Thinking of buying a 92 svx....any advice?
 

I just totalled my 97 Acura CL last week (never did like that car).....still waiting to hear back from the insurance company and all, but I've already started looking at lots and such. I was going out looking for a 240sx, Celica GT, or Imprezza, but this one lot just as I was leaving the salesman was like "what about this?"

It's a 92 Subaru SVX in Dark Green Metallic....I instantly fell in love with it....since I still don't know what the deal is with the insurance I decided I didn't want to hassle him yet with manuvering it out for a test drive as it was in a ways. But it looked to be clean, no dings at all, a couple light scratches that come with age on any car. It had 120k miles (which is nothing compared to the 161k miles on my 97 acura), and nothing had any visable leaks under the hood. The rear bumper looked like it might have been tapped at one point, but it looked like it just needed to be re-set.

The asking price was $3500....what should I try to talk them down to? Anything I should look for in particular for wear etc? I'm looking to buy a car that will get me to Florida and back with a tune up/timing belt change, would this car be likely to do so?

If anyone wants to REALLY help me out and has a carfax account, the ## is JF1CX3439NH101695

Not sure if the first 1 is an I or a 1...

thanks

Just make sure the trans is good.... other than that make sure the rest of the car is worth the money.

uhoh,
Car was involved in an accident in 2003. Has a salvaged title. Rebuilt title issued last year.
"This vehicle does NOT qualify for the CARFAX Buyback Guarantee."

:( like I said, it looked like it was once hit in the rear....hmm, do you think it might be worth trying to bargain it down to $2k then?

I'll have my body guy and my bro's mechanic check it out before buying.....but I don't know, do you think it's even worth looking into at this point?

my 1995 svx is for sale 88k miles, 2600 dollars, has 2/3 shift flare and the awd doesn't work right, but that's it,
it is converted to legacy automatic transmission
if you're interested let me know i live in western PA

Welcome to the site Nick. Before you settle on that one, look around and see if there are any others in your area that don't have a salvage title. Good luck on your search. :)

2/3 shift flare?

What's wrong with the awd? I'm unfamiliar with these cars, so is the Legacy Auto tranny an upgrade or just a substitute?

Here is a link to "What to look for in a used SVX" in the How-To Documents. It may help you with your search. :)

Find out the scope of the accident. The SVX frame is so rigid a rear end collision is probably nothing to worry about, even with a salvage title. Even so, it's worth talking down the price.

2/3 shift flare, it's slow to engage while shifting between 2nd gear and 3rd gear sometimes

the AWD clutches burn up and fail to work, it basically will need a new transmission in the future which is why the price is so insanely low

the legacy automatic transmission has shorter gearing, and is less expensive to replace/repair, also the shorter gearing puts less strain on the transmission which would lead to less failure

this transmission was broken when i put it into the car, and the junkyard reneged on their 'warranty' so i can't replace it other than that the car is in excelent condition

I'd recommend getting one with a replaced, warrantied tranny. I paid an extra 1200$ for a two year warranty that covers my 93 of everything, it's good piece of mind. Virtually ever 92 need(s) a new tranny, and to save 3 grand and lots of hassle I would buy one that has already been replaced. I would recommend anything under 140k miles, make sure they have service records and don't pay over 5 grand for a 92 unless it has low miles. :) Edit: Don't be a salvaged SVX, you're asking for trouble.

So....in short, would buying an 92 SVX with a salvage title for $2500 most likely result in trouble if I drove it from NY to FL and back?

Yeah it's starting to sound like a bad idea to me too. :confused:

Really depends on what was damaged and why it's a good idea to have it looked over thoroughly.
There's plenty of risk in buying pretty much anything that's over 14 years old.

have your boby man check it out along with your mechanic and then if it's worth it,(no blinking power light when you start the car, no check engine light,etc.) then tell the guy what you found out about it and you'll give him 2,500 or so for it. i bought mine off a used cor lot here in akron for 3500 bucks and it had 118k miles, body is very nice except for faded spoiler and interior is pretty much perfect, and wheels are flaky. but i had a blinking power light that i didn't know was a bad thing at the time, and it needed struts and o2 sensors and a few other small things but nothing major really. the power light turned out to just be a bad resistor, so that wasn't a big deal either but tranny issues are something you have to accept with these cars pretty much, especially 92's. i wouldn't be afraid to drive mine long distance as these are excellent touring/cruising cars. either way though, you need to talk down the price cause mine has a clean title and i'm only the 3rd or 4th owner and the first one had it for 10 years! i'd say 2 to 2,500 at the most for it. good luck and i hope you decide to join our family with one svx or another. Good Luck. :)

Well, I really don't have much time at all for car shopping....I've already planned a trip to Florida exactly a month from today, so time's running out and I need something ASAP. That having been said I really didn't have time to search high and low for a low mileage SVX in good shape, as well as any other cars I was putting in my wants list.

The one I was looking at seemed like a good idea at the time, but after much thought, I really don't want to buy another car at the end of it's life span. On a car with that many miles, it's hard to know what could go wrong at any given time, especially on one with a questionable past from a shaddy used car lot of whom I don't know the owner personally. My Supra had 240k miles, my Acura had 162k miles, etc. As cool as they were, and as cool as the SVX is, they've already had the life driven out of them. Everything's worn down by then and they turn into money pits.

So, the ending of the story, I went to the dealer I bought my last car from (a friend of my brother's), he bought back the acura and gave me a sweet deal on an 01 stratus coupe with 50k miles. Yes, ok, so I sold out. :D But that's not saying I'll never get an SVX...When I sell my Supra (if I do), this is definately one of the 3 cars I'll be looking for to toy around with or build up as a 2nd car or possibly a car for my gf. From the responses I've got already, I can tell this community is alot more friendly and seems a bit more "me" than the other scenes I've been invovled with, and I'd like to be able to be a part of it someday.

Thank you all for your advice and info on shopping for one....hopefully I'll use it someday :)