General questions from prospective future SVX owner
 

I'm looking for a car to replace my son's 1999 Daewoo Leganza, which was a nice-looking car (styled by Guigaro, but basically a 3/4 scale version of his early 1990s Kensington Jaguar concept)with lots of amenities, but a wretched GM engine.

The SVX seems like it might have the right balance of initial cost, reliability, and style. I've always liked Subarus, although I have never owned one. Also, in light of the Daewoo's destroyed valvetrain, I like the fact that a broken timing belt won't grenade the H6's valves and cams.

I have some questions that aren't in the FAQ, though. Some of them are mine, some of them are his. I think it will be pretty easy to tell which are which :)

1) He'll be taking it to law school next year. Can anyone point me to good SVX specialists in Atlanta, Washington, and Boston? He'll change his own oil, but otherwise modern cars are pretty complex...

2) From the FAQ I understand that front brakes and transmission cooling are issues. There is much mentioned about the transmssion, but what about the brakes? Are there stouter rotors that are drop-in replacements?

3) What's the parts situation for the 3.3L H6? Is the Outback's 3.5L a development of this engine (meaning parts will be around for a while) or an entirely different design? (For that matter, in case of failure, is the Outback's engine a drop-in replacement?)

4) He'll want to install some audio equipment in it. Audio questions:
-How deep are the front speaker holes (6.5" diameter according to Crutchfield, is that right?), and are the door speakers in sealed enclosures or infinite-baffles?
-Are the rear-speakers enclosed or mounted in free air?
-How difficult would it be to enlarge the rear speaker holes to 12" diameter.

The other cars I'm considering for him, for what it's worth, are a mid-1990s Volvo 940/960, mid-1990s Infinti Q45, or a square-headlight Mercedes 190E/300E. But if I can get him something as interesting as an SVX for the same or even less money....

Thanks in advance,

Burhan

Burhan,

1.) I cannot help you with this question from direct experience. However, the DC SVXers say that Tischer Subaru is the best dealership service dept. in the DC area.

2. The aftermarket rotors of choice seem to be from ART. The only time that I warped the front rotors was when I was doing something that I should not have been doing with my '97. I had my dealership turn these rotors and they have been fine for 40K miles. My '92 still has the original rotors at 104+ K miles.

3. The new 3.0L H6 in the Outback is no relation at all to the SVX 3.3L H6. The new H6 is an expansion of the 2.5L H4. The SVX engine is a winner. It will never be manufactured again. It is just too expensive to produce. Front oil seals are what seems to be its main problem. Parts are available. However, you should know that all SVX parts are expensive. The new H6 is NOT a drop-in replacement in the SVX.

4. I cannot help on stereo questions. Taking out the rear speakers is a long and difficult job.


The question that you should be asking is "What kind of driver is my son?" If he is a typical young 'leadfoot', then I would not recommend the SVX. It is a very powerful good handling car but it will get into trouble very quickly at its limits. The AWD gives the driver a false sense of security at the limits. If your son is a 'high speed turnpike cruiser', the SVX is the car for him. Please note that from model year 1994 on the SVX came with dual airbags and manual seat/shoulder belts. If it were my son, I would only look at 1994 and later SVXes. Good luck with your search.

Re: General questions from prospective future SVX owner
 

I just thought I would point out that a friend of mine currently has a 92 SVX for sale in the Atlanta area. Very nice Pearl White LSL. His email address is snazziz24@phobia.net.

-Mike :)

He's going to be 24, and not much of a racer. He just likes "unusual" cars. (The Citroen I list below is actually his.) He's also pretty environmental, so I'd imagine that he'll use mass transport when he can. (He's also used to mass transport because he lives in Europe and doesn't have a car right now.)

I'm curious what you mean about manual seat/shoulder belts? Do some cars have automatic belts? I've never seen anything like that before.

Thanks for your help thus far!

Burhan

Burhan,
The '92 and '93 models have automatic shoulder belts for driver and passenger. The lap belts are manual. Both shoulder and lap belts are manual in the 94-97 models.

If you looking to buy
 

If you are looking to buy please check out my Thread under the Forum "Wanted or For Sale". It is titled "94' FOR SALE". You won't be disappointed.
-SVXJoe:cool:

My two cents...kinda long
 

Just wanted to throw in my two cents:

The stock rotors seem to live long if you dont make repeated high speed stops. The original rotors on my car were good for 90,000 miles.

The early tranny's were troublesome. Try to avoid the 92 and 93 SVX's unless: 1) its tranny has been replaced with an "updated" tranny that has all the fixes that Subaru made, or 2) you don't mind shelling out 3 or 4 grand to have it replaced. Some people have managed to squeeze a lot of miles from those early trannies but more often than not they were junk.

Whatever you do, get FULL INSURANCE COVERAGE! The glass and body panels on this car are expensive! A freak wind storm caused a portable basketball hoop to fall onto my left rear window (the curved piece). Not only did the glass cost $400, but because of it's rarity, it took 3 weeks to arrive (it turned out to be the only blue-tinted left rear window in the U.S.A.....the rest were still in Japan). On another occasion my windshield developed a huge crack and needed replacement. The windshield alone was $1,000 at the local Suby dealer. Fortunately my insurance covered both, otherwise my car would still be off the road. In the one year that I've owned my SVX, my insurance policy has more than paid for itself. And, God forbid I ever get into a fender-bender, I'd much rather pay my deductable than have to replace the pricey body panels myself.
Just my thoughts.

David

I'm also a future SVX owner, and I have a few things to say. Go to google and search for Subaru SVX, and read as much as you can. There's a LOT of information about them available on the net. Secondly, how about your son buys his OWN car. I'm only 21, and I'm going to school and work my butt off. Considering your son asked to cut holes in the back for 12" subwoofers (where 6X9s go) its kinda obvious he's..eh.. .. well. Yeah. Even stereophiles (who are kinda dumb in the first place) don't put subwoofers on the rear deck, you need good 6X9s in back, good 6.5s in front, good tweets, all for good 'imaging'. If he wants bass he'll have to get a box, sub and amp.

- Ca$h

Re: My two cents...kinda long
 

I don't agree with this at all. My '93's tranny went over 132k before it forgot about second gear. Now, I don't consider 132k to be a commendable number of miles for a transmission, but for an SVX that's better than average.

I'm not just taking this personally because I happen to own a '93 SVX. I've been a member of this club since '99 and I just haven't seen that many '93 transmissions fail early enough to call them 'junk.' My memory isn't perfect, of course, but the only '93 transmission failure (besides mine, recently) I can think of is John Shotsky's diff exploding - and he had modded his engine AND unplugged the resistor.

Of course, it's almost a moot point - it's unlikely that a potential buyer is going to find a '93 unless they're looking specifically for one. :)

Re: Re: My two cents...kinda long
 

I have to agree with Nick here.
If you look below, I owned 3 SVXes in one year. my 94L's tranny went at 75k and my 92 had 148k with the original tranny. It all depends on how you drive the car and how well you take care of the SVX. So look for a SVX that is driven by older (no offense) people and look for one that has records of everything including oil changes.

-- Lwin

Lwing,

I bought my SVX new in 1996. I was 52 years old. By your estimate the tranny in my SVX should last until I'm 82.

...and I hope YOU last until you're 82, Larry. After that, both you & the car are entitled to a little fluid leakage.

Rod knockin' Ron.

If I take really good care of my tranny will I get younger?