Monday, Dec 15, 2014 at 02:22
Mick - I like the Subaru's and the stepdaughter has a current model Outback - and I tried to buy a new Forester for the missus, as the family wheels, for over 12 mths. I've got a Hilux for myself.
However, Subaru's are highly thought of, 98% of owners love them, owner satisfaction is very high - but they are hard to buy at a reasonable price.
There are a couple of reasons for this. The dealerships are intricately woven and there's little competition between them.
In W.A. there are only 3 dealerships and they're all owned by the same parent company. You pay their price, that's all there is to it.
These dealerships buy all the excellent, late model, low km Subarus they can get their hands on, thus maintaining their grip on the market, and maintaining the high resale values.
Subaru are also one of the most profitable car companies in the world - with a current ROI of 28%!!
International investors have been buying Subaru shares wholesale because they offer such a good return.
I reckon I should be able to buy a new Forester 2.5i-L for $35,000 drive-away here in the West.
Every other vehicle with AWD that is comparable, is less than that figure to buy on a drive-away basis.
However, Subaru ensure you pay around $37,500-37,900 for a 2.5i-L. I don't see where the value is in that pricing, despite the fact they are a great little chariot.
I gave up and bought a Camry Atara S instead. It doesn't have AWD, but it drives and handles better than the Subaru. It sticks to the road like its got AWD. It's much bigger and roomier than the Forester. It's got more features, and it's got a new 2.5L engine and a new 6 speed tranny that's almost a match for the Subaru CVT.
98% of the use this car gets, is city and near-country use.
If I lived further out and travelled the station country tracks, then I'd reckon I'd probably need the extra ground clearance of the Forester, and I probably would have gritted my teeth, paid the asking price, and swung for the Forester.
I love the Suby CVT, it's one of the best transmissions around for fuel economy and instant power is on tap with a plant of the foot. The tranny drops the engine RPM right back at every opportunity, and keeps the fuel use right down.
I can't really fault it. I don't believe it's noise levels are over the top.
It is a complex tranny, with a torque converter coupled to a vari-speed steel chain drive and pulleys, several sets of helical gears and clutch packs, and a multitude of electronics controlling it all.
Subaru Lineartronic CVT
I can't say what the durability of the CVT is for 5 or 8 yrs down the track - but all Subaru components in the past have proven durable, and Subaru overall reliability is excellent.
I would have loved to have had a Forester in the family, but they are simply overpriced for what you get.
If you can manage to score one for a price at least $2000 below the RRP, then you will do
well.
However, we don't have enough competition on the West Coast to do that, and I couldn't buy from an East Coast dealer, and end up any better than a local deal, by the time the costs of transport were added.
Stepdaughter owned a '99 Outback H6 that she bought at 30,000kms and sold at 180,000kms, and it performed faultessly.
She got $8000 for it in 2012 and sold it privately within a fortnight of putting it up for sale.
The current Forester is a top little chariot, just a little too highly priced for what you get, IMO.
AnswerID:
543003
Follow Up By: Mick T3 - Monday, Dec 15, 2014 at 19:59
Monday, Dec 15, 2014 at 19:59
A dealer, one of two in
Adelaide, offered me the 2.5i-L CVT for $38,000 Drive Away and the 2.5i CVT for $33,000 Drive Away.
I'd like the Paddle Gear Shift, but don't want to pay $5000 extra for package it comes with.
Do you think the Paddle Gear Shift is useful, Ron N?
FollowupID:
829850
Follow Up By: Ron N - Monday, Dec 15, 2014 at 21:03
Monday, Dec 15, 2014 at 21:03
Mick, the Camry Atara has the paddle gear shift, but I don't see it as being a particularly useful option - except for one area - selecting specific gears for steep
hill climbing and going down steep hills.
I could imagine it would be useful going up or down some of the steep ranges over the Gt Dividing Range.
We drove up to
Kuranda from
Cairns and back down to
Gordonvale from
Atherton, in August, in a hired current-model Corolla - and I can tell you, the climb up and down those ranges are both some drives, that keeps you on your toes! The Corolla actually handled those sections with superb response and handling.
However, the Camry has the ability to select gears by merely pulling to the right and cranking the lever repeatedly back against spring pressure, to go down the gears - or cranking forward repeatedly to go up in the gears - and this feature kind of makes the paddles a bit superflous - unless you're terrified of taking your hands off the wheel, of course!
I've actually never tried the manual select position in the Subaru - the CVT is so good, and the Subaru brakes so good, I've never had to hold the Outback in lower gears on a steep
hill.
However, I haven't had to climb or go down anything like the
Kuranda or the
Gordonvale hairpin trails in a Subaru CVT, so I lack the experience in that area with the CVT.
I still believe that at $38,000 drive-away, the 2.5i-L is still
well over-priced. A dealer in
Orange actually sold several new 2.5i-L's for $36,500 drive-away in January 2014, and I contacted him about the offer, but they were all gone by the time I saw them advertised.
The new Japanese free trade agreement is supposed to bring Japanese car prices down - and the Yen has depreciated against our dollar by about 5% since mid-January 2014, so the current Subaru prices should be a lot better than they actually are.
Cheers, Ron.
FollowupID:
829854