Ownership Cost for 2006 Subaru Forester (2.5 X L.L.Bean Edition)
Estimated: $40288 over the next 5 years
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Total
Depreciation
$2288
$1098
$961
$869
$778
$5994
Insurance
$1610
$1666
$1724
$1785
$1847
$8632
Fuel
$1660
$1709
$1769
$1840
$1923
$8901
Maintenance
$2763
$2040
$1125
$1060
$2291
$9279
Repairs
$977
$1138
$1298
$1417
$1627
$6457
Taxes & Fees
$693
$693
$693
$693
$693
$1027
Total Ownership Costs
$9990
$7730
$6977
$7035
$8556
$40288
Air Bag Loc Front: 1st Row (Driver & Passenger)
Air Bag Loc Side: 1st Row (Driver & Passenger)
Body Class: Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)/Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV)
Displacement CC: 2500
Displacement CI: 152.559360236
Displacement L: 2.500000
Drive Type: AWD/All Wheel Drive
Make: SUBARU
Manufacturer: FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES U.S.A., INC. (C/O SUBARU OF AMERICA)
Manufacturer Id: 1075
Model: Forester
Model Year: 2006
Plant Company Name: FHI
Plant Country: Japan
Seat Belts All: Manual
Transmission Speeds: 4
Transmission Style: Automatic
Trim: L.L.Bean
Vehicle Type: PASSENGER CAR
Model year
COMPONENT
Complaint
1998
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
MY SPOUSE HAD A MINOR ACCIDENT WITH OUR 1998 SUBARU FORESTER. THE FRONTAL IMPACT CAUSED BOTH AIR BAGS TO DEPLOY. THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG WHEN IT DEPLOYED BROKE THE FRONT RIGHT SIDE (PASSENGER SIDE) DOOR WINDOW AND THE REAR VIEW MIRROR. NO ONE WAS SEATING IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT. I BELIEVE THIS IS A DEFECT THAT MAY BE A RESULT OF THE AIR BAG IMPROPERLY INSTALLED OR ALIGNED. *NLM
2006
SUSPENSION
I PURCHASED MY 2006 SUBARU FORESTER BRAND NEW FROM THE SUBARU DEALER IN CATONSVILLE, MD; RUSSELL SUBARU. THERE WERE NO MILES ON THE VEHICLE WHEN I BOUGHT IT. BOTH REAR BEARINGS WORE OUT ON MY CAR AT ALMOST THE SAME EXACT TIME. EVERY MECHANIC WITH WHICH I HAVE SPOKEN SAYS THIS IS COMMON ON THESE VEHICLES. MY BEARINGS WORE OUT AT ABOUT 70K MILES. THE SUBARU DEALER CHARGED ME APPROXIMATELY $800 TO REPLACE ONE OF THEM. THE OTHER COST ABOUT $600 AT AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE MECHANICS WON'T REPLACE THE BEARINGS BECAUSE THEY CAN'T WARRANTY THE WORK SO YOU END UP REPLACING THE HUB ASSEMBLY. THAT IS WHY IT COST SO MUCH. WHEN IT WEARS OUT IT FIRST STARTS TO SQUEAL AND MAKE A NOISE THAT GETS PROGRESSIVELY LOUDER AS YOU ACCELERATE TO MODERATE SPEED. MY CAR NOW HAS 140K MILES AND MY WHEEL BEARINGS HAVE BEGUN MAKING NOISE AGAIN. AT A COST OF ($600 - $800) X 2, THIS CLEARLY SEEMS LIKE A POOR DESIGN DEFECT. I HAVE OWNED MANY CARS OVER THE YEARS AND HAVE NEVER HAD TO SPEND SO MUCH MONEY FOR THE SAME PART IN SUCH A SHORT TIME. THE PART WORE OUT ALMOST PRECISELY AFTER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY EXPIRED. EVERY PERSON I KNOW WITH A SUBARU FORESTER HAS THE SAME COMPLAINT. THERE ARE NUMEROUS FORUMS ON THE WEB FROM OWNERS WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT. SUBARU SHOULD PAY THE COST FOR REPLACEMENT PARTS AND LABOR TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM, WHICH IS NOT TYPICAL OF WHAT A BUYER WOULD EXPECT WITH ROUTINE MAINTENANCE FOR A NEARLY $30K VEHICLE. ASIDE FROM THE PREMATURE WEAR OF THE REAR WHEEL/HUB ASSEMBLY, I HAVE BASICALLY BEEN PLEASED WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF MY SUBARU. *TR