club.liberty.asn.au

So looking to pick up a used car in addition to the Gen4 Liberty. Was looking at other manufacturers like Toyota, Hyundai and Nissan. Most specifically a mid sized SUV.

But am now leaning towards a 2008 Subaru Forester as it has all the room we need for a family car. Found this one and wanted to get your thoughts on a Forester.

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2008-Subaru-Forester-X-S3-Auto-AWD-MY09/OAG-AD-16012777?DistFromLoc=3072&pageSource=details&id=OAG-AD-16012777

What about a Klüger?

I was looking at the Kluger but for the money I want to spend, $15k, all Klugers have almost 200k kms on them. Not sure I want to take that on...

Most Klugers are only 2wd so not nearly as safe as a forester. My eldest daughter has a grand kluger and loves it but it was $28000 and is only 2wd.. She is still missing her 206 kwatw rex but now has 2 children. Another daughter has a Suzuki grand vitara and loves it as well but they are expensive and the clutch is $2k. It is probably the best on the beach and they can be lifted etc easily...Another daughter has an 07 Rav 4 and loves it. ($5k from auctions last Sept). It is probably the most fun out of the 3 SUVs and it has more room than a Forester and it looks cool on its Black 19" wheels , plus the Rav4 has a timing chain so no need for expensive big services as well as being constant awd. My youngest daughter had an 08 Forester for 3-4 months when first got her Learners....It was 5 years old when we bought it for her from a friend for $10k after he was only offered $8k as a trade in on a new one. We bought it for her as it was an auto but once she got used to driving and being on the road ( the other daughters first started driving in my wifes auto rex but her new rex was a manual and they are all too quick for a learner) ,we put her in the rexs to get used to gears etc after a few months of being on the road and sold the Forester for $15k . It was a beautiful car with only 106k(100k service was already done). The auto was very responsive and a joy to drive. She now has a NT Impreza..
That one in the add is too expensive and is going to need a $1500+ service in less than 20,000ks. They would have traded that for $6-9k and if it isn't sold in a few weeks it will go off to the dealer only auctions where it will sell for not much more. Buying from a dealer is the most expensive place to shop and unless you are desperate to get rid of a trade in that you can't get a rwc for or don't know how to sell a car (detailing advertising etc etc ). They don't on sell cars unless they know they won't have any warranty issues but no Subaru with those ks will have a problem unless it has been damaged and repaired or on WOVR as a repairable write off (you can check this).. You are better off getting one privately with 110,000ks so that service is done (get proof of service) and the car will be cheaper as well. The beauty of the Rav 4 was it was due for $100k (had 95k on clock) but because the chain last for 1/2 mil ks the service was only $600. Have a look at the Honda CRV as well.. They are a nice reliable unit and can be got for a good price.. If you are going to go off road occasionally, the best of all those mid size suvs is the Nissan Xtrail. I have no idea about the maintenance costs but they win most mid size SUV comparison tests across the board for performance, handling, off road ability etc etc .. Good luck with your search.

Thanks Stifull for your detailed response!

I am seeing a few with 110k to 130k kms with asking prices between 10k and 13k. Foresters that is. If I could find one with full service history that passes a mechanical inspection and is in decent shape cosmetically around the 10-11k, I might pick that up. Will keep my eyes out for one.

I've been looking into xtrails as well. I was about to pull the trigger on a 2016 ST with 68k kms on it still under factory warranty and additional 3 year mechanical warranty for $19k but had to rethink my budget. Wasn't sure I wanted to spend that much on a used car. I'm seeing alot of the older xtrails, previous design, but they all have 150k+ kms on them so I'm not sure about the reliability of Nissans after that much use.

Rav4 and CRVs also made the list but only finding early 2000 models for the price range and with very high kms.

I do think I want a AWD or 4x4 drive as this will be the car we will travel with and do some family camping trips. Not that all those will require rugged vehicles but it's good to have in a bind.

Outback?

Considered the outback but wanted something a bit bigger/taller. As in head room.

Looking at the Honda CRV right now. Found a couple with less than 100k kms for around 14k so will check those out.

Anyone have experiences with a Mitsubishi Outlander?

In every review I have seen they only get 3-3.5 stars... I have had 7 Mitsubishi 4x4 vans and they have all been very reliable except the 4m40 turbo I/C diesel always has to have it's fuel pump rebuilt ($1500) in all of the L400 models but that supposedly has to do with sulfur in Jap diesel (they are all grey imports) I love my current one .

So picked up a 2010 Honda CRV with 80k kms, 80k major service completed, brand new tires, brake rotors, pads, roof racks and tinted windows. Owned by a mechanic's wife so all the service history was very meticulously kept. My wife loves the car! Thanks all for your input and advice.