decisions, decisions, decisions...
 

to buy an SVX or not to...

It's a '92 black Ls-L :) ...118500 miles on it...tranny was replaced once already...

questions...
how reliable are the subaru remans? I mean, will I be buying a tranny from my subaru dealer every 50,000 miles?????

trannys fail b/c of heat...what precautions can be taken to help prevent overheating?? I know of aux atf coolers...does anyone use high temp atf??? anything else you can do??

I love this car...but I'm not sure if it will be worth it in the long run for me. If anyone can give me any more information or pointers or whatnot, I'd love ya forever.

Thanks!
~andrew

It will be one of the best purchases you ever made - unless you get an abused car. Be very sure. Personally, I hear of far fewer problems with '94 through '97 model years. It might be best to wait until you can find a newer one. At any rate, do as much research as you possibly can.

It's a wonderful car. :)

How much are they asking? What state do you live in?

Re: decisions, decisions, decisions...
 

I just bought a black 92 ls-s w/ 95K on it. I love the car! the tranny is sweet, and it's the original one. I dont see any problems coming up in the future, the original owner was very good at taking care of it.

If you tell us what state / city it's in, most of these guys will go out, take a look at it, and give you a some good advice on it

I'm in rochester, minnesota...and so is the car. The dealer is being kinda pushy about it, so it makes me kinda leery about why they're so eager to sell it. But I'm going to take it to my mechanic monday, and have him take a look at it and see what he says.

Generally, dealers are pushy about every car they have, it's their reason for being.

I think a lot of tranny failures are due to heat and to age. Some have been abused (no matter what the owner tells you.) I've been a tech for 31 years and the attitude of a lot of people is "If the car can do it, it's not abuse." The fact is after enough abuse the car can't do it anymore.

An unfortunate amount have been rebuilt by unqualified/inept rebuilders and the owners have suffered multiple rebuilds. I don't recall anyone specifically stating that they've had more than one Subaru rebuild installed, but I could be wrong.

Tranny coolers, synthetic ATF and an external filter seem to be the best ways to stave off repairs. While you can romp on the car from time to time, it's probably best to ease up on the loud pedal at each shift. Also potentially helpful would be to drive in '3' in heavy traffic on surface streets.

Hope ya find a good one, they're great cars.

Beav

Thanks for the posts...I think that I'm going to say the hell with it and buy the car. The dealer actually somehow has all the service records for it, so I'm going to browse through those tomorrow and see what's up. Taking it to my mechanic too...hey, do any of you know anything about those extended warranties that you can buy?? They'd help defer at least some of the cost when I would run into tranny trouble. Any recommendations about this subject? Thanks!

You might have a tough time finding a warranty company that will cover that car. Most of them won't do an extended warranty for a car with over 100k miles, or more than X years old (where X seems to be less than the age of a 92). I have a warranty through warrantybynet.com, they've been pretty cool. Just paid for a $350 wheel bearing replacement without complaining. However, they'll only cover a car with <100k miles and less than 10 model years old.

There may be other companies that would be able to provide you an extended warranty, and you could also ask the dealer you're looking to buy from. Try checking out autotrader for extended warranties, or just do a google search. It's also a good idea to look companies up on usenet (www.deja.com) and through the better business bureau (www.bbb.org), as a lot of warranty companies seem last about as long as <insert svx transmssion joke of your choosing here>.

Good luck with the car - we'll have to have a Minnesota meet sometime!

thanks for all the input. my mother, her brother, and her father, are all trying to convince me not to buy the car. my response was, 'you didn't drive it.' lol anyways, i went searching for a company that would give me an extended warranty...came up with a handful. one that caught my eye the most was this thing called 'warranty wizard'...soooooo tacky, but they said they'd give me two years coverage with no deductible for about $1100. checked them out on the bbb...said they'd been in operation since '85. i think it's fair enough if the tranny would need work just once...any opinions on this? sorry i seem like such a half-wit about this...i just want this car, and will do almost anything to have it. call me crazy...but i already know i am ;)

Be careful about extended warranty underwriters, they have loopholes. Some won't cover gaskets and seals, some only allow $30-$40 / hour labor, some will dictate used parts, as they see fit. Read the fine print beforehand. Some will only give you a 'gloss-over' before you sign up, then you'll get your 'real' contract a few days (weeks) later, "Allowing you time to sit down and read at your convenience", which they're betting on you never doing until the right of recision has passed.

Beav

Yup! You're wrong...
 

Not counting my Level 10, I've had 5 (yes, F-I-V-E, as in $15,200 worth of under-engineered transmissions **) in just as many years! :eek: The last one was destroyed so completely (see pics in my locker) that my the price of my Level10 included a new unit!! So for those who knew of the X-35 project years ago, and are wondering why I'm not further along... there ya go!! :D

<shameless plug>
The L10 has been put through more crap than all 5 others combined and it shurgs off my abuse like nothing happened. I can't wait to see how it stands up to a four-fold increase in HP.
</shameless plug>

sorry beav, just *had* to get that one out!! :D :D

** $3800 parts and labor per trans @ DC rates. one trans (the second) went before it's 1year warranty was up.

how does this sound for coverage...
 

i got this of the contract thingie from this warrany wizard thing with is a cover for Platinum Warranty Corp.--

"Engine: All internally lubricated parts inclusive of: pistons, piston rings and pins, crankshaft and main bearings, connecting rods and bearings, camshaft and bearings, timing gear chain and/or belt, rocker arms, shafts and bushings, valves, valve springs, guides and seats, push rods and lifters, oil pump; externally: water pump, mechanical and/or electric fuel pump, oil pan, flywheel, valve covers, engine mounts, intake and exhaust manifolds, distributor shaft, gear, and bushing, engine head(s), engine block, gaskets and seals if damaged as a result of failure of covered engine parts.

Transmission: All internally lubricated parts contained within an automatic transmission and transfer case inclusive of: clutches, bands, pumps, carrier assemblies, internal shafts (main, intermediate, reaction), thrust washers and bearings, governor, valve body, servo and accumulator assemblies, torque converter, transmission mounts and shift linkage, throttle valve cable, case if damaged as a result of failure of covered automatic transmission parts."

I just want to know if this list is just supposed to try and impress me, or if it's decent. This is just part of the stuff covered...but it's some of the most expensive. Maybe I'm being too naive about this, but I'm just looking for something to catch most of the cost of repairs. Oh, one more thing...anyone had any experience with using the Level10 reduild kits???

What is the url over there? I'd like to check it out also

The url is...
http://www.platinumwarrantycorp.com/