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Looking to buy a 2006 Tribeca B9

8K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  Rotorflyr 
#1 ·
Hi everyone,

We are coming from a 2001 Chrysler minivan thinking of buying a used 2006 Subaru Tribeca B9 SUV to replace it and the price seemed to be priced right in Canada. I mean, there are definitely a lot of options in there and the dealer I was thinking of buying the car used has one with less than 40,000KM on it. We also test drove the brand new 2011 Outback and the 2010 Forester Touring package from the same dealer. The reason buying the Subaru is its AWD. We do a lot of camping and hiking and accessing some forest roads to get to some trails is getting a bit challenging with our van. My questions to all of you is this.
I have a female friend who owns a 2006 Outback and I was extremely impressed with its ground clearance and AWD performance! I wonder if the 2006 Tribeca has the same ground clearance and same AWD capability as her Outback.
We like the price of the Tribeca and we can do a cash deal with our trade-in. It will be financing with the new Outback 3.6R or the Forester without the H6. So what's wrong with the low pricing of the Tribeca B9 aside from the Alfa-Romeo/Porsche Cayenne headlights front look? I mean, it doesn't seem to hold the same value/depreciation wise as the Acura MDX or BMW X5. Also, what should we be checking for on this vehicle in mint condition and low mileage.

Thanks in advance.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
All subarus hold their value quite well, you mentioned the Acura and bmw both are way more expensive new than the tribeca B9 was. Check out cars101.com to see original msrp of subarus and to get all kinds of great info. As for offroading the tribeca should sit as high as an outback, but I think that the front and rear angles are a bit lower than the forester. It should be very capable offroad with the traction control and vdc as compared to your friends outback. No matter what vehicle you can't go wrong with a subaru. Me and my wife are looking into buying a Tribeca as well, it will be our third Subaru and we are hooked for life.

Edit: I checked out the acura msrp and current retail and they do hold there value well, which is what acura is best at.
 
#3 ·
FLsubies said:
All subarus hold their value quite well, you mentioned the Acura and bmw both are way more expensive new than the tribeca B9 was. Check out cars101.com to see original msrp of subarus and to get all kinds of great info. As for offroading the tribeca should sit as high as an outback, but I think that the front and rear angles are a bit lower than the forester. It should be very capable offroad with the traction control and vdc as compared to your friends outback. No matter what vehicle you can't go wrong with a subaru. Me and my wife are looking into buying a Tribeca as well, it will be our third Subaru and we are hooked for life.

Edit: I checked out the acura msrp and current retail and they do hold there value well, which is what acura is best at.
Thanks for the reply,

I had test driven a few B9 already and am impressed with the ride quality. Similar ride quality to the 2011 Outback 3.6R, but just not as gutsy. You definitely sit a bit higher than on an Outback. According to sales, the Tribeca sits at 8.7 inches, while the Outback is 8.9 inches but clearance is fine for what we do. I tested both the 5 and the 7 passengers (there are a lot more 7 here than 5) and I can tell you to forget the last 2 seats. I saw that you guys are looking into the 7 seater. Rear visibility is better with the 2 rear seats folded in. However, I seemed to find a common occurrence with most used Subarus we test drove. The rear hatchback latch seemed to rattle on rough roads or something in the rear is doing it. On one test drive, the rear hatchback door popped open!! Seemed like 4 Tribecas we tested have this problem with the noise coming from the rear. 3 returned 2010 Foresters also had the same rattle noise in the rear as well! 2 of the 4 Tribecas we test drove had this pinging noise on the front struts at 48,000 KM and 78,000 KM. We also heard the same pinging noise from the suspension of the rental returns of 2 2010 Foresters as well at 16,050KM and 18,567km. These issues are keeping us at bay now and am wondering if the price drop that are happening on some dealerships are a sign that these cars are just not selling.

But boy, the ride and response is just superb.

Any Subaru B9 2006 owners can comment on these issues. All the vehicles still have power train warranties and they are willing to fix those issues before we close the deal.
 
#4 ·
TRIBECAYVR said:
Thanks for the reply,

I had test driven a few B9 already and am impressed with the ride quality. Similar ride quality to the 2011 Outback 3.6R, but just not as gutsy. You definitely sit a bit higher than on an Outback. According to sales, the Tribeca sits at 8.7 inches, while the Outback is 8.9 inches but clearance is fine for what we do. I tested both the 5 and the 7 passengers (there are a lot more 7 here than 5) and I can tell you to forget the last 2 seats. I saw that you guys are looking into the 7 seater. Rear visibility is better with the 2 rear seats folded in. However, I seemed to find a common occurrence with most used Subarus we test drove. The rear hatchback latch seemed to rattle on rough roads or something in the rear is doing it. On one test drive, the rear hatchback door popped open!! Seemed like 4 Tribecas we tested have this problem with the noise coming from the rear. 3 returned 2010 Foresters also had the same rattle noise in the rear as well! 2 of the 4 Tribecas we test drove had this pinging noise on the front struts at 48,000 KM and 78,000 KM. We also heard the same pinging noise from the suspension of the rental returns of 2 2010 Foresters as well at 16,050KM and 18,567km. These issues are keeping us at bay now and am wondering if the price drop that are happening on some dealerships are a sign that these cars are just not selling.

But boy, the ride and response is just superb.

Any Subaru B9 2006 owners can comment on these issues. All the vehicles still have power train warranties and they are willing to fix those issues before we close the deal.
Although you feel the 06 B9 is gutsy, don't forget premium is recommended. Once you throw a few tanks of 89 into it, it gets a bit sluggish. It'll work and won't hurt the engine, but it won't be as fun. We have an 07 B9 and still love it. Never had a hatch problem though; it only has 47k on it.

