Thinking of buying a 95 LS SVX.
 

I need your opinion.

There is a 1995 LS SVX for sale (asking $3,500) and wanted to know if it's a good buy. I know you might be basis but would appricate your honest opinion. This will by my new daily driver since I need a AWD vehical for the winter (snow). Also needs to be reliable. I can do the basic maintance on it like oil change, fuel filter, air filter, just proper maintance since I'm too busy with my 300ZX TT.

Here is what I got from his ad...
Miles = 135,000

Also, is the mpg average around 17.5? I hear you can grab 25mpg hwy but I didn't know city was rough.

Thanks for your help and time

Ask about the transmission, "The transmission shifts good to very well..."

Why doesn't it shift perfectly?

I'm north of you and I've averaged about 21MPG (US) over the 5+ years I've owned mine.

I've searched and noticed a few tranny problems. Is it that common or something that is caused by abuse? Once I get a reply I will drive out to see the person and car myself.

Is there anything specific I should watch out for besides the obvious?

The trannies are strong provided they don't overheat or lose ATF flow. Doesn't really matter how they are driven.

Manual swaps are worthwhile in my opinion.

If you're looking for an inexpensive, reliable, AWD daily driver I might recommend an older (same vintage) Impreza or Legacy. Either will be more useful, more reliable, less expensive to insure and less expensive to repair.

Don't get me wrong, I love my SVX. I just wouldn't count on it as your beater.

You should see what I do to my teal:D

Tom

I was considering that but all those are high mile vehical for a price more than the SVX.

What does reliable mean to this car? Do I need to do repairs every 6 months or so? People say the Nissan 300ZX TT is car that needs lots of maintance but I haven't had any problems so far (just daily routine maintance, nothing major). If a head gasket blows or something I'm able to fix it but I just don't want to be constantly be fixing the car.

Thanks for your inputs.

Depends on how the car you buy has been treated. My first SVX needed typical SVX stuff when I bought it (radiator, rear wheel bearings, hoses), but since then, in nearly 40,000 miles, the only part failure I've experienced was the crank pulley, and I noticed it going bad and got a replacement before it let go. But, I lucked-out and got a car that clearly had been maintained well and not routinely thrashed. And while I do stretch her legs from time to time on an open highway or twisty back road, I'm a fairly sedate driver and rarely push the car anywhere near its limits.

(Edit: Oh, and I replaced the ECU temperature sensor to correct a cold-starting problem; $15/5 minutes.)

I agree that an SVX probably isn't a great choice for a beater, largely because so many of those on the market have already been beaten to death. But the fact is, ANY 10-15 year old car with 100k+ on the odometer is liable to need a periodic infusion of cash to keep it on the road.

dcb

I've been told the wheel bearing goes out commonly on these cars, is that true? If so, how hard is it to change on these cars? Harder than usual?

I've quoted this from a source "The SVX has three main faults: transmission failure, wheel bearing failure, and warped rotors." Is that the only (if it's true) main faults? If so, I can handle that minus the cost for a new tranny since if that does happen I'll probably do a MT swap.

By the way, how's the cost on maintaining this car?

Add to that list the radiator and crank pulley in the 100,000-120,000 mile range; subtract brake rotors unless you enjoy trying to make them glow. My SVX has needed no attention whatsoever to the brakes but, again, I don't flog the car.

Cost? One new OEM lug nut costs eight bucks and change, if that tells you anything. Actually, aftermarket belts, hoses, filters, sensors, half-shafts and such are readily available -- and much cheaper than OEM -- if you don't mind running parts that don't bear the Subaru brand.

dcb