Bought a new Subaru Forester

We leased our last SUV, an GMC 2017 Acadia. Never leased before and I won't lease again. We put $10K down from the trade in of our Yukon and made payments for the last 3 years. Acadia was nice, but at the end of lease we have nothing. Buy out was $27K.

We wanted a small SUV that it didn't matter how many miles we drove a year without worrying how much extra miles would cost. My wife wanted leather, heated steering wheel, memory seats. We spent 4 days visiting dealerships and taking test drives.
Toyota: drove Highlander and Rav4.  Highlander was nice, but higher $40's
Hyundai: Santa Fe. Didn't like anything about it.
Kia: Pretty much the same of Hyundai, different trim options.
Honda: CRV, nice. My wife wants a good deal, Honda wouldn't budge on price.
Nissan: Rogue and Morano. Like them both, cargo in Rogue was strange with different height compartments. We asked for their internet price and 0% finance. Said they didn't offer both but it was clear from the add they said both. Sales manager had some harsh words with my wife, we called corporate on that. We're sorry blah, blah, sorry.

Subaru wasn't in our radar but we thought what the heck, only a few more dealers to visit. Test drove the Outback and Forester. Liked the headroom and height of the Forester. While asking for their best price my wife received an email from that dealership offering a 2020 Forester Touring model for $4800 off and 0% finance. We took it.

The picture is a Forester of the same color but not the touring model, so there will be a few upgrades than the one in the picture we test drove. We pick it up Thursday after work. No options to buy, it came with all of them.

Nice! Think you'll be really happy with it. You could call the Forester (and the Outback) the unofficial state car of Maine. Went home to Maine for a visit last fall and Foresters and Outbacks are everywhere and I think for good reason... they're practical. They're (relatively) affordable, good on fuel, great in the snow and pretty darn comfortable ... friend of mines wife has been driving Outbacks for 20+ years.

Probably just me and advancing old geezerhood but the affordability part of buying a new vehicle leaves me shaking my head. Working in the home office the other day and came across the window sticker from my old (2002) Ford Ranger .... $14,990 and we didn't pay anything near that. The 2020 Rangers we looked at? .... $38 to $40,000 and full size trucks are worse even allowing for 18 years of inflation. I think affordability is one big part of Subaru's success.

Congrats on the Forester!

Thanks,
We have usually bought my wife large SUV's but the price is thru the roof. All the reasons you mentioned in your post are why we purchased it. AWD with 33mpg highway is great. My wife drives to Georgia 4-5 times a year and fuel mileage like that helps a lot. Then the snow in the winter. Good price, good vehicle.

In the past I ordered a 2002 Chevy diesel from the factory. Crew Cab, long bed etc... When I ordered it the price was $36,000. When it showed up, $3,000 factory rebate. Now, something along those lines in the $70-$80K price range. Just can't see spending that kind of money.

The Subaru should last a good while. Be a good choice in the winters up there. I see lots of them in Colorado when we visit.

"Just can't see spending that kind of money."

We're looking for a tow vehicle and it's pretty depressing price wise cruising the local Ford, Chevy, and Ram dealers. A new Tahoe was $60k+. F-150 XLT crew cabs and the one Supercab they had were $45k+. The Dodge boys (Ram) are a little more reasonable but to me it's still a lot of $. And the sad thing is a lot of these big dollar trucks won't tow jack squat.

My 22 year old son that lives with us has been looking at new pickups. I don't see how he will be able to afford one. Even a few year old trucks are expensive.



We picked up the Subaru tonight. I bought an extended warranty that added 3 more years for the bumper to bumper. With so many electronics on board, I thought it was a wise investment. While all new vehicles are easy to like, I do really like this one. My wife still may want to purchase the FOB for remote start, but the Forester has a phone app that will start it from anywhere.

AWD certainly comes in handy here in the winter.

We looked at used trucks too and decided to pass. Some had a lot of miles on 'em but they were still asking big money. And it's hard to know how they're set up for towing - axle ratio, tranny and engine cooling and the like. Hopefully your son can find something. With used trucks it's a matter of being in the right place at the right time, something I've never been good at.

Never leased before but really thought about it back in '04ish when Jeep Liberty was going for $99 down/$99 month. One of the benefits of living in Michigan, some sweet lease deals.

Did you test drive a Equinox/Terrain?
We bought a 2018 Equinox new and was around $7k off sticker.

