 liter engine 250 horsepower turbo!

i think i recently broke through 170k.  bought the car at 141k, almost all long distance highway miles down south by the previous owner.  still running strong, especially after i replaced my o2 and knock sensors

I totally dig the signature banana monster!

if they reasonably expected me to pay $1197 to find out I needed a new trans $797 of that labor I find that completely absurd!

I buy car

I diagnose cars lack of AWD

I go to dealership asking for a diagnosis of AWD

dealership gives me a list of parts they would replace and NOTHING ELSE!

I replace parts 

NO AWD

first off like I said that's not the letter that's what came off the top of my head after writing the letter in a more professional form. I would have dropped a new trans in it and been done with the problem but they advised me these parts would fix the AWD GUARANTIED!!!! and sadly no. everyone I spoke with said take it to the dealer for a diagnostic they are the only ones who can know with just a diagnostic. so far I have spent $700 to turn a light off that told me my awd was not working. so in essence  the dealership charged me $136 to tell me how to make my car MORE dangerous. 

first off like I said that's not the letter that's what came off the top of my head after writing the letter in a more professional form. I would have droped a new trans in it and been done with the problem but they advised me these parts would fix the AWD GUARANTIED!!!! and sadly no. everyone I spoke with said take it to the dealer for a diagnostic they are the only ones who can know with just a diagnostic. so dar I have spent $700 to turn a light off that told me my awd was not working. so in essence  the dealership charged me $136 to tell me how to make my car MORE dangerous. 

Still, if you're serious:

The letter's going to get tossed in it's current form. Capitalize the first letter of a sentence, use a period or question mark at the end. Use proper grammar.  State your name, issue, attempts to resolve and further reasonable actions you would like to see be taken. Provide contact info. Mail the letter, emails are seen as easy and lazy. Make it formal. And, most of all, don't be shocked when you receive nothing in return. 

 

I'd be more worried about how much the turbo jacks up the insurance.  Get an RS and put a turbo in later if you ever want the power.

I misread (first year v new), but we're on the same page. 

I just googled the BRZ, holy hell that's going to be fun. Still would never buy it used. Never trust the "little old lady... grocery getter" stories. 

I wouldn't buy the first year of a generation. After a year or two of having the same body and drivetrain put out by the manufacturer I see no issue buying new. There's nothing like getting a newer secondhand vehicle that's had the piss stomped out of it for the first 40K. 

It's worth it to me, especially with performance oriented vehicles to eat the depreciation of a new vehicle if it means I knowing that the car was babied though the break in period. Driving a new car like a hound just shaves tens of thousands of miles off the engine and drivetrain. 

Shameless plug: I have some Yakima gear up for sale! You know you wanna. Links in the signature. 

I use it on my trucks. It's not bad for the engine at all, just go to your favorite Subi forum and make sure you get the right vaccuum lines. I use about a third through through the vaccuum lines and the rest into the fuel tank. Wait for an hour and enjoy. 

They say you can use it in the crank case too, but it's not something I practice. Be ready to change the oil and plugs in 50-100 miles after you do it!

if noise is your problem, MAKE MORE! lol mine came with a flow master and I put a small sub in no more wind noise x.x

OH MAN HEADGASKETS!!!! 

I bought a 96 legacy knowing it likely needed this job. 1/2 into the job we learned that the heads were a few thousandths out of spec! so off to the machine shop who recommended a valve job as some exhaust ports were not sealing properly. thankfully a friend and I did all the work so no shop costs, but it still turned out to be close to bluebook everything said and done. so if your looking to buy a subaru that might need a head gasket have the ability to take care of it right away or your asking for trouble! also CHECK THE BYPASS HOSE!!!

Thats why I have an I love JDM not USDM sticker on my car. at least my engine is really made in japan

You said a bunch of that already, albeit much less detail.

also owned 90 and 92 wagons i think.  just bought and sold those for money.  sold one for a perfectly fair price but had bought it for real cheap from a friend.  other one was the same but i only sold it for a little more than i got it for which was still an awesome deal for that person.. win-win.  two good deals on cars for people and i made a little money : )

the only other car i've owned was an 88 jeep cherokee and it was a beast.  270k miles and ran like a champ, gunmetal grey with gold spoke rims and a black leather interior.  ballin.  i miss that car...

I wish we got the versions of the WRX that people get in the UK, with Prodrive and Cosworth parts n stuff.

 you want the subaru gravel express or as we know it here in usdm world as the impreza outback sport to my knowledge they only made these until 99ish. so this is a first gen trim line only. my friend has a 5 speed and man does it do the trick! his is a 98 with a 2.2l and my mechanic has is opposed to the 2.5's because they tend to have head gasket problems.

Does that smaller but Turbo'ed engine also give a Subi a lift?  When we compared the 4-Cyl Turbo engine to the standard V6, we liked the Turbo a lot better.  Smoother and less gas being burned in town, lots of power for Montana mountains when you need it.

You may get that performance back if you had it tuned, but not really worth doing that.

the turbo however you have to use 91 to get the best benefit.

turbo models require premium gas though.

Then I rotated my tires when I got home and saw that the driver front cv axle boot is torn and grease is all over the place.