06-09 Forester or 03-06 Montero

Hanzo

Member
Calicamper: I guess that just hasn’t been my impression of the Subaru’s I’ve seen for sale, but I haven’t seen them in person.

My only experience with Subaru’s has been second hand through friends/family and they have pretty uniformaly praises them (used or new). I’m from northern Michigan and a lot of retired/older folks buy Subaru’s so maybe in this area the second hand market stock is better taken care of. ?*♂️

In regards to working over the vehicle, that will be the case with whatever I get. I planning a 2 or 3 year build AND restoration of whatever I take. The reason being I have one opportunity to take a vehicle and leave it in Ecuador without having to pay the import tax.

All this being said I’m starting to lean heavily towards the 03-06 Montero. But keep the feedback coming!
 

phsycle

Adventurer
phsycle: these were my initial thoughts when considering a forester. What kind of gear and what do you have done to the outback? Have you taken many trips?

I've been on multiple trips with it. Loaded to the hilt, with a roof rack on (two 5-gallon water, firewood, etc. on top). Rear sagged a bit. I'd probably look at a spacer lift for the back. We took it all over Moab and surrounding backcountry roads. Did very well. Not a rock crawler. But never left me stranded and always got me to the camp spot or trail head. 95% of our travels is on pavement, but the 5% could not be done in a regular sedan. Which is why the Subaru fits so well for us. I'm in a Tacoma now. But I'll be getting rid of it for another Subaru--probably a Forester.
 

94toy22re

Observer
I have been to Central and South America several times, i don't think i have ever seen a Subaru so parts could be hard to come by locally! Why not just save the money on shipping cost and buy something down there? I would personally love to have a Toyota Hiace for traveling around in South America and plus your more likely to blend in with the locals by having a common vehicle!
 
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calicamper

Expedition Leader
I have been to Central and South America several times, i don't think i have ever seen a Subaru so parts could be hard to come by locally! Why not just save the money on shipping cost and buy something down there? I would personally love to have a Toyota Hiace for traveling around in South America and plus your more likely to blend in with the locals by have a common vehicle!

^ he has a good point
 

Hanzo

Member
94toy22re: mostly because of the price difference. Anything comparable will be 15-20k here and most likely not well maintained. For instance I just took a look at an early 5th gen Patrol with a gas engine, it was not well taken care of and they wanted 20k.

At this point I’m pretty much sold on the Montero and they are pretty common in this part of the world, as you probably know. But I was walking around my neighborhood and someone here has an older Impreza...I see them now and again. I always wonder why Subaru never made a push in S.A....seems like a good market for their vehicles.

Calicamper: If you think Suby owners are rough on vehicles you’ve never met and Ecuadorian ?.
 

94toy22re

Observer
I do remember seeing some newer style Nissan Pathfinders, but not sure of the long term durability but it’s definitely one to consider. But you should be good to go with any Toyota, Nissan, Suzuki or Mitsubishi.
 

Hanzo

Member
94toy22re: can’t argue with that assessment. I really love the idea of a Toyota, I’ve owned 2 cruisers and a v8 4Runner, but their purchase price is more than I’d like to pay. Especially sense I’ll only be using the vehicle a few months out of the year once it’s here.

I like Suzuki’s but from what I can tell they’re just too small for my needs. I’m not very familiar with Nissans outside of patrols, but most of their 4x4 lineup just doesn’t “do it” for me...their cars on the other hand ?
 

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