Co-worker selling her 2008 Silverado 2500 CCSB, LMM Diesel, LTZ, deleted, tuned, 220k, pretty much rust free, asking $20K. Should get close to that.

Rusty, been a while. How ya doing?

Diesel Dan wrote:

Rusty, been a while. How ya doing?

Doing well  but the past year or so has had its ups and down. Out of commission last fall for a while ... had an infection in my hand that spread to my arm. 11 days of IV antibiotics, two sessions a day, 3 hours a session. Cleared it up for a few days and then it came back with a vengeance. Wound up in the ER (Regions) and they operated that night. Lucky I had a great surgeon and a really good rheumatologist after that. Turns out it was gout which somehow became infected. On a med for gout which has been working well ... feel 15 years younger. Missed almost a month's worth of work. Got furloughed the 1st week of April .... going back to work Monday. Brother (he lived in Ireland) passed away the end of April (60 is way too young) and there's been a few more (friends and family) since then. Online funerals ain't all they're cracked up to be. I try and remember to count my blessings .... if you're around to complain about it it's all good.

Diesel Dan wrote:

Never leased before but really thought about it back in '04ish when Jeep Liberty was going for $99 down/$99 month. One of the benefits of living in Michigan, some sweet lease deals.

Did you test drive a Equinox/Terrain?
We bought a 2018 Equinox new and was around $7k off sticker.

Co-worker selling her 2008 Silverado 2500 CCSB, LMM Diesel, LTZ, deleted, tuned, 220k, pretty much rust free, asking $20K. Should get close to that.

Rusty, been a while. How ya doing?

No we didn't test drive either of them. They were next on our list. After 4 days of going to the different dealerships I was thrilled my wife finally decided that the Forester checked all the boxes. We have owned 7 new Chevy/GMC vehicles over the years and I wouldn't hesitate to to buy another.

Curious if you got any test driving time behind the wheel of the Forester and if so what did you think of it?

Rusty,
Yes, we drove both the Outback and the Forester. They both drove well but I preferred the height of the Forester. They both handled the roads well. With a 2.5L engine they are not overpowered but still do okay. The hard part for me is all the controls in the Forester. You have a main 8" screen, a small screen above that, and another one in between you Tac and Speedometer. My wife sat with a saleswomen for almost an hour learning what switch did what. It is like the cockpit of the space shuttle lol.  Both the front and rear seats are heated and very comfortable. Also heated steering wheel.
We test drove 10 mid size/compact SUV's before picking this one.
We put a deposit down about 12 days until the Forester came in to the dealer. Since that time I watched YouTube videos every night and read reviews on the Touring model. I am confident we got the best bang for the buck buying this SUV.

Here is the actual one we got home in the driveway. Higher Trim level.

Very nice! I never used to be big on bells and whistles but as I've gotten older I've really come to appreciate them, especially heated seats in the winter. When I was younger I was happy enough if the tires held air, the car/truck started and ran and the heater worked.

My wife wanted 3 things; heated steering wheel, AWD, and leather seats. Her hands turn white in the cold and it helps her out. She would have done without, but she was more than satisfied when this car showed up.
Now I think the only must for me would be A/C. It wasn't until I met my wife 30 years ago when she drove my 84 Chevy pickup with roll down windows and no A/C that she went to a dealer when I was away at work and bought me a new F-150XLT Lariat. Been spoiled ever since.

How's the Forester working out?

So far good. My wife is happy and likes how it drives. Very comfortable. I guess the test will come in two weeks when we are off of school and travel to Georgia.
For the value, I am very impressed. Well built.

We just fly to Ohio and got my wife a 2016 Mazda CX-5. Had a nice drive back over last weekend. VERY disappointed in the USB charging plugs being 2.0 and so they wont charge the phone as fast as it drains if you do anything on it. Also not super impressed with the navigation setup. Otherwise really liking it so far.

The Mazda CX-5 has very good ratings. In its class it is rated #1. I think you will be happy with your purchase.
My wife is on her way to Georgia. She said after about 4 hours of driving, the seat is not as comfortable as it could be. She is used to her old Acadia which has larger and comfortable seats.

I tried out the sport mode when my wife wasnt with me and it moves pretty peppy for a I4.

Zachs 2017 Mazda 3 has been a good one. Zero problems so far.