I'm located in Toronto and I'd like to ship the car to Norway and start my trip through Russia and the Stans from there.

Unfortunately, I'm at the time where my current vehicle... a 1997 4 Runner with over 500,000km is in need of about 5k in repairs.

I'm considering spending 5-10k on an older Forester with less km... but unsure of their reliability. Especially the prospect of taking a newly acquired used car on a 20,000km road trip. Sounds risky.

Unfortunately, I find myself dead set on driving manual transmission and this cuts out a lot of vehicle purchasing options in North America .

Suggestions?

I take it that you know the 4 runner very well, and can identify those things that may well fail in the next 20,000 miles? If so, then that is your best option - replace all those things that may well fail. This way you have a vehicle you know well and have faith that it will do the job.

If you don't know either vehicle well then ... time to learn. Which one will be more reliable .. ask mechanicS (get more than one) for their thoughts - do mention the trip so they have context. Then learn that vehicle.

A Forester is great, but a 4 Runner (in normal condition) is better I think.

More importantly, I think you have more chance to find spare parts for a 4 Runner than for a Subaru.

What kind of engine is in the 4Runner and why is the 5k in repairs needed?

Unfortunately I have deferred judgement over the past 10 or so years to the mechanic that I do know well. He says at this point I could blow a piston or gasket even if we fix up the rest of the issues and doesn't recommend repairing the 4 runner.

Perhaps a 2nd or 3rd opinion is in order like you mentioned.

It's a V6 with around 550,000 km. Amazing it's made it this far, but it's been regularly maintained. I brought it in for a whining noise which is apparently the water pump going and timing belt. The alternator is apparently going as well, but the car still starts fine.

It also needs new tires with is irrelevant because any newer vehicle I get would need new tires.

I'm just hesitant to spend money on a car that already has this amount of mileage. Wonder how far these old 4 runners can go.

20k km is not that far, so chances of anything major going wrong with a given engine are not too great. On the other hand, your mechanic is right: there are lots of potential points of failure in an engine with that many miles on it, and there's no way to check them all out or do preventative maintenance--not for $5000, not for any amount. Even a complete engine rebuild will leave transmission and rest of drivetrain, suspension, steering, electrical and electronic systems, cooling, etc. etc. etc. vulnerable.

You'll decide about the Suburu, probably based on whether you can find parts and have repairs done in the places you're going. You probably already know that Foresters are pretty reliable, run for long distances, and manage difficult conditions well. Again, 20,000 km is not a long distance in the general scheme of things.

If I were you I'd be questioning myself closely about the need to limit myself to manual transmissions. If you're determined to bring a vehicle from North America, you've eliminated virtually all the possibilities before even getting started. That had better be pretty important to you, because it's going to have a huge effect on everything--preparation, budgeting, levels of anxiety during the trip itself, resale value, and more. I might even think about buying a vehicle in Europe, where manual transmissions are far more common (but I don't know much about how that might work, so take with a grain of salt).

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Thanks for the reply Mark.

I'm unsure if the forester offers good enough ground clearance for some of the roads in Russia and Mogolia? Sounds like a lot of members here take quite beefy modded 4x4s.

Wondering if anyone can comment on the suitability of a smaller SUV for the road conditions between Russia and Mongolia.

It doesn't seem possible to register a vehicle purchased as a foreigner in a different country unless there's some sort of address I can provide in that country. If anyone knows otherwise, please do let me know!