2008 Subaru Forester Pricing and Specs

Most cars have a rotary dial somewhere on the dashboard to control the brightness of the dashboard lights. On this model Subaru it’s extremely well hidden. But if you look closely at the indicator stalk, you should see a collar surrounding it towards the tip of the stalk. This collar can be twisted in either direction to either brighten or darken the dashboard lighting. However, I’ve read that while some of the lights will adjust this way, the speedometer’s brightness is non-adjustable.

I’m told that by holding the climate control off button down for a few seconds, you can also adjust the intensity of the lighting for that function as well.

It’s not possible to say how many km is too many, as there are a number of things that can affect engine life. It can be the way it has been driven, if it has been thrashed, if it has towed, etc., but the most important thing is servicing. Any vehicle you consider buying should come with a record of regular servicing by an experienced mechanic who would use a good quality oil. Try to find a car with around 150,000 km, which should give you 150,000-200,000 km of reliable motoring.

Subaru spokesman David Rowley replies: "If the customer can supply the details of their car and the particular service, we would like to investigate on their behalf. Under Subaru's capped price service program, the cost of each service is transparent and clearly spelled out on our website, and can be checked at the time of booking, vehicle drop-off or pick-up. Speedometers on all new vehicles sold in Australia, including on all Subarus, have to meet Australian Design Rules. However, the speedometer reading is not directly linked to the odometer reading and therefore won't generate any variances."