New to the Fourm need some opinions
 

Hi, I am so glad i came upon this site! It is excellent, and many opinions on different issues make it almost impossible not to fix somethings, here is the situation with my subaru. my brother bought the subau svx 95-L last year, well when he got it, it looked like almost new. if you are interested in seeing it there is an attachement at the bottem. Well in 20,000 miles in one year, has turned this car into almost nothing. My dad just the other day said we would be better off just to sell it to a junk yard, well i hear this and i am like wait, the subaru is badass, 240 horse, cool ass deisgn, and it would be mine at almost nothing, well then i pulled 2500 out of my account. By the way I am 16 and this will be my first car (should have mentioned that earlier). Well after i asked my brother for the car his response was he was going to give it to me cause he thought it was just junk. So finnally he agreed to take the 500 i offered him. Now I have 2000 to work on this car. But not alone, my father is gona help me all the way till it becomes the gorgious car it once was. Sorry for all this background, thought someone might think it was interestin :)


Here is the condition of the subaru, leaks water (my dad thinks it is a frezze plug because water was driping off the back of the block, i think is what he said) transmission is out in 3rd so I only have 1st and 2nd, which gets me around because my trips are no more than the trip to the autozone down the street. There is a mechanic friend of the family says he can fix this for 600 dollars, which i think is very reasonable. then the speedometer is broken (i belief the cause of this is a sensor, because i have been studying the board, and that seems like the reasonable answer). It starts right up when it is cold, but as soon as it kills and i try to restart, it takes about 5 turns of the key to get it started, which was quite dangerous one time when it went dead at a intersection.(i thought this might be the tps sensor am i right?, because ofcourse my check engine light is on and i ran diagnostics on it and the codes came up tps speedometer, knock right, EGR Solenoid or Circuit).. and it really needs 4 new tires, and ofcourse the raddle from the heat guard. other than that it is a great car lol. well i have 2 grand to spend and me and my father are going to try to do all the work ourselfves kida of like a father son thing? cause i am the youngest.. not tring to be a smartass or anything we just cant afford the labor, because with all these problems we might end up with a 8,000 bill.. and a couple other things cigarette lighter it gone.. man i really need that! and it has a cracked windshield and my brother sanded down the right side of the car which took me a good 6 days to sand paint and buff, now looks like brand new and only cost me 28 dollars :). But about a good 25 hours of work haha.. well my question is what areas should i start on first with my limited money, but i am in no rush because i will not be driving this car for another 4 months.. thanx!

Wow, interesting project. Too many questions for me to answer at this time!

I sure hope you can learn a lot by doing all the work yourself and that you share what you've learned with everyone who's interested.

As for the car, what did your brother do to that thing!?! If the car is driven normally it should last!

Congratulations on your first car. For the way it looks in the picture $500 is a good deal, it's worth more than that just as a parts car (but hope you would not do that as so few were made).

If you get the transmission fixed, it's worth would jump to probably $3000 even with the other problems. I would pick up a Chilton's manual at the least, and definitely search on this forum for each item of concern.

I do have a few cautions that won't seem very friendly, but are really meant in a good way....

Perhaps you will be the exception, but my experience is that 90% of new drivers end up trashing their first car. Not because they are bad, just inexperienced - too much gas pedal, too much brake - when true speed is in being smooth and consistent.

The SVX was not a cheap car when sold new. You wouldn't expect to buy a Ferrari and live with it on a peanuts budget. And you shouldn't expect that from the SVX, even with Japanese engineering quality.

So, I'm hoping I haven't angered you, I just want you to be aware of what you're taking on. Best of luck, it's a unique car in a lot of ways - certainly the most affordable Grand Touring vehicle available on the market today (IMHO).

welll
 

lemme think drove 400 miles in 2nd gear... on one trip... lemme see red lined it at 89 in 2nd.. i was in the car at the time, i was like oh man.. ran from cops.. got caught ofcourse.. haha but now he is ok for people that are interested in my brother.. he now drives a 2002 blazer... which i am kida jealous! but the subaru can beat it da quarter which is all that matters to me :)

not at all, i am young and open to alot of suggestions, and which i know the subaru does need alot of work but i am in no hurray to beat up a car that i put so much time in, actually i had my choice of a 2002 blazer or the subaru and i picked the subaru just for the fact that i know that if i have to work on a car and put time and effort into it then i am not going to abuse are gona have it, because i mean if you uto peal that orange your are going to eat every bit of it, but it you are just handed a pealed orange you are gona waste alot of it. i call that the orange theroy :)... thank you for the warning once again

Hi :)

That's a great looking SVX you got there. :) Best of luck with it and I hope you don't wreck it. I have the same thoughts as Lee with regards to younger drivers and the SVX. It just seems that quite a few wrap them around a pole. I know I would have if I had the SVX when I started to drive. :)

As far as the problems go, do you have any check engine codes? I think it would be a good idea to find out how to check the codes and see if all the sensors are working. I have a 92 and I can do that myself. I am not sure about a 95 though. I think you may need a scanner to do it.

Take care of yourself,

John

Don't remind me!

Subarunoob...don't let this happen to you!

My advice - summer tires are for summer only!

SubaruNoob,

Congrats on the first car, if you can get it running right you'll love it. I'm not a mechanic at all so ic ant offer up advice on that but I do know that this is the place ofr you if you are serious about fixing up that car. I've managed to get alot of parts from people here and found a good mechanic.

First thing I'd say to do is get rid of the bumper sticker as I am convinced they are the most wrong thing you can do to a car, I don't care what the prize is or how clever it may sound.

Secondly you and your dad should sit down and come up with a plan of attack figure out what you need to do and the order you want to do it that will help you get the most out of your budget, 2000 will go by pretty fast even though at 16 it may seem like alot of money. I mean it is alot of money but it might not stretch if you aren't careful.

The last thing is just odd bits of advice, Don't drive the car broke, your asking for more trouble. Remember that no matter how long it seems till its fixed, the time will come stay motivated. Get a part time job if you don't have one, you may need the money. while you and your dad are working on the car make your brother fetch you sodas and sandwiches, don't let him look directly at the car as he no longer deserves that privilage. someone elses car is faster but yours is unique. Someone elses car is faster but wait till it snows. Someone elses car is faster, but it just doesn't matter.

Shane