Hello. New to the forum.
 

Hello everyone. I live in Utah and am looking for a SVX and found one at a local used car dealer: http://tinyurl.com/ypqmrv

I noticed a small puff of white smoke when I first started the and none after that. Could that be indicative of worn rings or just that the car had not been started for some time? the puff never came back despite my continued effort to bring it back by revving the engine while parked.

The SVX drove well, the transmission shifted without slipping and there was no rear bearing noise. Nothing stands out except a buzz at 2500 rpm (shroud or guard?) and a bit of oil seepage around the right side valve cover. The car seems clean enough except for some parking lot rash.

The car was listed at $3999 but the price was just raised to $4499. I guess it was on sale:rolleyes:

Anything else I should look for? I'm a newbie regarding Subarus.

Thanks.

Jeff

A small puff of white smoke on startup is usually of no concern. Moisture in the cylinders or exhaust system. Black smoke is a sign of burning oil or too rich fuel mixture. Here are a few items you might consider. The paint looks to have been buffed with a rotary buffer leaving swirls in either the wax or the clearcoat. If in the wax, no problem. If in the clearcoat it will have to be CAREFULLY buffed again with an orbital buffer to remove the swirls. The driver and passenger seats have obviously been recovered. Do you know the condition of the seats under the covers? Are the covers of good quality and are they comfortable (those that fit too tightly give a harsh feel, bad for long trips). I'd ask why the price was raised. Did the owner/dealer do anything that would justify a hike in price. Unless there is a good reason, I'd consider the original asking price as my place to begin negotiations. Overall, the car looks pretty good in the pictures, however you are the one who can see it up close and personal. Go to the FAQ on this site that tells you what to look for when buying a SVX. It has some good information. Best wishes.
Preston

Car looks ok, 4500 seems a bit steap for an L, i paid less than that for my 94 LSi. He lists 4x4 drivetrain, when in reality it's only 2x4, the L was not AWD, nor was the LS, only the LSi after 93 i believe, so don't let him fool you on that. It is front wheel drive only. As stated above, check what's under those seat covers. Typically on hte leather i could see recover, as it's more likely to crack and such, but rips in cloth aren't as common. Check for squeels in the wheel bearings, they have a habit of going. Make sure all shifts are smooth both up and down through the gears, the trans are known to overheat and have issues. Good luck with the purchase, but i wouldn't give him his raised price for it. Also check window switches, they can get funny.

If he can't give you a good reason for the price hike, i would start at 500$ below origional price for negotiation, then you should hit somewhere around origional price.

I do believe that car is AWD. It has the optional safety package available in 1994 (see the passenger side SRS airbag?).

Aside from optional equiptment, i was pretty sure that AWD was not one of the options on the L, though i cannot check right now, as cars101.com won't talk to me :( however i did find this in one of the reviews:
I'm not 100%, but perhaps the OP can help us out.

Vin
 

The "H" in the 11th position of the VIN indicates that it is an AWD vehicle. A "K" would indicate FWD. So, I would assume that it left the factory as an AWD and remains so unless someone converted it which is highly doubtful.

There was no such thing as an "optional safety group". In midyear 94 the passenger airbag was added along with other minor changes.

Lee

To all, thanks for the comments.

I looked under the car and it does have a rear trans axle, thus AWD.

The seats just have cheap seat covers on them over the cloth seats. They are not broken down as far as I could tell but did not have the time to inspect them closer. The dealer told me that the price would go up after a day due to a sale they were having.

In person, the paint looks pretty fair. The only thing I saw was a large number of small dimples in the driver door. Kinda like parking lot rash. Almost looks like hail damage on the side of the car, strange.:confused:

The carfax the dealer showed me was clean.

I'll buy it if they will lower their price.

Jeff

$3500 or walk away.

I would beg to differ. It was introduced in 1995, not 1994. It was called the active safety group - my mistake.

http://www.cars101.com/subaru_svx.html#1995%20SVX

even $3500 is way to much for that car. $3k and negotiate from there, maybe I'd pay $3.5 after all the taxes and fees

About 2yrs ago I paid just under $4k for my '95 L with AWD, it had 91k miles on it and was pretty much show room quality, deffinetly had been garage kept(maybe 1-2 parking lot dings on the doors). So I would deffinetly think $3.5k is a good price for that car. Hope to see you end up with an SVX soon! Tell them you want it with a full tank of gas also ;) :D




Dustin

Again
 

First you need to be aware that your link is not an official Subaru site and the data was simply compiled by an SVX enthusiast. While it is generally good data---there are errors.

My statements were referring to the 94 model year. You will notice that your link reference does not even mention a 94 Model LE which did and does exist. I had one. My statement is still correct about the passenger airbag. It was a "in year production" change that really had nothing to do with model. You WILL find 94 L's with single AND dual airbags just depending on date of manufacture.

I am not even addressing your "Active Safety Group" which had more to do with the drive train and brakes than restraint system.

Lee

A document that may help you when buying a used SVX can be found here in the How-To Documents. Good luck. :)