I have a 2011 3.6R Legacy and the hauls really smoothly and only needs 89.
 
#5 ·
the hatch issues seem to be a common rattle in Tribeca's and apparently other Subarus, which makes sense. it can be fixed however, but that is a fault in the Tribeca/Subaru for sure. back to the value, the Tribeca holds its value pretty well. in the U.S a fully loaded Tribeca in 2006 went for about $35,000, and now an 06 fully loaded with the high miles is about $15000 and low miles maybe about $17000, which is pretty good. Acura, Toyota and Lexus seem to own resales values but point being, the resale is pretty good and resale really doesn't mean to much to me, a Mercedes E-class depreciates like crazy, although they are great cars but of course its going to depreciate b/c it was a $60,000+ car.. ( in the U.S) . But overall the Tribeca is great and so is Subaru
 
#6 · (Edited)
Tribeca_06 said:
the hatch issues seem to be a common rattle in Tribeca's and apparently other Subarus, which makes sense. it can be fixed however, but that is a fault in the Tribeca/Subaru for sure. back to the value, the Tribeca holds its value pretty well. in the U.S a fully loaded Tribeca in 2006 went for about $35,000, and now an 06 fully loaded with the high miles is about $15000 and low miles maybe about $17000, which is pretty good. Acura, Toyota and Lexus seem to own resales values but point being, the resale is pretty good and resale really doesn't mean to much to me, a Mercedes E-class depreciates like crazy, although they are great cars but of course its going to depreciate b/c it was a $60,000+ car.. ( in the U.S) . But overall the Tribeca is great and so is Subaru

We had a chance to test drive a 2010 3.6R Outback rental return and the car is absolutely quiet including the rear hatch with mileage half of that of the Tribeca 2006. No creaks and noise from the sunroof as well. Apparently the sales person told us against buying the Tribeca 2006 because of those issues I mentioned and it's gonna to cost more to repair as the warranty on those are running out. We are very close friends so he was looking out for our well being financially. Since we have a terrible experience with the Chrysler van breaking sway bars, struts and bushings going like you wouldn't believe. We are not going to be stuck with another suspension problem, so we bought the Outback instead. Just beautiful ride and we got a really really great deal. Believe me, there were like 5 couples wanting their hands on this Outback, but no takers on the Tribeca. By the way, that Tribeca had the rear hatch noise fixed at least 4 times plus the struts.

And where we are living here (mountain country), the Outback holds the best highest value even against the Acura RDX. We will use this advantage towards our next trade-in, hopefully not in a little while since Subaru is supposed to be one the most reliable vehicles!
 
#7 ·
Magic Marker said:
Although you feel the 06 B9 is gutsy, don't forget premium is recommended. Once you throw a few tanks of 89 into it, it gets a bit sluggish. It'll work and won't hurt the engine, but it won't be as fun. We have an 07 B9 and still love it. Never had a hatch problem though; it only has 47k on it.

I have a 2011 3.6R Legacy and the hauls really smoothly and only needs 89.
Thanks. We are now a proud owner of the 2010 3.6R Outback. It's really smooth. We had been tortured so much by the Caravan's creaking, boing suspension problems that going over bumps now with the Outback is like -- what -- no noise?!? We were used to bracing for something. :)
 
#8 ·
Nice to see you got what you were looking for, me and my wife made the trip to see the two tribecas we were considering and we looked at both the 5 and 7 Passenger models but the 7 passenger we saw looked pretty rough, so we did decide we wanted the extra seating but not that particular one so the search continues.
 
#10 ·
Sort of the same questions

I'm looking at an '06 Tribeca for my wife. Is there anything in particular that has been a problem area with these vehicles. Looking around I have seen quite a few complaints about the headlights but that is really the only recurring issue that I have seen. Any other suggestions on potential issues on an '06 with @40K miles on it?

Thanks in advance.
 
#11 ·
There are very few issues with them, the hatch rattle is easily cured by adjusting the striker on the hatch lock. There have been some paint issues with 06 models I believe the gold color, and there are some dash rattle complaints. Those are the real issues that come up frequently. If you know it's what you want then, like us, you can just enjoy it and like it for what it is.

One thing that does come to mind with the 06, and a reason we got the 07 is the aux input on the stereo was added in 07, not a big deal but we really like that feature. But honestly it is hard to go wrong with either Tribeca.
 
#12 ·
Teledave said:
I'm looking at an '06 Tribeca for my wife. Is there anything in particular that has been a problem area with these vehicles. Looking around I have seen quite a few complaints about the headlights but that is really the only recurring issue that I have seen. Any other suggestions on potential issues on an '06 with @40K miles on it?

Thanks in advance.

It is suggested to use premium gas but I am sure you know about this "issue" already.
 
#13 ·
Teledave said:
Is there anything in particular that has been a problem area with these vehicles. Looking around I have seen quite a few complaints about the headlights but that is really the only recurring issue that I have seen. Any other suggestions on potential issues on an '06 with @40K miles on it?
Thanks in advance.
Headlights aren't as bad as some would lead you to believe, and I wouldn't be surprised if in some cases, the people who commented on them didn't actually have the lights on as the drl's are the low beams running at a reduced power, and if you aren't paying attention it's possible to not realize that you didn't actually turn the lights on at night...lol :p

Either way, you can do order better/brighter bulbs (H7's) from here: http://candlepowerinc.com/ and easily take care of the "problem"

Other then that, the biggest "issues" are wiper blades (can't really go buy "off the shelf" blades for it) and the front sway bar bushing (which is also an easy/cheap fix)
 
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